Page 4 of Bound By Longing

I do a double-take. “What is he talking about?”

Vik flushes as everyone turns their eyes on her. “It was nothing. A few months ago, Damien talked to me. I got angry, so I slapped him across the face. Not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?” Mikhail asks through gritted teeth.

It obviously is a big deal. Hurting a Bratva man is never a smart idea. If you’re going to hurt one, then you should kill him. That’s the only way not to face the consequences. I wouldn’t know, though, since I’ve never killed anyone.

But both Sofiya and Vik have.

And they did it to save my life.

Aleksander sighs, shaking his head. “You and I are going to talk about this later.”

Vik tosses her hair over her shoulder. It’s her signature I don’t give a damn look. “Damien is being dramatic. It didn’t hurt, did it?” she asks him.

Damien doesn’t reply. Instead, he focuses his gaze back on me. For some reason, it sends a shiver over my body. It’s not unpleasant.

“I just wanted to wish the birthday girl congratulations on another year older. How old are you now?”

“Twenty,” I whisper.

He looks very pleased with my answer.

“Leave, Damien,” Mikhail growls. “I don’t want to have to hurt you. Don’t make me.”

Damien stares Mikhail down, and for a moment, I think they’re going to fight.

Then Damien smirks and nods. “All right. I’ll go. Have a good night.” With one last look at me, he walks away.

“How did he even know we were having a party tonight?” Sofiya asks.

Mikhail draws her closer to him. Even though Damien is gone, he’s silently trying to protect her. “Damien is becoming a more powerful man. He has eyes and ears everywhere. We need to be careful.”

“You don’t think he’d try something?” Vik asks.

“I wanted his father dead,” Mikhail says.

Aleksander shakes his head. “But you didn’t kill his father. He died of a heart attack.”

“I know. But Damien has grown into a formidable foe. We need to be careful.” Mikhail glances at me. What he’s saying is I need to be careful. Damien showed up tonight for me. Not for my sisters.

For me.

I don’t even know why a man like him would want me. I’m not as strikingly beautiful as Vik or as sweetly beautiful as Sofiya. I’ve always been the shortest of my sisters. My blonde curls make me look even younger than I am. I’m not a striking vixen or a classy woman.

I’m just … me. Mila.

And yet, men are drawn to me, and I know why. It’s because of my innocence. The innocence I haven’t managed to lose even after losing my parents and getting kidnapped. I’ve always been saved, either by my sisters or their husbands. I’ve never known true unhappiness like they’ve experienced.

My innocence is a beacon, calling out to dangerous men of the Bratva.

If Damien is sniffing around, it makes me wonder—who’s next?

Chapter

Two

SOFIYA

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