Page 52 of Bound By Longing

Mikhail is awake, and Dimitri is with him.

“Where were you?” Dimitri demands, stalking right toward me.

I back up. “I needed to clear my head. And I realized … I can’t marry you, Dimitri.”

He looks at me for one moment before scoffing. “You can’t be serious. You need protection, Mila!”

“I have protection.”

“From who? Mikhail? He’s only your brother-in-law. His first duty is to his wife. But as my wife, you’ll be my duty.”

“Damien will protect me.”

Everything goes eerily quiet.

Then, Dimitri laughs. “Damien? That man is a slut. He plays around with women. He’ll play around with you.” His eyes widen. “Unless … he already has. Were you with him right now?”

There’s no use in denying it. I’m a terrible liar. “I was.”

Mikhail slowly exhales and squeezes his nose. “Mila, what were you thinking?”

“Damien has saved my life on countless occasions. I can’t marry Dimitri when I want to be with him. It’s not fair.”

“You’re right,” Dimitri says. “It’s not fair. This is bullshit.” He points at Mikhail. “You promised me, Mila.”

Mikhail doesn’t get an answer in before Dimitri brushes past me and storms out of the house.

“Mila, what have you done?” Mikhail asks softly. “I expected this behavior from Viktoriya. Not from you.”

“I’m following my heart.”

“Then I hope your heart won’t get you killed.” He stalks up the stairs, leaving me alone in the foyer.

I know I made the right decision.

At least, I think I did.

DIMITRI

“That girl thinks she can just fuck with me?” I slur. I’m on my fifth beer already. The man next to me at the bar has been listening to me all night. “I don’t get fucked. I do the fucking.”

“What girl would this be?” the man asks.

“Mila Morozova. She’s decided to be with another man. Fucking whore.”

A hand clamps down on my shoulder, making me turn around. My blood turns cold. The man behind me is the man who kidnapped Mila on our date.

“I’m Lev,” he says, smiling at me. “I hear you have a problem with Mila Morozova?”

“Yeah.”

“I can help with that.”

Slowly, I smile back.

Chapter

Thirteen

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