Page 65 of Dancing With Desire

“She was a nasty, snivelling cow and desperate for a man’s attention. She didn’t give a shit about you. Why else did she turn up to Kat’s half-naked to seduce Dmitry?” His eyes blaze with anger, and I smile. “Wow, she really had you fooled, didn’t she? Did you really think she’d choose you over Dmitry? You’re so . . . old.”

“Fuck you,” he hisses, squeezing my neck harder.

I bring the dagger up, gripping it tightly before stabbing it into his neck. His eyes widen, and I withdraw it. “You’re theglupaya suka,” I snap. His grip loosens on my neck when I bring the dagger down a second and third time in quick succession. He stumbles back, and I dive up from the desk, rushing to him and driving the dagger into his chest and then his stomach. “You will never get the chance to sneer at me again or to tell me how I’m not good enough,” I shout. “Dmitry is stepping into your shoes. He will run the empire with me by his side while you and Vivian rot in a shallow grave.”

I push the dagger into his throat and blood spurts out. I drop it to the floor, and Vladimir falls to his knees. My chest heaves as I draw in steady breaths. Adrenaline rips through me, and I kick the dagger from his reach as he drops onto his stomach, gasping for air. I watch the blood ooze from the back of his neck, pooling around him on the wooden floor, and then I drop to my knees. Our eyes connect, and a small smile pulls at the corners of his mouth as he inhales one last time. I sit back on my arse and stare at him. Images of Marcus, then Ronnie, and then Vivian flash through my mind. So many dead bodies because I fell in love with Dmitry.

I don’t know how long I sit staring at Vladimir’s lifeless body before the office door opens, startling me, and Marshall rushesin. He freezes, his eyes going from me to Vladimir. He releases a long breath before speaking into a radio. “She’s in the office,” he says calmly. “Come alone.”

Seconds later, Dmitry bursts in, his face panicked. He steps over his father’s body and drops to his knees in front of me, cupping my face in his hands and forcing me to look at him. “Are you okay?”

I laugh, like really laugh, until tears slide from the corners of my eyes. “You walk into this . . .” I look around at the blood, “massacre, and you ask if I’m okay?”

“Are you hurt?”

I shake my head. “No, Dmitry, I’m fine.”

He glances back at his father. “What happened?”

“He made the mistake of thinking I was a stupid bitch for the last time.”

He stands, taking my hands and pulling me up. He stares down at my blood-soaked wedding dress. “And you’re sure you’re not hurt,” he asks again, running his hands over my stomach.

“I’ll sort this,” says Marshall.

Dmitry takes me by the hand and leads me from the room.

We get upstairs, where he slowly begins to remove the dress. “Shower and change. We’ll need to go back out.”

I glare at him. “I can’t go back out there.”

“We have no choice,” he mutters. “You need to do the expected bride things, and I have to speak to the families to tell them he’s dead.”

I place a hand to his cheek. “Are you upset?”

He stares me in the eyes and shakes his head. “Not with you.”

“He had me pinned to the desk. I didn’t have a choice.”

“Victoria, I’m not upset he’s dead. I just wish . . . I wish I’d have killed him. You shouldn’t have to live with this as well as everything else that’s happened.”

I smile, cupping his face. “They said I wouldn’t be able to handle your world, but they were wrong, Dmitry. I will stand by your side no matter what, and I will do whatever it takes to protect you and our child. There is nothing stopping us now.”

He places a gentle kiss to my lips. “Moya prekrasnaya zhena. My beautiful wife.” He takes a small step back to appreciate the white lace underwear. His eyes light up with hunger. “Ya tebya lyublyu.”

“I love you too,” I whisper against his mouth.

I strip and go into the shower while Dmitry makes some calls. I don’t listen to his words because I’m too focussed on scrubbing my skin clean. I’ve been here before, but somehow, it doesn’t seem so huge anymore.Am I a monster?I give my head a shake. If I hadn’t killed Vladimir, Dmitry would have found me dead in the same position Vivian was. There was no way I was going to let that fucker take me and my child on what’s supposed to be our happiest day.

Once I’m clean, I take a bottle of bleach from under the sink and squirt it into the shower, making sure to coat the tiles. I laugh to myself at how much of an expert I’ve become.

I go back into the bedroom wrapped in a towel. “Yes, Marshall, of course,” Dmitry is saying.

“Is he still in the office?” I ask, and Dmitry nods. “I want the dagger back.”

“Mykrasota,” he mutters, frowning.

“I had it made especially for the wedding. It’s my keepsake.”

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