Page 20 of Sinful Games

I was caught off guard and stifled a cough, feeling a piece of food stuck in my throat. After a few seconds, I managed to recover and looked up at Romaniev.

"Twenty-one," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

He took a sip from his glass, his eyes glued to mine.

The silence was heavy, lit by flickering candlelight.

“Not too young,” he finally said.

My heart raced, and my palms grew sweaty. I discreetly dried them on my dress and crossed my legs to stop fidgeting.

“Alexsei—” Igor started, but I cut him off.

“Not too young for what?” I asked, playing innocent even though I had a good idea of what he meant.

I braced myself for something crude. He might say something about sex or well … worse.

His voice turned cold. “For our world.”

I scoffed. "You mean for murder, dealing, and prostitution?"

Volk laughed and took a sip from his glass, keeping his intense gaze on Romaniev.

My father chuckled nervously. "Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, Caia. Our business has given you the life you have."

If by “life” he meant the guilt over my friend’s death, being pursued by men who see me as a prize and doterriblethings to me, and dealing with a drug-addicted father, then sure, I’m living the dream.

A dream where my best friend found out what happened toLukas because of me, she cut me out of her life. This continued until late September, when she took her own life. Her final text said she could never forgive me for ruining her life when all she’d ever done was be … kind to me.

A pang of guilt hit me whenever I thought of Lily.

My poor Lily.

I cleared my throat. "Of course, Papa. I’m grateful for everything."

I then excused myself to powder my nose.

Feeling their eyes on my back, I hurried down the hallway, opened the door on the left, and stepped into a lavish restroom with ivory tiles and Greek-themed toiletries.

I splashed cold water on my chest and neck, trying to calm myself.

The situation felt like a huge mistake, and the task ahead seemed impossible.

I hated Romaniev—the way he spoke like he had wisdom to spare, strutted around like the world owed him something, and especially the way he looked at me, like I was some moldy leftovers he forgot to throw out.

The fact that my father wants me tosleepwith him was… insane.

A sudden knock on the door startled me.

I dried my hands and checked myself in the mirror, making sure everything was in place. Satisfied, I opened the door, only to find Romaniev leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

He raised an eyebrow as I approached, a smirk playing on his lips. “There you are, Caia.”

I almost rolled my eyes. “What do you want, Lucifer? To insult me again?”

He shook his head, a wicked grin spreading across his face, and stepped closer until we were inches apart.

“Oh, worse, baby,” he whispered, his face close enough that his breath tickled my ear. “I’m gonna make youscream.”

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