Page 27 of Unleashed

"Fine," she snaps at me, reaching for a second cookie. "Another cookie. How is that? You’ll have a nice, sedentary, fat wife with a big butt.”

I frown at her. “Keep it up, and you’ll be a wife with asorebutt.”

She opens her mouth to protest before she slams it shut again. With flushed cheeks, she pops another cookie in her mouth, another blini, and a few more bites of soup.

“Good girl.” The words feel natural, right. She pleases me when she does what I tell her.

Her cheeks flush, and she looks away from me. "Now are you going to be satisfied?" She sighs. "Other than that, I think all I'vedoneis behave myself. Jesus."

Her gaze lingers on the large bed, sitting flanked against the wall. Housekeeping has tucked in every corner of the duvet and sheets, the bed impeccably smooth. I imagine her hand fisted in the sheets, the way I’ll wrap them around her body. I can see myself kneeling on the floor and her legs wrapped around my neck…

"Well, at leastthat’sbig enough," she says as if she doesn’t know what to say.

I almost laugh. "I’m a big man."

She gives me a slow, lazy once-over that makes my cock stir. "I’ve noticed."

I swallow hard and push the tray away before she frowns and turns her head away from me. "Um. So. Question. Have we…? You know."

Fuck. This is where shit gets complicated. I haven’t thought this through. If I tell her no, that I haven’t taken her yet, she’ll wonder why we’ve been together a week without me claiming what’s mine and consummating our marriage. Any man in my position would make damn sure his wife knew who she belonged to.

She better be a fucking virgin. The very idea of another man’s hands on her drives a dark fury through me. I’d hunt down any bastard who touched her. She’s mine, whether she remembers it or not.

I decide to take a risk. “You disappoint me, Anissa. I didn’t expectthattype of blow to my pride. I would’ve thought at least our wedding night was memorable."

She’s achingly beautiful when she smiles at me. Her voice drops, and she gives me a sheepish little smile. "Well, maybe when I’m better… you’ll have to refresh my memory."

My pulse races. Iwantthis woman. All of her. I hate that she ran from me, but goddamn, I’ll make it my mission to make sure she never does—neverwantsto—again.

She’s mine.

"Count on it. But for now, let’s get you situated. You still have a ways to go." I stand and gather up the tray of food. As I turn to place it on my desk, she asks me another question.

"Do I have a job? How am I supposed to entertain myself? I don’t know who I am, what my role is here… what do I do?"

This isn’t too complicated. "I made you leave your job when you got married to me."

I turn to see a shadow cross her features as she narrows her gaze on me. "What did I do?"

"Lots of things, nothing of consequence." Jesus, I’m a dick, but based on what I read about her, she didn’t have a career but dabbled in a few tame areas of the family business her father probably thought wouldn’t put her at risk.

"We’ll find something for you to do. Maybe for now, since we don’t want to tax your brain, you can watch a TV show or read books."

She frowns and looks perplexed. “May I have a cell phone?"

Shit. If she gets her hands on a cell phone, she’ll start looking shit up. Asking questions. Maybe she’ll trigger a memory… I have to think fast.

"The doctor said not to tax your brain, and staring at a screen will definitely do that. Of course you can have a phone," I bluff, "just not right this minute. Let’s wait until your healing’s coming along.”

Frowning, she nods. "I want to look up my name. I want to remember who I was."

At least she isn’t lying.

I sit up straighter, my gaze sharp. “That doesn’t matter anymore. You’re mine now. Your name is Anissa Kopolova, and you’re married tome.Whatever we were before the accident, it’s done. We’re starting fresh.” I lean in, my voice low and unyielding. “Onmyterms. Your memory will come back in time, but until then,all you need to know is that you belong to me. And from this point on, you do what I say.”

She stares at me and purses her lips but doesn’t respond.

Maybe my brothers were right.

---