Page 54 of Wicked Pursuit

“Calling you their baby girl?” He takes a corner a little too fast, a tight smile pulling at his lips.

“Saying I love you.”

“You do.”

I watch the speedometer creep up. If he’s speeding to ensure I don’t try to punch him in the face... Well, it’s a good plan. I’m not going to die today. “I lovedLuke.”

“It wasn’t all fake. The best cover is more reality than anything else. You loveme, baby.”

I curse. “Even if I agreed with that, I cheated on you.”

“Water under the bridge.” He glances at me as he changes lanes. “Especially since you plan to keep doing it.”

“What?”

“Ruby.” The censure in his voice makes me squirm. “You get off on being bad. I get off on punishing you. One plus one equals two.”

For a moment, I allow myself to picture what a future like that might look like. To be my true self, messy and bitchy and ruthless. It makes me a little dizzy to even consider. “You can’t keep killing people who touch me.”

He tightens his grip on the wheel. “I’m willing to... negotiate on that element of the equation.”

Am I seriously considering this?

It seems like I am. I lean back in my seat and cross my arms over my chest. “Do you want to fuck other people?”

“Nyet.”

“But you’re okay with me doing it as part ofourgame?”

“Da.” He reaches over and opens the glove compartment. “As long as you wear this when you do.” He pulls out a small box and hands it to me.

It’s too small to hold the ruby necklace, which is just as well. That jewelry is gorgeous and ostentatious, but there’s no way I could wear it regularly. It’s too over-the-top. I flip open the box and swallow down a gasp.Thisnecklace is brutal in its simplicity, a chain long enough to loop twice around my throat and a dagger dangling from the end, a ruby winking in its hilt. I press my thumb to the blade and hiss out a breath as it slices my skin. “Sharp.”

“Da.” He sounds pleased. “A lock was tempting, but that’s not your style, and someone might look at it and take it the wrong way.”

The wrong way. Because I’m heir and will eventually lead the territory. Because I can’t afford for anyone to think that I might be beholden to a partner in a way that would put them before my people. The realization makes me feel strange. I choose to focus on something simpler. “Your accent fades in and out. What’s up with that?”

“Habit.” He shrugs. “Do you have a preference?”

The fact that he’s asking me that almost makes me laugh. This is the strangest conversation I’ve ever had. “On if you have an accent or not?”

“Yeah.”

“I want what’s real.” I clear my throat. “What happens if your family changes their tune? Even if I were to marry you, there’s no way the plan will go as smoothly for the others. What happens when the Romanovs decide war is the better option?”

He takes the exit to the airport, cutting through traffic in a way that makes my stomach swoop. “That won’t happen.”

“But what if it does?”

Casimir sighs. “My uncle has his hands full with Dmitri Romanov’s daughters currently. Marrying you will allow me to prioritize my role here over dealing with that mess. They aren’t going to buckle, regardless of what he believes. That will keep him busy long enough that Carver City will be sorted.”

I can’t fathom his arrogance. As if it’s as simple as that. “I’m not going to keep your secrets. I’m going to tell Michelle and Zayne about Tatiana.”

His jaw tightens. “Tatiana can handle her own shit.”

“No love lost there?”

“She’s a pain in my ass.” He slashes a look at me. “She seduced you, knowing I’ve already claimed you. She’s lucky I don’t shoot her in the kneecap.”

---