Page 43 of Beautiful Beast

Will I have to let Erik make me feel good if I want to save my sister?

“Why don’t you try and find out what happens?” I respond.

His eyes light up. “You’re something else, Anya.”

“Is that why you’ve been keeping your distance for the past week?” Ever since our wedding night, we’ve haven’t spent much time together. He’s mostly at work, and I’m always at home.

“Do you want me to close that distance?” He settles his hands on my waist. “If you asked right now, I’d gladly take you for myself.”

A flash of arousal hits me between my legs. It’s undeniable and terrifying. I have no idea why it’s even there.

I set my hands on his chest to steady myself. “I can feel your heartbeat.”

“Are you surprised? That I have a heart?”

“Do you actually have one? Because hurting my sister for your own gain shows me that the thing beating inside you is just that—a thing. It’s not a real heart. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone opened you up and found only a dark chasm inside.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised about that either.”

“Why are you doing this to my sister?”

“I have no desire to hurt your sister specifically. I’m doing this because I just don’t care at all.”

“Not even for me? I’m your wife now.”

“And you think that means I care for you, Anya? You’re mine now, and that makes me a little possessive. But that doesn’t mean I love you. I married you for power. And your sister can marry someone of my choosing for the same reason. That’s how it works in the Bratva. Let’s not pretend otherwise. If it wasn’t me, then your father would find someone for her to marry. And if it wasn’t either of us, then another man would find her and force her to be his. You know this. Don’t act naïve.”

I hate this man with every fiber of my being. My hands clench around his shirt, creating wrinkles in the fabric. “That doesn’t make it ok.”

“How about this? If the man I spoke to about Nadia agrees to meet her, you can come with. You can meet the man she’ll marry.”

“Really? I could see my sister again?”

“You can.” He leans in so close, our lips almost touching. “I may be heartless, Anya, but I am a practical man. See this as an olive branch. I’m not trying to hurt your sister. I’m just trying to gain power.”

“That’s worse.”

“How?” His breath fans across my face, and I find myself leaning in even closer to him.

“Because if you truly hated me and Nadia for personal reasons, I could understand. But you’re willing to hurt both of us just for power. No feelings. Making it impersonal makes it hurt more.”

“Well, I do love torturing people. Just see this as another form of it.” He tilts my chin up and hovers his lips above mine. “If I kissed you right now, would you push me away? Slap me?”

“If I did that, would you hit me in return?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Erik’s essence is like a gravitational pull. I feel powerless to resist it.

I stare him down until he finally lowers his lips to mine. The kiss lasts only a few moments before I push on his chest and back away.

And then I do as he said. I slap him across the face. He barely even reacts. Bastard.

“If you’re going to hurt anyone,” I say, “then hurt me, but leave my sister out of it.”

“That’s not how things work in the Bratva, I’m afraid. Women like you and your sister get hurt. It’s better to accept it now, Anya. For your own sanity.”

He walks around me.

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