Page 11 of The Bratva King's Auctioned Bride

What? I was so addled, I hardly remembered I just swore to kill him.

Without a backward glance at the angry mob behind him, he picked me up and hauled me backstage. So much for dignity. Everything I clung to was disappearing fast. Backstage and in the hallway, he put me down roughly, grabbing my shoulders to keep me from collapsing. Adrenaline still coursed through my veins, but was receding, making me feel sick and weak.

He looked down at me and ran his hand across the top of his almost military-short black hair, glossy like raven feathers. As always, he was impeccably dressed in a bespoke suit of the best fabrics, every line of his jacket molded perfectly to his broad shoulders. He was big, too big, taking up most of the narrow hallway, and I was much too close to him. I tried to take a step back so I didn’t have to crane my neck, he was so damn tall.

He tugged me close again, keeping his hands locked on my shoulders, his fingers just short of too rough. His eyes swept my body again, the muscles in his jaw working.

“Get dressed,” he snapped angrily, as if I were the one who chose to be half naked.

Before I could point out which room I’d changed in, he shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over me. I wasn’t a short woman, but it still hung halfway to my knees. While I never would have been grateful to Arkadi Mikhailov, I was glad to be covered and slipped my arms into the sleeves, clutching it closed around me.

Arkadi smirked, the confusing look gone before I could decipher what it meant. He tugged on my arm, swiftly leading me toward the back. It seemed it was time to go, and I wasn’t sure if this was a case of getting out of the frying pan only to be in the fire. His firm grip was unbreakable, and I was surrounded by enemies. I guess I had to choose the fire.

The old man whom I’d tried to negotiate with before the auction came rushing back, berating Arkadi.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His face was twisted with frustration, and he called Arkadi a fool. I waited eagerly to watch him get his head taken off for such a feat of stupidity, but Arkadi only leaned close and barked at him to wait for orders.

“And they better be followed to the letter,” he growled, once again picking me up.

Storming out of the bar, Arkadi tossed me into a car outside. As soon as he closed the door, I reached for the handle, ready to jump out as soon as he rounded the car to get in on his side.

He only stood there, gazing in at me through the window, and shook his head.

“Don’t,” he said. “I’m not in the mood to chase you.”

So, did I want my worst enemy and the man who’d just bought me to be in a worse mood than he already was? Short answer, I didn’t give a single damn. As soon as he was rounding the front of the car, I took off, my bare feet slapping painfully against the rough gravel parking lot. I don’t think it was even a second before his arms were locked around me like iron bands.

He turned me to face him, his hands pressed against my back. Snaking his fingers in my hair, he tugged my head back so I could see every ounce of fury in his eyes.

“I said, don’t.”

His breath was close enough to warm my lips, and I remembered the taste of his tongue wrangling with mine, like rich coffee and a whisper of mint. He kept me crushed to him for a beat, letting me know exactly who was in charge, before putting me back in the car.

This time, I stayed there. As scared as I was, I refused to show it, keeping my head up as he took off. We drove in silence, and I was shocked to see it was only dusk. It had seemed like an eternity since I’d been snatched off the street at lunchtime. Sneaking a glance at his stony, chiseled profile, I broke first.

“Why did you do that?” I asked.

It was obvious by the old man’s impertinence that they were close, and also evident by his reaction that Arkadi winning the auction hadn’t been part of the plan. So why did he jump in and beat all the others?

“Those other men who were bidding on you would have used you in a way you would have never recovered from.” His voice was cold as ice, but his ire didn’t seem directed at me. “If you even survived at all.”

“Am I supposed to be grateful to you?” I asked, turning to look at the highway stretching out in front of us.

He didn’t answer, and I sat and stewed, becoming increasingly fearful again. Did he want to hurt me worse than the other men? Did he want to drag out my suffering before finally giving what was left of me to my brothers? My brother Nik once told me that suspense won’t actually kill you, but at that moment, it felt like he was wrong. I couldn’t stand the heavy silence that hung between us, and not knowing what lay ahead for me. Finding the courage to look at his terrifyingly stony profile again, I asked the question that was flaying my nerves.

“So now that you’ve got me, what are you going to do to me?”

Arkadi turned, freezing me like a bug caught in amber with his dark stare. His slow smile stole the tenuous grip on my sanity.

“I’m going to marry you.”

Chapter 9 - Arkadi

The words came out of my mouth unbidden, spurred on by her brazen demand. It wasn’t a lie. I had no plan at all, and was acting on pure instinct. At first, my only objective was to get Mila away from those other men’s stares, now, I had to keep her away.

Damn it, I was supposed to be on my way to revenge, using her as the ace up my sleeve to end this stalemate with her family. Mila Fokin was my chance to regain what had been stolen from me. What was I doing?

I dropped my gaze from her stunned expression to all the exposed creamy skin, despite the fact that she was still clutching my jacket around her like a life preserver. Her lush thighs were far too tempting, and I was already too heated. Not just with the lust that there was no fighting at the mere sight of her, but from the fury at my uncle.

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