Page 18 of The Bratva King's Auctioned Bride

Arkadi was kissing me, his tongue mastering mine, his hands blazing a trail lower and lower. We were married, presided over by a priest, after signing way too many official-looking papers. Married to Arkadi Mikhailov, my worst nightmare. My family’s most despised foe.

And not just married. Oh no.

He broke the kiss, leaving me gasping in his arms. We were alone again, and the footsteps retreating down the front hall told me the priest and his witness were done waiting to offer their congratulations. I didn’t care that they were leaving me alone with him because they were no help to me. I had been on my own since I was snatched off the street, and it was beginning to weigh on me.

Just like I thought, as soon as I was no longer being transported by the feel of Arkadi’s expert mouth on mine, reality crashed in around me like a mine collapse. The only thing holding me up was his strong hands firmly holding onto my waist. And I still almost sank to the floor when he gave me a look I couldn’t decipher, a sensuous grin curling those very lips that had made me lose my mind only a second ago.

I shoved away, preparing for the fight of my life. If he thought he could control me now just because I’d been forced to sign my name on some papers and said ‘I do,’ he was in for the surprise of his life.

He yanked me close again, grinning down at me. Smug, that’s what he was. Infuriatingly smug and too damn good-looking. Surely I didn’t want him to kiss me again, did I? I headbutted him in the chin and slid to the ground when he yelped and let me go.

“You really have to stop that,” he said, grabbing me up before I could scramble away again.

Holding onto my shoulders, he backed me against the nearest wall, studying my face. He finally touched the middle of my forehead with a slight glance of his fingertip as he frowned.

“You’re going to hurt yourself,” he admonished. “My head is far harder than yours.”

“I’ll find something that’ll crack it,” I said, closing my eyes against his steady gaze. It looked too much like he was concerned about the little bump on my head. They flew open when he chuckled.

“That’s why we’re leaving,” he said. “You can’t be trusted here in Milan.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean? The kiss had rattled me enough to forget what kind of real danger I was in, and the fact I was mere miles from people who’d help me had lulled me into a false sense of complacency. All I had to do was get past him and his guards, and I’d be home free.

Apparently, he knew that as well as I did, so now we were about to go somewhere else. Somewhere, I’d really be on my own. Once that happened, I’d be completely at his mercy. I raised my fists for one last attempt, and he grabbed my wrists with the speed of a striking cobra.

“You hit me over the head and shot at me—”

“You’re acting like you took a bullet,” I interrupted, rearing back to headbutt him again. Even though he was rightand it hurt like hell the first time. I had to admit I was slightly grateful when he dodged me.

“What I’m telling you, Mila, is that I’m done playing around.”

The forceful way he said my name stunned me into a brief second of inaction, no longer trying to hit or bite or kick. With that, he hoisted me over his shoulder and carried me out to his car. I went limp, fearing I’d end up in the trunk again, and at the same time swearing I’d kill him if he put me in there.

He dumped me into the back seat, looking supremely offended. “My wife doesn’t ride in the trunk of a car.”

“I guess your thugs didn’t get that message earlier,” I snapped.

“You weren’t my wife then, were you?”

He shut me in and rounded the front of the car, keeping his eyes locked on me through the windshield. Where would I go? Three guards stood out front with their hands on their weapons, looking like they couldn’t wait for a reason to get vengeance against me for shooting one of their own. He paused for a second to speak a few words to the driver and got in next to me, slamming the door with a resounding thud. Just like the sound of a casket lid shutting on me.

Outside of the gates, the driver picked up speed, and soon we were on the highway, racing through the night. It felt more like days had passed instead of hours, and I was able to see the clock on the dashboard showing that it was only a bit past midnight before Arkadi pressed a button to raise a privacy screen between us and the driver.

Short of flinging myself out of the fast-moving car, I was stuck with this madman who wanted everyone in my family to suffer.

“Where are we going?” I finally asked, unable to stand, not knowing what was in store for me. Not that a location would be much help, but if I could get my phone back or swipe his, I could at least alert Nat where I was headed.

“We’re going on our honeymoon,” he said, infuriatingly refusing to say anything useful. I huffed with frustration and glared at him. “If you’re in a hurry, we can start right now.”

“I’d rather die than have a honeymoon with you anywhere,” I snapped, instantly wishing the words back at the look on his face.

Mocking, defiant, and way too handsome for anyone’s good, especially mine.

“You throw those words around too easily,” he said. Leaning close, he trailed his fingers sinuously down the side of my throat. “And I don’t actually believe you.”

His dark eyes were mesmerizing, flashing in the brief jolts of light from the other cars we passed. I was captured by them and couldn’t look anywhere else. His touch was even more unnerving, but I couldn’t pull away. There was plenty of space in the roomy backseat that I could have recoiled, but I found myself leaning into his touch instead.

He moved steadily closer, honing in on my mouth. The desire in his eyes was almost palpable, weakening my resolve in the same way his fingers moving along the neckline of my shirt did. He was going to kiss me again, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. That’s what I told myself, still fighting the reality that I might want him to. My lips fell open in anticipation, my breath hitching in my throat. My hands twitched in my lap,and I squeezed them into fists to keep from reaching for him. My eyes fluttered shut.

---