Page 25 of Unwillingly Yours

Aleksey’s jaw clenched tightly. “This is our way of life, Elia.”

“I know.” I turned my gaze to look down at my coffee instead. I’d been told those words my entire life. I didn’t need him to remind me. “Fine.”

Aleksey slid a slim phone across the island. “This is yours. My number and Boris’s are programmed in it in case you need something. I have someone that comes and cleans, restocks the fridge, and a chef that comes by every once in a while when I need him. They will always be accompanied by a guard. Do not let anyone up who is not.”

His words rolled off his tongue, but I barely heard them. They were the same instructions more or less from my father’s house.

Well, at least he was letting me leave when I wanted. That had taken quite some time.

“And what of my bodyguard?” I asked, unable to help myself. “Will I have one?”

“Elia.”

I forced my chin to tilt upward, finding him mere inches from my face. “What?” I forced out, barely recognizing my own voice.

“Iam your guard,” he said, his eyes searching mine. “There is nowhere you will go without me. And if not with me, then you will go with Boris. This is not up for argument.”

“Fine,” I told him. “I understand.”

Aleksey reached out and gripped my chin lightly, the smell of his cologne causing my insides to tremble. And the sense of longing on my lips returned as I wondered if he might kiss me.

“I will be back later,” he said after a moment.

“Okay,” I whispered, desperately wishing he’d dip his lips and press them against mine.

But he refused. He dropped his fingers from my chin and strode off without another word. I waited until the elevator doors shut before I sagged against the counter, my heart racing in my chest.

It was almost as if he was deliberately attempting to avoid kissing me altogether. But why? He hadn’t kissed me last night, and I chalked it up to the frantic need for each other that had taken over us. But now? What was holding him back? Did he even consider me his wife?

We were only in the first day of our marriage, and I was already struggling to contain myself around my husband. I wanted him to throw me on the bed, to push me on the counter, to dosomethingother than the cool indifference that he had given me just a few moments ago.

Like I was some sort of houseguest instead of his wife.

Sighing, I pushed away from the counter. I didn’t know much about being a wife or the day after marriage, but this couldn’t be what normal people went through.

But then again, nothing about us was normal.

And I wondered if we could ever be.

Chapter Fourteen

Aleksey

I stepped out of the car, straightening my jacket as I did so. The last thing I wanted to do today was meet with my uncle, but he had insisted on this meeting. And I couldn’t very well ignore him. In a way, he still held my future in his hands, and I wanted to know where I stood.

Instead of meeting at the mansion, my uncle had chosen to meet at my father’s work office. The imposing building gleamed in the morning sun, and I adjusted my sunglasses against the glare.

“Well,” Boris drawled as he came to stand beside me. “Was this worth leaving your wife this morning?”

I didn’t answer him, remembering how the overwhelming need to have Elia this morning had nearly made me late for this meeting.

After last night, I had kept my distance. Not because I didn’t want her, but because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from fucking her repeatedly until I couldn’t think straight.

And right now, I needed my wits about me.

I moved forward, and Boris fell in step behind me as he always did, watching my back. We passed through the glass doors, and a man in a dark suit hurried toward me.

“Aleksey Fyodorovich, right this way.”