Page 8 of Lethal Hearts

“I’ll help you retrieve your sorry excuse of a father,” Mikhail said.

“He’s not—”Harper began.

“Alfonso Valenti is weak,” Mikhail interrupted.“If I had a precious daughter, I would certainly make sure she’d never be a pawn in someone else’s games. In fact, I would put a bullet in my head first before allowing my house to fall.”

Harper bit her lower lip.“My father made a couple of bad decisions. Anyone can make mistakes.”

“Let me finish telling you my conditions,” Mikhail said. Harper grimly nodded.“We both want the same thing—make Juan Garcia pay for his foolish actions. So it’s in our best interests to work together.”

Mikhail gave her some time to chew on his words. Eventually, a hard expression appeared on her face. For a moment, Harper’s mask slipped, or maybe it was her real face all along. Mikhail silently approved of the vengeance in her eyes.

“This deal sounds too good to be true. So what’s in it for you? I have nothing to offer you, nothing tangible,” Harper said. Smart woman. Harper was raised in the same world he was. She knew nothing came free. All favors came with a cost.

“Simple. I want you to marry me. I don’t want a meek and obedient bride, but someone able to hold her own,” Mikhail explained.

Harper swallowed.“You’re insane. Why would you want to marry someone who tried to kill you last night?”

“You possess more courage than some of my toughest men,” Mikhail remarked.

He leaned over the table and gripped her chin with two fingers. She looked at him unflinchingly and his trousers suddenly felt tight. Mikhail was about to kiss her, but she beat him to the punch.

She rested her hand against his cheek. Mikhail relished the heat and taste of her. He trailed his fingers down her throat, the valley between her breasts. She dragged her chair a little closer, so he had easier access. Mikhail deepened the kiss and the little minx sucked down on his tongue.

Reluctantly, Harper drew away first. Her lips were a little swollen from their earlier kiss and he liked that. Mikhail couldn’t wait to leave little marks, little souvenirs all over her body to remind her that she exclusively belonged to him alone.

She hasn’t said yes yet, but he knew she would. It wasn’t like Harper was drowning in lucrative offers. In a way, her agreement was guaranteed.

Harper had no one else to go to for help, only him, but Mikhail was no one’s white prince. He would take and take, until this woman belonged to him, body, heart, and soul.

Just last night, Mikhail didn’t think he’d be interested in Harper seriously but everything changed when she pointed a gun at him.

She had looked so beautiful, trembling and shaking, her fragile fingers gripping the hilt of the gun. Right there and then, Mikhail knew he had to have her. Every other woman in the world paled in comparison.

“We’re strangers. How do you know I won’t try again?” Harper asked.

“Would you bite the hand that feeds you?” Mikhail asked. She stiffened.

“I’m no one’s dog, not anymore,” she whispered.“If I agree to this outrageous offer, and I still think it’s crazy, I’m not some tool you can order around.”

“Haven’t you been listening? I’m not interested in acquiring a mindless servant,” Mikhail said.“So I take it you’re saying yes?”

Harper stood up and offered him his hand. A handshake? Really?“Shake on it?” she asked.

Mikhail chuckled. He banded a hand around her waist and drew her close. Harper ended up sitting on his lap. He watched what she’d do next. If she pulled away, he would let her go.

Instead, Harper remained where she was. She even gripped his shoulders for balance. Mikhail slipped a possessive arm around her waist. Then he slipped it lower, on the curve of her ass. She let out a breath.

“We’ll seal the deal with a kiss,” he said. Mikhail groaned when she experimentally rubbed herself against him. Her breasts under the thin fabric of one of his old shirts felt amazing against his chest. He bet if he slipped a hand under her borrowed jogging pants, she’d be wet for him. Harper could certainly feel how hard he was for her right now.

“What’s this, a fairy tale?” she asked.

Mikhail didn’t answer her. With his free hand, he combed his fingers through her unbound hair, then jerked her close. This time, he was the first to initiate the kiss. He plundered her mouth without mercy and she responded with equal ferocity.

He drew away, because he knew if this went on any longer, he would no longer be able to control himself. There would be more moments, Mikhail thought to himself.

“I’m looking forward to working together,” Harper said and he laughed in agreement.

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