Page 10 of Poisoned Vows

“I find it hard to believe you’ve never touched this pretty pussy. Never made yourself come.” A second finger slips between my folds, and they slide lower, towards my entrance. “But then again, from the way you’re soaking my hand—”

“I’ve never wanted to,” I whisper fiercely, the words cracking and sticking in my throat. “I don’t care if you believe me. It’s true.”

It’s my only bit of bravado, all I can manage. And itisthe truth. Since I’ve been old enough to understand what sex is, I’ve been taught that my body, my sexuality, would be wielded as an instrument of my father’s advancement. Sex has always been a threat. A promise of a horrifying end to my innocence. I’ve never touched myself. I’ve never wanted to, because even if I felt the smallest hint of arousal, I’ve always remembered what would happen when a hand other than my own touched me.

I’ve never had any reason to want it.

Nikolai looks at me, as if he’s determining whether I’m lying to him or not. His fingertips press against my soaked entrance and dip inside the tiniest bit, looking for resistance. For proof.

They rest there for the briefest of seconds, and to my everlasting horror, I feel myselfclencharound him. I tighten around his two fingers, as if Iwantthem inside of me, and I see his gaze darken with a sudden, instantaneous lust that terrifies me.

And then, just as quickly, it’s gone. He pulls his hand from under my skirt, letting it fall back into place, and he nods as he turns back to face our fathers.

“Narokov is telling the truth,” he says flatly. “She’s a virgin, I’m sure of it.”

“Well then.” Thepakhanlooks almost regretful, as if he’s reconsidering giving me away. He takes another deep swallow of his vodka, his gaze raking over me one last time. “Do you accept the offer, son? Or should I send her back with her father?”

I tense. This is the moment that decides whether I live or die—or at least whether I live a little longer, past the time it will take for my father to take me back home. I don’t know what Nikolai will do with me.

But I think it might be better than what his father would.

Nikolai looks at me. His stormy gaze runs over my body, but it’s not lecherous like thepakhan’s. There’s lust in it—but it’s different. Darker, as if he’s fighting something within himself. As if he doesn’twantto want me. I don’t understand it.

“No,” he says finally, and I feel my stomach drop to my toes.I’m dead. I’m fucking dead.My father’s expression is carefully blank, but I know what hides under it.

“I won’t accept the offer of her virginity,” Nikolai continues, and I stare at him, confused. What else is there?

“But,” he says, his voice suddenly hard and firm. “I will accept her as a bride.”

Lilliana

Idon’t think I’ve heard him correctly at first. I can’t have.

A bride?My head swims with confusion. It makes no sense. I feel stunned, frozen to my spot in the study, my knees weakening with the shock.

I’m not the kind of girl who marries a Bratva heir. My father is no one.I’mno one. I can offer him nothing except what’s been offered up tonight, and beyond that, I have no worth. It’s the lesson that’s been taught to me since I was old enough to understand.

There’s no reason why a man like him would want to marry me.

My father looks startled, but he inclines his head. “This is an unexpected honor,” he manages. “If this is what you wish—”

“It is,” Nikolai says sharply, cutting him off. “And as long as she pleases me, your head will remain intact. As will the rest of you.”

I look at Nikolai’s father, thepakhan. His face is carefully blank, and my heart races with terror as I wonder what he thinks of what his son has said. He can’t be pleased with it. Even I know how unusual this is. How illogical.

I don’t understand why Nikolai would do this.

I’d prepared myself, to the best of my ability, for the prospect of a night with thepakhan. I’d tried to brace myself for whatever that meant. I’d steadied myself, again and again, with the reminder that if I survived it, I would have my freedom when it was all over.

That was the deal I’d been promised. My virginity, for a life of my choosing, when I was no longer of use to the man I’d been given to.

This isn’t freedom. This is a permanent prison.

“No.” My hands fist at my sides, the word choked out through my panic. “No. I won’t marry you.”

The instantaneous reaction from both my father and thepakhan, turned on me in one terrifying moment, tells me what a mistake that was. Thepakhanglowers at me, mingled anger and disbelief on his face, and my father steps forward, fury flaming on his as he raises a hand to strike me.

“Get down on your knees in front of your betters, girl,” he hisses. “And be grateful for what they give you.”

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