Page 43 of Poisoned Vows

“I don’t think you really care.”

“Believe what you want. But we’re going to be together for a few days, and if you don’t want to spend them talking, I know what else we’ll spend them doing.” He looks over at me, a heated glint in his eyes. “But we’ll be doing a good bit of that regardless.”

My stomach ties itself in knots all over again—out of dread, I tell myself, not any sort of anticipation. I don’t want to go to bed with him. I don’t want anything to do with him.

But I have a flash of memory of this morning, of his mouth between my legs, soft and wet and hot, and my thighs tighten involuntarily, a low throb pulsing between my thighs.

The further away from the city we go, the more visibly winter it is. There’s snow by the time Nikolai tells me we’re close to the cabin, and I look apprehensively out at it as he slows the car on the winding roads. The last thing I want is to be snowed in with him.

It occurred to me that I might be able to use this as an opportunity to escape. That there’s a chance that I might be able to slip away from him more easily here. He didn’t say if there would be security or not, and if there isn’t, then it will be just him. If I could steal some money or the car—or even if I can’t, I still might be able to getaway. I can figure out the rest later.

I know that’s not really a plan. Not any sort of decent one, anyway. But I have no idea what else to do. If I go back to the city with him when this strange honeymoon is over, I don’t think I’ll get another shot. Not for a long time—if ever.

The cabin isn’t what I imagined. I’d pictured something tiny and rustic, but what rises up in the middle of the trees and snow to greet us is much more luxurious. It’s made of pale wood, two stories with a dark-colored gabled roof, and a porch wrapping around. The door, I see as we drive closer, is a deep forest green, and there’s snow scattered over the ground, making it all look like something out of a magazine.

Nikolai glances over at me. “Welcome to our honeymoon.”

Lilliana

Nikolai kills the engine, getting out to come around and open my door. I tug my coat a little closer around me as I get out, feeling the wind pick up. It’s not so much that it’s colder out here than it is in the city, but it feels different. The air feels crisp and sharp, and the snow crunches under my feet as I follow Nikolai up to the front of the house.

He flips on a light as we step inside, and the house is instantly flooded with a warm, buttery glow. The floors are gleaming hardwood, a woven rug leading out of the foyer into the hall, and I kick off my boots, hanging my coat up as Nikolai slides it off my shoulders. He’s being a gentleman, but I still feel anxious about all of this. I didn’t see any other houses around for miles, and it feels very alone out here, just the two of us.

But there’s also no security that I’ve seen. Which means that my tentative plan to make a run for it at some point might just be a possibility.

Is this really so bad?The thought flickers through my head, and I immediately push it away. I meant it when I said he wasn’t going to buy my compliance, and I have every intention of sticking to that.I’ve never needed any of this, I remind myself as we walk into the living room of the house.I’m not going to start now.

Nikolai flicks on another light, flooding the room with that same warm, cozy glow. The house is furnished and decorated in warm woods and soft textiles, and there’s a huge stone fireplace against the far wall, between two large windows looking out to the snowy night beyond.

“I’ll get a fire started and get us something to drink. Sit down.” He gestures towards one of the soft-looking dark brown couches.

“Do you ever say anything in a way that doesn’t sound like you’re giving orders?”

I expect an irritated retort from him, but instead, he suddenly turns, stepping closer to me. He moves smoothly, faster than I expected, and his fingers are under my chin, tipping them up so that I’m looking up into those blue-grey eyes.

“If I’m giving you orders,krolik,” he murmurs. “You’ll know it.”

My heart skips in my chest. It shouldn’t. But he looks down at me, his voice suddenly smooth and smoky, and I feel my breath catch in my throat and my pulse quicken.

“Sit down,” he says again. “Or you’ll be sitting on my lap.”

Somehow, I make my feet move, pushing past him to the couch. I see the smirk play on his lips, and I hate him for it. He makes me feel as if it’smyfault for not wanting this, as if I’m the one being difficult, when he’s the one who forced me into a marriage I didn’t want.

He crouches in front of the fireplace, taking sticks of wood out of the brass holder next to it and sticking kindling in between—and it makes me forget for a brief second how pissed I am, because I’m so surprised to actually see him building a fire. I’d assumed there would be security and staff here just like the mansion, that someone as wealthy and powerful as Nikolai wouldn’t do anything for himself. But it really does appear to be just the two of us here.

The room is quiet, and I sit there, hands knotted in my lap, as I watch him work on the fire. I don’t know what comes next, but I can’t imagine it’s anything good. I don’t understand why he bothered bringing me here. He could have fucked me just as well at the mansion, or his penthouse that he keeps mentioning. He didn’t have to take me away to the middle of nowhere.

Nikolai stands up, brushing his hands off on the dark jeans he’d changed into before we left, and I’m struck all over again by the muscled size of him. He’s tall, with broad shoulders and visible muscle in his arms and thighs, the dark denim of his jeans and charcoal fabric of his t-shirt stretched tautly over them. He flexes his hands, and I remember what they felt like on my skin.

I don’t want to want this.But a flush of heat spreads through me, tingling over my skin, and I feel my mouth go dry as he walks towards where I’m sitting on the couch.

“Hungry?” he asks, and I realize I am. I haven’t eaten all day, except for the dry toast and fruit that I picked at while we were at the hotel. But I’m nothing if not stubborn, when it comes to Nikolai. I don’t want to give him something else to use against me.

I shrug. “I’m fine.”

He glares at me, letting out an exasperated breath. “How many times do I need to tell you that you don’t have to fight me oneverything, Lilliana? I know you’re hungry. I asked as a courtesy, but I know you barely ate this morning, and I’d be willing to bet you didn’t ask for lunch at the mansion.”

He’s right about that. The idea of having staff still makes me feel uncomfortable, and there was no chance I was going to find my way downstairs to the kitchen and find someone who would get me a meal. I didn’t think I’d be allowed to cook for myself.

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