Page 55 of Mercenary Princess

Chapter 19

London, England

“Before you go to bed, have Pavel find that list of potential fucking husbands,” he ordered Ivan as they entered the house. Viktor was in a violent mood. Seeing men, especially dangerous men, touching Sophia, kissing her cheeks, had made him insane.

Ivan merely grunted before leaving.

Viktor headed for the wet bar at the far end of the room. After digging out a glass, he poured deeply then tossed back his favorite vodka, enjoying the way it burned down his throat. He’d already torn loose his bow tie and tossed it and his coat on the couch.

He braced his hands on the cold marble of the wet bar, leaning over the space before pouring more vodka in the glass.

He’d seen red at that damned event. Going had been a mistake. Seeing his princess smile and touch dangerous men who’d serve the world better if they were chained at the bottom of the ocean wasn’t something he’d handled well. Jealousy wasn’t his main issue, but the feeling was new and unpleasant. The unhinged surge of protectiveness was a far bigger concern. He’d caged her in the library out of self-preservation. He’d needed her body against his before he’d done something very bad.

Leaving the event had been the best option, but not until he’d warned her and her only trustworthy guard about the worst of her potential suitors. If she’d accepted a date with any of them, he would have lost his mind.

He downed the vodka and slammed the glass on the bar with a harsh clank. Was she still at the gala in that sexy white gown, looking beautiful and angelic in a damned sea of vipers? He’d gone to an associate’s hotel and discussed business for hours as a way to avoid returning to the party. She had been physically safe, yet he still didn’t have a good feeling about anything he’d seen that night.

Her routine of giving her guard a rest every other night was grinding his last nerve. He wanted her in his bed and knew that wouldn’t happen tonight. Vodka wouldn’t be enough to get him any fucking sleep.

*****

Sophia had paced enough to wear a hole in the thick rug in front of the bed in her London home. Before turning for another pass, she cast a hard look at the four-poster, frustrated that it had become just as cold as her bed in Porenza.

“You’re glaring at the bed,” Jen drawled from her relaxed position against the wall, facing the bank of windows displaying the darkened night through a sheer covering.

Sophia had been forced to go through the motions for hours at the event after Viktor had left her alone and dazed in that dark library. That meant she’d had plenty of time to pick apart each and every move she’d made all night, critiquing every single look they’d shared while wondering if anyone had suspected something was going on between them. She wanted to throttle the man for putting her in this position. He could have destroyed what little time they had left together.

Her emotions were all over the place, and she snapped Jen a hard look before pointing at her. “Don’t even mock my crazy right now.”

Jen sighed. “Ivan said Viktor wanted to speak with you. I told him no. I didn’t expect the ambush, but that hallway should have had more people in it.”

“Do you have any idea how bad it would have been if I’d been caught with him?” Sophia hands were shaking now. Her heart still thumped a staccato beat in her chest, but the charged silence in the room forced her eyes back to Jen. The way the guard’s lips pinched made Sophia’s eyes narrow. “You don’t think it would have been good to get caught?”

After a beat where they stood staring at each other, her friend finally spoke. “I still think it would have made the situation with your family easier.”

Another beat passed before Sophia choked out, “You can’t be serious.”

Jen gave a single shoulder shrug. “You asked for my opinion.”

“You thought it would help my situation?”

Jen went silent.

Sophia felt her head throb. “It would have forced me into a position that wouldn’t be simple. And it would have ended what little time I have with him. My ass would have been back on the jet to Porenza.” Because she wouldn’t have hidden. She would have faced the consequences and stood her ground even if she wasn’t ready to use her exit plan. Though she felt more ready to end things with her family than she’d ever felt.

She ran a hand through her hair. She was drained, mentally and physically. It really was time to finally end her family’s games. After her week, she would take Forde’s advice—let go of the guilt and stop punishing herself.

Jen’s next words knocked her out of her thoughts. “I should have diverted you as soon as I saw Ivan.”

Shaking her head, Sophia sighed. “I walked right into it, Jen, because I was angry, but a part of me wanted to see him. It was those hours after where I was able to dwell on all the bad that could have come from it that made it real.”

“The list surprised me.”

Sophia snorted. “I’m not sure surprised is the word I’d go for.” Her lover had given her a list of men he didn’t want her to date. It was wrong and twisted. The fact that the list held dark truths shouldn’t make the gesture romantic. But damn it, it had.

“It was protective. I would have chalked it up to jealousy if I hadn’t seen the names.”

She blew out a breath. It was protective. The names he listed hadn’t been rivals or men she’d spent a lot of time with in the evening. Since many would consider Viktor a bad man, the irony wasn’t lost on her.

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