Defiant. Sweet. Alluring.
A business deal gone wrong brought me to her doorstep.
She's everything I shouldn't want; everything I was against after watching my mother's obsession destroy her.
Still, I can't stop myself from craving her.
I should know...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
ANASTASIA'S LIPS WERE moving, but I wasn't paying attention to her.
Not when I wanted to storm across this room and break Anatoly's jaw for breathing near Ariana.
I expected him to make an appearance at this party.
Yuri was his brother, after all, and I'd taken his life at my wedding.
Anatoly was one of Igor's favored guards, and he liked to talk big game because of it. Sometimes, he felt like he could stand up to me.
Never to my face, though.
He cherished his life too much to pull a stunt like that.
His smile was goading when he looked at me over Ariana's shoulder like he was daring me to do something to him.
I cocked my head to the side, biting on the inside of my cheek to keep calm. Something was wrong around here, and I couldn't place my fingers on it.
Where did this sudden burst of confidence to disrespect my wife in front of me and goad me come from?
They knew better than to fuck with me. According to them, I was the 'wild card' who owed no loyalty to the Bratva. They knew I wouldn't hesitate to kill them, and still, Anatoly was swinging his dick in front of me.
Now I wished I hadn't made that deal with Ariana just so I could watch his blood stain the pristine marble floors.
Come here, stubborn girl, I silently willed, but I knew Ariana's pride and stubbornness rivaled mine.
She would rather bleed than take off that cheap piece of metal around her wrist.
"You should go put him in his place."
My poker face didn't betray the insurmountable anger that buried me on the inside as I asked, "Hm?"
"Anatoly," Anastasia clarified, her lips pursed in displeasure. "From her body language, your wife looks distressed. It's not a good idea to expose her to the harsh men here." Her throat worked as she swallowed. "I would know."
"Ariana is fine."
Anastasia eyed me like I'd grown an extra head. "She looks anything but fine. You do realize this reflects a direct disrespect on you, right?"
Of course, I fucking knew that. The whispers had already started.
Is Alyosha just going to watch?
Won't he intervene?
Isn't he going to put Tolya in his place?
He should have stuck with Anastasia.
Maybe he doesn't care about her, and he brought her here to show us that.
