Page 84 of Relentless Knight

And Lance doesn’t hesitate to snake his arms around my waist and pull me close. Arching me backward, he curves his body along my length as he kisses me deeply. The crowd goes wild, all those civil-looking men suddenly back to their rowdy, brazen selves as they wolf whistle and catcall.

Hand in hand, Lance and I walk back down the aisle, and I can’t stop smiling as our guests cheer.

We make it as far as the French doors of the house before Lance pulls me into his arms once again. And this time when he kisses me, it’s with far more tantalizing passion. Hand cradling the back of my head, he strokes his tongue between my lips. And he doesn’t care in the slightest if he steals some of my lipstick as he tastes me deeply.

He kisses me senseless, and by the time we break apart, I’m gasping for breath.

“What was that for?” I ask, smiling up at him.

“You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen, and I just couldn’t resist,” he rasps. “Now, I intend to take you up to your room and take you as my wife for the first time.”

I giggle as he grasps my hand and hauls me toward the stairs. “Lance, we’re supposed to be getting ready for the reception.”

“We’ll be quick,” he growls. “You can leave your dress on.”

And when he casts his heat-filled gaze in my direction, my stomach quivers with anticipation. For all the years I longed forhim, I craved him and thought he would never feel the same, I can’t believe Lance Knight ended up wanting me.

Of all the women in the world he could have fallen for, how did he fall in love with me?

I’m not sure I’ll ever know how I got so lucky. But I love how insatiably he craves me. It makes me feel beautiful, desirable, irresistible.

And I feel exactly the same way about my Knight in shining armor.

EXTENDED EPILOGUE

Tatiana

“Ah-ah-ha,” Lucian Agosti chides, cocking the gun he has pressed against Natasha’s temple as he brings his face closer to her ear. And that slow, steady smirk spreads across the Italian don’s insultingly attractive face. With raven hair trimmed short and combed stylishly back from his Roman features and a mesmerizing shade of hazel eyes, he could easily be mistaken for a male model.

And if I didn’t hate him with every fiber of my being, I could even call him handsome. But right now, all I can think of is how desperately I want him dead. Because he didn’t just kill my father. He’s holding my sister hostage so he can take what he wants from me. My birthright. The Bratva my father left in my hands when he died.

My heart stutters painfully at how vulnerable Natasha is right now, her hands tied to incapacitate her, the barrel of a cocked gun resting casually just inches above her ear. Even with an army at my back, I can’t do anything to free her—not with my sister’s body shielding Lucian’s. Any attempt to shoot him couldend up killing her. Which means my Irish allies, Killian King, Lance Knight, and all their men, are just as helpless as I am. I can feel the tension rolling off Killian in waves.

I know how much he loves my sister. He would do anything for her. He tried not to let her go on this stupid mission, and I should have listened to him. I should have let Lance infiltrate the Agosti estate and kill Lucian. But I let my need for revenge and Natasha’s thirst for blood cloud my common sense. I trusted in her abilities as an assassin—something I’ve never doubted for an instant because she’s never given me a reason to believe she could fail.

But it’s Lucian I continue to underestimate. My father did, too, and it got him killed. But I should have known better. After losing both my parents to the cold-blooded mafia don, I shouldn’t have risked Natasha’s safety. And now I’ve given Lucian all the leverage he could want. I’m not just a fool. I’m responsible for where this entire conflict goes from here. If anything happens to my little sister, her blood will be on my hands.

“Alright. No more interruptions, lovebirds,” Lucian taunts Killian and Natasha as they share an intense look of longing—a silent communication with everything on the line. “It’s time to let the grown-ups talk. So, Tatiana—you don’t mind if I call you Tatiana do you?” he asks, his hazel eyes dancing as they find mine.

Heat races through my body as fury ignites deep in my belly.He seriously wants to make jokes right now?“You can call me whatever the hell you want,” I growl, “so long as youget that gun out of my sister’s face.”

He hums with amusement, his proud features feigning a thoughtful look. “Funny you should say it like that, because what I would love most to call you right about now iswife.”

My stomach drops, my blood running cold at the horrifying thought. And a gasp escapes my lips before I can compose myself.How could he possibly think I would marry him after everything he’s done?Then again, with my sister’s life on the line, I would do just about anything to protect her.What is the price of an unhappy marriage compared to watching my sister die?I’ve already watched Lucian kill both my parents. He won’t take Natasha from me. No matter what I have to sacrifice. Still, my skin crawls with the thought of tying myself to the man I hate more than anyone in the world.

“So, what do you say, Tatiana?” he prods, his eyes greedy with the look of a man who knows he has me cornered and is about to get exactly what he wants. “Marry me. Today. And before you say a hasty no, just think of it. We could form a lasting alliance between our two great families. Any sons you bear me will rule overbothour territories when they come of age. Hell, I’ll even agree to leave you in charge of the Sokolov men for as long as you desire. The rest of our lives if that’s what you want.”

That proposal almost sounds… reasonable. If Lucian hadn’t already dragged our feuding empires into an all-out war. I know my father never would have approved of the arrangement—he didn’t believe in bartering his daughters in order to strengthen ties with other families.But if it will save my sister’s life and stop this bloodshed that makes me queasy every time I think about it, then isn’t it my responsibility as pakhansha to protect the men of my Bratva?“You… don’t want to rule my territory yourself?”

“Well, of course I do,” Lucian says coyly, his sculpted lips curling into a beautiful sneer, and it pisses me off to realize that, as much as I hate him, I do still think he’s one of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever met. “But that’s why it’s called acompromise. Now, I’d say it’s a pretty generous offer—if I do say so myself. But know, this marriagewillbe a contractual alliance,one you will be agreeing to in front of all your men and mine—and the Kings, for that matter. So, I would recommend you take a moment to seriously consider it before you give your answer.”

Another pregnant pause settles over the battlefield as my emotions wage war inside me. I’m not one of those self-sacrificing types. Typically, I prefer strategy to nobel martyrdom. If I think long and hard enough, I can find a way around my enemies’ plots. But Natasha has been my family’s ace in the hole for as long as I’ve been concocting strategies. She’s our faceless assassin, our inside man who can take out any bastard who thinks he has the upper hand. And now Lucian’s threatening to expose her to the world. If anyone found out who she really is, it wouldn’t just destroy my sister. It would most definitely get her killed—in the most brutal fashion.

As if he can read my thoughts, Lucian adds, “If you won’t accept my conditions, just remember, I do fully intend to hand thelovelyMrs. King here over to the families she’s wronged over the years. Who knows, maybe I’ll set up an auction and give her to the highest bidder. I bet she’d go for an impressive price. And then I’ll let you watch as they tear her apart. And you and I will both know that you could have done something to stop it—if only you could have set aside your pride and looked at what’s best for your people.”

“I’ll do it,” I state, the answer jumping from my lips without hesitation. “I’ll marry you.” It rips my heart out to think of letting anyone touch my sister. And though I know it’s going to land me in a lifetime of misery, married to a man I loathe, I would rather suffer that fate than watch another person I love die. I can’t do it. I’m just not strong enough.

I can see Natasha’s look of horror, and I try not to think of what she must make of my decision. She’s always been the brave one, the first one to put herself and her safety on the line for our family. I always hoped that, if it came down to it, I would bestrong enough to do the same. I just can’t believe that of all the ways I might sacrifice myself, this is how I have to do it. Giving myself willingly to the coldest villain New York has ever seen.

---