Page 71 of Fierce Pursuit

And I would not let her death stain my hands the way Veronika's had.

I clenched my jaw and forced myself to breathe. Then I dragged her to her feet.

While we argued, the train had begun to move.

"Fuck," I swore again, gripping the top of her arm hard. We were absolutely nowhere, in a fucking field in the middle of the goddamn night. My cell phone didn't even have a goddamn signal. The only signs of civilization were the dim lights of a farmhouse about a quarter of a mile away.

"What was your plan,moy zaichonok?"

She shrugged. "I was just trying to get away from you. Maybe hitchhike to New York."

Hitchhike.

I sucked in a sharp breath, the cold air burning my lungs as I fought to control the rage trying to claw its way out. So many things were on the tip of my tongue—none of them kind.

Are you fucking stupid? Are you suicidal?

The urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake some goddamn sense into that infuriatingly beautiful head of hers was nearly overwhelming. But I wouldn't.

No matter how much she tested me, no matter how many times she pushed the limits of my patience, I would never hurt her.

Unless she begged.

And one day, she would.

I was going to spank her until she learned, until sheunderstood exactly what it meant to defy me. I was going to punish her in every way she deserved.

But not now.

If I touched her now, it would be out of anger, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop myself.

That would have to wait.

The middle of a frozen field, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the goddamn night was not the place or time for this. With my luck, we'd get bitten by a rattlesnake or some shit and end up dying out here before Solovyov even realized we were missing.

And I would be damned if Var got to find my corpse and laugh, knowing my end hadn't come at the hands of an enemy, but at the mercy of Mother fucking Nature.

What else could possibly go wrong on this mission?

I had built a reputation as a man who got shit done. Every mission I took was meticulously planned, every contingency accounted for. I executed flawlessly.

I was in and out before people even realized what had happened.

And yet, here I was.

Because of her.

Marina threw me for loop after loop. The shit that I was going to hear for just being arrested was going to follow me for years. Then the embarrassment from needing Var to come and untie me. I hadn’t been this useless when I was still wet behind the ears.

Time after time, she'd done something rash, something I hadn't even considered. And I considered everything at all times. Every contingency was planned for. That was what made me so good at what I did.

She just stood there glaring daggers at me as if I was the crazy one who jumped off a train and stranded us.

Several more deep breaths were required to calm the fire in my veins enough to form some kind of plan.

"Not a fucking word," I ground out as I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder.

Mud slid down her body, cold droplets marking my face as she pounded her fists against my back, the delicious pressure of her body against mine a stark reminder of our mutual captivity.

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