Page 17 of Her Russian Master
It was an act.It’s all an act, Lucy chanted silently, trying to calm her frantic pulse.
If Yuri had meant any of what he’d just said, he’d be over at the bed, forcing himself on her.
And he wasn’t.
“First time I saw you, I lost my breath.”He sliced through the silence with a broken voice.
She waited but he didn’t go on.“Yeah?”she finally prompted, curiosity winning out over giving him the silent treatment.
“So fucking beautiful, sohappy.I couldn’t understand it.”
“Understand what?”
“What made a girl so happy to play music in anightclub?I thought it had to be drugs or alcohol.But no.I watched.You stayed sober.So you became puzzle for me to solve.How does beautiful girl keep her joy in this world of darkness?”He shrugged.“I didn’t know, but watching—” He lifted his blue-eyed gaze, piercing her with the intensity of it.
“I wanted to watch you every night.For the rest of my life.I knew, Lucya, I could never have you.I am darkness.Six years in Russianmafiya.Nine with...these assholes.”He spread his hands.“I don’t sleep at night, Lucya.You know why?”
She shook her head, throat closing as if a band tightened there.
“Because I know I’m a monster.The monster made by the streets of Kazan.I knew I could never have you.But it didn’t take away the wanting.”
Her nose burned, pressure swelled into her face.Crazy, intense Russian.Did he really feel so strongly for her?She shouldn’t like it, but she did.
“Watching you changed me.There’s someone who threw away all the rules.Became something unique,I thought.Something special.Me, I have to keep this role.I don’t even know who I’d be without it.”
“That’s not true.”Her words came out sounding hoarse.She didn’t know why she had to comfort him, but she did.“You can find a way out of this lifestyle.I believe you can.”
He stared at her like she’d offered a lifeline.“I only believe it when I’m with you.”
“Believe it.And let’s get the fuck out of here.”She couldn’t help but make her plea for his mercy.If he cared about her that much, he should prove it by letting her go.
He got up and stalked over to her and for one foolish moment, she thought he would cut her bonds.Instead he crawled up over her.“Iwillget you out of this.I promise.”
She wanted to believe him.She really did.But why should she trust him?
“You have a plan?”A girl can hope.
His lips closed into a tight line and he tilted his head to the side and back upright.“I have best plan I can think up in this moment.Not a good one.But you have my promise.”
His intensity scored her.She found herself nodding.Believing him.How could she not when he looked like he would burn himself alive if she asked him to?
Chapter 5
The sound of Lucy’s phone ringing jerked her out of a light sleep.
Ow.She tried to move, but pinpricks of pain shot through both her arms.Yuri had taped her wrists to the headboard above her.She probably wouldn’t have slept at all, except he’d sat beside her, stroking her hair and murmuring in Russian until he’d lulled her into a stupor.
“This is Yuri.”The Russian’s deep growl answered her phone.The volume on the television in the suite dropped.
“Who is it?”she asked, blinking in the semi-darkness.
Yuri stood in the doorway between the bedroom and the suite.He must have put her phone on speaker, because her brother’s thin, terrified voice croaked, “Where’s Lucy?”
“Jake?”she shouted.
“Lucy, oh God, I’m so sorry.”
“Here,” Yuri thrust the phone into Freddo’s hand.“I’ll shut her up.”
