Page 68 of Love to Defy You
As he sits up, the hard lines of his body flex. God himself sculpted Aleksandr Kurochkin from the finest marble and breathed life into his creation to walk amongst us mortals.
“We’ll come back here after.” He picks up our clothes scattered around the igloo and tosses my dress to me.
The sequined fabric is rough against my fingertips, but I can’t find it in me to move. “Why are you in such a hurry to get back to the party?”
After he tugs his pants on, he pauses with a frown. “What’s wrong,malishka?”
He told me I would find out what he had in store for Enzo before midnight tonight. Absently, I tug at my ring to adjust it, but when dozens of tiny, sharp teeth cut against my skin, I yelp. Small drops of blood bead around the base of the metal band.
“Was this your plan?” I hold up my hand, facing the ring toward him. “Proposing to me just so you can rub it in Enzo’s face? To somehow prove that you’ve won?”
Alek circles the bed, and towering over me, he wraps his hand around my neck. With his thumb, he forces my chin up to look at his face, which is twisted with hurt. “Do you really think that’s the reason I proposed to you? That I asked for forever with you to prove a point?”
Hot tears well in my eyes, and when I search my heart for the answer, I sigh. “No.”
“Good. Have a little more faith in my love for you, Willow.” His use of my name, notmalishka, guts me. “Yes, I want to stake my claim and let the whole world know that you belong to me.” He tightens his grip around my neck and leans closer, grittinghis teeth. “But only because I’m so fucking consumed by my obsession with you. I want you in every way I can possibly have you, and I want to make you my wife because Ineedeternity with you. If you weren’t mine, I would die.”
My lip quivers.
“Tell me you understand.” He doesn’t remove his hand from my throat.
I struggle to gulp in his grasp. “Yes. I understand.”
He leans down and claims my mouth, and in his kiss, the depth of his possessive love bleeds into me.
Alek and I appear at the top of the staircase, surveying the party in full swing. He leads me downstairs by the hand and weaves through the crowd of people swaying in time with the pulsing beat.
We approach the DJ booth, and Alek leans in to speak in the DJ’s ear, who nods after a moment. The music fades into silence, and the partygoers glance up with their faces scrunched in confusion. Irritated mumbles pass through the crowd as the DJ hands Alek the microphone. Alek steps onto the low platform and pulls me up to join him.
He brings the microphone to his mouth and clicks it on. “I apologize for the interruption, but I have a brief announcement to make.” He pulls me closer against his side. “This woman here has just agreed to marry me.”
Whoops and hollers erupt from the crowd. Unable to stop the stupid grin on my face, I hold up my hand to show off the ring on my finger, and this makes the guests go wild.
“Come on, kiss her!” someone shouts.
After Alek sets the microphone next to the turntable, he pulls me flush against his chest. He plants a hungry kiss on my lips before dipping me backward, and I wrap my arms around his neck to hold on, meeting his mouth with equal passion. More cheers burst from the crowd.
When Alek pulls me upright, my head is spinning, and I’m riding the high of the exhilaration of the moment. Our eyes lock, and for a few seconds, it’s just the two of us in our own little world.
It takes an incredible amount of willpower to tear my gaze from his and turn to the crowd to wave.
But my bubble of bliss deflates when I glance at the back corner of the room. Enzo is the only person who isn’t celebrating our engagement, and as he leans against the wall, arms crossed, he assesses me with a dark expression that sends a cold chill through my heated body.
Chapter 15
Alek
“Are you ready?” I nod at the phone in Willow’s hand.
She slumps back against the loveseat. “No.”
Willow and I sit in front of the fireplace in our bedroom on New Year’s Day. After breakfast in bed, I ravished her until the entire house heard her climax.
And I hope Enzo listened when she screamed my name. I wish I could have seen the look on his face, but if it resembled the expression he wore last night, then I’m satisfied. He wants Willow for himself, but now that I’ve staked a more permanent claim, he knows he’s lost.
He started this game, thinking he could outmaneuver me, but I’ve put an end to it. Sure, there are more trials ahead, and I’m certain he’ll make my life hell, but at least it’s clear that he’ll never win Willow’s heart. It belongs to me.
I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her tight against my side. “Come on. You’ll have to break the news. He’ll find out sooner or later, and better he hears it from you.”
