Page 6 of The Russian Pakhan's Forced Bride
But even through the disorienting haze, I see his face.
Those blue eyes stare back at me, both captivating and fatal all at once. Both a beacon and something to fear—to run from.
“That’s it,” he murmurs, never once taking his gaze away from me, even while his voice starts to grow distant. “…just let go…”
As much as that voice in the back of my mind is screaming for me to do the opposite and to cling to consciousness, the thought of giving in is far too appealing.
With a pleasant warmth moving through me, I let my eyes slip shut, only to see traces of his face lingering in that bottomless darkness.
Chapter 3 - Roman
It was too easy. Far too easy.
Thinking about it is almost enough to make me laugh.
Viktoria walked through the parking lot clutching her things, looking off-kilter, likely from being alone into the night.
That was her first mistake…the second was not having even a shred of security detail on her.
I had my guys do a sweep of the area just to make sure there weren’t any Nikolaev goons hanging around, maybe even hoping to use her as bait to lure me in. But there wasn’t a soul around.
No…the small town was almost too quiet, and I couldn’t help but feel like a monster in the shadows lurking on a poor, innocent woman.
Of course, I knew better than that.
She’s Maxim’s sister. Surely, she at least had the survival instincts to know she was falling right intomytrap.
Evidently, that didn’t seem to be the case when we moved in and surrounded her. She was unarmed and only carrying her purse, making the job much easier.
It was certainly poor planning on Maxim’s part, and I can’t help but wonder what he was thinking, parading her around like some school teacher.
Given how defenseless she seemed, it’s almost a believable disguise.
But why tuck her away in some small California town? Why give her this false identity?
Something in me wants to assume it’s all for some greater plan, but I have the feeling it’s much simpler than that. It’s more than likely he just wants to keep his prized horse a secret…to hide away that asset until the time is right.
However, this is my perfect moment, and I’ll savor the taste of his defeat the very second he realizes there’s no point playing this game with me.
Truly, Viktoria might as well have wrapped a bow around herself. It was all too perfect.
I have to admit, seeing her look so scared and confused about what was going on caught me by surprise, but I can only imagine she wasn’t anticipating being swept away quite so easily. Perhaps it was the sedative that really made her squirm.
Either way, the jet back home was quick and much quieter with her unconscious. At the very least, she couldn’t kick or fight her way out. Instead, I had her laid out across the seats and kept a close eye on her, just in case she woke up too soon or had some kind of bad reaction to the sedative.
During that time, I couldn’t help but find her disguise interesting, considering her family.
Even with her lying across the bed in the spare room, ever so slowly waking up, I can’t help but inspect her closely.
The loose braid keeping her dirty-blonde hair back with a few strands messily framing her face…the brown cardigan and delicate cream blouse…she really does look like a teacher, and maybe that’s worth the slightest bit of credit. Of course, I’d never let Maxim know he did a decent job at hiding his sister away from the world.
Even so, it’s the last thing I was expecting from a Nikolaev.
And, of course, regardless of her being unconscious, there’s something about her face…her looks in general.
She seems delicate in a way…and I can only imagine her being neat and quiet. Like she’s too docile to cause any kind of trouble or stray from a path of innocence.
That can’t possibly be true. Not as Maxim’s sister.
