Page 166 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

I grit my teeth and slam my fists into his chest. My hands sting from the contact. I might as well be punching a concrete wall for how much good it does.

But I have to dosomething. I’m so sick of doing nothing. I’m so sick of letting the world have its way with me.

“I. Am. Not. Yours!” I shout, punctuating each word with a punch.

“Wrong,kiska,” he murmurs. “You’re mine in every way, in every place. On land, in the water, in the air. On top of a mountain, you’re mine. You’re mine, Belle Dowan, and no one else’s.”

I punch him again because what the hell am I supposed to even say to a growly, possessive, somehow-heart-melting little speech like that? Punching is the only logical response.

It once again does approximately zero good, though. Nikolai doesn’t even flinch, but something in my hand crunches unpleasantly.

“Ouch!” I shake out my hand. “Shit.”

Nikolai plucks my hand out of the air almost tenderly and uses his thumbs to straighten my finger out. I’m so surprised by the tenderness that I don’t move. I just watch him work, inspecting my hand with his silvery eyes.

“Would you make some kind of effort to keep yourself safe?” he grits out. “It’s exhausting to do it for you.”

I yank my hand away. “Would you get away from me?”

Once again, I try to push him off of me, and once again, I fail miserably.

My cheeks are flaming as Nikolai bends towards me. His lips are mere inches from mine. “No. Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

“I don’t want to be ‘stuck’ with you. That’s why I left. You’re getting married to someone else. You can go be stuck to Xena.”

“I don’t need to be stuck to her. She doesn’t almost get herself killed everytime I look away for one fucking second,” he says darkly. “And even if she did, I wouldn’t care.”

My heart lurches. But as soon as the hope rises, I swat it down.

The baby.He cares about the baby and that’s it. He’d give this much attention to any woman carrying his Bratva progeny. I’m a breeding mare, nothing more. A means to an end.

“You don’t even know if I’m pregnant. Women skip periods all the time.”

“Then let’s go get a definitive answer.”

“No!”

He arches an eyebrow. “Why not?”

I don’t have a good reason and he knows it. I shove on his chest again, and finally, he gives me a little space. Nikolai steps back, and I can take a deep breath at last.

“Fine, I’ll… I’ll call a doctor,” I tell him. “Tomorrow morning, or whatever. But you have to leave. You can’t be here. Or anywhere near me.”

It hurts too much.

Those four little words sit on the tip of my tongue, but I bite them back. I don’t want him to know how much he affects me. Even now. Even though it must be blindingly obvious.

I flew halfway around the world with him on a whim. I let him finger me in his office when I didn’t know a thing about him. It’s well-established that Nikolai Zhukova shuts down the rational parts of my brain.

Which is exactly why he has to stay away.

“I can’t protect you well from far away, Belle. Stop making this difficult.”

“The only reason I need protecting is because of you to begin with! So stop showing interest. Stay away and no one will look twice at me.”

Xena seemed to think Giorgos wouldn’t pay me any mind if I disappeared. It’s why she gave me the plane tickets. But now, Nikolai is here and ruining everything. Xena forgave me for almost ruining her wedding once. Will she forgive me again?

And if she doesn’t… what is she prepared to do to get even?

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