“Natasha?” I whispered, but when I opened the door, it wasn’t Natasha’s gaunt face that greeted me.
Instead, there stood Vasile Greengallow himself, looking intense. And powerful. And jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
I was so utterly shocked to see him that I stepped back. He used my surprise to his advantage by stepping inside and locking the door behind him.
You idiot girl.
I’d broken the first rule of fencing and left myself open to my opponent by stepping backwards. And now here he was, in my space. Towering over me, with dark eyes glinting in the candlelight. Do not give in to those eyes, I told myself.
“What in the world are you doing here?” I whisper-hissed. I maneuvered myself around him, unlocked and opened the door again, pointing at the hallway. “Get out of here. You don’t belong here.”
With one massive hand on my arm, he moved me aside and shut the door behind me once again, this time locking it and removing the key slipping it into his jacket pocket.
I inhaled hard through my nose, both in fear and fury.
“How dare you?”
“My brother knows about us,” he said, stepping into me and pocketing the key as he crowded my space. “He might not be much, but he’s a nasty piece of work. You’re no longer safe.”
I set my teeth and scowled up at him.
“Us? There is no us to know about, Vasile. Your brother can think what he likes, but I have done nothing. So get out of my room, and get out of my business. None of this concerns you.”
“The fuck it doesn’t,” he growled. The look in his eyes was wild, aggressive. Such power. Such ferocity. “He saw the way I looked at you.” He met my gaze without a hint of shame. “And how you looked at me.”
I stared into those wild, haunting golden irises edged in dark red, and I almost lost myself. Nothing was more dangerous than a man like Vasile, restrained power wrapped up in a handsome, charming package.
In that moment, I wondered if he would take me if I let him, defile me right then and there with a hand clenched around my throat as I panted and moaned and begged for release.
But then, what good would be the use of swapping one brother for the other?
I’d be no freer with Vasile, the older, wiser, probably more cunning criminal, than I would be with Petre who I knew would take out his frustrations on me every chance he got. I wanted nothing to do with their criminal sort.
What use, indeed?
“You want to marry him?” Vasile asked in a tone that was more of a challenge than a question.
“I don’t want to marry him,” I said softly, my chest heaving with every breath. “I can’t stand the sight of him…him or….” I trailed off. An hour ago, I’d have finished that thought with or you.
But I knew that would be a lie. Despite everything he was, I was mesmerized by Vasile’s presence, and deeply attracted to him in every single way. As much as I hated to admit it, I wanted him. And my body did as well.
I shifted my weight, feeling the thump, thump of my pulse along with a slick wetness between my legs. Never before had I felt my heartbeat down so low. So decadent and tawdry, yet I clenched my muscles there, willing the new feelings to gather instead of retreat.
His eyes flicked down as if he knew and then back up to meet my gaze as I swallowed hard, urging my skin not to flush and my breaths to remain even as I knew both were betraying me.
I could have him. If I wanted to, I could seduce this man who probably only wanted me because I belonged to his brother. Did they fight over toys as children, just as they would fight over a woman now? Each wanting to possess the thing he cannot have?
And could I—would I—dare use Vasile to escape the clutches of a marriage I neither asked for nor wanted?
I could. I could do it. I could use my body to that end. My father even said I had that womanly power.
Seduce the brother, lose my virginity, become a damaged, unwanted prize. Let them fight each other if they wanted to while I flee. Surely, if he no longer wanted me, it would be Petre’s choice and then possibly the debt forgiven as my father would still be more than willing to hand me over.
“I don’t want to marry him,” I repeated, steeling myself. Was I really about to do this? “I don’t want him.”
I inched closer, the inflection in my last word lingering between us. Casting aside doubt, I reached out and lightly touched his arm.
And that was all it took.
He let out a low growl of desire and pulled me into him, his massive hand on the small of my back. His careless stubble grazed my cheek, and I felt the heat of his breath against my skin. I swallowed hard and felt my lips quiver.
“I…” His jaw worked without sound for a moment, before he shook his head, looking deep into my eyes, into my soul. “I can’t do it. I won’t…” For a moment, I thought he was talking about family loyalty, struggling with the idea of betraying his brother, but I was wrong. “I won’t leave you here for my fucking brother,” he said, and finished his thought with a kiss.
And what a kiss it was. I was stunned at first, stunned at his harshness and confidence.
The room spun and I hung on to his broad shoulders. Even through his thick coat, his biceps tightened with tension as he held me close.
I was helpless to the moan that escaped my lips as he swept my tongue aside with his, keeping me wanting more and more, deeper and deeper. The more I kissed him back the more tender he became, until my heart ached in
