02

NATALIA

He’s in the VIP section just like us, sitting with some other men in a secluded booth.

I’m presented with a better view of the man the closer I get to him. There are streaks of silver in his hair and the suit he wears screams money, although I can already tell he’s wealthy by his choice of clothing to a club.

As though he feels my eyes on him, his head whips up and I’m pinned in place by his piercing blue eyes. I’m sucked into his orbit instantly, rendered breathless by his powerful, magnetic pull.

My stomach tightens and a bolt of desire so potent and startling, shoots through me. I almost trip over my own feet from the shock of it.

This man is not merely dangerous; he could be fatal to me if I don’t tread with caution. A voice inside my head screams at me to turn around and abort this mission while I’m ahead.

Except that he’s already seen me--and I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge.

Emboldened by the buzz of the alcohol thrumming through my system, I draw to a stop in front of him, lean against his booth and cock a hip, adopting my best flirty smile. “Hey, handsome.”

I cringe at my own words. Seriously? I couldn’t be more original?

Well, to be fair, I didn’t carefully think this out.

His face doesn’t twitch in the slightest, which throws me and shakes my already wobbly confidence because my smile has never failed me. I could have any man at my beck and call with that smile alone and it’s failed to work on him?

What throws me even more is that his face is arranged into a carefully blank expression as cold as ice meanwhile his eyes are a complete opposite--filled with molten heat.

He’s attracted to me.

The way he stares at me makes me feel like I’m out of breath. He rakes his eyes over me in a slow perusal, lingering on my breasts accentuated by my short dress, and my bare legs.

Heat scalds me everywhere his eyes touch, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. To have a man look at me with such blatant desire… it’s shocking. I should find it disrespectful even, because it’s pretty obvious he’s undressing me with his eyes.

If he did this in front of my brother, he would have gotten a bullet between his eyes.

Yet it only turns me on even more.

My breasts swell in my top and my nipples harden painfully.

One of the men seated at the table who is around my age says something to the man that I don’t catch, his eyes roving over me with obvious appreciation. Great, but unfortunately, he’s not the one I’m here for.

Sidling even closer to the man, I decide to try again. “Hey. So I take it you’re not much of a talker and it does wonders for this mysterious vibe you’ve got going on but here’s the thing.” The other men stare at me with curiosity but I pay them no mind. “I’ve been dared by my friends to get your number and I’m a really sore loser, so I’d appreciate it if you could type in your number here for me. Thanks.” I hand him my phone but he doesn’t make a move to touch it.

His lips curve into a cruel, disdainful smirk, transforming him from hot to insanely attractive in a flash.

He bites off a slew of words slowly, his eyes locked on mine the entire time as if to pass his message to me clearly. Except he’s not speaking in English.

It is Russian.

Then he finishes in English. “Run along, little girl. You play with fire.”

Dazed and thoroughly embarrassed, I stay rooted to the floor, unable to pick my jaw back up.

The other man who has been staring at me with interest whispers something to him that makes his face darken with anger, his jaw clenching.

The anger on his face snaps me out of my trance and kicks my feet back into motion. I do the walk of shame back to my friends.

“Did you get the number?” Bianca asks when I slide back into my seat. I shake my head.

“Bummer,” Neomi mutters. “Probably for the best anyway. It’s not like you planned on calling him, right?”

I don’t say anything to that.

Ty ovtsa, bezzabotno vkhodyashchaya v stayu volkov.

The words keep replaying over and over in my head, the meaning far out of reach. I can’t believe he’s Russian. What are the odds really?

Feeling out of sorts, I suggest we hit the dance floor, and it’s a really great idea because soon, I forget all about the asshole who turned me down and give all my focus to the man who sidles up behind me, grinding my backside on him.

My bladder is screaming to be emptied from the too many drinks I’ve had so I step off the dance floor, letting my touchy dance partner know that I’ll be back soon.

Imagine my surprise when I take care of my business and step outside the restroom only to see one of the men from the man’s table standing there. Specifically the one around my age who had stared at me so boldly.

“Uh…” My eyes dart around but there’s no one else here aside from us. “Can I help you?”

He pushes off the wall, wearing a too-confident grin that just doesn’t sit well with me for some reason. “Actually, I think I can help you.”

I frown, confused. “How so?”

“Something tells me you care little for subtlety so I’ll just go straight to the point.” Shoving his beefy hands into the pockets of his pants, he drags his eyes down my frame in a leisurely stroll. “You approached my… colleague earlier, which is quite shocking considering he’s probably twice as old as you are, but the fucker turned you down. I assume what you’re looking for is a wild night and I’m more than willing and capable of giving you that.”

What the fuck?

Conscious of the fact that we’re alone, I make great efforts to regulate my breathing, trying not to get pissed off. “Thanks for the offer but I’m not interested.”

Sliding past him, I make my way down the narrow hallway, anger spiking through my bloodstream when he stops me by clamping his hand around my wrist.

“You should think about this. I won’t offer again.”

How chivalrous of him.

“I have,” I force through gritted teeth. “Let me go.”

He smirks, lifting a brow. “And if I don’t?”

I don’t think about what I’m about to do before I do it. I make a fist the way my brother taught me and punch him in the face. Hard.

There’s an audible wet, crunching sound followed by the spray of blood. He yells, backhanding me so hard that my face whips to the side and stars burst behind my eyelids.

Before my vision clears or I can even process what’s happening, he’s dragging me down the hall in the opposite direction where there’s a door that leads to the back of the club. I can’t let him take me there because I don’t know what he plans on doing to me and that’s a major fucking rule when dealing with an attacker.

Never let them take you from one location to another.

I kick and scream, doing everything I can to alert someone. Anyone.

My blood whooshes in my ears and I swear I can hear my own heartbeat loud and clear. A man’s ego is a very fragile thing and when it’s hurt, there’s no telling what lengths he will go.

God, I know I said I’d take literally anything over getting married to my betrothed but please I don’t want to die.

He yanks me outside and kicks the door shut, slamming me up against the wall. “You had the guts to fucking hit me?” He snarls in my face, spittle flying from his mouth.

On top of being terrified, I am now also disgusted.

“Fucking bitch,” he hisses, pinning both my hands with one of his while wrestling my dress down with the other. “I’ll show you.”

The strap of my dress slides down my shoulders just as the back door bangs open, shocking the both of us.

My attacker’s body goes sailing off me in a flash.