Andrei had truly expected this to be a quick stop en route to dinner at the best restaurant in the city. He’d assumed Illyra would quickly select one of the most expensive necklaces in the store: the looped rope of diamonds, the diadem of sapphires, the emerald choker that cost the equivalent of nine hundred thousand dollars. But an hour later, she still hadn’t found a necklace she wanted.“Six million rubles?” she said now, staring down incredulously at the ropes of diamonds patiently displayed by the portly jeweler. “How much is that in dollars?”He told her, and her jaw dropped. Then she burst into laughter. “What a waste!” She glanced at Andrei. “I won’t let you spend your money that way. Might as well set it on fire.”He didn’t have nearly the same patience as the jeweler. “Money isn’t a problem,” he said tightly. “I have more than I could spend in a lifetime.”“Lucky you.”“I mean it. After you make a certain amount, money is just a way to keep score.”“You could always donate t

The next night, Illyra paused as she got ready for the New Year’s Eve ball. She looked wanly out the tall curved window of their bedroom.The wintry Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea looked nothing like Hawaii’s warm turquoise waters. It was even worse than Alaska’s frigid sea. Even in the weak, short hours of daylight, the Russian waves were choppy and gray. But the sun had set long ago, and the world was dark. The black, icy water here could suck the life out of you within seconds if you were dumb enough to fall into it.Kind of like falling in love with a man who would neither love you back nor set you free.Illyra closed her eyes. Yesterday, the workaholic tyrant had been neither workaholic nor a tyrant, playing hooky from work to entertain her. Letting people keep their jobs in his merger. Tipping that saleswoman at the boutique. Getting rid of the men who’d threatened Illyra and her little sister. And more.I’ve never forgotten you, Aurora. She would never forget the stark vulne

As Andrei finished zipping up the ball gown, he turned her to face him. Brushing tendrils of hair from her face, he looked down at her with electric blue eyes. “Are you ready? The ball is in a few minutes.”Looking up at his handsome face, Illyra tried not to feel anything. But her heart slammed against her ribs.His forehead furrowed. “Illyra ?”She turned away with a lump in her throat. “I, um, need some lipstick.” Going to the mirror, she made her lips bright Chanel red. Lifting the silk hem of her gown, she stepped into her expensive shoes with sparkling crystals decorating the four-inch heels, and took a deep breath. “Ready.”Downstairs in the foyer, Andrei took a sharply tailored black coat from the closet, wearing it over his tuxedo. Then he removed a black hanging bag from the closet. He unzipped it. In dismay, Illyra saw white fur.He noted her expression. “Don’t worry. It’s fake.”Dubiously, she reached out and stroked the soft white fur. “It seems real.”“Well.” His lips cu