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“Loved and protected you since the day you were born, and now it is time for you to perform your duty. The Kuznetsovs are a proud and respectable family. The union will bring us power and prosperity. Isn’t that what you want? For your father to be successful? For his seat to remain unchallenged so he can grow old safely?”
“It’s not about that,” I wail, losing my fight with my own tears, and they start to spill over, racing hotly down my cheeks. My dreams of freedom, of a life beyond a cage, are rapidly crumbling before my eyes, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
A flicker of hope rises when my father storms through the door, his bushy brows pulled low.
“What is with all the shouting? You are lucky, young lady, that most of the guests are gone so there is no one to overhear your impudence!”
“Papa, tell me it’s not true. Tell me I’m not to be married.”
He pauses, and a flicker of uncertainty passes over his face like a shadow. He glances at Mara, whose stern look doesn’t waver.
“Yes, Alena. I have discussed things with Mr. Kuznetsov, and a union between Mikhail and you is being drawn up.”
That flicker of hope snuffs out faster than you can blink.
“No, no, I won’t do it. Anyone but him,” I gasp, taking a step forward. My vision blurs as the tears continue to pour, and I clutch at my abdomen with no care as to the crumbs on my fingers. “Mikhail is awful. He’s rude and unkind. Out in the garden, he tried to force himself onto me. You can’t marry me into a family like that, Papa, please!”
“Oh, stop it, Alena!” My father’s voice booms around the kitchen, silencing my pleas, and as he straightens up, the walls seem to close in around him as his anger flares. “Such accusations are beneath you.”
“It’s not an acc?—”
“Enough! You led him on, wearing a dress like that, and then you dare stand there and look down on a marriage to him?” My heart breaks as he waves a hand at me, and his face twists as he speaks. “Now, I have to go make amends, and you'd better hope to all hell that your irresponsible actions haven’t destroyed that chance for this family.”
Sobs pull from my chest, but they fall on deaf ears. “Please, I?—”
“This engagement is an order, not a request, understand?”
Just like that, my sale is complete.
9
KRISTOF
Alena’s first kiss is mine.
Leaning against the carved stone pillar next to the front gate, I repeatedly replay the kiss in my mind while waiting for Melanie to collect whatever she left inside. The lingering effects of last night’s drinking plus the fight are catching up to me, and now all I yearn for is my bed. I have the perfect thing to dream about too.
Alena.
Her first kiss. It’s not all that surprising, given how strict Aleksander and Mara can be about where Alena goes and what she can do. I’d always assumed that with limited social interaction, her first kiss would have been a rebellious snog with one of the house guards.
Nope. It’s mine.
Her lips were as soft as I pictured, and her zesty orange and cream scent still lingers around me like a ghost. It was a risk, of course, but something about the dazed look on Alena’s face after the kiss told me the secret was safe. She won’t tell a soul, and neither will I.
The cigarette between my lips flares amber as I breathe, and I glance at the next sleek car to pull out of the driveway. Another family is on their way home after being reminded of who is in charge. Usually, I would make my presence more known, but this time, I linger back against the post and let my mind wander.
If I close my eyes, I can still feel her. The gentle pressure of her mouth, the warmth of her tongue, and the pull at my jacket as she gripped on for dear life. How would she react to something else if she reacts like that to a simple kiss?
If I had my way, her kiss wouldn’t be the only first I would claim. I want all of her first times. I want her first needy moan. I want her first plea for more. I want to be the first to touch her pussy, to wring an orgasm from her. I want to be the first to lay claim to all her holes, to brand my ownership onto her beautiful body and make sure that no one will ever compare to the heights I can take her.
Such yearning pulls at my chest, and I curse myself for even getting attached. She’s too pure to pass up.
In a blink, she’s completely naked and crawling toward me, begging for even a lick of attention from me. Sinful pleas spill from her plush lips, offering herself up for absolutely anything if I’ll just touch her, and every second I ignore her makes her desperate, more frantic.
Fuck.
I want to shove my cock past those sweet lips and deep into that fuckable throat until the only thought in her mind is how lucky she is to taste me. A fantasy I repeat until my cock strains against my jeans, and I force myself to open my eyes.
