Page 6 of Bound in Possession

I turn my eyes back to the stage. Camilla is staring straight at me, her face pinched in a tight, furious frown. Her eyes are like hot coals, burning holes right through me. She doesn't look happy at all—and honestly, I don't blame her. But I can't look away from her defiance.

Viktor’s fury is palpable. I can practically hear his teeth grinding from across the room, but I don't look at him. My eyes stay locked on Camilla as the final bid is accepted and the reality of what just happened sinks into the room.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps stomp toward me. Viktor marches over, his chest puffed out, his face completely twisted with rage.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing, Maksim?" he spits, his voice shaking with pure malice. "We had a deal to talk business! You think you can just step on my toes and take what is mine?"

I finally turn my head to look at him, my expression dead cold. "Threatening my family is something I do not tolerate, Viktor. You brought this on yourself."

I don't wait for his response. I cross the floor toward the stage to take Camilla from it myself. She may have been sold by her pathetic father to be used as leverage, but right now, she is under my protection. She belongs to me.

I reach the edge of the stage and hold out a hand to her. Camilla glares down at my open palm like it’s a coiled snake, her chest heaving with anger.

Before she can say a word, the heavy double doors of the ballroom are kicked open.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

The deafening roar of automatic gunfire shatters the room. High-end glass shatters everywhere, raining down on the tables. Screams echo through the subterranean ballroom as powerful men scramble for cover. Bullets start flying around from every direction, buzzing through the air like angry hornets.

I don't hesitate for a single fucking second.

With my right hand, I whip out the gun tucked beneath my suit jacket, tracking the entry points of the room. At the exact same time, I reach up with my left hand, grab Camilla by the waist, and yank her straight off the stage.

I don't know who the fuck is shooting or what exactly is happening yet, but I'll be damned if I let someone kill her. I didn't just drop twenty million dollars on this woman to let her lose her life in a ditch minutes later.

As I pull her against me to shield her from the flying debris, she goes surprisingly soft and pliant in my arms, the sheer shock of the gunfire stealing her defiance for a split second. She feels small against my chest, her warmth pressing through the thin fabric of her expensive gown, but I aggressively shove that thought out of my head. I ignore how good she feels against me and lock my eyes onto the side exit.

Alarms are blaring, smoke is filling the air, and the chaos is absolute. I raise my weapon, firing back into the crowd to clear a path. I need to get out of here right now if I am getting both of us out alive.

Dmitri suddenly appears beside me, and I breathe a brief sigh of relief. He is my right-hand man and my most trusted soldier. Like me, fucked-up scenes like this auction are completely against his style, so he had chosen to stay outside in the vehicles. But the second he heard the gunfire, he must have come charging in to find me. He already has his guns out, that look of absolute, lethal focus plastered across his face.

Through the rising haze and gunsmoke, I spot Viktor approaching us through the crowd, his face twisted in a murderous snarl.

Reacting instantly, I raise my weapon and aim it straight at Viktor's chest to keep him back, while barking a sharp order over my shoulder to my man. "Dmitri! Handle the auction payment and secure the transaction right fucking now. Make it quick!"

Dmitri nods once, turning on his heel to move through the chaos toward the back offices.

Viktor arrives, stopping a few feet away, staring down the barrel of my gun. "You will regret this, Maksim," he spits, his voice trembling with psychotic rage. "You think you can take her from me? You are dead men. Both of you."

I don't even blink. I keep Camilla pinned securely against my side, my grip tight, and look him dead in the eye. "The auction is over, Viktor. Camilla is mine, and we are leaving.”

CHAPTER FOUR

CAMILLA

“The auction is over, Viktor. Camilla is mine, and we are leaving.”

This whole time, I had been entirely pliant in this strange man’s arms. Part of it was the sheer terror of the bullets ripping through the ballroom, but the other part was the absurd strength of his arms.

He held me so securely, and the heavy, intoxicating rush of his masculine cologne completely paralyzed my senses. For a fleeting second, I had actually felt safe.

But the moment the words leaves his mouth, I snap right back to reality.

"Camilla is mine."

I am his?

How dare he?