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He drags a hand over my hip. “It’s not over, Cordelia. It’s just getting started.”
I shake my head. “What are you—”
“Now that I’ve found you again…” He pulls me close. “I’m not letting you go.”
I shove off of his chest, trying to get some space between us. Trying to find some room to breathe.
“You’re insane.”
He laughs viciously. “You were promised to me, Cordelia. The deal we made is still on. You are my fiancée no matter what lies Ivan fucking Pushkin has put in your head.”
There’s anger there.Ragein the way he says Ivan’s name.
“Do you know him?” I ask.
He snorts. “Everyone knows Ivan. For better or worse.”
“How do you know him?”
“I’m much more interested in how wellyouknow him,” he says. “Have you met Boris yet?”
Mikhail might as well be reading from a notecard. It’s obvious he and my stepfather only want to know how much trouble they might be in with the Pushkins for stealing me away. How deep has this relationship gone? How invested is Boris in the idea of me?
Maybe they’ll decide I’m not worth the trouble.
Or maybe they’ll feed me to the sharks.
“I’ve met him,” I say evenly. “Boris approves of our marriage.”
Another lie.Can Mikhail tell? Does he know Boris? If he does, he’ll know there is no way the man could approve of me. But if he doesn’t…
“Has he fucked you yet?”
I go rigid against him. “How dare you?”
“Don’t act so precious, Cora. There are rumors going around about you. Nasty, nasty rumors.”
“And you won’t get any of them confirmed by me,” I snap. “I’m not telling you a fucking—”
He grabs my arm with bruising force and hauls me close. “You’ll tell me exactly what I want to know. I’m the one who might be receiving used goods,” he hisses. “I have a right to know who my future wife has been with. What kind of filth she’s going to bring into our marriage bed.”
I stretch onto my toes, getting as close to him as I can. “Fuck. You.”
Then I haul my free arm back and throw all of my strength into punching him square in the face.
66
CORA
No one ever told me how much punching someone would hurt.
It feels good for one split second to punch this smug asshole in the face, because my god, I’ve been waiting to do that for so long.
But that thrill is followed almost instantly by blistering pain in my knuckles. I’m still shaking out my hand when Mikhail turns back to me.
He turns slowly. Slowly.So, so slowly.
His cheek is barely red from the hit, but his eyes are blazing with rage. A vein in his neck throbs as he rises to his full height. “You little…fucking…bitch.”
