Avrora
My cheeks burn with embarrassment. and he grins, seeing my debacle.
I look away from him and focus instead on the swirling patterns of the plaster cornices.
“Baby girl, if it pleases you to look, then look.” His voice is deeper.
Showing him I don’t care, I return my gaze to him and give him my best poker face. “I take no pleasure in looking at you.”
He responds by undoing his belt buckle then shoving his pants and boxers down his legs, freeing his enormous cock.
At the sight of his length and thickness, my mind checks out and not even I can lie to myself, or pretend he has no effect on me.
He steps out of his clothes and pushes them, along with his shoes, to the side, his cock bobbing and growing with every move he makes.
My mouth falls open, my eyes widen, and there’s a thickness in my throat I can’t work past. What worries me, though, is the pool of saliva gathering in my mouth as I stare at him.
I feel like I should say something, but I wouldn’t know what. And I wouldn’t want whatever I say to push me deeper into this hellhole I’ve fallen into.
So, I yield to my body and stare, my gaze taking in the line of Viking-style tattoos going down his strong, strong legs.
Anatoli doesn’t say anything else. He turns, and when I see his back, more shock flies through me.
For the most part, the skin is as smooth as the rest of him with a huge tattoo of a compass spreading across the center.
But at the base of his spine and a good four inches of the surrounding area is a burn scar. One that could have only come from having a third-degree burn.
The scar doesn’t diminish anything from his beauty, but its presence alludes to another story. Another bad story that couldn’t have ended well.
What the hell happened to him?
Anatoli doesn’t look back at me as he makes his way into the bathroom while all I do is stare at his body, looking from the scar to the solid definition of his ass. I watch until I can’t see him anymore.
The sound of water breaks my stupor, and I guess he must be in the shower.
Earlier, when I tried to ask where he’d been all this time, he shut me down, but I’m curious.
I listen to the water flowing for at least ten minutes. When it stops and he walks back out, my previous worries return.
With his cock swinging between his legs, he moves closer to me, and my nerves spike.
“Give me your hand,” he orders.
“My hand?” I’m not following on why he wants my hand.
“Give it. Now!”
I give him my right hand, but he shakes his head. So, I give him my left, and my heart breaks just a little more when he pulls off the engagement ring Mikhail gave me.
The oval-cut diamond belonged to his grandmother on his mother’s side. Mira was only too happy for me to have it. She felt I deserved it.
I’ve been doing a good job of keeping the tears at bay, but this gets me. So does watching Anatoli place the ring on the nightstand as if it means nothing.
“What are you going to do with it?”
“I will see that Mikhail gets it back. Now get up and get on the bed.”
Oh my God, this is it. And there I was, feeling sad over my ring. He’s going to seal the savagery of the day by ripping away my innocence the same way he ruined my life. I never imagined my first time would be like this.
“No.” I shake my head and steel my spine. I can’t lose my shit now when I’ve been strong all day.
“Avrora.” It’s the first time he’s said my name. I loathe that I like the way it sounds on his lips.
“No. I’m not getting in that bed with you.”
“If you don’t get on the fucking bed, I’ll throw you over my knee and spank your ass and pussy so hard you won’t be able to sit on anything for a month.”
My skin blazes. What the hell is wrong with this guy? Nobody has ever spoken to me like that, and I’ve never met anyone so rude and abrasive. I’ve never met anyone like him. Period.
I wish I could argue, but as with everything else, I know he’s serious. He’ll do exactly what he’s threatening. So, my options are: defy him and have him brutalize my body, or get on the bed and let him fuck me. And brutalize my body.
“Get. Up. Now.” His voice is harsher. It pierces through me, and I realize there are no options here besides following his orders.
So, I stand.
I stand with my body trembling and all my fears colliding in my mind. Shaky legs carry me to the bed, and I crawl onto it.
He moves the covers away so I can get under them, then he gets in next to me and switches off the light.
Engulfed by darkness, I can feel my heart pound inside my chest as I try to visualize how this will play out.
I don’t consent to this, so will he hold me down? Will he fight me? Will he beat me?
His heavy hand rests on the flat of my stomach, and I shudder.
“Go to sleep.” His mouth is at my ear, his hulking presence surrounding me. “I’m not going to hurt you any more today.”
A momentary blast of relief floods me, but I take note of what he said.
Hurt me any more?
What a bastard. And who could sleep in this situation?
Tonight is my wedding night, but the man I’m lying next to is not the one I was supposed to marry.
Anatoli Scarfoni is the monster who stole me away.