Miron
No fucking way,” I growl, standing to my feet.
I can feel rage bubbling and brewing below the surface. I shouldn’t speak to my pakhan that way, but I can’t control it. Luka Romanov, my long term friend, and pakhan wants to marry Sofia off to Dima Veselov. A boy who is as cruel and disgusting. I can’t let that happen.
Luka’s eyes narrow. “Miron, it is happening. I’ve signed the contract already.” He has never cared much for his daughter. “Yerik is to marry Georgy’s daughter, Milana. They will be here tomorrow evening.” I hate the way he and her brother treat her. Sofia should hate both of them, but she tolerate their despicable behavior.
It is one of the things I love about her-she has such a big heart, although her family doesn’t deserve her love.
I pace the floor of the room, keeping my fists clenched. Luka knows I care for his daughter. He knows we’re all like family. What he doesn’t know is that I’ve loved his daughter ever since she returned from studying abroad. I’ve loved her and pined for her, despite my desperate attempts to keep away.
The stunning, caring eighteen-year-old woman who returned caught my attention straight away. I knew we could never be together-Luka wouldn’t allow it. I know she feels the connection, too, as I’ve seen the way she looks at me. I’ve caught her staring more often than she knows. Her cheeks turn pink anytime she gets caught. She is shy around me.
I want to knock the shyness out of her. I want to have her panting and naked on my bed, begging me for my cock. It’s all I can think about whenever she is near.
“Miron, I wanted to tell you first as a courtesy. I know you are like an uncle to her.”
An uncle. Bullshit. I’m not like fucking family to her, as I love her in a way family can’t love. There’s a short pause as he stares at me. “You’ve always had a way with her that I don’t. I hoped you would be the one to break the news to her.” He clears his throat. “She will be leaving tomorrow evening.”
Hot rage pulses through my veins. Luka can be such an ass at times. He bought me here to tell me he is forcing his daughter into the clutches of an evil man, and that I have to break it to her. I’ll break something to her, but it won’t be that.
“I guess that means you have chosen your side in the war?” I ask, unable to look Luka in the eye. Andrei Petrov, pakhan to the New York brotherhood, has declared war on Georgy. If Luka intends to sell his daughter off to him, it means they are in alliance.
“Of course, there was no way in hell I was siding with that cocky bastard, Andrei.”
I nod my head, formulating a plan as we speak. Andrei is the best of the pakhans in North America, and far more honorable than Luka or Georgy. He may help me if I reach out to him, but I will have to go about it correctly. I can’t have him thinking I’m a spy.
I will steal Sofia away from here. There’s no way in hell I’m letting him give her to the Veselov’s. He will likely have my head for what I plan to do, but I don’t care. She’s mine-always has been and always will be.
I gain control of my rage and turn to face Luka. “Fine, when do you want me to speak with her?”
A small smirk plays at his lips. “You can stay the night and tell her either this evening or the morning.” He shrugs. “It’s up to you.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I’ll see if Sofia is awake now. I can’t stay.” I shake my head. “I have some business to attend to in the city.” He would stop me if he knew what business.
“Suit yourself.” He waves his hand toward me. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening for the send-off.”
“Sir,” I bow my head, hating that I have to act civilly toward him. Luka has been my friend for years, but over time he has changed. He isn’t the man I once knew in Russia. Tomorrow, I will be dead to him.
I head out of the library and toward the main hall. The thought of waking Sofia and entering her room excites me more than it should. She will be shocked. I walk toward her room and stop in front of the door.
My heart pounds unevenly in my chest. I’m running off of pure adrenaline. Sofia won’t be marrying Dima so long as I have breath in my lungs. This could cause a war, but I don’t care.
I knock frantically on her door, unable to calm my firing nerves. There’s a part of me that fears her reaction. I’ve seen the way she looks at me, but what if she doesn’t want this? Maybe she wants to marry Dima Veselov. The thought makes me insane.
Sofia swings open the door and gasps, trying to shut the door on me to hide her perfect, curvy body in a thin, silk nightgown. I grab the door, stopping her from shying away. My heart pounds even harder. My cock thickens in my pants.
“I need to speak with you.”
She nods her head and tries to push the door. “Okay, can you give me a moment to get decent?”
I shake my head. “I’ve seen you in it already. What’s the point?”
She swallows, and her cheeks turn bright red at my refusal to allow her to dress. I want her half-naked in front of me. I’ve wanted it since she came back to America two years ago.
Finally, she lets go of the door, and I step inside. I shut the door and glance at her, wondering how the fuck I’m supposed to approach this. My stomach twists with nerves. I’m never nervous, but with Sofia, everything is different. There’s so much at stake.
“Your father asked me to come and break some news to you,” I start, glancing over at the sofa in her bedroom. “Shall we sit?”
She nods, leading me over to it.
I’m steel in my boxer briefs, as I can see her skimpy little thong under the sheer fabric of her slip.
She sits down on the sofa, trying to hide her perfect body with her hands. “What news?” she asks, cheeks pink. Sofia won’t even meet my gaze.
“Look at me,” I order.
She does as I say, meeting my gaze. There’s hot, fiery passion in her blue eyes. A passion that takes my breath away. I’ve seen her look at me with it before, but it quickly extinguishes. Perhaps, in her bedroom alone, she has the confidence to accept what this is between us.
“Your father intends to marry you off to Dima Veselov.”
Sofia’s eyes fill with panic, and she shakes her head. “What? He can’t…” I watch as she stands to her feet, no longer trying to cover up. The blood has drained from her face.
Everyone knows the rumors about Dima. He is a disgusting pig of a man. If you can even call him a man, he loves abusing women in bed. It’s not your standard BDSM that he’s into. He likes to maim women and take them against their will.
As the son and future pakhan of the Miami brotherhood, he gets away with his disgusting ways. No one would dare question him on it. I’d die before she ends up in the clutches of a man like that.
“Sit down and let me finish,” I order, keeping my voice calm, She sits, and my heart squeezes at the sight of tears running down her cheeks. I want so desperately to pull her onto my lap and wipe those tears away. Instead, I refrain for the moment. She needs to listen to all I have to say before I get carried away.
“I won’t let him marry you off to him.”
Her head snaps up, tears still streaming down her face. “What do you mean?” She shakes her head. “If my father has decided it, then-”
“I don’t give a shit what your father has decided,” I growl.
Her eyes widen, and she falls silent, staring at her hands entwined in her lap. “Why would you help me?”
It’s impossible not to notice the hope in her voice, but I can’t reveal my true intentions-not yet. She can’t know how much I love her-no one can. I have to make plans to get her away from here first.
“I care for you, Sofia. Dima is a violent and disturbed individual. I won’t let you be passed off to him.”
Her brow furrows as she stares at me. “I didn’t think anyone cared for me.”
The desperate need to tell her the truth claws at me. I want her to know how much I care for her-how much I love her. Instead, I clench my jaw. “You’re important to me, Sofia.” It’s the best I can do at this moment. The first place I’m heading once I leave this house is my lawyer’s place. Aleks is the best in the business, and I need some advice.
Luka has signed a contract to give Sofia to Georgy’s son. I need to know where I stand and how legal this contract is. Considering selling people off is illegal, I’m hoping it won’t be too difficult.
“He has signed a contract, so I intend to get legal advice.”
She swallows, and some of the hope dissipates from her eyes. I know she wanted me to say something different. The longing she often looks at me with makes my balls tingle. It doesn’t help that she’s sitting half-naked so close to me.
“Believe me, Sofia. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
She nods her head and meets my gaze. “When did my father say I was supposed to be going to Miami?”
I don’t want to panic her, but I also can’t bear lying to her. “Tomorrow evening.”
Her eyes widen, and the tears return. “So soon?”
It cuts me up to see her hurting. In a moment of weakness, I move closer to her. I can’t help but bring my hands to her cheeks, cupping them gently.
She swallows hard, licking her thick, pink lips. Electricity crackles through my veins, touching her like this.