Sasha: Chapter 54

Four days of summer in Siberia.

Thankfully the pool was heated. And I had to admit, Sasha’s family was tense but nice. Kostya laughed and babbled in my arms, reminding me of my own nephew.

Thinking of my brother, Autumn, and my nephew, conflict arose in me. I missed them. I wanted to talk to them.

“So you’re Mia’s sister, huh?” Tatiana remarked. “You look like her. At least her picture. Funny, I always thought Mia was Sasha’s long lost love.” She chuckled. “I was so wrong.”

Confusion shot through me and my eyes darted between all of them.

“What do you mean?” I asked hesitantly.

“You didn’t tell her,” Alexei stated, his voice unemotional.

I swallowed. “Tell me what?” I questioned. “How do you all know Mia? And what do you mean Mia was Sasha’s–” I took a deep breath. “Sasha’s–” I couldn’t even say it.

Sasha and Mia. Jesus Christ, Sasha and Mia.

I was just a substitute.

Tatiana shook her head. “Shit, shit, shit. Sorry. I just thought–” Sasha’s sister straightened on the ridiculous dolphin, balancing herself. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m so sorry.”

“No, you should have told me,” I said, my voice strangely calm. I shifted to face Sasha. “Or even better, Sasha should have told me.”

I swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out of it, water dripping off me.

“Branka, wait.” His voice was right behind me. I could feel his heat at my back. I couldn’t get away from him fast enough.

Suddenly, anger shot through me. “Wait for what? The phone you promised me days ago? Until you tell me it’s okay to call my brother or my friend?” I shoved my hand through my damp hair. “Seven fucking years and you didn’t think to mention once you pined after my sister.”

I didn’t care about the audience. My body shivered. Either from the cooler summer temperatures in Siberia or my heart cracking.

My heart thundered in my chest, each beat hurting more than the last. Sasha owned me. My heart. My soul. My body. And all along I was his consolation prize. For my sister.

Sasha’s hand wrapped around my wrist.

“Kotyonok,” he growled.

I snatched my wrist out of his grip. “Don’t fucking kotyonok to me. I want to go home,” I hissed. “To my family. My life.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Sasha warned, a dark expression on his face. He stepped closer, completely ignoring my personal space. “You’re mine. No one else can have you.”

I lost it. I shoved against his chest. Over and over again. But he stood there like a stone wall. Immobile.

“You don’t get to decide that,” I screamed. “You can’t make someone be yours.”

Something crossed his expression but I was too angry to stop. I was too hurt to evaluate it. I pushed against him. He held me against his body and I shifted and bit into his upper arm. He was startled and released me.

I whirled around and stormed back inside. Once out of the Nikolaev’s view, I ran all the way to the bedroom and locked the door behind me. Panic in my veins and heart in my throat, I leaned back against the door.

“Kotyonok, open the door,” Sasha demanded, his voice too calm for comfort. But I wasn’t fooled. The man was a ticking bomb. “Five seconds. Then I’m breaking down the door.”

I ignored him, my eyes frantically traveling over the room. I ran over to the window, although I knew there was no way of escape there. There was nowhere else to go. I whirled around.

Bang!

I jumped back, hitting my head against the window. The door flew open and slammed against the wall with such force, it left a mark on the stone wall. Eyes lifting to meet his pale blue ones, something deep and raw in them paralyzed me.

My chest heaved. Sasha moved toward me, like a predator for his prey. My back hit the cold stone wall, sending goosebumps over my skin. I held my breath, unsure what to expect from him. I reached for the first object within my reach and threw it at him. He evaded it and it shattered against the wall. I reached for the next object and hurled it his way. He evaded that one too.

Grabbing my wrists into an unyielding grip, he reached for a belt on the nearby stand and wrapped it around my wrists. He stepped back and yanked on the belt. I kicked and screamed, yelling all kinds of obscenities at him.

He gripped my face, lifting it so I would meet his eyes. “Calm down.”

“Fuck you,” I hissed. “I hate your guts.”

Even as I said those words, I knew they were lies. I fell for the psychotic asshole and he was using me as a substitute for my dead sister. She was a better person than me. I knew it. I loved her. But this still fucking hurt.

“You have a temper, kotyonok.” His hand came around my neck and held it firmly. “You’ll calm down and we’ll talk.”

“I don’t want to talk. I want to leave this place. And you.”

Something passed through his eyes but then hardened. Into a cold blue stone.

His thumb brushed my fluttering pulse and I let out a shaky breath. The contrast of his cold expression and his caress lit a lightning bolt in my veins.

“Leaving me will never be an option, kotyonok.”

His thumb ran across my lips, rubbing it gently. My mouth parted and he pushed it slightly into my mouth. The low growl in his throat sent desire pooling to my lower belly. Mad at the lust that still lingered, I sunk my teeth into his flesh.

He hissed, but he didn’t remove his finger. My heart pattered in wild beats, his hard body pressed against mine.

“Is that clear?” There was a rough edge to his voice. It wrapped around my body and squeezed. Like a blanket. Like a rope.

“Crystal clear,” I breathed. “I am your prisoner.”

A sardonic breath left him. “Wrong, kotyonok. You are my everything. You’re upset, we’ll talk it out. You’re mad, we’ll cool you off and then we’ll talk it out.” His jaw ticked. The dark expression on his face was frightening.

His hands held my chin and he brought his face inches from mine. I held my breath. I waited. He’d kiss me.

He didn’t.

“You leaving me… That. Will. Never. Be. An. Option.”

Then he bit my bottom lip. Hard. Drawing blood.

It was appropriate really. Considering how our story started.