Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
No one had stopped him from being close to Galina. It had been dark, and she hadn’t known he’d been there. That was all he needed. It had been strange, but being there, alone in the dark with her had felt right, intimate. Even to this day, Galina hadn’t known he was in there with her, listening to her subtle breathing and the threats she made about castrating him. They had been trapped together for an hour.
“I have to go and pee,” Galina said, pulling out of his arms and rushing away to the bathroom.
Mikhail stayed right where he was. He’d asked for Peter to give him time with Galina. Her brother cared about Galina and knew Mikhail wanted to make this work.
Peter didn’t know of their history. Only the people at school knew, and they wouldn’t breathe a fucking word of it. If they did, he’d kill them all.
His and Galina’s past was their own, and no one was going to mess with them.
Chapter Three
“That was a sick, twisted movie,” Galina said, closing her eyes and pressing her hands to her face. “Ugh, that was so gross. Why did I pick that? I should have picked the romance one.”
“You had the choice. You could have watched either.”
She dropped her hands and glared at Mikhail. “Did that not bother you?”
“Nope.”
“You’re sick and twisted,” she said.
This made him smile bigger. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”
“You know that’s not supposed to be a compliment.”
“Then you’re going to have to work on your insults.”
She had no idea what to say to that. “We watched the stupid movie. I got changed into these clothes. Now, take me home. You got what you wanted.”
“Are you and Peter covering for each other? And you’re staying here for the night, don’t you understand?” he asked.
Galina shook her head. “I’m not staying here.”
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.” He tutted. “You’re stuck here.”
“Then I’ll walk home.” She got to her feet with every intention of making her way back home, when he suddenly stopped her.
“Go ahead. Go home. Then you’ve got to explain to your parents where Peter is, or very much isn’t. With the way they keep treating him, I’m sure they’ll be happy with him letting off some steam.”
“Peter’s stopped drinking,” she said, turning toward him.
“True, but it doesn’t mean your parents trust him.” He sighed. “We both know how judgmental our parents can be. The standards they expect us to meet.” He got to his feet. “But you don’t care about that. Go ahead, walk home.”
She clenched her hands into fists. “You know I can’t. I couldn’t do that to Peter, even if it meant annoying you.”
Galina cared about her brother, and she knew the last few months had been incredibly hard on him. Their parents always expected the worst, even though he’d not touched another drop of alcohol. They still looked at him as if he was a drunk. It had been a long time since Peter had touched anything.
She knew he wouldn’t because there was too much to lose. Peter believed their parents would kick him out, get rid of him. She didn’t want to imagine them doing that, but deep down, she knew that was exactly what they would do.
“Fine,” she said. “Where do I sleep?”
She didn’t like the smile that graced his face as he got to his feet.
“I only have one bedroom, baby.”
This time, she did shake her head. “No, no, no. I’m not sharing a bed with you. You’re going to have to take the sofa or something. We’re not sharing a bed.”
Mikhail approached and he still had that deadly smile that she hated to admit was rather sexy. It was like a knowing smile that he knew what was coming, while she didn’t.
“I’m not sleeping on this sofa. It’s great for watching a movie, not so much for sleeping an entire night.”
“Then I’ll sleep on it,” she said.
This made Mikhail laugh. “You want to go ahead and sleep on the sofa, be my guest, but I feel I should warn you, it’s not very comfortable. I’ve got a nice, large bed. You wouldn’t even know I’m there beside you because of the space.”
She shook her head. “No, no, no.” She stamped her foot for good measure and once she had done so, she felt even more of a child than before. Her cheeks heated.
“I promise you, Galina, I’m not going to fuck you. I probably could and you’d enjoy it, but we can save all of that until we’re married.”
While he’d been talking, he walked toward her, and now he reached out and cupped her cheek. She tried to pull away, but he then cupped her face with both hands, making it impossible for her to leave. Infuriating man!
“Think of this as practice. You’re going to be in my bed every single night. Why not have a test run now? See if you like it.”