Avrora
Mikhail kisses me like he never has before, and everything feels wrong about it.
Shock siphons the blood from my body, stealing my senses, and I'm like a ragdoll in his arms, unable to break out of his hold.
"Hey!" Anatoli's voice booms over us like a roar of thunder and Mikhail pulls away, leaving me feeling worse than I did moments ago.
Anatoli saw us kissing. And so did Zakh and Malik and everyone else.
Mikhail releases my arm when Anatoli rushes forward. His hand is already balled into a fist, which connects with Mikhail's face the instant he reaches us.
Mikhail strikes back, catching Anatoli in the same place, then they start throwing punches like they did weeks ago at the house.
It takes Zakh and Malik to pull them apart. Zakh takes Anatoli and Malik Mikhail. But they're still growling and cursing like hell beasts.
It's only when Anatoli cuts me a glance and sees the tears streaming down my cheeks that he seems to realize something else happened before the kiss.
"Fucking stop it, Anatoli!" Zakh yells.
While he struggles to hold Anatoli back, Malik has Mikhail in a lock that prevents him from moving around.
"Stay the fuck away from my wife," Anatoli growls at Mikhail with feral rage.
"I would if she didn't find me."
"Stop it," Megan cuts in, rushing up behind Mikhail. Her hair is still a mess, but at least she's wearing clothes.
I glare at her, remembering all the times she was nice to my face and probably laughing behind my back.
"Avrora caught us together," she explains, cutting me a sharp glance. "She was upset and Mikhail went after her."
The moment she says that, Anatoli looks at me again and takes in my tears once more. Then his expression morphs into something I can't quite read, and I know he's not as angry at Mikhail as he is with me.
"Clearly she's still in love with me if she can be so upset," Mikhail spits, making everything so much worse by using my fury to his advantage. "Look how distraught she is."
The change in Anatoli is instant. It's like something drains from him, taking away the magic we shared not even an hour ago.
"No," I cut in. "I'm upset because I just found out they were together the whole time I was with him."
Despite my attempt to clarify, Anatoli doesn't look like he cares for my explanation.
"I explained that," Mikhail says to me, but I'm not even looking at him anymore. I keep my focus on Anatoli.
This is bullshit and it's best we get away from here.
"Anatoli, can we please just go home?"
He doesn't answer and he doesn't look at Mikhail again.
Zakh releases him, and he takes my hand, leading me away.
By the time we reach the parking lot Anatoli is walking so fast, he's dragging me along in my heels. I almost regret being so eager to leave with him in this volatile state, where I don't know what to expect from him.
He's undoubtedly enraged because he thinks I'm still in love with Mikhail, and he's not looking past that part to understand what I explained.
When we get in the car, he takes off like we're in a high-speed chase. It's like he's stepped back into the shoes of the man he was weeks ago-when he was evil.
I catch him glancing at me while I dry my tears. When they subside and I'm calmer, I think of something to say to explain myself further, but no words come.
We get home in that dreadful silence and head up to our room. Anatoli switches on the light, sending the darkness fleeing as if it, too, can sense his anger.
I'm about to walk into the bathroom because I just need some space from him but he stops me, placing a heavy hand on the nape of my neck.
"Not until I'm finished with you." His fingers clamp down on my skin, cold, hard and demanding, making my nerves jump.
"Why? What are you doing?"
"You'll soon see, my dear Valkyrie." I don't like the subdued hollow in his voice, or the way he didn't answer all my questions.
"Anatoli... I told you why I was upset."
"I heard you. Loud and clear, baby girl." He steers me toward the bed and moves behind me to pull the zipper down the back of my dress. Chills curl down my spine and race over my body, making me numb.
"If you heard me, what are we doing?" My voice is as stiff as my body. "The kiss meant nothing to me. I didn't expect Mikhail to do that. And what he said wasn't true. I'm not in love with him."
That's the first time I've said those words out loud, but no answer comes; Anatoli just continues taking off my clothes. The dress, my bra and my panties float to the floor, pooling at my feet as I'm left naked and vulnerable before him.
"Why don't you talk to me?" I try to step away, but he catches my arm.
"Get on the bed, ass up."
Despite the sexy glint in his eyes as they roam over my naked body and the lewdness of his command, I decide to stand my ground. "No. Let's talk."
"Oh, we will talk. Now do as I say. Don't, and you know how I truly love punishing you."
"I didn't do anything."
"That's yet to be determined. This is a reminder."
"Of what?"
"Get on the bed. Don't let me repeat myself again, or you will not like it." His eyes become hard and guarded. I can't even see past his fury.
This can't be the guy I was so fascinated by all these weeks. The one who told me I was his girl, sailed me around the Caribbean, and melted my last resolve.
Am I the fool again?
Defeated, I slip off my shoes and crawl onto the bed, then glance over my shoulder, watching him take off his jacket and shirt.
He walks up to me and rests his hand softly on the curve of my back. A shiver of heat coils down my spine and I drag in a slow breath to keep my focus.
"Remember the other week when I said we'd talk about certain things after the wedding?" His voice takes on that Arctic edge. I shudder.
"Yes." I don't know what this has to do with what happened tonight, but it's so typical of him to be cryptic.
"We're going to talk about those things now, wife."
He plants a line of kisses down my back, trailing down to my pussy, where he pushes his tongue into me.
The maddening cocktail of arousal and tension jolts my body, and I wish we weren't in this weird space of uncertainty. I wish we could go back to mere hours ago when we devoured each other in this bed and barely wanted to leave.
I wish we hadn't left because this feels like something else.