68

Anatoli

I rush down the stairs like a madman, shrugging into my jacket as I descend.

Fucking hell.

I need to kill something or at least shoot something. Anything to get Avrora out of my head.

Fuck Mikhail, and fuck everything.

Fuck my heart.

I knew better than this-to fall for a woman I shouldn't have.

I should fucking hate her just for being Uther's daughter. And yet, even as I think that word-hate-I can't do it. Even now when the truth is laughing at me, telling me I couldn't break her love for Mikhail and I was always second best.

My mind has been all over the fucking place since Avrora Galitze came into my life. I just made everything worse when I turned her into Avrora Scarfoni and officially made her mine.

I was ready to kill Mikhail when he kissed her earlier because I thought of her as my wife. Then a different type of fury struck me when I got the rest of the story and saw how crushed Avrora looked.

I perfectly understood her reasons for being upset, but I didn't want her to be because she's with me. That's supposed to be better than Mikhail.

But it's not.

How can it be when I stole her?

And there, that's the problem. I stole her because she was the daughter of my enemy. She was never supposed to mean anything to me.

We were always wrong, so no matter what I do, I can't make us right.

I was the one who blurred the lines between us. Now I need to heed the rude reminder of what she's supposed to be and pull my head out of my ass. I need to get back on track and cut this vision of the loving wife and a future from my head.

I came here and did what I needed to do. Once things are on track, I can head back out to sea in a few weeks, where I belong.

By then my part ownership of the vineyard should be transferred to her and the threat removed. The lawyers said it would take about four to six weeks to do so, in keeping with the cooling period. I was hoping to wait until that had happened before I told her the truth, but she needed to know tonight. I just hope I haven't shot myself in the foot by revealing it. If I have, I'll need to be prepared for whatever comes of it.

I rush out to the garage, needing to feel the thrill of riding my motorcycle.

I don't know where I'm going yet, but I can't stay here.

When I get inside the garage and find Gytha there, I stifle a groan, but she can see I'm not in the mood for anything, business or otherwise.

A seductive smile spreads across her red, glossy lips, and she leans against the door of my sports car with the same air of seduction.

That's done on purpose to conjure my memories of riding around town with her, or times when I had her naked on the hood.

Fuck my life. I can't deal with her now.

"I saw you come in. You didn't look too happy. Thought you might come back out here." Her voice is as gentle as a cat's purr.

"I'm going out." I keep walking until I reach the bike, but she follows.

"Trouble in paradise?" She runs a finger over my arm. "I always had the cure for that. Why don't we go back inside and fuck whatever is wrong with you out of your system?"

If it were that easy, I wonder if I would do it.

Would I fuck another woman to forget Avrora? Or to get her out of my head even temporarily?

Would it be her? Gytha, the first woman I thought I could love.

It would be so easy to do it. To take her, or someone else. A guy like me never has trouble getting pussy.

But I won't do it.

I can't.

Because of fucking love.

I'm not the guy to cheat on the wife he loves, even if she doesn't love me back.

"No, and do not ask me again." I glare at her and her face hardens.

"I can't do this. I can't watch you like this."

"Like what?"

"Belonging to someone else." She swallows and blinks back tears. "There's a job in Denmark I'm going to take. It starts in a few weeks' time."

I stare back at her. This is the wrong time to speak to me, and not about this.

I've always thought of her as an integral part of my business, but I knew the day would come when she'd leave. I thought it would have happened sooner, after we stopped screwing around.

Now she's looking at me like she wants me to tell her to stay.

But I can't do that either.

"I was hoping we could work through this. Being with you was always reason enough to stay." She presses her lips together. "Do you think we could?"

Her eyes plead with me to say yes, but this is one question I don't have to think too hard about, or for too long.

"You should take the job, Gytha. We're not going to work anything out."

First, she stares as if she's stunned by my answer, then she turns away from me in silence and walks out.

Feeling like I'm going to implode, I jump on my bike and ride away at lightning speed.

I ride around for a few hours before I decide to head back to Scarfoni Inc. and finish up some of the work I put aside before I left on my honeymoon.

It was work that could wait then, and it can still wait now, but I need something to occupy my mind.

I take the back entrance and the elevator up to the floor that houses my office, hoping I won't get any more nasty surprises. I shouldn't because it's nearly one in the morning and the fundraiser ended at midnight.

When I step out of the elevator car, I see the light on in Zakh's office and hear voices. Him and someone else who sounds like Malik.

Zakh's office isn't far from mine, but since I always use the other entrance I don't really see him unless we arrange to meet.

It occurs to me that he might have been here working late in the past and I wouldn't have known.

Earlier, he wanted to speak to me because he and Malik had tracked down the dealer who supplied the particular blend of poison he'd found in our father's office. He said he was looking into who purchased it-to see if it was Mikhail-but hadn't found anything yet.

Maybe he's found something. Zakh has now shared his suspicions with Malik, so it would make sense for them to be here if something more was found.