Angela’s heart pounded like a drum against her ribs, her breaths ragged as she struggled in Mikhail’s grip. His fingers, like iron shackles held – he towered over her in the dimly lit hallway. The air between them was thick with tension, his dominance suffocating, unrelenting
“Running?” His voice was deceptively calm, but the underlying rage sent a shiver through her.
Angela bit her lip, refusing to answer. She had tried to run again and he caught her again. He stopped locking her door after two days so she tried to escape again.
Her mind screamed at her to fight, to resist, but her body betrayed her–weak from exhaustion, from fear, from the hopelessness sinking into her bones
Mikhail’s grip tightened. “Did you really think you could get away from me?”
Her breath hitched. She had tried. God, she had tried. The moment she heard the last footsteps of maid fade earlier that night, she had slipped out of her room, tracing the walls with trembling fingers, counting every step, every turn, desperate to reach the front door.
And she had.
The cool air of freedom had been so close she could taste it. Just a few more steps and she would have been gone, swallowed by the night, out of his
reach.
But then he was there.
Like a phantom appearing from the shadows, his strong hand had seized her just as she reached for the door His body pressed against hers, his breath warm and laced with fury against her ear.
“Going somewhere, Angel?”
Now, he forced her against the cold wall, his presence consuming her. The smell of whiskey still lingered on him, but he was no longer the drunken man from before. He was fully alert. Angry. Dangerous.
Angela finally found her voice. “Let me go.”
A dark chuckle vibrated in his chest. “No.”
Her body tensed. She wasn’t prepared for the way his thumb brushed over her racing pulse, a slow, taunting stroke that made her breath hitch.
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” he murmured, his voice dangerously low. “I was willing to be patient with you.”
Patient?
Angela’s fear turned into anger. “Kidnapping me isn’t patience.”
His jaw tightened, his grip on her wrists pressing into her delicate skin. “I bought you, Angel. And you don’t get to decide when this ends.”
Tears burned at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She was blind, vulnerable, completely at his mercy–and he knew it. But she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of breaking her.
“I hate you,” she whispered, the words laced with yenom.
For a moment, silence stretched between them. Then, he leaned in, so close she could feel the heat of him searing into her skin.
“Good.” His breath was warm against her cheek. “Hate me all you want. As long as you never forget who owns you.”
Angela flinched at his words, her stomach twisting.
Mikhail suddenly released her wrists, only to grab her chin, forcing her face up, her lips puckered out because of his stern hold on her. “Say it.”
Chapter 10
Her lips trembled, “I belong to no one.
His fingers tightened, his touch burning. “Lies.”
She trembled, her heart pounding in her chest like a caged bird. “You’re a monster.”
Something dark flashed in his eyes. “And yet, here you
are.”
His free hand lifted, brushing the strands of hair from her face. The touch was almost gentle, but the intent behind it was anything but. Angela shuddered, torn between the desperate urge to push him away and the terrifying awareness that he had complete control over her fate.
Mikhail exhaled harshly. “You don’t understand yet, do you?”
Angela’s throat went dry. “Understand what?”
“That you were never meant to leave.” His voice was a whisper, deadly and possessive.
Tears finally spilled down her cheeks. “Why are you doing this?”
Mikhail was silent for a moment, his fingers tracing her jawline before he answered in a hushed, dangerous whisper. “Because you are mine.”
Angela’s breath hitched as the words sank into her skin like a brand.
His.
There was no escaping him.
And deep down, a horrifying part of her feared she didn’t want to.
Mikhail took a step back, his fingers finally releasing her, but the weight of his presence didn’t fade. She felt caged, trapped under the intensity of his gaze, the raw heat of his possessiveness.
“You don’t understand yet, Angela.” His voice softened, but it carried the weight of a promise. A threat. “You’re sleeping in my room tonight,” He declared as he grabbed her wrist.
She swallowed hard, her body trembling from the sheer force of his words as terror struck her bones.
“No,” She whispered shakily.
“I didn’t ask you, Angel. I was telling you,” He rumbled and began to drag her to his room. The girl screamed and struggled behind him. She clawed at his hand but it was of no use. Angela thrashed but he didn’t let go. The girl stumbled and fell to her knees making him glare at her.
In one swift move Mikhail scooped her up in his arms in a bridal style. He took two stairs at a time making her shriek as she clung to him.
Mikhail kicked the door close. Walking inside he dropped her on the bed as if she was a doll. Before she could scurry away he grabbed her arm and jerked her back in the middle of the bed.
Angela hesitated. Every fiber of her being wanted to defy him, to rebel against the chains he had wrapped around her life. But she knew better. She had pushed too far tonight.
As if sensing her thoughts, Mikhail leaned in one last time, his lips brushing against her ear. “Run again, and I won’t be so forgiving next time.”
“Now sleep,” He let her go with a jerk. She could feel him walking away from the bed and then she heard a light plop as if he sat down on the settee.
A shudder wracked through her, and without another word, she turned and hid under the sheets, her mind a storm of emotions.
She had tried to escape.
And she had failed.
Chapter 10
But one thing was clear
Mikhail Volkov was not going to let her go.
Ever.
