The Russian's Proposal (Friends Forever Book 3)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  Okay, maybe not. But she could at least scare him!

  “I doubt you’d be able to kill your father,” he commented, almost conversationally.

  She stiffened, furious that he’d been able to read her mind so clearly. “I hate him enough. I probably could.”

  The man smiled, amused by her assertion. “Have you ever killed anything? Gone hunting?” Silence. “I thought not.”

  “I kill spiders,” she pointed out, feeling silly and defensive. But she didn’t care. The man’s arrogance and know-it-all attitude was really irritating her.

  He chuckled, tilting his head to concede her point. “Everyone kills spiders.”

  She ignored the startling sensations that raced through her again with that laughter and glared at him.

  “How about a different approach?” he offered.

  She put the pancake down, not sure if she wanted this man’s help. “What are you proposing?”

  Obviously, her words amused him since he smiled faintly.

  “Marry me.”

  She blinked, wondering what he was talking about. “Marry you?” He’d said that last night but…blocking out the memories because they were too painful, she focused on the present.

  He nodded. “Yes. Marry me. According to your mother’s will and because of the way your father stipulated the language, your mother gained control of all of your father’s assets. Everything. All the businesses, the houses, the buildings…everything. Because of your mother’s brilliance and daring, in the event of her passing, you inherit everything. When your father learned of your mother’s will, he figured out a plan. Once he catches you, he has a husband picked out and that man will control it all.” He paused, letting those words sink in. “You own everything of your father’s right now, but you can’t control any of it. Marry me, and then I’ll control your father’s companies.” He leaned forward, his eyes intent as he watched her for any reaction. “Not just that, but I’ll own all of his houses. We’ll kick him out of his homes, put them on the market, sell them for whatever price we can get and give the money to charity or you can keep it all, whatever you want.” His eyes hardened with fury. “I don’t care, I just want him homeless and helpless.”

  She held her breath, thinking through the process. It all sounded so easy. So simple. But she knew Sosta Valissi. She knew that he was evil right to the core of his being. “He won’t let you do that.”

  The smile that curled the sides of his hard mouth both scared her and excited her. “He won’t have a choice. I already have documentation, obtained from court records, that show you inherited everything from your mother.”

  Her mouth fell open with that statement. That sounded so outrageous! “How is that possible?”

  He shrugged, those blue eyes still blank, emotionless as he looked at her across the table. “Your mother might have snuck out one day and she might have met with a lawyer. And with that lawyer, she just might have signed everything over to you.”

  Katia felt like laughing, but then she remembered that her mother had….

  It hurt too much to remember that her mother was gone, so she locked that pain away, needing to deal with it in her own time.

  Looking at him closely, she thought through what he’d just told her. All of it made sense if…!

  Understanding of what he wasn’t saying caused her lips to curl up ever so slightly. “You helped her talk to that lawyer, didn’t you?”

  He shrugged one of those massive shoulders, drawing her eye to them. He was extremely well built, she wondered how he…

  Katia banished those thoughts. This wasn’t a man, she reminded herself. He was a means to her revenge.

  “So, I marry you and you get all of my father’s stocks. How much of his company will you own?”

  “I will never own anything. Your father ensured that and I want nothing of his, or yours, Katia. Rest assured, this effort is not to increase my personal net worth. This is all about revenge. Revenge for both my mother and my father, and for what he put me through as a child,” the force behind his words told her that he was being completely honest with her. “Right now, he still controls everything, claiming that you are dead and that his wife left everything to him. So it’s going to be tricky to ensure that he doesn’t have any other wills that are dated after the one your mother signed. His homes are going to be difficult. In the end, it might be good to leave them to him and just eliminate his ability to run his homes. They are expensive to maintain. He has an army guarding the perimeters and a huge staff that maintain the grounds and interiors. He doesn’t give them time off, so he maintains the house staff even when he’s not there.”

  “How many does he own?”

  “Six houses in total.”

  Katia rolled her eyes. “The man is disgusting. There’s no reason any human being needs six homes.”

  He chuckled. “Actually, I own four homes in various places around the world.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Why? What’s the point?”

  “My comfort. I’ve grown my business interests to compete with Sosta. I will not allow him to win, or, if he does, I ensure that it is such an expensive victory, that he is hurt by his triumph.”

  “Sounds good. So…”

  Sergei’s eyes hardened even more. “But I want to crush him.” He paused and the fire lighting up those blue eyes made her breath catch in her throat. “I want to own his companies and eliminate any source of income he might have. If I can control his companies, through you, then I can cut off his money.”

  “Won’t he have stashes of money already stored in banks across the world?”

  The grin that moved over the man’s face made her stomach tighten. And not with dread. It was something else. Something…hot and…scary.

  “He used to, but the threat he ran into a couple of years ago caused him to consolidate everything he had in stocks, which he then transferred to your mother. And now, to you, although you don’t have the authority to vote your stocks, so he retains control until you are married.”

  Katia smiled slightly, starting to fully understand the man’s plan. It was genius actually. With just a few words in front of a minister, she could do what she’d been attempting to do for the past several years. “Which is where you come in.”

  “Exactly. Marry me and I’ll give you your revenge. We’ll both have it, in fact. I will ensure that your father is homeless, without money, and without friends.”

  She paused, considering her position. “I want him in prison as well.”

  Admiration crept into his harsh features and something warm and liquid curled in her stomach. “I think that can be arranged, although it might take a bit longer for that to happen.”

  Katia hesitated for several more minutes, fascinated by his scar. And his eyes. And…well, everything about him, actually. Watching him, she wondered if she’d ever really know his end game. Probably not, she suspected. But she didn’t care about this man. She wanted her father destroyed. She wanted him hurting as badly as she was at this moment. And if he was thrown into prison, she wanted him to become some bigger guy’s toy. She wanted him to know what it was like to be hurt so deeply that it ached for days afterwards.

  “Fine. I’ll marry you.”

  Chapter 4

  Katia stood in the judge’s chambers a few days later in the white dress that had been delivered earlier that morning. It was a stunning dress, but she still hated it because of what it represented – her father’s invasion of her life. She could feel the layers moving against her legs, the soft silk as it swished against her calves. The tea-length dress was a masterpiece of beauty, but she was only wearing it for the pictures they would eventually send to her father.

  “Are you ready?” Sergei asked, looking down at her as he took her hand in his own.

  She breathed in deeply, trying to figure out what it was about this man that made her so nervous. But looking into his eyes, she somehow found the strength to nod her head. “Yes.”

  “
Good,” he replied, tightening his fingers around her own and, almost instantly, she felt better. Stronger.

  “This is only for a year, right?” she confirmed, repeating what he’d told her before.

  “Yes. Just one year and we’ll separate. That should be long enough to destroy all of the infrastructure your fath…” He stopped when she gave him “the look” and changed his words. “The infrastructure Sosta has in place. He should be in dire straits by then.”

  “And what if it doesn’t work?” she asked, fearful that her father would somehow come out of this smelling like a peach. “What if he’s anticipating all of your moves and has plans in place to counter them and come out the victor?”

  Sergei moved closer, towering over her. When he was this close, she could smell the soap he used and his aftershave, which smelled…delicious. The tightening of his fingers around hers only increased her awareness of him as a man, something she didn’t want to acknowledge. They were marrying simply to get back at her father for all of the pain he’d caused over the years and to stop him from doing more damage to others in the future.

  Her sudden awareness of Sergei as a man…an attractive, virile, and powerful man…well, that was just something she was going to ignore. She had absolutely no interest in any man, much less someone as powerful as Sergei Anistrov. This marriage was about revenge. Pure, unadulterated revenge for what her father had done to her and to her mother. Well, and to Sergei’s parents.

  “It will work. And if it doesn’t, then I will find another way to destroy him.”

  “With my help,” she asserted, not wanting to be left out of the plan.

  He smiled slightly, then nodded. “Yes. With your help.”

  With that, she released the breath she’d been holding and nodded. “Let’s get married then,” she smiled and turned away from him. The warm hand at the small of her back startled her and she looked up at him. He was so tall and masculine, for a moment, she forgot what they were doing.

  But the door opening and an effusive man greeting her reminded Katia that she was here for one reason. Marriage. Putting her father where he belonged, in prison.

  She almost laughed as she stood beside Sergei, contemplating her motives for saying vows that most people meant sincerely. Both of her hands were in Sergei’s, his long fingers gently squeezing hers as he repeated the words that would bind her to him. When she repeated the vows, something inside of her cringed. This wasn’t how she’d dreamed her wedding would be, in a judge’s chambers, with strangers as witnesses. It was a bit too antiseptic, too clinical for any woman to dream about marrying in this way.

  Less than fifteen minutes later, the judge smiled at her in an avuncular manner and nodded. “You may kiss the bride,” he announced, winking at Katia.

  Kiss?! Her eyes flashed up to his and she saw the light there. Kissing hadn’t been on the agenda! No! No kissing! Perhaps she hadn’t thought through this whole plan completely!

  He must have felt her pull away because the corners of his mouth curled upwards. But did he relent? Oh, no! Mercilessly, he pulled her closer, his hands shifting from her fingers to her waist and…

  Wow! The moment his warm lips touched hers, she was lost. The judge, the cold, impersonal office, the witnesses brought in from other desks…they all disappeared. Nothing crossed her mind but this man’s mouth moving over hers and the heat, the surge of lust that hit her with an intensity that would have knocked her backwards if not for Sergei’s strong hands around her waist.

  And then it was over. He lifted his head, staring down at her for a long moment. As he looked at her, Katia felt her heart pound in her chest, trying to make sense of her reaction to this man and his kiss. Unfortunately, everything was blurred, mixed up. She didn’t understand why she wanted to press her whole body against his and feel him, to know him in ways she’d never allowed herself to even contemplate.

  “Are you ready for this next part?”

  His words and his deep voice shocked her enough to pull her out of the surprise caused by his kiss. Pulling back, she nodded her head, trying to be as cool and composed as he appeared to be. “Yes. Did your staff leak news of our wedding to the press?”

  He nodded. “From what I understand, there’s quite a mob outside right now.”

  She smiled, thinking about her father’s anger when he learned of her wedding. “But they don’t know that I’m your wife, right? They don’t know my identity?”

  He smiled, nodding his head. “No. The press was only informed that I was secretly getting married. They have no clue about your identity.”

  She chuckled, relieved to think about something other than that kiss. “Good. I don’t want to put you in danger on your wedding day.”

  He laughed right along with her. “Worried about your father shooting me as soon as we walk out of the building?”

  “Yes,” she agreed without hesitation. “My father isn’t a man to hesitate when he feels threatened. If what you’re saying about my father giving my mother control of his companies is true, and now you through this wedding, you are most definitely in danger.”

  He pulled his arm from around her waist and took her hands once more. “All the more reason to act swiftly,” he pointed out. “And give him a show that he can’t ignore.”

  Katia nodded her agreement, determined to do her part in this game that would hopefully destroy a very horrible monster. “You have the papers?”

  “Yes.” Turning to the judge, the two men shook hands. “Is everything in order?”

  “Absolutely, Mr. Antoniv. Exactly as you requested. I will personally ensure that the marriage certificate is filed with the courts immediately after everything is signed.”

  “And new wills?”

  He nodded again, placing his hand on two legal sized documents laid out on the polished desk. Both were very thick and Katia swallowed, thinking about what she was about to do.

  “This one is for you,” the judge explained to Katia. “It transfers all of your worldly assets to your husband in the event of your death.” He laid his hand on the other file. “And this one transfers all of your worldly assets to your wife in the event of yours,” he continued to Sergei. “If both of you pass away, then all of your assets are immediately transferred to your children with the guardian you named, Sergei. If no children are born to the two of you, then the assets are allocated to the various charities that you listed.” He looked at both of them. “I worked with several top legal advisors in creating these documents. All of them agree that these are legally binding without any loopholes Sosta Valissi might use to regain control of his…now your…companies.”

  “Excellent,” Sergei replied, skimming both documents. “These look good.” He took a pen and signed both the marriage certificate and the legal documents, then handed the pen to Katia. The marriage certificate was easy enough, although seeing her name next to Sergei’s was strange. She might be married to the man, but he was still a stranger. She’d like to think of him as a kind stranger, but she didn’t know him well enough to say that. Not to mention, there’d been a look in his eyes several times that cautioned her against thinking of him as a kind man. She doubted he was very kind. Not after having dealt with her father for so many years.

  When the judge pushed the will closer, she tried to skim through the words, but there was so much legalese, she had no idea what was in it. She’d simply have to trust these strangers and hope that she hadn’t just signed her life away.

  And even if she had, Katia reminded herself that she didn’t have much of a life right now. So even if Sergei was a bad person and stole everything, she wouldn’t be much worse off than she was before he’d walked into her coffee shop.

  So she signed the documents, being careful to sign her signature clearly so there was no possibility of anyone mistaking her signature for someone else’s or a forgery.

  Laying the pen down on the document, she breathed deeply as she stood once again. Looking around at the grim faces of everyone in the room, s
he had to laugh. “This is the beginning,” she said to the room filled with people. “Not an ending.”

  Sergei took her hand and squeezed her fingers. “I’ll protect you,” he promised.

  She looked up at him and that cold lump that had formed in her chest after the news of her mother’s passing…it warmed ever so slightly with his vow. “I know you’ll try,” she smiled. “Thank you. And I’ll protect you as well.”

  Sergei looked down at the woman who seemed to have accepted her death at the hands of her evil father. But those soft, brown eyes and the chestnut brown hair…she was too soft. Too sweet and caring. He’d seen the way she’d laughed with her friends a few days ago. She cared too much.

  He would protect her though. Taking her hand, he led her out of the judge’s office. Even her skin was soft, he realized. And when she looked up at him with those trusting, brown eyes, he wanted to be the man she saw. He wanted to be better. Kinder. Nicer.

  He was none of those things. His life had killed the kindness from him. But he would learn again. Just for Katia. Apparently, she’d experienced even more pain in her life. For some reason, he wanted to ease that pain, to give her a small bit of happiness.

  No, not a small bit. He wanted to overwhelm her with happiness. He wanted to see her smile every moment of her life. He wanted….

  Impossible dreams, he reminded himself even as he pulled her closer, wrapping his fingers around the soft curve of her waist. His first priority had to be to eliminate the threat that was her father. Once that was done, then they could divorce and he would ensure that she never worried about anything again. Maybe he could even find a good husband for her.

  Okay, why did the thought of any other man touching Katia make him want to punch something? That was a ridiculous feeling and he pushed it out of his mind. He wasn’t the possessive kind. Never had been. He’d learned long ago not to feel anything towards anything or anyone.