by Liz K. Lorde
But there is another note there, below the anxiety. Believe me, I know hatred when I hear it.
Maybe she’s on my side.
I collect myself. If I can stay cool and collected with Russian gangsters, I can stay cool and collected with a harmless maid.
“It is Yuri, ma’am. Just dragging this guy off to bed. He had a little too much to drink with the boys, if you know what I mean.” I raise one eyebrow and shake my head. “Probably just excited about his marriage tomorrow. You know what these guys are like.”
“Oh, yes,” she says, eyes narrowing, “I know exactly what these guys are like.”
She looks around, as if making sure the coast is clear.
“I’m sorry,” she says, looking up at me with defiant eyes. “I have to do this.”
She has to do what? Am I going to be found out? Is she going to give me away?
The moment is tense and endless. Her eyes are creasing with intense concentration. She stares down at Yuri for an eternity.
She then clears her throat and spits on him.
I’m shocked and delighted.
I’m also curious.
I bite back the urge to laugh. I remain impassive. I have to stay focused.
“I had to do it,” she repeats.
She is still defiant but seems frightened now as well.
I want to comfort her, tell her I hate this man, too. But I won’t give the game away. There’s too much at stake.
I settle for nodding soberly. “I’m sure you did. It’s not my business.”
“If you tell…” she begins.
I put a hand up, shifting all of Yuri’s dead weight to one of my arms. “I promise I won’t tell. You have your reasons.”
I am well-trained at calming people quickly and easily. And she seems placated.
Good. I’m eager to dispose of this disgusting man, find Nico, and consolidate our plan.
The maid turns on her heel, as if to leave.
She second-guesses herself and turns around again. “I mean it. You can’t tell on me.”
There is almost a hint of pleading in her voice. I’m intrigued, but I need her to leave, and quickly.
“I won’t tell, I swear,” I say, in my most practiced comforting voice.
I cross my heart for emphasis. I will for her to leave.
The maid flashes me a quick smile of gratitude.
This could come in handy later, I think to myself.
I know how to work gratitude.
Then she scurries off, leaving as suddenly as she arrived.
It is no effort to drag Yuri into his room.
I hate the tasteless decorations.
I shudder at the thought of my baby wasting away in here amongst all the tacky velvet. That can’t happen. That won’t happen.
The bastard Yuri falls into his bed like a lead-weight, and it takes all my self-control to stop myself from killing him now. It’s not time yet.
It’s time to find Nico.
Nico is—predictably—skulking outside in the rain under a tree, smoking a cigarette when I track him down.
Nicotine curls from his lips and dances through the raindrops.
I try to sneak up on him, but he always knows when I’m coming. He senses I am nervous, too; he can read me in a heartbeat.
“Fratello,” he claps me on the shoulder, looking into my eyes. “I got you. This is going to be fine.”
Oh, god, I hope he’s right.
I pull myself together for what feels like the hundredth time today.
“Is everything in order?” I ask, trying to reflect some of his calm, but completely unable to keep Ana’s worried eyes out of my mind—barely able to keep Ana’s body out of my mind.
Nico interrupts my reverie.
“Yes, Caspian,” he says. “Everything is in order. You and I will be inconspicuous waiters tomorrow. Our guys will be waiting when you need them. Just got off the phone. You’re good. We’re good. “He squeezes my arm. “We’re good, Cas. She’s yours for real this time.”
“I hope so, Nico,” I say. I can’t help but feel a tinge of worry creeping into my voice.
“Don’t hope, Cas,” he says, serious now. “We’re not men of hope. We’re men of action.”
His eyes are firm on mine. I am so grateful for Nico in this moment.
I exhale slowly, and my eyes wander over the facade of the building.
From our vantage point outside, you can see right up into Ana’s window—into her prison. I can just make her out.
She has her night dress on now and a little kimono dressing-gown. She’s always been so stylish. She is looking straight out into the night wistfully.
No, I think to myself, I will never stop aching for her.
For the millionth time today, I tell myself: This plan has to work.
For the billionth time in the last three years, I promise in my mind: I’ll rescue you soon, baby.
Chapter 32
Ana
I stare hypnotically into the mirror, watching as if from afar.
The woman in the reflection looks calmly back at me, suffering silently as she’s primped and prodded by the hands of strangers.
The hair dresser, who tells me her name is Debbie, tugs roughly at my blonde hair, brushing and styling quickly, as if I’m not attached to the other end.
My hands lay still on the vanity before me, the woman who did my nails barking in my direction every time I try to move them.
“It’s not dry,” she reminds me for the umpteenth time, shooting me a scolding look as I reach to grab my water.
I don’t respond. Instead, I gaze back into the mirror, watching the events unfold as if they’re happening to someone else.
In a way, I suppose they are.
After all, I’m not Yuri’s bride. I’m not the woman who will cower at his side for the rest of eternity.
I’m someone else entirely. A person that these women have never truly met.
That thought comforts me, allowing me to remain calm despite what I’m facing.
Cas is coming for me.
Soon, everyone who has threatened us, tormented us these past several years will be dead or running for the hills.
I smile slightly at the thought.
Without thinking, my hand trails to my stomach, rubbing gently through my gown.
I ignore the irritation the manicurist throws my way, pretending as if I didn’t even notice.
My mother appears behind me, watching intently as I am transformed into the ideal bride. Occasionally, she corrects one of the many people waiting on me, rejecting a shade of lipstick or crooning over my earrings.
Irina Rachmanoff, the bane of bad hairdressers the world over.
Each time she utters a new complaint, every woman in the room seems to cringe. I don’t blame them. Being her daughter, I can personally attest to her fearsomeness.
Mostly, though, she just watches me silently, an odd, wistful look in her eyes that I don’t recognize.
I brush it off. Frankly, people have been giving me strange looks all day. I know why, of course. My behavior since I woke up this morning is not what anyone expected.
I’ve felt assessing eyes on me all day—their stares cautious—as if I might snap at any moment. I don’t blame them for thinking so. If I was, in fact, marrying Yuri today, I’d likely have jumped out the window by now.
Thankfully, that’s one plunge I won’t have to take.
With a nod of finality, my hairdresser finally relents.
“Perfect,” she announces, backing slowly away as if in appreciation.
“Thank you,” I murmur, reaching up to twist a recently styled lock.
My hair has been curled, pinned, and hair-sprayed to the point that it’s almost unrecognizable.
I hate it, but keep the judgment to myself.
After all, it’s not as if it’s my wedding day.
“You look beautiful,” my mother chimes in, stirring me from my thoughts.
“Do I?”
I can only bring myself to nod, not trusting what might fly from my lips if I comment on the statement.
“You seem better,” she chimes, pulling up a chair to sit at my side.
I shrug nonchalantly. “I’m just trying not to think about it.”
She purses her lips, staring off for a moment with that odd expression heavy in her eyes.
“It’s not as bad as you think,” she finally says, “I know that things seem dire right now, but you’ll have the rest of your life to learn to love Yuri. He’ll be a very powerful man, Ana, even more so than now. You’ll see, there are advantages to being married to someone like him.”
I physically bite my tongue to keep my retort in, knowing there’s no use to speak honestly to someone who’s so willingly deluded.
I reach for my water instead, downing half a glass in an attempt to buy time.
“Sure, mother,” I answer finally.
She looks me up and down, her mouth opening slightly as if she has more to say. With a small shake of her head, she closes it, a tired smile pulling at her lips as she stands.
“Alright then, dear, I’m just going to finish getting ready.”
“Okay, mother.”
She starts for the door, turning back as her hand grabs the handle.
“You really do look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
I watch her leave, my heart aching slightly in my chest.
Part of me wishes that she had seen me during my real wedding day. That she had sat with me and talked about Cas before I walked down the aisle.
I sigh. Some things just aren’t meant to be.
My parents have made their choices. Both deciding to put the family business ahead of everything, even their actual family.
They have to live with those decisions, as I do mine.
And I have chosen Cas.
I turn back to the mirror as the door shuts, taking a final look at myself.
With a nod at my own reflection, I stand, willing myself to be strong enough to get this over with.
A tap at the door pulls my attention. Turning, I walk towards it.
“Who is…”
The door opens quickly, narrowly missing my face as it swings inward.
“Hello, darling,” Yuri purrs, his voice near painful to my ears.
“Yuri,” I answer simply, turning back towards my changing room.
He staggers slightly as he follows me, his hand reaching up to rub gently at an obvious bump on his head.
I bite my lip to keep from laughing, knowing all too well how he got the bump.
“You’ll have to excuse my tardiness, celebrated too hard last night,” he says, smiling lecherously at me.
“Isn’t it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?” I sneer, looking pointedly at the door.
He laughs, making that awful, grating sound. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand in protest.
“I don’t think we’ll be having any bad luck today, Ana,” he answers, his words sounding like a threat.
I ignore him, fiddling idly the contents of my vanity.
He slowly walks over, staring me down in the mirror when I refuse to turn.
“Is there something else?” I ask.
His lips pull back into a feral smile.
“Does a man need a reason to see his wife?”
“I’m not your wife, Yuri. Not yet anyway.”
He waves a hand dismissively.
“All that’s left now is the paperwork, my dear. You’re as good as mine.”
He reaches toward me, his fingers managing to graze my ass slightly before I manage to pull away.
He doesn’t act surprised. Instead, he simply laugh at my response.
“I know, not till the wedding night, right? I mean, I don’t see how it matters anymore, since you went and played the whore for an Andreas, but I can wait a few more hours. When you’re with me, you’ll feel like a virgin anyway.”
He leans in close at the last few words, winking suggestively.
I grind my teeth, my hands bunching into fists at my side.
“Leave, Yuri,” I say, my voice a near growl.
He puts his hands up in mock surrender.
“Don’t get feisty, Ana. I just thought you’d want to know what you’re in for.”
The smug grin on his face makes me feel nauseous and make my stomach churn uncontrollably.
I stare daggers at him, willing myself to remain calm.
“Well, I guess I should be going,” he finally says, turning away. I breathe a sigh of relief as he reaches the door, pulling it open.
“Oh, and Ana?” he says, pausing to look back at me.
“Yes?”
“I expect this wedding to proceed without a hitch,” he says, reaching towards his jacket. He casually pulls at his lapel, lifting the fabric to reveal the gun holstered at his hip. “Are we clear?”
Anxiety floods through me, my eyes glued nervously the weapon.
I nod, trying not to look worried.
“Good.”
He turns away, pulling the door shut as he exits the room.
My heart beats hard in my chest, fear seeming to engulf me.
My certainty wavers as my hands shake at my sides.
Oh, Cas.
What have we gotten ourselves into?
Chapter 33
Cas
I’m waiting for Ana in a small room adjacent to the main hall.
Ana doesn’t notice me when she enters the room, which gives me plenty of time to marvel at just how beautiful she is.
Her new wedding dress is simpler than the previous crystal-embedded one her family had forced her into before. The bodice is strapless and fitted at the waist, whilst the skirt tumbles in ripples of feather-light fabric to the floor. Her ice-blond hair has been artfully pinned up in a deceptively simple style to match the dress.
Ana looks perfect…but it’s all for another man.
“Mrs. Andreas, fancy meeting you here,” I say aloud, simultaneously announcing my presence and scaring the life out of Ana as I do so.
She holds a hand up to her mouth to stifle a giggle of relief when she sees me walk out of the shadows.
“You almost gave me a heart attack, Cas!”
I take her in my arms and kiss the top of her head.
“About time you had some near-death experiences, too,” I joke.
Ana makes a noise of indignation at my remark, but I smother it under my mouth.
“I wish you didn’t have to go out there,” I murmur as we begin to slowly dance on the spot, wrapped in each other’s arms.
“You know I feel the same way, Cas. But we have to do this. I have to do this. Otherwise—”
“I know, I know,” I interrupt. “Doesn’t mean I like it. None of them deserve to see you as beautiful as this.”
Ana breaks away from my arms slightly to gaze up at me, her eyes full of love and desire.
“Do you think you can be quiet, Cas? I’ve just thought of the ultimate way to spite Yuri,” she says, a malicious smirk on her face.
Her hands are on the buttons of my pants. I think I get the idea—and it’s one that my rapidly stiffening cock wholeheartedly agrees with.
“I’m making no promises,” I reply, stifling a gasp as Ana takes the tip of me in her mouth and nibbles on it playfully.
I resist the urge to run my fingers through her hair; it would ruin her up-do, after all…which only makes me want to do it all the more. I resort to placing a hand on the back of Ana’s head instead, as she takes in more and more of me in her mouth with every stroke of her irresistible tongue.
Ana kneels on the floor to get a better position, but I—regretfully—pull her head away from my cock so that she looks at me, instead.
“You’ll dirty your dress if you kneel on the floor, Ana,” I whisper.
Outside the door, we can both hear the unmistaka
ble sound of footsteps and inane chatter as the church begins to fill up.
Ana glances over to a low pew-style bench set below a stained glass window; I take the hint and walk over there with her. She sits on the pew and has her hot wet lips back on my cock immediately, sucking on me with an urgency that threatens that I’ll come far too quickly.
“Ana…Ana,” I groan. “Slow down, unless you’re wanting my cum all over your face.”
She gives me a look, a wicked gleam in her eyes, as she takes a break from the blow job just long enough to reply.
“I was thinking more along the lines of you doing it in my mouth. You know, for Yuri.”
I smother a laugh as she returns her mouth to its rightful place, bringing in her delicate little hands to help out. My dick is too big for her to take it all in.
I find myself thrusting against Ana’s mouth, my hips picking up the pace as I hold on to Ana’s head and the window frame for support.
I can’t believe this woman is my wife. I get to fuck the mouth of the most perfect woman in the world for the rest of my life.
A burning, twisting sensation in my groin tells me I’m about five seconds away from exploding into Ana’s throat, so I buck faster into her face to warn her.
She manages to take my entire length in her mouth just as I stifle an ecstatic groan and come hard.
Ana looks up at me with a satisfied smirk; she visibly swallows before licking the end of my cock with the tip of her tongue. It’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
“Wouldn’t want to miss any,” she says coyly.
I have her up on the windowsill so quickly that she inadvertently lets out a noise of surprise. We both pause for one unbearably long second to ensure that nobody heard her.
Thankfully, the sounds of people still entering the church clearly covered the noise, so I grin up at Ana before pushing the skirt of her dress up.
I nibble on the inside of her thigh, beside her garter belt, on my way up to her pussy. I can feel the heat from it through her white silk panties even a foot away. I lick the outside of the material on top of her clit, causing Ana to moan against her hand.
“If I can be quiet, then so can you, cuore mio,” I remark teasingly.
She gives me a look that suggests I’ll pay for such a remark, so I respond by promptly tearing her panties away with my teeth and getting straight to work.