“Oh. Well, let me just go get my sister.”
“That won’t be necessary.” He leans in closer to me, and I sway back slightly. “What I want to talk about is between you and me.”
“What?”
He grabs a gun from his jacket and points it at my head. “You and me—we’re going to get married.”
I’m frozen. Sofiya told me to stay away from Boris, but I never thought he’d try something like this.
The sad part is, all I can think about is that Boris is nothing like the prince charming of my dreams. The image of my prince charming is already shrinking as I stare down the barrel of Boris’s gun.
SOFIYA
Mikhail takes us to a private airstrip where a private jet is waiting to take me to Russia.
“That’s a large plane,” I say. I feel dumb, but Mikhail seems pleased. He gets out of the car and comes around my side to open my door. He offers me his hand.
Mikhail guides me onto the plane, which is decorated in creams and browns. It’s only us two, a flight attendant, and the pilot. “This is Elizabeth,” he tells me, nodding at the flight attendant. “And the pilot is Thomas.”
Before I can say hello, Mikhail walks me toward the back of the plane and into a seat. “More privacy back here.” He says it as if it’s a good thing, but I’m not sure I want more privacy. I’m a little worried Mikhail will try something with me once we’re alone.
But he doesn’t. In fact, he picks up a book on the seat next to him and starts reading. We’re across from each other. Our knees slightly touch. I keep trying to angle away from him, but every time I do, he finds a way to make our legs touch again. I have nothing to do to pass the time, and Mikhail seems intent on ignoring me.
I look outside as the plane takes off, and then we’re in the air, leaving New York behind. I keep my eyes on the tiny scraps of New York until I can’t see it at all anymore. It’s just the night sky and stars.
“I need to use the restroom,” I whisper to Mikhail. I have no idea why I’m whispering. We’re the only two people on the plane.
He nods without looking up from his book.
The moment I’m alone in the tiny restroom, I feel like I can breathe again. How am I going to get out of this? Everything feels so out of my control. Mikhail wants me, so I’m his now. I never got any say.
And now that I’m heading to Russia, I’ll have even less say.
I step out of the restroom and bump into Elizabeth. “Sorry,” I say.
“It’s all right.” She looks me up and down and sniffs. “You’re pretty.”
“Uh, thank you.”
I notice Elizabeth is young—probably not that much older than me—with light blonde hair and green eyes. She’s pretty, too, and I’m not sure how I feel knowing Mikhail has a pretty flight attendant on his private jet.
“Mikhail likes to take young, pretty women with him on his plane.”
I stand up straighter. “What?” I glance down the aisle toward him. He’s too far away to hear us.
“You’re not the first. And you won’t be the last.”
“I don’t understand.”
Elizabeth smiles sweetly. “You can play innocent all you want. Usually, he brings multiple women for orgies. I’m usually included. But this time, it’s just you. How interesting.”
I can tell her sweetness is completely fake. “He has orgies?” I whisper.
“God, I can’t tell if you’re really that innocent or just playing at it. But yes, a grown man like Mikhail likes to fuck. He’s fucked all over this plane. I wonder why he’s not doing it now.”
I feel hot. Too hot. And not in a good way. “He’s … had sex with you?”
“Plenty of times. He pays well, and he’s good in bed. And I get to travel the world. What could be better?”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“This is how I talk with all the women who come on here. Usually, they brag about Mikhail to me. But you’re … different.”
“Different good or different bad?”
Elizabeth shrugs. “Just different.”
I clear my throat. “I should be getting back to my seat.”
“Of course.”
I hurry away from her and sit back down, not looking at Mikhail as I do it. I’m on his sex plane. I don’t know how to feel about that. There’s no reason for me to be jealous. Mikhail isn’t my husband yet, and besides, I don’t even really want to be with him.
At least … I don’t think I want to be with him. My body keeps reacting to him. I’m not sure what that’s about.
And why isn’t Mikhail pressuring me into having sex? I’m grateful he’s not, but if this is his sex plane, then why isn’t he pushing for sex? Why am I different?
“You talked with Elizabeth,” he says, startling me. When I look at him, I see he’s still reading his book. He casually flips a page.
