“And we never got to have our wedding,” he says. “I’ve come to get you back, Mila. You belong to me.”

“She does not belong to you,” Vik says, coming to stand beside me.

Boris’s lips turn into a straight line when he turns to Vik. “Ah. Viktoriya. Looking beautiful as always. How is your ankle? Hurts much?”

She covers her cast with her dress. “You will leave my sister alone.” Vik takes my arm and starts to drag me away, but Boris calls out, “Mila and I will be married!”

“You are not marrying him,” Vik says.

“But how? Boris is here. And Mikhail is making us leave. I’ll have no choice.”

“We’ll figure something out.” I want to believe Vik, but she’s let me down too many times. My eyes find Sofiya’s across the room, and she nods, her gaze telling me I’ll be ok.

She walks over to us and takes my hand in hers. “You’re going to be ok, Mila. You and Vik can stay.”

“Really?” I gasp and hug Sofiya tightly.

Vik crosses her arm, giving Sofiya a dubious look. “How did you get Mikhail to change his mind?”

Sofiya doesn’t answer. She only looks at me and smiles. “You will be ok, Mila. I’ve made sure of it.”

Even though I’m ecstatic I won’t have to marry Boris, I wonder what Sofiya gave up to convince Mikhail to let us stay. Because I might be innocent about a lot of things, but one thing is obvious—Mikhail is not a man who easily changes his mind. I can tell from Sofiya’s eyes she’s not telling me everything, and that worries me.

What has my sister done to protect me?

SOFIYA

For the rest of the evening, I stay by Mikhail’s side. He doesn’t take his hand off my back once, as if he’s already claiming me. I haven’t given Mikhail my virginity yet, but already, I’m fully his, and we both know it.

My eyes land on Irina, who’s chatting up a man. “Why is she here?”

Mikhail glances in Irina’s direction. “I invited her.”

“Why? I thought you were done with Irina?”

“I am. But I know the last party I threw didn’t go so well, so I wanted more women here. Only so many of my men are married. I thought Irina would be a welcome sight.”

“She’s not,” I blurt out.

He raises an eyebrow but doesn’t comment. After a moment, he draws me in closer to his body.

Boris fortunately leaves Mila alone after Vik stands guard in front of her, but then he sets his sights on me and walks over. “Mikhail, nice to see you again.” They shake hands.

“Is it, Boris?” Mikhail asks. “Because the last time we saw each other, you were kidnapping Sofiya, and I had to stop you.”

He waves a dismissive hand. “Semantics. That’s all in the past now. I have just come here to collect Mila and will be going back to New York.”

“You see, Boris, Mila and Viktoriya will be staying in Moscow for the time being. Here. With Sofiya and me. So, you will not be able to marry her, I’m afraid.”

Boris’s lips turn into a sneer until he smooths out his features. “Well, Mila and I can just get married here. If I’m not mistaken, you and Sofiya married in Moscow.”

“We did. But you are not marrying Mila, Boris.” Mikhail’s hand tenses on my waist. “Sofiya’s sisters are off-limits now.”

“But you can’t! I have a right to them. Denis Morozova himself gave me that right.”

Mikhail shrugs. “Well, Denis Morozova is dead.” I flinch at his blunt statement. My father is dead, and so is my mother, and I’m reminded of how much I miss her again. Would she have been able to protect me from everything? Even though my mother was an amazing woman, I doubt it. She was still a woman, after all.

“I have it in writing,” Boris argues.

Mikhail grabs Boris’s shoulder, and judging by his wince, Mikhail is gripping his shoulder tightly. “Writing doesn’t mean anything if the man who wrote it is dead. Sofiya is my wife, and so my protection extends to her sisters as well. Now, you can stay in Moscow if you want. I can’t force you to go. But you will not marry Mila or Viktoriya. Is that understood?”

I stare at my husband, drinking in his strong frame and handsome features. I know he’s only doing this because I agreed to his deal, but he’s still doing it, and that’s what matters. Mikhail will protect us. I trust he’ll keep to his word.

“Is that clear?” Mikhail asks.

Boris glares at him, not saying anything for a tense moment until he nods. “That is clear.”

“Wonderful.” Mikhail pats his shoulder. “Now, be off. I’m done talking with you.”

With a huff, Boris walks away.

“Thank you,” I say.

He doesn’t question why I’m saying it. He just knows. “You’re welcome.”

I wake up the next morning with the knowledge that soon, Mikahil will be taking my virginity in front of a group of people. He wants to do a dom/sub scene before we have sex. Am I ready for it? Not at all.

Am I going to do it? Absolutely.

The safety of my sisters means more to me than anything else. And if I’m being completely honest with myself—I want Mikhail to take me. His touch lights me on fire and consumes me. I want more.

Mikhail is already dressed when I sit up in bed. “Tonight, at eight, I will take you to the club.”

“The … BDSM club?” I whisper.

“Yes. This is not a punishment. Tonight will only be about pleasure. I want to show you more about that part of my life.” He cups my cheek and leans down to kiss my forehead. “Thank you for agreeing to this.”

His words fill me with pride.

“Now, I have work to attend to. Be ready at eight.”

“What should I wear?”

“I’ve picked out an outfit for you.”

After he leaves, I go into the closet and see what he chose. The sight of the dress almost makes me have a heart attack. The dress is light pink, which isn’t a problem. I’ve worn pink many times before. I know Mikhail likes me in it—he finds my innocence attractive.