The theater lights dim, a spotlight falls onto the stage, and the movie’s director emerges. He gives a speech, thanking everyone for attending the premiere and being involved in the movie. I only half-listen to his words, the pot making me feel pleasantly hazy. The actors are next, starting with Risha, who has the main role. I clap enthusiastically for her, and then I zone out again as the other actors give their speeches, thanking the director, the executive producer, all the other producers, the special effects crew, the costume design team, and so on.
Finally, it’s time for the movie itself. The theater goes completely dark for a moment, and as the massive screen on the stage lights up with the opening credits, a tall, broad-shouldered man enters my row and takes the empty seat next to me. I glance at him, more out of courtesy than any real curiosity—only to stiffen in shock and disbelief.
Sitting next to me, staring at me impassively, is none other than Alexei Leonov, my former intended and current stalker.
The monster who I thought—hoped—no longer wanted me.
Chapter17
Present Day, Location Unknown
“Lunch is ready,” Larson’s voice announces from behind Alexei, and I breathe a sigh of relief as my captor steps back, freeing me once more.
The floor pitches underneath us as we head to the table, which is now set with all manner of delicacies. The wind is blowing hard in my face and the waves are intensifying, the sky rapidly darkening. I almost stumble as the yacht tips sharply, but Alexei steadies me by gripping my shoulders, his hands strong and warm. Keeping his hold on me, he leads me to the table, where he pulls out a chair for me before taking a seat himself. As he drapes a cloth napkin over his lap, he glances up at the sky and says, “We’d better eat fast. It looks like the storm is going to reach us soon.”
Larson nods, uncorking a bottle of champagne. “It’ll pass quickly but could get rough for a bit. Might be best to head inside after you’re done here.”
Great. Rough seas. Just what I need. On the plus side, despite the growing waves, my seasickness is abating. Whatever drug Alexei used to knock me out must be clearing out of my system—that or I’m finding my sea legs.
Larson moves to pour the champagne into the crystal flute in front of me, but I stop him by covering the glass with my hand. “None for me, thanks.” I meet Alexei’s gaze across the table. “I have nothing to celebrate.”
Alexei doesn’t reply, but the corners of his mouth pinch in. Sensing the rising tension, Larson quickly fills Alexei’s glass, places the bottle into a bucket of ice on the far edge of the table, and tactfully disappears.
I take a calming breath and reach for the plate of caviar sandwiches, one of the many traditional Russian dishes on the table. Antagonizing Alexei probably isn’t the best idea, but I can’t help it. Each minute we spend together winds me tighter, reminding me of things I’ve been trying to forget… like the way he shadowed my life for years upon years before finally making his move.
The way he controlled me, mind and body, long before I was his actual captive.
Chapter18
3 Years and 4 Months Earlier, New York City
For a few heartbeats, I simply stare at him, at the hard features of his face illuminated by the flickering light of the screen. The movie has started, the haunting music from the opening scene enveloping me with its unnerving beauty. Finally, I force my lips to move. “What are you doing here?”
My words are barely audible, but he understands. His eyes gleam in the darkness as a mocking curve appears on his lips. “Attending the premiere of the film, same as you. My company provided the majority of the funding, after all.”
Lion Holdings. Leonov.Of course.
I open my mouth, only to close it. Maybe it’s the pot muddling my thoughts, but I can’t think of a single response that wouldn’t sound moronic. The obvious question is why he’d fund my friend’s movie, but I already know the answer.
It’s part of his revenge scheme, this elaborate, ongoing punishment he’s devised for me. It wasn’t enough for him to have his henchmen stalk me from a distance and off any man who tried to get close to me. Oh, no. That was too merciful, so he’s invaded my life in this new, even more disturbing way.
He doesn’t wait for my reply. Turning away, he settles back in his seat and fixes his gaze on the screen, as if he’s actually here for the movie and not to drive me mad.
I’m so stunned I keep staring at him, taking in his strong profile and the way his dark hair has gotten longer in the front, how his tux hugs his powerful shoulders and the way he takes up the entirety of his seat and then some, commanding every inch of the space around him. Belatedly, I become cognizant of the way my heart thuds loudly against my ribcage and how my lungs fight for air with stiff, shallow breaths, so I tear my gaze away and fix it unseeingly on the screen as I try to think past the shock and make sense of what’s happening.
Alexei Leonov has funded Risha’s movie, and now he’s here, sitting next to me. Does that mean he’s decided he wants me again? Or has he never stopped wanting me and has just been biding his time?
What does it mean that he’s stayed away for three-plus years, and now he’s less than a foot away from me?
I want to get up and run, to escape to the safety of my apartment, but there’s no way I’d be able to explain my sudden departure to Risha. Or to Giles, who’s flown all the way from California to attend our friend’s big US premiere. Or to Natasha, who’s currently sleeping off her jet lag in my bed and will ask all sorts of probing questions if I return home three hours early.
Besides, I don’t want to give Alexei the satisfaction of knowing how deeply he’s unsettled me. Let him think I’m as unbothered by his presence as he seems to be by mine. After all, I’m a Molotov, and we’ve survived everything from Mongol invasions to the Communist regime. What’s a two-hour movie next to your enemy in comparison?
Pulling in a deep breath, I attempt to focus on the drama unfolding on the screen, but it’s futile. The air I inhale brings with it a faint whiff of his cologne, and though we’re too far apart for me to feel the warmth of his body, I’m aware of him on that primitive, purely animal level, his proximity making my nerves vibrate like guitar strings. Worse yet, I can feel the treacherous heat gathering under my skin, speeding my heart rate and soaking my silk thong. That carnal, sexual part of me that I’ve been all too happy to ignore in recent years has reawakened, and no matter how hard I try to focus on the movie, all I can think about is him. His hands. His body.
The way he made me feel on my eighteenth birthday, back when I was still mostly whole.
A shudder ripples over my skin as the memories threaten to invade my mind, and I focus my gaze on Alexei again, choosing the lesser evil. He turns his head in that moment as well, and our eyes meet, the flickering light from the big screen alternately highlighting and hiding the stark lines of his face, the dangerous gleam in his black-diamond eyes. My breath shallows out again, my lungs battling to pull in enough oxygen, and I feel dizzy from the heat burning inside me… from the intensity of the need that makes my core pulse with an empty ache.