“What do you want?” I snap, thrusting the papers back into his hands.
“Now that’s the ultimate question, isn’t it?” He moves closer to me, forcing me to keep backing away until I hit into the wall. “I want to own you, Natalya.” He gestures to the paper in his hands. “And I’d say that this is the price, wouldn’t you?”
My brow furrows. “Own me?” I ask, wondering what he’s on about.
“Yes, you’ll be my pet for one year, bonita.” He grabs hold of my chin and forces it upward, so I look him in the eye. “One year for me to do whatever the fuck I want to do to you, and you won’t breathe a word against it.” He moves his lips to within an inch of mine, his hot breath falling on my face. “You’ll submit to my demands and do everything I fucking say if you want to ensure Lebedev doesn’t find out who your family really are.”
A shudder races down my spine. “What exactly do you intend to do to me?” I ask, hating the way my voice shakes.
His smirk widens, and he brings his other hand up to cup my breasts through my blouse, making hate coil through me. “Whatever the fuck I want. Tell me, Gurin, are you a virgin?”
Heat floods my entire body as I try not to look him in the eye, shocked at the turn this conversation has taken. “That’s none of your business.”
“It’s my business if I say it is, or do you want me to direct Lebedev straight to your beloved brother’s doorstep?” he asks.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Don’t.”
He chuckles, the sound so callous it grates on my nerves. “That’s what I thought, now are you a virgin or not?” He forces my face up again. “I want to know if I’m dealing with damaged goods.”
I glare at him, acrid hate coiling through my blood and infecting my veins. “Yes, I’m a virgin.”
His shoulders relax, and the tension in his expression vanishes. It’s as if he’s relieved to hear that, which makes little sense.
Why would he care if I’ve been fucked before or not?
“Perfect.” He presses his lips to the side of my face and licks at it like a fucking dog. “Because I’m going to claim it this year. It’s mine to take when I want. Do you understand?”
My gut twists with nausea as I pull back and stare dumbfounded at the boy who has tortured me since I was twelve years old. “No. I’d rather die than let you take that part of me.”
His nostrils flare. “I’m sure that can be arranged, along with your mom, sister, and brother.” His eyes narrow. “I wonder if Grigory Lebedev would spare his own daughter after all these years? Or perhaps he’ll be angry that the man who ‘kidnapped’ her, as your grandfather claims, died ten years ago, and she still hasn’t reached out to him.” He drums his fingers on his chin. “Not to mention, she’s living so close to your grandfather as well, over in Russia.”
If he thinks I’m worried about what happens to my mom, he’s wrong. She’s never been there for me. A coward who couldn’t face living in a country that was now home and looking after her children without her husband. Although it’s not like I want her to come to any harm. My brother, Mikhail, is a different story entirely. I know what it would mean for him if our grandfather on my mother’s side learned the truth.
“How do you know all this?” I ask.
He moves his hands to my hips, grabbing them in a tight, possessive grip. “Because, Gurin. I know everything about you.” He yanks me hard against him and then spins me around so I’m pressed face first against the wall. “I know everything, which means you’ll give me your innocence without complaint when I demand it or everything daddy worked for will be gone.”
I shiver as his hard body presses against mine, his chest molded to my back. Sickness, shame and desire morph into one as I feel the hard press of his arousal against my ass.
“Do you feel what you do to me, Gurin?” he asks, reaching a hand around the front of my blouse and sliding it up to grip my throat firmly. “Arch that pretty back and grind that firm ass on my dick,” he orders.
I swallow hard, hating the way my knees shake with anticipation. And yet, my desire to protect my family forces me to do as he says, as I arch my back further and roll my hips, hoping I’m doing it right. It’s embarrassing how inexperienced I am with guys, but I sense I have Elias to thank for that. Before he arrived here, all the boys were constantly chasing after me, but that all came to a halt the moment those ice-cold, calculating eyes met mine and he made a clearly unfounded decision to ruin me.
A part of me is thankful, as my so-called friends Jeanie Doyle, Anita Henderson and Kerry Garcia, were never truly my friends. They were false and only cared about appearances and still do to this day.
I can’t deny that if it weren’t for Elias knocking me off my pedestal, I never would have been friends with the three most amazing girls at this school, Camilla Morrone, Giorgia Damato, and Adrianna Vasquez.
Elias grabs a fistful of my hair, groaning against my ear. “That’s it, Gurin, just like that,” he breathes, his deep, velvety voice almost alluring if it weren’t for the fact he’s literally blackmailing me right now. “I bet your tight virgin cunt is dripping wet right now.”
“No chance,” I say.
“Hmm, I wonder if you’re a liar,” he murmurs, his hand inching up the skirt of my dress. “I think I’ll find out.”
I kick out, trying to get away from him. “Let go of me.”
“No, because you know the deal, Natalya.” His hand continues to move up my bare thigh until his fingers skirt the edge of my panties. “Do as I say, or lose everything.”
I grit my teeth, as doing anything this man says goes against every fiber of my being. He doesn’t have the right to touch me and yet I’m backed into a corner with no escape. I can’t let him destroy the one thing I care about most in this world: my brother and our family’s legacy.