17. Mikhail

I keep my distance the next day.

It's not hard. Viviana and Dante spend most of the day in the pool. I hear the splashing and Dante's excited shouting through the walls, but I stay in my office.

I told Viviana I'd give her time to consider my offer, and I meant it. I laid out her options and now, it's up to her to decide.

But also, the last thing I need right now is to see her dripping wet in a bathing suit.

The image of her bent over the edge of the bed, my hand curling perfectly around her ass, is enough of a distraction. Not to mention the low moan my spanking dragged out of her.

I readjust my aching dick and try to focus on the contracts in front of me. My lawyers have summarized everything I need to know about the Cerberus Industries takeover, but the words refuse to lodge in my brain. There"s already too much other shit lodged in there.

Like, I proposed to Viviana. And I have a son. Also, Trofim was murdered.

But mostly, I proposed to Viviana.

It makes sense. Logical. Undeniable. We already have a child and, no matter how much she might hate her father, Viviana is well-connected, by virtue of the blood in her veins if nothing else. There's a reason my father agreed to her marriage to Trofim in the first place. It's a good match.

So why do those words make me want to punch through walls?

Good match.Like Viviana is some pocket square I'm trying to accessorize with my tie.

It doesn't matter. The proposal wasn't about her anyway. It had absolutely nothing to do with how I was on my way to see Viviana for no reason at all last night when I found her trying to sneak away. It definitely has nothing to do with the way I wanted to rip through her panties to feel how wet she was for me.

No, this is about the Bratva and my son.

That's what I'm still telling myself hours later as someone knocks softly on my office door. A second later, it opens and Viviana lets herself in.

"Can we talk?"

Her hair is damp, twisted into a loose braid over one shoulder. She's changed out of the swimsuit she must have been wearing, but the long-sleeved shirt she tugged on clings to her damp skin. I can make out the pucker of her nipple through the pale pink material.

Talking is the last thing I want to do.

But I nod and wave her in.

Viviana closes my office door and then stops a few feet away from my desk, her hands folded behind her back. She trains her hazel eyes on me and declares, "I'm not going to have sex with you."

I'm tempted to glance down and see if there's any possible way she can see the hard-on I've been wrestling almost nonstop since last night. But I resist.

"I don't remember offering," I drawl.

Her cheeks flush, but she lifts her chin. "We aren't going to have sex, but you also can't have any mistresses. I don't want Dante to see his father treating his mother like she's worthless the way Anatoly did."

How does she know anything about Anatoly's mother? That question slips through the cracks of the much larger thought in my mind.

"You're accepting my offer."

"I'm making my desires known before I accept," she corrects, voice oddly formal.

"And do you have any other desires, Viviana?"

I don't miss the way her neck flushes to match her cheeks. Her teeth tug on her full lower lip. "I don't—I don't think so. I think that's it."

"Okay. Then I agree."

She frowns. "You do?"

She probably expected me to fight. To argue for my right to stick my dick in any woman I want. Little does Viviana know, that list is incredibly small. One name. The only woman who might tempt me to break my vow of celibacy is standing in front of me right now.

"I've already told you: I'm going to protect Dante. Marrying you and keeping you safe is a good thing for him. So, yes, I agree."

Her mouth falls open. It might be the first time I've ever seen her too stunned for words.

"Anything else?" I ask.

She shakes her head slowly. "No, I mean… I guess that was… You really don't mind not having sex? I thought that was going to be a sticking point for you."

"I can control myself if you can."

She ignores my insinuation and charges ahead. "And this is all for Dante? You're willing to do all of this for him?"

I nod.

"Why?"

I know what happens when I don't sacrifice everything for the safety of my family. I've lost one child; I won't lose another.

"Because he's my son," I say flatly. "And you're his mother. What other reasons do I need?"

Viviana studies me for a long time. I have the sense I'm being assessed for any signs of deception. Like she's strapped me to an invisible lie detector test and is reading my responses.

Our eyes catch and hold.

There's a physical weight to the tension between us. I have to fight against the force of it. If I don't, I'll end up across the room and between Viviana's legs.

Where I belong.

"Also, I'm going to continue working at Cerberus," she says in a rush.

"You want to be my assistant and my wife?"

She flips the end of her golden braid over her shoulder. "I earned that position on my own and I'm good at it. I don't want to give up everything in my life just to play house with you."

"You can be on the board of directors. No wife of mine is going to work as a?—"

"Then get another wife," she snaps.

I'm up and around the desk before I know it. Viviana's gaze doesn't waver, even as her throat bobs nervously and I crowd into her, pressing her back against the closed door. "You know, I could if I wanted," I breathe in her face. "It would be easy to replace you."

Technically speaking, I already have a fiancée on deck.

"If you wanted to," she admits with a nod. Her tongue sweeps across her lower lip slowly. I'm not even sure she knows what she's doing. If she does, she's too good at it. "But you don't want to replace me."

No. No, I don't.

But why the fuck not?

"Why should I care who takes my last name? It's not like I'll get any of the benefits out of you." I scrape my eyes down her curves to highlight exactly which benefits I'm talking about.

"Is that all marriage is to you? Sex?"

"Not this marriage. No, this marriage is business. And I can make this same arrangement with any woman I choose."

"How charming."

"It's just a fact," I tell her. "I could have any woman I wanted, but I'm vowing to give your son a father and an inheritance while also taking care of you. You won't get another offer like this."

She works her jaw back and forth as she thinks. Finally, she narrows her eyes. "I don't want to be on the board of directors. You're going to scare them all to death so they just agree with you anyway. I want to keep my job."

So fucking stubborn.

I could refuse and promote her anyway. It's not as if she'd really be able to refuse. But the idea of her sitting directly outside my office every day isn't completely unappealing.

Because I'll be able to keep an eye on her, of course. It's logical. Undeniable.

"You have a deal."

I hold out my hand and Viviana takes it.

Her fingers are warm and soft. Before I can stop myself, I tighten my hold and pull her close.

She slams against my chest with a yelp and I bend her back, my lips against the shell of her ear.

"Just don't fall in love with me, Viviana."

"No danger of that." She shoves against my chest and scrambles away. Her face is flushed and her hands are shaking. "So, what now?"

I smirk. "We get married."