Prologue: Thursday night: Preparing to go home

Groaning with effort, I pushed down hard on the lid of my overstuffed suitcase, squeezing it tightly as I forced the teeth of the zip together. Yes! I mentally high-fived myself as the bloody thing finally succumbed to my efforts and slid the last few inches home.Wiping the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, I fell back onto the bed in glorious relief. Phew!

Okay, so I missed my run this morning, but generally, I was quite fit, so how the hell was it that simply closing my suitcase had nearly killed me? I hadn’t felt this knackered since I finished that military-style boot camp day some of my classmates talked me into doing for charity last month. Seriously, by the amount I was sweating, you would have thought I’d just run a marathon.

How on earth did I accumulate so much extra stuff in one term? I glanced at the offending piece of luggage. I had already taken most of my stuff home at the end of last term and had only brought the essentials back with me this time. Of course, lately, I had added quite a bit to my wardrobe. I smiled at the secret reason for that.

That thought had me quickly sniffing my armpits. Thankfully, despite my sweating, they didn’t smell bad. I pushed myself up off the bed, grabbed my deodorant from my bag and gave them a quick spray anyway. It was best to be on the safe side.

After reassuring myself that I hadn’t left anything important behind in the room, I wheeled the suitcase towards the door just as there was a knock on it. It was time to go. Glancing over my shoulder, I said a quick goodbye to the room that had been my temporary home for the last couple of years while I was studying. It was nice, but I wouldn’t miss it. I was far too excited for that. Another year of University had come to an end, and I was heading home for the summer holidays, and I couldn’t wait.

My bodyguards, Rolan and Armen, escorted me and a couple of my friends to the train station. I’d chosen to take the train with my friends so we could travel part of the way home together. I was going to miss them. The first leg of the journey flew by as we chatted happily about our plans for the holidays, but after a few hours, they left, departing for other connections, leaving the three of us to continue on alone.

As I waved them goodbye, I relaxed back against my seat, glanced out of the train window, and thought about the days ahead. I could barely contain the excitement which bubbled inside me with every mile we travelled.

My family didn’t know it yet, but I wasn’t planning to return for my final year. Instead, I planned on completing it partly as a work placement and partly online. I looked forward to surprising them. They’d be glad to have me back for good. Even though I had two full-time bodyguards on hand day and night, I knew how they worried about me and missed me when I was gone.

I missed them, too, but I especially missed Romivik. My heart leapt at just the thought of him. I bit back the grin that threatened to give away my thoughts. I glanced across at my bodyguards, but they were too engrossed in the card game they were playing to notice my expression. We were the only ones in the first-class carriage now, and so they were letting their guard down a bit. It was good to see. They deserved a break.

Happy they weren’t paying me any real attention; I leaned my head back against the headrest and sighed in pleasure as I glanced at Romi’s pictures on my phone. I had quite a few of him in my gallery, and I was so glad. I wouldn’t have been able to get through my time away without them. Despite having his photos, every day I’d been away from him was torture. The separation had nearly killed me, and I’d vowed to myself that I would never be separated from him again.

That was why I wasn’t returning to University next term. I wouldn’t leave Romi again. We had grown up together, and although he was seven years older than me, we had always been close. Technically, he was my cousin. His mother married my Uncle Petior, and he adopted Romi, so we had the same surname. By law, we were cousins, but not by blood. To me, that made all the difference.

I’d had a crush on him for what felt like forever, ever since I began to notice boys. The problem was that he had yet to notice me in the same way, but I was determined this summer, that would change. I needed Romi to finally see me as the woman I had become and not the little girl he grew up with. Then, I was going to pursue him. If there was even a chance of a real relationship with him, I was going after it.

Of course, getting him to notice me as a woman and getting him to want a relationship with me weren’t the only obstacles in my way. I bit my lip, worrying at it, my giddiness turning to anxiety. The biggest obstacle was my family, or more specifically, my three brothers, who were very protective, practically to the point of suffocation, and who didn’t seem to want me to date at all. I knew that because my bodyguards had been instructed to scare off any would-be pursuers.

So, if they didn’t want me dating, they would definitely not want me dating someone older than me and definitely not someone they considered family. What made things worse was that they didn’t just see Romi as their cousin; they saw him as another brother. It didn’t help that they had that stupid Bro-code thing going on, too, where they didn’t want their mates dating their sister. It all made liking Romi very difficult.

However, I was a Bratva princess, a printsessa. I was used to getting my own way. My family loved me, and even though my brothers would have difficulty at first I knew that, in the end, they would want me to be happy. My confidence returned, and I smiled.

Besides, I was twenty-three, a grown woman, and I was determined to act like one. I had been a tomboy growing up, always happy to rough house with my brothers and act like one of the guys, but not anymore. I’d always been fun to have around, and I wanted to continue to be, but I also needed to be more feminine now that I was older, especially if I wanted a man like Romi to take me seriously.

As we drew closer to London, I could barely sit still, my right leg doing an annoying little bounce as if it had a mind of its own. Rolan commented on it but accepted it when I said I was just excited to be going home and getting bored with the long train journey.

That was the partial truth anyway. Although the real source of my leg bounce was more nerves than excitement. I had planned for my reunion with Romi since I last saw him, and it was hard to believe it was almost time. Over the last year, I had done everything I could to painstakingly turn myself into a sophisticated young woman, from reading self-help books and reciting daily affirmations to taking hair and makeup lessons and learning about fashion. Anything to build my confidence in my femininity.

I’d also spent a small fortune on new clothes and Victoria’s Secret underwear, among other things. I was hoping to get the chance to use them one day soon. My cheeks grew hot at the thought. I bit back a grin as excitement bubbled inside me.

If truth be told, I had gone at the whole reinventing myself like it was a military operation, and I was happy with the results. I only hoped Romi was as delighted with the new me as I was.

“Almost there,” Armen said as he started to pack up the set of cards they’d been playing with. He had a stack of money he was gathering, too. His wide grin, compared with Rolan’s more sullen expression, told me he had been the winner of their poker game.

Oh, please let him be here. Please let him be here, my inner voice was chanting away merrily as we pulled up to the station. Keep it together, Sonia, I reminded myself as my insides jumped up and down in a giddy little dance. I felt like I could literally burst with joy.

I delved into my bag, pulled out a mirror, and checked my makeup before spritzing on a little perfume. I stood and brushed down my clothes, happy to note that they weren’t too creased. I’d chosen my outfit carefully today. I needed to make a good impression and show off my new self, right from the start. Sudden nausea hit, and my stomach churned with nerves. What if something went wrong?

I couldn’t blow this. I had planned everything meticulously, and I wasn’t going to let nerves or excitement get in my way. I took a few deep, steadying breaths and brought my inner self back under control.

It was going to be fine. Everything was as it should be. I was wearing a three-quarter sleeve jumpsuit in navy blue, which cinched at the waist and showed off my figure perfectly. I’d teamed it with a pair of nude, three-inch heeled sandals and a matching tote bag. The outfit was a good choice for travelling, but it also made me look sexy and sophisticated. I even had matching navy lace underwear on, too. Not that I expected anyone was actually going to see it yet, but it gave me extra confidence knowing I was fully co-ordinated.

My game plan was set; look stunning, act like a fun, yet mature woman, and get the man of my dreams. I was going to blow Romi’s mind.

Operation Seduce Romiwas a go!