12. Mila

12

MILA

I woke up the next morning still tied to the headboard. He'd left me enough slack that I could bring my hands down to sleep with them at my chest, but he hadn't budged an inch about removing my gag.

He'd untied me in the evening so I could go to the restroom, but he gave no indication of letting me talk. Instead of fighting the point, I eventually gave in to sleep. My body was simply too tired to stay up. I hadn't slept the night before the wedding. I'd been running on fumes, charged with stress. Between his letting me have food and water, then…

I squeezed my eyes closed at the memory of him playing with me. His rough fingers touching me where no other man ever had, his mouth demanding my kisses as he fingered me so expertly. I'd never come for a man before. Only myself. And damn, what a difference it was. Shame hit me, but it didn't last long. I should've been humiliated that he'd gotten me off so quickly. I should've been furious that my kidnapper thought he had any right to touch me so intimately.

More than anything, though, I should've been livid that he manipulated me in my attempt to trick him . He was no stupid soldier, young and clueless when a woman was within reach. Alek was an older, wiser man, and that was what irked me most. He'd humored me, seeing through my attempt to con him into untying me. Of course , it couldn't have been that simple. Still, I'd tried. I couldn't just give in. I had to keep my head up and fight for a way out of this predicament.

I turned my head on the bed, finding him still asleep. We were both fully clothed. He still wore his suit, minus the jacket and shoes. My bloody, ripped wedding gown still covered my body.

Minus my panties. I glowered at the ceiling.

He'd lain next to me without touching me. It was probably another way of keeping tabs on me. If I so much as fidgeted, the mattress would give my actions away.

While he slept, I considered my options. That was a pragmatic approach to what I could do next. Thinking about his kisses and how he unabashedly got me off like that… Those thoughts wouldn't do me any good.

I was stuck here. I couldn't run, not while I was tied up, and he'd made it clear that he had no intention of untying me.

I couldn't call for help. I had no phone. Nothing. Even if I had a phone, I wouldn't have known what to say. I didn't know where this crummy apartment was in the city. Or if it even was in the city anymore.

Rescue didn't seem like a reality I could count on, but I had to admit it wasn't necessary. On a simple basis, I didn't need to be rescued. I wasn't in harm's way. I had to believe that Alek wouldn't seriously hurt me. He was rough when he kissed me and filthily demanding when he played with my pussy. These scraps of fabric weren't comfortable around my wrists. But he was taking care of me.

In more ways than one…

I rolled my eyes at the ceiling, still thrown off at how easily he'd made me come and how… good it was. I'd practically passed out from the euphoria of that release, and I hated that he'd done it. If I were to ever find a man to be intimate with, I'd want?—

What am I saying? What I want ? I'd never had a chance to actually think I could have what I wanted. I was a pawn and always would be.

Alek hadn't been cruel, though. He saw to my pleasure. It had been on his terms. I didn't have a chance to stop him, but?—

Oh, just stop thinking about it already!

I knew if Geoff or Andrey—or any other man—had me tied up and at their disposal, they would have shown no mercy. Alek wasn't upfront with what he did want from me, and it felt like I was due an answer.

Wriggling my lips, I loosened my gag until I could push it away from my lips. My tongue felt fuzzy and dry, both from fighting the gag and with the need for water.

"Alek."

He didn't stir, and I almost found it comical that he could sleep that soundly and deeply.

I turned the other way, glancing at the clock. I'd never slept in this late, and I despised that this time with Alek was feeling a lot like freedom. I was bound, but he was generous in ways he couldn't understand.

He gave me food without question, unlike the strict diet I'd faced at home.

He let me come in his hand without expecting anything in return, unlike my greatest fears of what I'd encounter as Andrey's wife.

He allowed me to sleep in, with no demands to get up and serve him.

"Alek." I twisted my hips and kneed his thigh. That did the trick. He stirred, rubbing his face as he scowled at me.

"What?" He glanced at my gag hanging loose under my chin.

"I want to talk."

He rolled his eyes and sat up. "Then talk."

I opened my mouth but he cut me off.

"Don't waste your time asking to be released."

I shut my mouth and sighed. We entered another stare-down and I wished for a witty comeback. Nothing came to me, and he raised his brows in silent question. I hated that my silence was basically an admission that he was in charge. But literally nothing came to me. I didn't know what to say. "I meant I wanted you to talk."

He grinned, dark and slow. "Because you're deluded enough to think you're in charge here?"

I didn't respond, depriving him of the satisfaction.

If he didn't want to kill me, he had to realize I was more worthy alive. And if he wanted me alive, I had to serve some kind of purpose. His act of kidnapping me had to be a step toward stopping the Valkov-Kastava union, but why? Whatever his reasoning, I wouldn't fight it.

"I'll help you." I blurted it out too quickly, and he didn't seem to be swayed by my offer. "What do you want?"

"From you?" He smirked. "I don't trust you."

"It's not like I tied you up and kidnapped anyone. I'm the trustworthy one between the two of us!"

"You're a Kastava."

"And you're a Valkov." We were enemies and we knew it. "Or you were ."

He paused in sliding his legs off the bed to glower over his shoulder at me.

"Why are you defying your Family?" I'd heard his brother yesterday, how Pavel Valkov was out to get him now. Blurred memories of the church stayed in my mind, and I recalled how all the men shouted at him to stop. Alek had caused war by intervening at my wedding. He'd risked his family's wrath in doing so.

"I'm not defying my Family." He stood and walked toward the kitchenette.

"You are!" I protested, watching him grab some things and set them on a plate. "Your uncle isn't pleased with you."

Neither is my father.

He didn't reply, preparing a couple of plates of simple foods. With a couple of water bottles tucked under his arm, he returned and shoved one plate toward me.

"Alek, why?—"

He shot me a stern look to shut up and I huffed out a breath. I accepted the plate, pleased that he didn't skimp on the offerings. Crackers, cheese, nuts, and more dried fruit. It was the biggest meal I'd had all year.

Before he started on his food, he checked my wound. He uncoiled a bit of the gauze and checked that it wasn't inflamed, then wrapped it back up.

I couldn't make sense of him. He wanted me fed and well. Healthy and uninjured. I didn't know enough about him, but I understood that he was a hard man. He wasn't doting on me, but… something else.

Is he keeping me in good health because I need to be in good condition when he returns me to my father? The thought of that future didn't fill me with comfort. I swallowed a bite and watched him pick up his plate. "Are you going to deliver me back to my father?"

He didn't speak. His mouth was full of food as he peered at me dully, but his dry expression spoke volumes. As we ate, he didn't tell me a single detail about any of his plans. "War was inevitable," he stated instead. It was a cryptic reply, but I would take it for what it was worth—stupidity.

"Not before you burst into my wedding like that."

He shook his head. "Our families cannot align. Not like they wanted it to. Therefore, war was inevitable, and change will follow."

For the better or worse, though?

"You broke your Family's loyalty, striking against the wishes of the rightful head of your bratva."

He scoffed. "Spoken like a properly trained bratva woman, huh?"

"It's true. You've ruined the loyalty by disobeying your?—"

His plate slid on his lap as he abruptly lowered it. "Ruined the loyalty? No, I fucking did not. And I've never felt that my uncle was a leader in any sense of the word."

I blinked, digesting his words. This was a huge comment to share, a significant opinion. No one—and I meant no one—ever dared to speak against their Pakhan like that.

He noticed how quiet I became, but I couldn't break out of my stunned stupor over what he'd admitted.

"You're going rogue, then?" I guessed carefully.

"No." His denial was calm and quick. "I'm not going rogue. I'm not going anywhere. It's the other way around. My Family, the Valkov Bratva, has been letting me down. Pavel and Andrey have been disappointing many of my brothers. They are too blind to see what is happening, high on power." He faced me, cool and confident as he explained. "My uncle and cousin were oblivious to the fact that your Family wants to take us over."

I opened and closed my mouth, put on the spot to reply to that claim.

"I suspected from the beginning that the Kastavas want to take over." He held my stare, tipping his chin up a bit. That direct gaze pinned me, and I felt on edge being under pressure like this. Why did I ever open my damn mouth and want to talk to this man?

"Can you deny it?" he demanded.

"No." My response left my lips before I could call it back. It was the truth, but I couldn't support it. I couldn't back it up with any evidence or reasons. It simply made sense. Sergei Kastava was a greedy, power-hungry man. He seldom considered stopping at anything. The fact that he'd ordered me to report to him after I married Andrey was another example of his coveting and clinging to any semblance of power he saw.

As I went quiet, preferring this silence over speaking, I felt his eyes on me. Alek's attention was a tangible caress, heated and steady, like a physical touch.

He wanted to know more. I couldn't agree with him that my family had nefarious plans with his family and not say anything else. He had to be burning with curiosity, and he would soon pair that with orders to explain.

But I couldn't. I had never been privy to any important information. I was ignorant of any big plans to take over another rival, but I knew that the simple statement of a takeover would make sense.

I met his gaze and cringed. His grin didn't welcome me to feel confident. Again, I convinced myself that I was the prey and he was the predator. Because he watched me with a sinful excitement, eager to lord his power over me once more.

"Maybe you had a good idea there."

I arched my brow, not trusting his mischievous smile as he took our plates and set them on a table. "What…" I cleared my throat and tried speaking again. "What do you mean?"

"You said you wanted to talk," he reminded me as he returned to the bed, standing over me, so helpless and bound. "So, let's see about you giving me some answers."

Oh, shit. I gulped, nervous more than ever.