Chapter 11

"Are you insane?" Krista's voice bounces off the walls of Sergei's living room.

"Shhh!" I wave my hand at her. I glance over my shoulder to be sure we're actually alone. In this house, it's not a given. Between Sergei's security guards and the household staff, I haven't been able to figure out a spot to be alone.

"I can't believe this." Krista pops up from the loveseat and sinks her hand into her hair, pacing in front of the marble fireplace. "I can't believe you tried to extort Sergei Petrov."

"Well. I did." I frown. "I can't really believe it myself. But I was desperate, and I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. But then he made his counteroffer."

She laughs.

"Counteroffer? Cora, you're marrying Sergei Petrov. Sergei Petrov. Do you know what that means?" She rushes over to me on the couch and sinks onto the cushion beside me.

"Yeah. It means I have to play his wife for a month or a few months. Meanwhile I'll have time to find a good job, get Mom's insurance straightened out, and get myself on solid footing."

She looks like her eyes are going to cross.

"He said that? He said that you'll be able to walk away after a few months?"

"Yes." I grab her hands and squeeze. "He only needs to get married for some business thing. When it's all over, he'll give me a divorce and then we go our own ways. That's what he told me."

"I don't know, Cora. The Petrov men, they don't do divorces."

"We're meeting his attorney in the morning so we can sign the prenup paperwork," I assure her. "He wouldn't be having that drawn up if he didn't mean it."

She's not convinced.

"Besides, how do you know anything about him?"

She curls her feet beneath her.

"You remember that guy I dated for a little while last summer? Stephan?"

I think back. It had been a busy time, we barely saw each other over the summer, but I do remember who she's talking about.

"Yeah, the guy that was missing an earlobe?"

"That's him." She leans forward, like she's about to tell me a huge secret. "He worked for Sergei. I'm not sure what he did exactly. I even met Sergei once, well, not really met, but we were at the same party. He was all grumpy, so I steered clear of him."

"He's always grumpy," I inform her. "What else do you know about him?"

She shrugs. "Not much. Stephan didn't tell me much; kind of a vault, that guy. But I learned a few things about him and his cousins. Sergei was supposed to get married a few years ago."

My ears perk up. "He was? What happened?"

"I don't know. But I know one thing, the Petrov men do not believe in divorce. You get married, you stay married."

I chew on the inside of my lip. He was clear that this was a short-term thing.

She has to be wrong.

"Krista, think about it. Why would he saddle himself with me of all people for the rest of his life?" I force a chuckle.

"Why wouldn't he want you?"

"He's all muscle and hotness and I'm all soft and short. He's lived in Russia and built an entire empire from what I've been able to find. I'm just an unemployed secretary who is one year shy of a teaching degree. He has gorgeous women dropping at his feet. Trust me. He chose me because this is only a business deal."

"You're nuts. He'd be lucky to have you."

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm gonna make some man really happy one day. We'll fall in love, get married, have kids, the whole thing, just like my parents. But Sergei… he's completely out of my league and we both know it."

"Cora." Sergei drops my name like a bomb into the middle of the living room.

I jump off the couch like it just bit my ass and spin around to face him.

A dark shadow crosses his features, and his jaw is set.

How much of what I said did he hear?

"Hi." I wave. "I thought you were out."

"I had to get something." He moves his eyes to Krista who wiggles her fingers at him.

He crooks a finger at me.

"Come here," he says firmly.

"What is it?" I ask, taking a few steps around the couch and in his direction.

He keeps beckoning me with his finger until I'm standing right in front of him. Using the same finger, he lifts my chin and lowers his mouth to my ear. "I thought we discussed the idea of other men."

My face flushes.

"I wasn't talking about now. I was talking about later. I was just… not now, Sergei." I swallow. His nose brushes across my cheek.

"I never want to hear you talk about it again. Not now or later or ever. Understand?" His mouth hovers over mine and all I can think about is how hot his kiss makes me.

I blink then move my eyes to his. "Yes. I understand."

"Good." He kisses my cheek. "And if I ever hear you speak of yourself in a negative light like that again, company or not, I will drag you over my knee and light your ass on fire. Yes?" His stare darkens, and I'm nailed to the floor by it.

I clear my throat. "Yeah. I mean, yes, Sergei." I keep my voice low with his. He's not speaking loud enough for Krista to overhear us. I'm fully aware that she's going to want all the details when he leaves.

"Good girl." His lips curl at the edges and he presses a quick kiss to mine. Just enough to whet my appetite before he pulls away and straights up to his full height. "I'll be home late. Don't stay up too late; the attorney will be here at eight o'clock."

He straightens his shirtsleeves, tugging them out from the suit jacket and glances at Krista over my shoulder.

"You are Stephan's girl."

"Not anymore," she answers. "He's kind of a prick."

My eyes go wide. She did not just say that about one of his men. I slowly drag my gaze from her to him, expecting to find fury burning in his eyes.

"Hmm." And then he just turns and walks out of the room. The front door opens and shuts a few moments later.

When I turn back to Krista her jaw is slack and her eyes are wide.

"I can't believe you just said that!"

"I can't believe you think that guy is gonna just let you go in a few months," she accuses with a jerk of her hand in the direction he walked.

I touch my lips with my fingertips and nod. "We made a deal," I say.

"With that guy?" she continues to rant. At least she's keeping her voice down. "He didn't even say hi to me. Just ‘You're Stephan's girl.'" She mocks his voice and does a decent job with his slight Russian accent.

"He's abrupt, I know." I nod.

"Abrupt?" She laughs. "I think you're just trying to convince yourself that you haven't made a deal with the devil."

I make my way back to the couch and plop down on the most luxurious furniture I've ever sat my ass on.

"It will be fine," I say, but I'm not sure who I'm trying to convince. "Everything is going to be fine. Mom is going to be able to stay at the facility and I'll be able to get a job that pays more so maybe I can get her into a better one later down the road."

Krista stares at me for a long moment then sighs. "If he hurts you, I'll kill him."

It's my turn to laugh. "Krista, it's a business transaction. No one is going to get hurt."