"We all make sacrifices for family."
I shake my head. "This isn't a sacrifice. It's a life sentence. One you don’t deserve."
As much as her teasing behavior irritates me, I loved seeing the playful spark in her eyes.
A spark that Maksim will surely extinguish.
“I now understand why you’re trying so damned hard to enjoy life. The flirting. The games. But that dress…you should have known better, Valentina. Maksim saw it as an invitation.”
She shakes her head. “But you didn’t.” She looks out the window, making me question whether I heard her right.
It’s more important that she understands how to play the game with Maksim better.
In a way that keeps her safe.
As much as I like her defiance, Maksim will hurt her, even kill her, if she oversteps.
"He looked at you like you were already his property. It’s my job to protect you from him, but we both know that had he gone too far and I stepped in, we’d all be dead, and this war would rage hotter, more violent than ever.”
Her jaw tightens. “I get it. You don’t need to keep harping on it.”
I reach out and take her hand before I realize I’m doing it.
She turns, looks at my hand on hers, and then lifts her gaze to my face.
“I don’t mind dying for you, Valentina. But it will piss me off if doing so makes no difference and you still get hurt.”
Her eyes widen slightly.
She turns her hand in mine, lacing our fingers.
The contact sends electricity racing up my arm.
Every muscle in my body tenses, though I fight the reaction.
"You can't protect me forever, Cristian."
For a moment I study her, admiring her courage and fucking terrified it will get her killed.
I've witnessed the aftermath of Maksim's rage.
His reputation for creative cruelty isn't exaggerated.
"If Maksim thinks you're disrespecting him, or worse, making him look weak…" I let the sentence hang between us knowing I don’t need to elaborate.
She withdraws her hand, and I immediately miss its warmth.
"I know," she says, her voice defeated. "I'm sorry for putting you in a position that could have ended badly for us all. It wasn’t fair.”
“What’s not fair is that you deserve to be a young woman, dressing provocatively and enjoying life with your friends. Tempting young men. But life isn’t fair, not in your world. You can’t dress like this and not expect Maksim to think it’s an invitation.”
She sighs and shakes her head, her gaze turning away from me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
For a moment, I think I’ll let the conversation drop.