Russian Mobster's Princess Read Online Free Page A

that. “Then I will leave you to it. I have to call my brother Nicholas and tell him that we made it here safely.”
    She didn’t even look up when he disappeared into the bedroom. Viktor wondered why he cared so much. It was as if she disliked him when all he had done was leave her alone as she had wanted.
    He dialed up Nicholas on his phone. “We made it,” he told his brother in Russian.
    “Ah, your first night alone with your bride. I’m sure you have great plans.”
    “Not likely.” Viktor considered Nicolas’s words. “She is nothing like Elena. My wife was soft and amiable. This woman is just as likely to kick me in the balls as she is to warm my bed. Besides, I still belong to Elena. You know that.”
    “Perhaps I was wishing that after three and a half years, you would let that ghost rest,” Nicholas suggested. There was an odd note to his voice. “She was an incredible woman. Some days I can hardly believe she is gone.”
    “No more talk of ghosts,” Viktor said firmly. “Have you discovered anything else about the murder?”
    “No.” Nicholas made a frustrated noise. “Worse, Anton is breathing down our necks. He wants answers. He is starting to make wild accusations that we are incapable of caring for his daughter.”
    “So you think he is going to make trouble?” Viktor wondered what to make of his father-in-law’s complaints.
    “I vote we lock the woman up in a safe house by herself and forget about it. Problem solved.”
    “Hardly. Kira isn’t nearly as biddable as she was three years ago.”
    “She’s a woman. They’re all cantankerous wenches when the situation calls for it. She’ll come around. And until that time, perhaps you should use the tools at your disposal in any way that accomplishes your goal.”
    “Meaning?” Viktor frowned.
    “Seduce the woman. By this time, you should have had a child or two off her anyway. What other use is a wife?”
    Viktor looked at the double bed as he contemplated the idea. Even the thought of it felt disloyal to Elena’s memory. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Tell the men to find this bastard and put an end to all this bullshit. That is the best way.”
    “There is a council meeting tomorrow. You will be there, and you will bring the girl. That should satisfy Anton and keep him off my back for a little longer at least.”
    Viktor grunted. He did not much care for Kira’s father or his power games.
    A soft knock told him Kira was at the bedroom door.
    “I’ll speak with you tomorrow then,” Viktor told Nicholas before hanging up.
    Opening the bedroom door, Viktor gestured that Kira should enter. She was still dressed as she had been before.
    Viktor raised a brow. “Do you truly need that many layers of clothing as protection from me?”
    “I don’t know. Do I?”
    Viktor stood stiffly on the side of the bed near the windows. “You have nothing to fear from me. My heart still belongs to another.”
    Her brows drew together. “Elena?”
    “Yes.”
    Kira looked as if she might say something, but then shrugged. “As you wish. I’ll take the side closest to the door. If you touch me, I cannot vouch for how I might react.”
    Viktor hid a smile. The idea of her hurting him in the night was ludicrous, but he would give her the benefit of her pride at least. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Chapter Three
    Kira came awake slowly. She was deliciously warm, a change since she usually froze in bed at night regardless of the season. She did not want to open her eyes. It was like a glorious dream, and she didn’t want to wake and find herself back in her tiny studio apartment.
    Then she realized that she was most certainly not in her apartment. This was not her bed.
    Blinking away the sleep, she focused on a hand resting unobtrusively on her hip. It was large and male and most certainly not hers. She sucked in a gasp of surprise as the previous night came rushing back. Viktor. The threats to the local mafia women, and then coming here to this