Free Protected by a Mobster: A Russian Mafia Romance (Volsky Mafia Book 1) by Jacee Macguire Page B

you right. I promise you that.”
    She sighed, frustration warring with defiance on her face. “Okay,’ she huffed. “If it’s the only way, then that’s what we’ll do. But if there is the chance that another way exists we should try to find one. But at least I do have a choice in this however small it might be.”
    Even though her lips arched up into the most beautiful smile, I still saw that little sliver of doubt. My chest constricted, as though crushed in a metal vice, forcing all the air from my lungs. This woman left me breathless. I’d say her worry didn’t bother me, but it did. Emotional attachment wasn’t, and never had been, my thing. But from the moment I saw her, she slid beneath my skin, burrowing deeper and deeper. There was no way to explain the feelings inside me. It was all so foreign, this need to protect her. Even more so was the need to have her, to consume her. Hurting her was the last thing I wanted. But men like me rarely did anything but hurt others. It was all part of the job. Part of this life. Unavoidable.
    Regardless of the icy exterior, I want everyone to see when they look at me that I’m not an unfeeling jackass. I feel things, just not very often. Liliya makes me feel things. Why she does is still a question I cannot answer. But seeing the worry in her eyes as the words we just spoke finally settle in cuts me deep. Unable to resist, I pull her into my arms, her warm breath sweeps across my neck, her body fitting against mine like a missing puzzle piece. The sweet scent of vanilla fills my senses as I kiss the crown of her head.
    “You have a choice in this, Liliya. If you really don’t want this, we’ll find another way. Dane and your father may prefer forcing your hand, but I’m not that kind of man.”
    Her hands fist into my shirt and I hope that she can’t feel my heart thumping its excited beat against my ribs. A chill races down my spine as she slowly pulls away from me, tilting her head up to gaze at me. Her eyes are a thing of pure beauty, the deep rich color like a shot of expensive whiskey, so seductive that merely being caught in her gaze is intoxicating.
    Her soft lips ghost over mine before I even catch her movement. And just like that, she has me hook, line, and sinker. My hands slide up her arms slowly, teasingly. She trembles under my touch as my fingers dive into her long blonde hair. She whimpers as I break the kiss and tug her head back. “It will always be your choice, LyubImaya moyA. My Sweetheart. I will never force you.”
    A sweet little moan escapes her lips and I know she understands that it is not only protection that I promise, but so much more.
     

Chapter Thirteen - Liliya
    “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.”
    -        Judy Garland
     
    It has been days since Ruslan explained to me the only way we have to break the marriage contract between Dane and myself. I remember so clearly how my heart thundered and my pulse raced at the thought of trading one marriage for another. One made man I knew I could never trust for another man I barely knew. At first I was shocked speechless. The urge to run seeped into my every pore. Then I looked into his eyes and let the deep timber of his voice hypnotize me. Before I knew what the hell I was doing, I had agreed to let him take a risk that could end in his death. But if it didn’t, I’d be walking down the aisle, not with Dane, but with Ruslan.
    Was that a bad thing?
    Was Ruslan any different than Dane? Was he any better? Any safer?
    I wanted to believe that not all made men were the same. The more I thought about each man and compared them, I realized that each one was more than the sum of their work. Ruslan, from the moment we first met, had treated me with respect and kindness. Dane had always been forceful and distant. I would only ever be a piece of property to him, a way to crawl up the ladder of power within the mafia,