Heart of My Monster (Monster Trilogy, #3)(45)

And then he strides out of the dining room.

I take a few moments to compose myself and stop the constant creative murderous thoughts I have toward Rai, then go outside.

In the living room, a few voices reach me, namely that of Damien, who thinks it’s a wonderful idea to test my hospitality and join my wife and Rai.

“I must say.” He pokes her cheek as if she’s a lifeless doll. “You look like this pretty boy Sasha who was Kirill’s guard. You even share the same name.”

“Are you serious?” Rai rolls her eyes. “She is Sasha.”

“Oh.” He studies her closely again, and I’m tempted to poke his eyes out and break that finger he’s touching her with.

“You became a woman?” he asks like a fucking idiot.

“I was always a woman, Damien.”

“Oooh. That’s why you were a pretty boy. Makes sense.” He pokes her cheek again. “You look much better as a woman.”

That’s it.

I stride to them and seize his finger, then twist it back and away from Sasha.

She stiffens, her lips resting in a line. Although she’s wearing jeans and a simple T-shirt, she’s glowing and looks enticing.

Or that could be my cock speaking in an attempt to finally get a taste.

“What the fuck?” Damien releases himself from my grip and inspects his finger.

“If you don’t want the rest of them broken, don’t touch my wife again.”

Rai rolls her eyes. “Let’s get away from all this revolting testosterone, Sasha.”

“No,” I say.

My wife glares at me, then gives me a sweet smile, which looks forced at best and evil at worst. She’s probably going to spend the rest of the day with Rai just to fuck with me.

Like she spent the last few days either with the guards or Anna and Karina.

In the beginning, I thought I needed to give her space and she’d eventually come back to me, but she’s been using that opening to drive an even bigger wedge between us.

Since that method is obviously not working, I’m going to have to up my game.

I capture her elbow and tug her close. In Sasha’s book of How to Avoid Your Husband, any form of touch is completely prohibited, so she tries to wiggle free.

She does it more subtly in public, though, which means it’s less efficient.

I lower my mouth to her ear and whisper, “If you’re in the mood to see your brother today, stay fucking still.”

She freezes and all her attempts to struggle stop.

I smile at both Rai and Damien. “My wife and I have business to attend to. You can leave now.”

Rai tries to protest, but she reluctantly gets her unwelcome presence off my property when Sasha says they’ll meet up some other time.

Not on my watch.

Damien says he’ll be back, too, and I really wish he was being an asshole just to get on my nerves and not for some other reason.

Once they leave, Sasha steps away from me. “You’re taking me to see Anton?”

“Only if you’re a good girl.”

Her lips purse, but there’s a pink hue that covers her cheeks. I bet she doesn’t even know it’s there, but then again, she can’t really control her body’s reactions.

One more reason why I’m sure she’s just suppressing at this point.

Looks like I need to take matters into my own hands.





Contrary to what Sasha prefers, her hand is in mine.

It’s for an entirely necessary reason other than touch or seduction, and she doesn’t have any choice but to hold on to me for dear life.

“Can’t I remove the blindfold? I was wearing it during the whole car ride and you made sure I had no clue where this place is.”

“You could still pinpoint this location, so the short answer is no.”

Her nails dig into the flesh of my hand with the sole purpose of inflicting pain, but that’s okay. Her being angry and frustrated with me is still better than the bitter pill of indifference.

“Careful, we’re walking on an unsteady bridge and there’s a strong current underneath us,” I say as I lead her down a slippery dirt path with the water far enough not to reach us but close enough for her to hear the sounds.

What? I have to keep her close as much as possible.

“I know how to walk—” I start to remove my hand and she slips, then grabs onto my bicep with both hands, her nails clenching my jacket.

The late afternoon sun casts orange shadows on her pale face and parted lips. Her blonde strands fly in the wind and get in her mouth and blow over the blindfold.

She looks so beautiful with her hair down, especially since it’s grown to reach her shoulders.

I wrap an arm around her waist and whisper in her ear, “I told you to be careful.”

She purses her lips and starts to push me away.

I tighten my grip. “If you don’t want to fall to your death, stay still.”

She gives up, but only slightly. “I’m just doing this out of necessity.”

“If you say so.” I lean down and catch a whiff of her scent. It’s…like her old self, but she started wearing some perfume Karina bought for her. Its floral fragrance has a subtle note of mystery.

Note to self: Thank my sister for her immaculate taste.