Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
His father made me forget they both exist.
I went to collect my things and leave the past behind.
Instead, I crashed my car in a snowstorm
and ended up snowed in with a man
who made me feel more in one night
than my ex did in two years.
Then I learned his name.
Anton Sokolov.
My ex’s father.
Bratva boss. Twice my age.
And not the kind of man you walk away from.
One snowed-in night changed everything.
Two pink lines made it permanent.
Now my ex wants me back.
And he’s sending men to make sure of it.
And Anton?
He doesn’t ask if I’m staying.
He decides.
Because Anton Sokolov protects what’s his.
And he’s decided I belong to him now
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
LILIANA
Acorner of a jolly snowman decal peels away from the window as I slump onto the subway seat across the aisle. Flopped over like that, his top hat hangs down and the happy smile he usually sports is inverted into a frown. Probably just like the one I can’t wipe off my face as I exhale another long breath.
The subway fills, and I zone out on the festive décor some kid probably stuck on the dirty window a couple of weeks ago. It’s hard to believe the holidays came and went already. It’s even harder to accept that the usual seasonal uptick in business didn’t bring any boon or extra money for my parents’ bakery.
What am I going to do?
The subway takes off with a lurch, jerking me forward. The older woman beside me sways into me, then catches herself on a pole. The young dude standing in front of us takes advantage of the momentum, tipping toward me.
Yeah, like I want some stranger’s dick shoved in my face right now.
I roll my eyes.
“Hmmm, someone smells good,” he says, with just enough of a purr to make me want to roll my eyes again. Sleazy. That come-to-papa voice that always annoys the hell out of me.
I lift my gaze to skewer him with what I hope is an expression that might encourage him to give up.
“Oh, leave her be,” the older woman chides. “She’s taken.”
I turn toward her, raising a brow.
“Well, she’s too pretty to be single.” She smiles at me, like she’s an expert. “And even if she’s not, she’s clearly not inviting you to flirt with her.” She huffs at him, like that’s final.
“Can’t blame a man for trying.” He winks at me, and I curl my lip at him. Any other afternoon, I would try to be more polite. After visiting the bakery and discussing yet another foreclosure notice with my father, though, my fucks have flown.
“You smell good enough to eat,” he adds, dragging his gaze up and down me slowly. It’s been a while since a man looked at me like I’d make a perfect snack. Even though I am taken, like this woman guessed, I can’t remember the last time my boyfriend, Roman, checked me out with that kind of raw hunger.
“And her boyfriend has first dibs.” The woman shoos him away.
As soon as he’s gone, muttering to himself at the other end of the car, she leans toward me. “Better?”
I let out a weak laugh. “Thanks.”
“There are just too many annoying men in the world to suffer through that kind of nonsense.” She adjusts her hands over her lap, probably as overheated as I am with the heater vents right in front of us, blasting too hard.
I nod, without the energy for anything more, worries swirling in my head. That guy is already forgotten, not worth my time.
How will we pay the bills?
How can we afford this loan?
How can I make the bakery grow, not limp along like it has been for years?
“It gets to us all,” the woman says wisely as we rock and roll with the old subway lumbering along.
“Hmm?”
She gestures at the limp snowman decal. “The inevitable winter blues now that the holidays are gone.” She peers at me, maternal once again.
“Oh. Right.”
“Is that what’s got you so down?” she asks kindly.
There’s no point denying that I must look glum. While the holidays were all right—at least the parts when I was with my parents were fun—I remember how awkward it was, too. Like when Roman avoided bringing me to any of his family festivities. He distracted me by taking me to his vacation home upstate, that massive castle-like place where we sort of enjoyed a winter getaway for a couple of days, but it didn’t escape my notice how he’d flat-out refused to bring me to meet his parents or spend time with his large family.
“Uh, no. Not really,” I admit.
“Trouble with men?” she guesses with an arch of her brow.
I smile, appreciating her Good Samaritan vibe. “Well…”
She nods slowly. “It always is, isn’t it?” she mutters.
My lips curl up more. I won’t admit that things are bad with Roman. But there’s room for improvement. Aside from his lack of interest in pursuing me like that young man just did, Roman’s just too distant.