Page 4 of Claimed in Sin
The fight continues to roar behind me, but I'm not paying much attention now. Marina has me transfixed, so enamored I could really listen to her talk for hours.
"I'm Stepan," I say, extending my hand, which she takes gently.
"Marina," she says, finally. When she pulls her hand away, I find I want it back. If for no other reason than to remember what the touch of a woman feels like. It's been months for me becauserebuilding this damn fight club has taken longer than we hoped and all of my energy.
"Marina..." I say it back slowly, and I watch the way it lands on her. The color creeps up her neck again. She looks away, toward the pit, and I give her the space to do that because pushing now would be a mistake.
"So, Marina. Is your uncle coming back for you or are you on your own for the rest of the night?"
"He's coming back." She nods toward the concessions. "He went to get drinks."
"He's a drinker?" I lift an eyebrow and watch her response.
"Always... But I think he's placing bets." She mumbles something under her breath and I see the dissatisfaction on her face. She's not happy about something, which I easily perceive is probably the fact that he's left her here alone or that he's brought her here at all.
There's an edge to her tone that leaves a door cracked open. I don't push through it but I note where the hinges are.
"You don't like watching fights?" I ask, glancing over my shoulder where the fights are resetting again. I didn't even hear the knockout bell, which should tell me something about this woman's magnetism.
"I don't. This is a special occasion."
"Lucky for me," I tell her, already trying to plan my next move. I have to flirt with her, get her interested. I'm just not sure how to do that when I already know she's got plans to be married.
"Sure of yourself, aren't you?" she asks, snickering, and I see an intelligence in her eyes that's almost threatening. She's reading me the way I read fighters to test them and see which ones will work out well for us.
"Sure enough to ask you for your number..." I slide my hand into my pocket and pull out a pen, clicking the tip out. She smirks and glances at her uncle, who is now making his way back toward us watching the beer in his hand like he's afraid to spill it. I have only seconds to get out of here because there's no way a man that well-known in the gun world shows up at our fight club and doesn't know my face.
"Alright," she says quietly, then recites her number to me even more quietly. When it's scrawled on my hand, I start walking backward, grinning at her.
I've successfully set a hook and now I just have to reel her in. "I'll talk to you soon, Marina." I purposefully draw out her name, accentuating every syllable, and it turns her cheeks a bright shade of pink.
But before she can respond, I turn and walk away, not wanting Filipp to see or recognize me at all. I have her number, and I fully intend to use it. Now I just have to decide the best way to get her away from her family and into my bed, and how I'm going to prove to Orlov that I've soiled his bride to be, all without breaking any laws that might land me in jail.
Shouldn't be that hard.
Unlike my dick right now.
3
MARINA
Idon't think I stop smiling the whole way home, and I don't think my uncle notices a thing. He won big on the fifth card and all he can do is count his stack of cash and talk about my father's territory struggles. We really thought the Radin organization was going down, but this alliance means a revival and I can see how they're worried.
Which is exactly what I feel the minute we pull into the drive and I see the large black SUV parked in front of the house.
"Uncle Filipp," I mumble, feeling dread sink in my gut.
He looks up from his phone and follows my gaze. His lips purse and his eyes narrow. "He wasn't supposed to be here tonight," he says, more to himself than to me.
But he is here.
These impromptu meetings between my father and Maksim are getting annoying. I thought this late at night, I'd come home to peace and quiet and a chance to lie in bed and think about that dreamy man who took interest in me. But it seems even myfather has some scheming left in him. What Uncle Filipp didn't accomplish by showing me how dangerously fast the Kuzins can rebuild my father plans to tackle by following up with Maksim's charm and sweet talking.
I smooth my hair in the side mirror and scowl at myself as the car stops, but as late as it is, I'm just going to look tired. I wonder if they told Maksim what their plan is and how they dragged me through the fights to show me what we're up against. Maybe it was his idea.
"Are you ready?" Filipp asks, and I scowl at him as the driver opens the door.
"Do I have a choice?" I ask, trying to keep a playful tone. My father and mother both know how adamantly opposed I am to this arrangement, but they also both know I will do what's best for the family. My uncle, however, only sees my reluctance, not my willingness. He thinks my emotions are a mountain to be conquered, that somehow, the only way this marriage goes forward is if I'm fully on board and happy about it. He can't fathom how I'd hate what I'm doing and do it anyway.
