Page 54 of Keeping My Enemies Closer: Pt. 1

“My father can be...a lot,” he chuckled as he straightened, then walked into the library.He had walked Aleksei out, but something must have come up for him to have been gone for so long.

“Where have you been?”

“My father wanted to discuss a little business before he left,” he answered easily, not offended that I was questioning his whereabouts.“It took a little longer than I’d been expecting, or else I would have instructed you to make yourself at home.”

Still feeling uncomfortable, I said, “I need to get going soon, Kasimir.I have to get ready for my shift.”

“Your shift doesn’t begin until three,” he replied.“We’ve plenty of time before you need to leave.”

Glancing around the room, I asked, “So, where am I expected to live exactly?”

“With me,” he answered firmly.

“And where’s that?Here, your condo...?”

“You live wherever I am standing,lepestok,” he said, and the words sounded eerily ominous.

“What’s that mean?”

Kasimir stepped forward until he was directly in front of me, looming over me, blocking out everything but him, and as intimidating as he looked, he also looked like sex personified, and I could feel the weakness in my knees.Had he treated me horribly, I might be able to resist, but he wasn’t treating me horribly.He was treating me like everything that he’d said was true, and I wasn’t sure which was worse.Did I want a Kasimir Korolev who took his issues out on me, or did I want a Kasimir Korolev who was obsessed with me?

“It means that you will be required to be wherever I am if I am not working,” he explained, and while I had an issue with the word required, I got his message loud and clear.

“I thought you said that I could have a life if I agreed to live with you,” I reminded him.

“I said that you could have asemblanceof a life,” he corrected.

“So, then...what?You lied?”I practically squawked.

“No,” he replied evenly.“I’ve no problem with you working if that’s what will make you happy.However, my obsession with you is one where I expect all your free time to belong to me, and whenever I need to stay in town, you will stay in town with me.Whenever I can stay here, then here is where you’ll also stay.”

“So, no friends, no hobbies?”

“You can have all the solitary hobbies that you want,” he answered.“However, friends are out of the question.Not only will it open my front door to people that I don’t know, but once we get married, you won’t be just anyone, Zoya.You will be a Korolev, and if you think that I’d just let anyone near my wife, then you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Then that leaves only you,” I pointed out.

“Exactly,” he replied unapologetically.“I want you to be as obsessed with me as I am with you, and I don’t care if we never leave the house for anything other than work ever again.”Kasimir reached up to wrap his hand around the side of my neck.“I want every breath that you take to be because of me.When you wake up in the morning, I want to be the first thing that you reach for.When you go to sleep at night, I want you wrapped up in my arms when you close your eyes.And every moment in between?I want it spent with you wishing that you could be home with me.”

“Every time that you talk like that, you sound unhinged, and the relationship that you describe keeps sounding unhealthier and unhealthier,” I remarked, though I was certain that he didn’t care.

“And I’ve already told you that I’m not looking to have a healthy relationship with you,” he repeated.“That’s not what I’m looking for at all.”

“This is crazy, Kasimir,” I said, and not for the first time.“I’m...even though I’m doing my best to accept whatever this is, I still find myself so confused when you’re near me.I feel like...this feels surreal, like a dream.”

Kasimir smirked.“At least, you didn’t say nightmare.”

“But that’s what you are, right?People’s nightmare.”

His hand slid from my neck to my shoulder, and then his fingers danced across my collar bone.“I’m other people’s nightmare, Zoya.Never yours, though.Not ever yours.”

“Do you promise?”I asked, barely recognizing my own voice.“What you said earlier, you promise?”

He cocked his head as his hand slid over my breast then back up under my shirt.“About beating you?About not leaving you destitute or cheating on you?”

I nodded.“Yeah.”

“Do you want it in writing?”he asked.“Do you want me to write up a prenup which states that you’ll get everything if I ever raise a hand to you or cheat on you?”