I would be a worthy heir. A worthy son.
I couldn’t be with Allie, but I could still go after her father. I could still redeem myself.
It’s better this way. She’d been a distraction, an impossibility. There had never been a real chance for us. She’d looked at me and she hadn’t seen a monster, but that was only because she was too sweet and naïve to recognize what was staring her in the face.
Now, she knew what I was. My family had murdered her mom; retaliation for her father’s indictments against us. I’d known, and I’d said nothing. Selfishly, I took everything she offered me, explored every inch of her that she would yield to me, without revealing the awful truth.
The memory of her wide green eyes glittering with tears left a metallic tang on my tongue. Confessing my sin and breaking our relationship had felt like kicking a defenseless little kitten. She’d been soft and innocent, and I’d shattered her with the ugly truth of the world.
And she’d run straight to Nikolai Ivanov for comfort.
She refused to believe he was a monster, too. He was dazzling her with his dizzying wealth and classically handsome looks, and she was leaning toward him like he was telling her something utterly fascinating.
This was the third time she’d been out with him in as many weeks. I knew because I’d been keeping an eye on her. I couldn’t leave her vulnerable to the Ivanovs. No matter if she hated me, I would continue to check in on her. Even if it did rip at something deep in my chest to see her smiling at Nikolai.
They looked good together. Beautiful, wealthy, educated. Their relationship was the most natural thing in the world.
That monster was dating my Allie, and she only saw a handsome billionaire intent on sweeping her off her feet.
Even if she hated me, I had to protect her from him. She was far too trusting for her own good. She would believe his civilized façade, and he would drag her down into the dirt, just like Mikhail Ivanov had done with her father. Allie would be pulled into a dark and dangerous world, one that I’d tried to save her from.
I’d broken what we shared in order to save her. I’d be damned if I let Nikolai have her. Even if I couldn’t be with her, Allie would never be his. I would kill him before I allowed him to claim her.
ALLIE
Niko hit me with one of his megawatt smiles, knocking the air from my chest. For a moment, everything seemed surreal. I couldn’t be on a date with this gorgeous billionaire. I’d barely dated anyone. Ever. And now, somehow, I was out with Nikolai Ivanov for the third time.
I should feel more comfortable around him by now. Shouldn’t I?
I got the feeling that his dazzling smile was meant to put me at ease, but it only made dozens of tiny butterflies beat their wings in my stomach. It was thrilling, but it also made me slightly queasy.
With his strong, square jaw, glittering aquamarine eyes, and designer stubble that matched the perfectly mussed style of his sable hair, Niko was nothing short of stunning. The slightly windswept look he managed to effortlessly pull off should’ve made him appear a little messy, but in his sharply tailored suit, it only made him look that much more handsome: rough around the edges and rakish.
He was still trapping me in that heart-stopping smile, the hint of a knowing smirk tilting his sensual lips. The cocky confidence awoke a disconcerting warmth low in my belly, a reflexive feminine reaction that no woman could’ve stifled. Niko looked at me like he knew exactly what his overwhelmingly masculine presence did to my thought processes, and he liked what he saw.
An image of a hungry, predatory wolf flashed through my mind, circling its prey. I shifted in my seat and touched my locket for comfort.
I didn’t entirely dislike the way Niko made me feel, but I wasn’t sure if I liked it, either.
All I knew was that being around him—riding this edge of disconcerting physical desire—dulled the aching pain at the center of my chest where Max had crushed my heart.
It twisted at the thought of my dark protector, and I quickly shoved his breathtaking face from my mind. If I could obliterate him from my brain entirely, I would. Anything to ease the pain of the deep wound he’d inflicted.
I would’ve fucked you. The blood of your mother’s murderers runs in my veins, and I would’ve taken everything you offered me without saying a word about it. I am a monster, Allie. His final words tormented me, ripping me apart just as keenly as they had on that awful night.
I rubbed the back of my locket, seeking the soothing warmth of the smooth gold beneath my thumb.