Marianna

"This is a terrible idea."

Shaking out the curls in my blonde hair, I frowned at my sister. "So you've said a dozen times. It's too late for regrets."

She swiped red lipstick over her full lips—lips nearly identical to my own—and rolled her eyes. I would never tell her, but every time she pulled a face like that, I internally flinched. Growing up with the Volkovs taught me early on to keep my expressions neutral, no matter how I felt inside. To do otherwise could earn a slap across the face. Or worse.

"James is just going to yell at you. Lochlan..." Millie shivered as she shoved the lipstick into her gold clutch. "It's not going to be pretty."

"You and I both know after he calms down a bit, he's just going to fuck you senseless. As punishment."

I put air quotes around punishment before opening the bathroom door, and Millie didn't even have the decency to blush. It was true. Those two took every excuse to go at it. As much as I loved bonding with my new sister and brother-in-law, I'd never been so happy to get my own place.

Pulsing music slammed into me like a wall when we left the restroom. Rave was the hottest club in New York City right now, and you didn't get in without knowing the right people or being the right people. Between our net worth and recent media attention surrounding the kidnapping and sibling scandal, Millie and I were the right people. From the crowds that had gathered since we showed up thirty minutes ago, it was obvious word had spread that we were here.

Exactly what I hoped for.

"How long do you think we have?" Millie shouted in my ear as she swayed her hips from side to side in a ridiculously short red dress.

More than a few men watched her with brazen lust in their drunken gazes. Their attention drifted to me, and I could see the wheels turn—slowly—as they tried to determine if we were twins. Their excitement was visible, but it wilted the moment they made eye contact with me. I might look like Millie, but I had none of her charms.

"Fuck," the big guy to our right muttered as he turned around on his stool. And James and the others thought we couldn't handle ourselves.

"How long for what? Til he shows up or they show up?"

She shrugged and waved away a man as he approached with a drink in hand. "Either. Mostly the second."

"My bet is that he's already here, and as for the others...Depends on how long it takes James to hack into our phones since we turned off the trackers."

Millie winced. "So not long."

"Come on," I said, taking her hand and pulling her through the throngs of sweaty bodies, only stopping once we reached the center of the dance floor. "It's time to put on a show."

"Now that's something I know how to do."

All the sweetness slipped away from my sister's face as she moved with the music. She tipped her head back, running her hands across her breasts and down her hips. To anyone watching, she was lost to the fever of the beat.

Cracking her lids open just enough to look at me, she whispered. "Don't think. Just move."

That concept was completely foreign to me, but we had to make this work. We only had one shot. Dragging in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and relaxed my body the way I did before sparring. Fighting was just another kind of dancing.

Once I was comfortable with how I was moving, I mimicked Millie, touching my body and appreciating the soft places that made me a woman. The soft places the Volkovs wanted to destroy.

"Holy shit, you're hot," Millie said, backing into me.

I held onto her as we danced, well aware of the spectacle we created. Those morons at the bar would probably beat their meat to this vision later. The only thing that would make this fantasy better for them was if they were in the middle of our bodies. Then again, there was something about only being able to look and not touch that made it all the more sensual.

The music changed. The tempo increased, and the bass rattled through my bones. My blood sang in my veins, thrilled with this strange new release of energy. Dancing hadn't been allowed growing up. Sweat rolled down my chest and dripped between my breasts, making me shimmer beneath the spotlights.

And then the hair on the back of my neck raised. I opened my eyes and immediately locked eyes with Dmitry. He leaned over the balcony, staring intently at us. Even from here, I could see the white in his knuckles and the flush in his face. He couldn't look away, but I knew him well enough to know what he was thinking. That he wanted to kill every person close enough to see or touch what he believed was his.

Lifting Millie's damp hair, I spoke against her ear. "He's here."

She didn't falter. Spinning around so we were pressed chest to chest, she cupped the back of my neck and replied, "The man next to you. Grab him and kiss him. I'd do it, but..."

But she drew the line at cheating on her husband. Fair enough. Hoping my discomfort wasn't evident, I broke away from her and dragged the man into our circle by his shirt. He came like a dog on a leash, and there was no hesitation when I went up on tiptoes to kiss him.

It was...nice. The realization caught me off guard. I'd only ever been kissed by Dmitry, and it had been something to be endured. My experience wasn't enough to know if this man was particularly skilled, but I didn't hate the tingles that traveled through my lips as he moved his mouth against mine.

Millie's hoarse shout behind me brought an abrupt end to the kiss, and I whipped around, prepared to punch whatever asshole had grabbed her. Instead of an asshole, her very angry husband held her by her waist, and the look he shot me told me she wasn't the only one who was going to be on the receiving end of his temper.

"Hey baby. Don't be a tease like that. We were just getting started," my kissing partner crooned, grasping at me to pull me back into his embrace.

"No, I'm good. I think it's time for me to go." Dmitry was no longer on the balcony. "Thanks though."

His meaty hand went around my wrist. "I don't think so."

"Listen. I said no." I jerked my hand back twice, hoping it was enough warning, because I didn't want to end up in the news again. And knocking someone on their ass at Rave would certainly do it.

"And I said—"

His head snapped back, and blood poured from his nostrils. People scattered as he fell backward, cupping his face. Groaning internally, I clocked the man at my side.

Tall, ripped, and blonde. My bodyguard. And my personal hell. James.

"We can ex—"

"Just be quiet." He pushed me toward Lochlan and Millie. "Don't say a fucking word until we get back to the apartment."

"Or what?" I taunted.

"Marianna—Don't push me right now."

James grabbed my arm and got so close our noses touched. Seeing him this undone rattled me. For all my complaints, he was steadfast and patient to a fault, but right now, he teetered on the edge. So, for once, I swallowed my anger and nodded, wondering what punishment waited for us at home.