I only took the job because I needed the money. A yacht. One night. No questions asked. Then I learned who my client really was. Nikolai Alekseev. Bratva Pakhan.
A man whose name ends conversations—and lives. I should’ve run. Instead, the storm came first. The sea swallowed his empire— and stranded me with a man who’s used to owning everything. No guards.
No guns. No rules. Just survival… and a predator without his crown. Out there, he isn’t a king. He’s watching me like he’s already decided I’m his. I tell myself it’s just the island. Just fear.
Just proximity. Until his hands claim my body. Until his voice turns into a command I obey. Until I forget I ever had a choice. When rescue comes, reality comes with it. He goes back to being Pakhan.
I go back to being a mistake he refuses to release. Or so I think. Because weeks later, two lines change everything. And I realize the island didn’t leave me empty-handed.
Now Nikolai wants what’s his. His child. His claim. His future. He says it’s protection. I call it a cage. But in his world, a Pakhan doesn’t ask. He doesn’t negotiate.
And I don’t know if he plans to protect me… or own me.
