Regency Romance: The Rake's Fake Marriage (Historical Arranged Marriage Romance) (19th Century Victorian Romance) (64 page)

“Where am I?”
Taskia
asked.

“You don’t know?”

“Just tell me!” Tasia yelled.

She
was heedless Anton was
just outside listening to their conversation. Before the housekeeper could even open her mouth to explain, he appeared from behind. In an instant, she recognized him from the Black Market.

“You –“ Tasia
accused.
Anger and frustration clouded her perception. She could no longer think straight whenever she saw him.

“
Ostavit
’
nas
v
pokoye.
” Anton commanded his servant. It was a Russian phrase for
leave us alone
.

Tasia hurled the pillows at him without thinking of what he might do. “You’re a godless man. You’re an animal! How dare you to purchase me, you’re an asshole!”

“Listen. Please, listen to me.”

Anton’s words did not pierce through her eardrums. Her ears were shut, disallowing his deception to enter her head. Once was enough.

“You’re an animal! You’re an animal……” She kept on screaming the same words over and over again.

Anton must have had enough of her big mouth. He approached her and then grabbed her wrist as he pulled her up, forcing her to stand up.

Slipping down
, the duvet sheet no longer hid her shame as her nakedness revealed itself to his eyes. He’d forgotten she was naked.

“Hands off me!” She screamed at him while at the same time spat at his face.

He was shocked. He remembered the day when his father spat in his face for being so weak to endure his oppression. He was a child back then. Now, he was a full grown man.

“How dare you!” His fist met her face. She
was thrown
back to the bed.

Her round bottom faced him. He could see the gap in between her legs that led to her vagina. He felt lecherous to rape her, but he allowed his morals to take over. He did not want to prove to her he was a godless man. If she only knew what he’d been through, maybe then she might have retained her anger a little bit.

“Look. I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to lay my hands on you. I-I was just so… so carried away. Please, forgive me.” He kneeled down.

She continued sobbing.

“Please, face me,” He begged. As he stared at her, an unexplainable sadness pinched his heart. Perhaps, he could see himself in her. He was now starting to realize that he was becoming like his father, if not worse.

Warm. Comfortable. Cosy. It was Anton’s bear coat that curtained her back, preventing her from catching a cold. All of a sudden, she stopped crying.

On
the brink of going far from her room, he heard her voice.

“Wait,
” She said.

“Yes?”

“Why? Why did you buy me? Don’t you know my mother is in
debt,
and she’s going to jail? Maybe she is already.” Her voice croaked.

“I know.”

His words hit her ears. It was painful.
How did he know
?

“Before I took you here to Russia, I made sure I cleared everything up. Don’t you worry, your mom is fine. She’s no longer in debts.
It’s been
paid. You can relax now.”

Russia. Am I in freaking Russia
? That was her initial worry. She was miles away from home. But when she heard her mother was fine and no longer in debt, she began to calm down and breathe smoothly.

She stood up. As her legs stretched out, she made up her mind. It was now time to change. She needed to put her old self away. That girl who was so naïve of her surroundings was dead. She was now a new creature. Bulletproof – nothing to lose. She thought she’d already lost her virginity, so what else could
be taken
away from her? Her life? She was no longer afraid to die, especially now that she knew her mother was in the good situation.

“What do you want from me? How could I repay you?” Tasia turned to face him. Hands
against
her waist as if she was a black wonder woman. Still naked. But fierce.

“Aren’t you gonna cover your body? Use the duvet, perhaps?” Anton asked.

“You’ve already taken my virginity. So, what’s the point?”

“Oh…. No, you’re wrong. I-I didn’t…..”

Tasia cut in. “Do you have woman’s clothes in your wardrobe? I’m sure you do. You’re a billionaire, right. You could do everything.”

All of a sudden, Anton felt afraid of what he’d made her become.
Who is she
?

Chapter Five

Hours became days. Days became weeks. Weeks became months. And since then, Anton had never seen the sweet Tasia he once adored. She was a fast learner. Within weeks of watching, she’d mastered everything about the mafia. She became their new rookie. An asset in case their operation failed.

“Tasia, go and get Anton. Tell him we’re having a meeting within thirty minutes.” Java commanded her.

Java was the big boss of
Sekret
rynka
. He was the founder and the most flagrant leader. He would spare no one if found guilty of breaching the rules and regulations. He’d done it
before,
and he would do it again.

Knock. Knock. Knock
. Tasia slammed her fist against Anton’s door.

No one answered.

What is he doing
? She thought, intrigued
by
what he was
up to
. “Hey, dirty monkey. Come out.”

The longer Tasia stayed with them, the more she became like them. She was beginning to lose her manners.

Ten minutes of seeking Anton worried her. Although she hated him beyond measure, an inevitable attraction was prominent. Over the past few months, he’d proven himself to be a gentleman. Losing him still scared her. Indeed, she hated him but cared for him at the same time. She was confused. She was in a crazy world of criminals.

“This is not a good joke, Anton. I command you to come out in this instance!” Tasia said with authority in her voice.

Realizing the situation was getting serious. She ran out to tell Java. But a mournful voice grabbed her attention. She listened carefully to where it was
coming from
.

Is he underneath the bed? But why
? She asked herself in great wonder of what he was doing in there.

“Tasia?” Anton said weakly.

Pink roses sprung up on her cheeks as she blushed. She couldn’t help herself but to wrap her arms around him and keep him warm. He hugged her back, feeling the tenderness of her body. How he’d wished to do this before.

“Are you alright?” She asked
softly
as if she was talking to a child.

He nodded, assuring her he was fine.

“Just wait ok. I’m just
gonna
tell Java that you’re sick. I know he’d understand.”

But Anton refused to let go of her.

“Anton, I’m coming back. I promise.”

Before leaving, she put him first in bed, assuring he was comfortable and well wrapped to trap the hit in his body. Then she went to see Java in the meeting room.

“I’m going to stand proxy for Anton. He’s sick.”

“What? Tell him to stop being a pussy and get his ass over here.” Java yelled.

Everyone
was tamed
. Except, of course, Tasia.

“No! He’s sick and under the rules and regulations of
Sekret
rynka
, I commit myself as Anton’s proxy.”

Everyone laughed. But at the same
time,
they found her
really
bold to speak up against the big boss.

“Just
this time, Tasia. You’ve used your luck already. You only get one chance.” Java eyed her creepily, patronizing every nerve of her body.

But she was not afraid. Not at all.

“The
reason
I’ve gathered every leader in this meeting is because
….
a member in this table breached a decree. He knows who he is, and he better prepare himself.”

A man beside Tasia was sweating heavily. Every drop
was counted
. One by one.

“Everyone knows that a leader must
be committed
. And that commitment means putting your life in service. That commitment means giving up ever marrying and having a family.” Java paused and glanced around the table. “But one brave and
rather an audacious
man tried to raise his foot against us. We all know what the outcome is, right Albert?”

He was the person beside her.

“Please, let me explain. I broke up with her long time ago, and she aborted the baby already, so, so ….” He stuttered, trying to find the right words.

Tassia was getting petrified. She’d never seen this before. Was she regretful of her decision of being his proxy?

“So, so….? You’re dead.” Java pulled the trigger right through his head.

Everything happened quickly. It was clean. She did not even realize he was dead already. She was traumatized.

Java noticed her shaking.

“Tasia. Get used to this.
This is
normal. It’s part of your life now. So get over it.”

****

“Tasia? Hey, Tasia. Are you awake?” Anton was trying to wake her up. She was sitting beside his bed, asleep.

He was now in good condition after she took care of him. It turned out he caught Malaria, the same disease that killed her mother. Without her, he might have lost his life as well. Outsiders were not allowed to enter the warehouse where they stayed. It was a perilous move – something to
be taken
seriously. They never knew, a medical operator might be a spy, disguised in a
white
uniform.

Anton shoved her hair away from her face gently, exposing his naturally tanned face. What he loved the most was her bone structured face. She could be a supermodel,
but, for now,
she was his role model.

“I’m so sorry, Tasia.
I never meant to take you away from home. I admit I planned to use you to smuggle stuff from America to here, in Russia. But you gave me more than what I wanted. So thank you!”

With teary eyes, he imparted a mellifluous kiss on her forehead. How he wished to see the soft side of him. A tear
fell
. It touched her cheek that woke her up.

“What’s that?” She thought there was a leak in the ceiling.

Still not in her normal senses, she rose up to see how Anton was doing.
Touching his forehead
, his hand
traveled
on top of hers. A chill swam in her spine to her neck. She had goose bumps.

“Anton?”

“Tasia…”

“Oh, thank goodness you’re alright. Are you feeling well now?”

“Yes. Thanks, Tasia.”

Dropping down, she embraced him tightly, showing that she had grown to love him.

They stared at each other in disbelief. Who would have thought that
enemies, in the beginning,
became lovers at the end?

Unable to hold back, he pulled her closer to him. Their lips intertwined, sharing their long awaited oneness. Placing his hands
on
both sides of her face, he kept on devouring her lips. As they exchanged saliva, he began sliding her blouse away.

She took her blouse off completely. He rose up to help her undo her bra. Sitting on his lap, she offered her neck to
be kissed
. To her invitation, he helped himself do so. He ran his tongue around her scruff, tasting every flavor of her skin. It was salty, but at the same time sweet and sour. The sensual sensation must have made him imagine all sorts of relishes.

Pulling his shirt off, the smell of his manliness was so addictive.
Russian smell was by far stronger and nicer. She lowered her head down to his neck and began kissing. Running her wet tongue
along
his ears made him moan in pleasure, instead of tingling away.

She leaned back, supported by his hands. Arms were wrapped around his neck as she swirled her head as if she was
being exorcised
. Feeling his mouth roaming around her breasts, she moaned and moaned as her body wriggled in excitement.

“Oooh… Yeah. More. More….” She pleaded.

He bit on her nipples. He lifted her up, and then put her down again. Then they stopped.

Feet
stomping outside their room. Who could it be? Did they know they were making love?

“Don’t worry about them. Please, continue.” She said, annoyed to be interrupted.