Stranded with the Pakhan by Ariana Cooper

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.