by Ivy Clyde
Victor Sokolov was a monster but he was mine.
“I need to sit down,” I said in a shaky voice. “My legs don’t feel very strong.”
A boyish grin lifted the corners of his lips. Fuck! That’s when I realized he wasn’t that old. He was twenty-five, only a few years older than me.
“Come here,” he said, guiding me to the chair where only half an hour ago we’d tortured and mangled Tommy Regio.
He made me sit down and used his own handkerchief to clean up the mess he left between my thighs. His movements were amazingly gentle.
Victor Sokolov turned out to be a man of his words. He was definitely taking care of me.
I couldn’t help the smile that rose on my lips when he raised his head to look at me. The smile he returned was both a stab and balm to my heart.
30
River
A familiar trilling rang out in the suite. Leaping off the couch, I rushed toward the security intercom system at once. The guards downstairs always alerted me when Victor entered the building after a day’s work.
The screen before me lit up with a live footage, showing a glimpse of two familiar figures. I recognized Victor’s tall, broad frame at once. A leaner, shorter man walked beside him.
My gaze focused on Danica’s figure. Her clothes looked disheveled but she didn’t seem hurt otherwise. I glanced at Victor next. His suit was surprisingly unkempt too.
The feed cut off as they stepped into the elevator.
Gathering the front of my robes, I went back to the couch and picked up a bottle of champagne. The bottle was well-chilled after staying buried in a bucket of ice cubes.
Victor liked a glass of his favorite champagne when he returned home, although he’d soon demand cocaine or Adderall, depending on how he was planning to spend his evening.
If he had work, he’d go for the Adderall.
If he wanted to celebrate something, it’d be cocaine, followed by a night of fucking.
I’d noticed the leather gloves in Victor’s hands before he left that afternoon. They meant only one thing. Victor punished a traitor or thief today.
Cocaine, it is, I decided, knowing how his bloodlust always fueled his arousal. It caused a stronger reaction in him than the times we recorded our fuck fests.
The sound of the opening door startled me and I found my hand hanging mid-air with the heavy champagne bottle clutched in my fingers.
“Hey,” I said, hurrying to grab a glass. “Need a drink?”
“Yeah,” said Victor. Unbuttoning his jacket, he took it off and sunk onto the couch beside me. A big, satisfied sigh escaped his lips as he stretched out his legs.
“Here,” I said, holding the bubbling drink.
“Thanks.” He swallowed the drink in one go and held out the glass. “Pour me some more.”
Grabbing the bottle, I inched toward him.
“Want me to take out my collar tonight?” I asked as I carefully refilled his glass.
He let out an amused chuckle and gulped down the champagne in one go. “Not tonight, Sugar,” he said, brushing my lips with the pad of his thumb. “I need to go through some reports. So, it’s Adderall and some late-night dinner for me tonight.”
I felt my eyes widen. Victor never said no to our sexy playtimes.
I stared at him as he stood up and walked toward the bathroom. He shed his clothing on the way, dropping them on the floor.
“Cheeky bastard,” I muttered under my breath. Victor knew how much I hated mess but he did silly shit like this just to annoy me.
I moved off the couch and picked up his clothes. Huffing out a breath, I looked toward the closed bathroom door. It was odd he didn’t invite me in for a shower at least.
Suddenly, it hit me.
He had Danica with him today. Victor didn’t have to wait until he got home to me. She was enough to satiate him now.
Entering the bathroom, I watched Victor bathing in the glass-walled shower stall. For a moment, I watched his big, rough hands gliding over the muscles of his chest. Heat flared up deep in my belly as I imagined those hands on my skin.
Victor was a god when it came to sex but tonight, I was craving a different person. Just like him, I wanted Danica.
“Victor?” I called out.
Wiping away the strands of sopping wet hair from his eyes, he turned toward me. “What is it?”
“I’m going over to Danica’s.”
He turned off the shower and faced me. “She had a long day today. Let her catch some rest.”
I bit my lips to swallow the chuckle escaping me. Victor never cared about the people who worked for him, but he cared about her “rest”.
“I’m not her master,” I said in a soft tone. “I won’t make her work. She can relax with me.”
His startlingly silvery eyes widened a fraction. Clearing his throat, he turned away from me and switched on the shower. “Do what you want.”
Chuckling to myself, I headed out into the hall and threw his clothes into a laundry hamper. As I was straightening up, my gaze fell on the large brown paper bag sitting on the countertop.
It’d been a few hours since it was delivered to me but I could still smell the delicious aroma of garlic and baked cheese wafting from it. Earlier that evening, I’d sent one of the men to buy me some more meatball sandwiches from the small restaurant I visited that day.
Eating just one hadn’t been enough to satisfy me.
Taking the package, I walked out of the suite and stepped out into the hallway. Reaching the closed doors of Danica’s suite, I knocked.
A few seconds passed by, but there was no reply.
Maybe she’s taking a shower too, I decided and entered the passcode Victor gave me that morning. With a low click, the door unlocked itself. Pushing it open, I stepped into the suite.
There was a heap of clothes on the couch. The faint sound of running water coming from the bathroom confirmed my guess. Danica was in the shower as well.
Depositing the food on the coffee table, I moved forward to collect her clothes. She seemed as happy to make a mess as Victor. I was about to put them away when a subtle smell caught my attention.
It smelled like something was burning. Turning toward the kitchen area, I found a saucepan on the stovetop.
I hurried toward it at once and found the pot full of boiling noodles in a red sauce. The soup was already starting to dry out and catch at the bottom.
I switched off the stove and let the chuckles escape my lips.
Danica was like me in this regard—completely hopeless in the kitchen.
We both needed Victor to feed us delicious homecooked meals.
My feet moved toward the sound of running water. Before I knew it, I was standing by the half-open door.
Danica felt safe enough here to take a shower without closing the bathroom door. Or perhaps, she knew no one except Victor would enter the suite.
My gaze latched onto the sight of Danica in the shower stall before I could move away. Her naked body was swathed in clouds of steam but my eyes easily traced her soft, feminine curves.
My tongue darted out to wet my lower lip as my gaze stayed stuck to the dip between her thighs. The memory of being inside her hot, tight core rose up in my mind. A sudden rush of heat burned through me, making my cock harden beneath the folds of my robe.
My breaths turned heavy and shallow, and I had to turn away before my raging lust took complete control over my senses.
A whore like me was never taught concepts of privacy and respect, but I wanted to offer both to Danica. She was free for my taking. Victor already made it clear last night but I didn’t want to take anything from her she wasn’t offering freely.
Danica stirred up strange emotions inside me and I didn’t know what to do with them. She was a woman disguised as a man in Victor Sokolov’s world. I could only imagine how much courage it took for her to agree to take up the role he’d given her.
The position came with perks but no man would willingly take up the job of a rat c
atcher. No man would willingly owe their allegiance to Victor Sokolov because one single mistake would mean a very painful death at his hands.
It’d only been six months since I became Victor’s pet but the past few months were enough for me to realize how much he scared the mobsters who controlled the streets of New York City.
Even someone as powerful as Boris Pavlov was helpless against him when Victor decided to take away his prized whore for free. I’d made Boris thousands of dollars during the years he held me captive but he still had to give me up to satiate Victor’s whim.
I looked back at Danica. She was compulsively rubbing at her face and neck. A sliver of pity shot through me despite the haze of desire burning through me.
Danica must’ve been forced to torture a man today. Maybe even kill him too...
She didn’t have the same bloodlust as her master but she was too smart to refuse his orders. I closed my eyes, wondering how much she could take before Victor broke her completely.
“River?”
My eyes opened at the sound of her naturally sweet voice.
Danica stood before me with a towel wrapped around her petite frame. My gaze skimmed along her naked shoulders. Her skin was still flushed and damp from the shower. The urge to lick along her collar bones caused my cock to stir up again.
“I came to rescue you,” I said, controlling the maddening emotions running through me. At that moment, I just wanted to push her against a wall and fuck her until she was moaning my name.
“Rescue me?”
I gestured toward the kitchen. “You’d be eating burned noodles if I didn’t come here with dinner.”
“Oh, no!” she squealed, almost jumping. Running past me, she hurried to the kitchen area.
“Thank god, you switched it off,” she said as relief spread through her voice. “It would have sucked to scrape off burnt noodles from the bottom and ruin the pan.”
“I’m sure Victor wouldn’t mind buying you a new saucepan,” I said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, I guess,” she said with a grin. “Give me a minute. I’ll change and come back.”
Danica disappeared inside one of the rooms. It was annoying how this suite wasn’t separated by glass walls like Victor’s.
She came back in a few minutes though, wearing a long pink hoodie that I recognized at once. It was the same one I lent her that morning. An unknown emotion spread through me, warming me from within as I watched her being comfortable in it.
“Oh wow!” she gushed, sitting on the couch by the coffee table. “You brought Giovani’s sandwiches? Did you go back to buy more?”
“No,” I said, walking toward her. “I had someone else get them for me. Aren’t you lucky I ordered extra?”
She chuckled and nodded. “Thanks for bringing them over. I was starving despite...” She swallowed and didn’t finish her sentence.
“Sex will make you hungry even if you’re too sick to eat,” I said.
She glanced up at me quickly. Shame and guilt burned in her eyes as she held my gaze.
“It’s okay,” I said gently. “Survival is more important than anything.”
Surprise flitted through her soft-brown eyes. And then, she smiled. “You’re right.”
Plunging her hands inside the bag, she took out a box of mozzarella sticks. She grabbed four of them and shoved them in her mouth at once. “Mmm...so good,” she managed to say as she chewed through the massive mouthful.
I couldn’t help the chuckles escaping me. Danica was funny, even carefree when Victor wasn’t around.
Smart girl, I thought, watching her stuff her face with more cheese sticks. She was right to be wary in front of Victor Sokolov.
The sound of the door opening had both of us turning toward it.
Dressed in a pair of loose black trousers and an untucked white shirt, Victor stood at the threshold, staring over at us.
Danica jumped to her feet at once and for a moment, she looked ridiculous as she desperately tried to chew the rest of the food she’d crammed in her mouth.
“What are you doing?” he asked, moving forward to meet us.
“She burned her dinner, so I offered her what I had,” I explained, gesturing toward the bag of food before us.
“It smells good,” said Victor as he bent down to check the contents of the bag.
In the meantime, Danica managed to swallow the contents of her mouth.
“I came over to tell you to order me some food but it looks like you’ve already taken care of it.” He massaged my shoulders. “Thanks, gorgeous.”
“Do you want something to drink?” asked Danica.
“What have you got?” I asked.
“Err...water and milk.” Closing her eyes, she slapped her forehead and moaned. “Forget it. I can bring something over from your apartment if you want.”
Victor and I glanced at each other. Next moment, we exploded with laughter as Danica turned a brighter shade of red. She was too damn cute for her own good.
“Just sit down and eat with us,” said Victor. He brought out the sandwiches and before he could start unwrapping one, I hurried over to the kitchen to bring plates. They didn’t realize it but all that oozing tomato sauce would make a mess on the couch.
“Use these,” I said, coming back and handing them both plates and dishes. Placing a stack of napkins on the table, I sat down on the couch.
“Thanks,” said Danica as she reached for a meatball sandwich. Unwrapping it, she opened wide and took a massive bite.
I noticed Victor staring at her as well. Even watching her eat seemed to fascinate him. Chuckling internally, I got started on some French fries topped with marinara sauce and melted cheese. They’d gone slightly soggy but still tasted good.
“Where did you get these from?” asked Victor after a few bites of his sandwich. “These are really good.”
“Danica took me to the restaurant today,” I said. “Even Ginger likes the food there.”
Victor raised his glance toward me and then looked toward Danica.
“You took River out on a date?” he asked.
“It wasn’t a date,” she replied in a grim voice. “I just wanted to buy him some food.”
Victor sucked a breath through his teeth. “Did you like being out with him?” he asked in a soft voice but his eyes gleamed darkly.
“I like his company,” said Danica, meeting his gaze bravely.
“What about mine?” pressed Victor. “Don’t you enjoy what we do when we’re together?”
Danica’s face paled for a moment. She put down her half-eaten sandwich and looked down at her knees. “I like working for you, Victor.”
Victor moved away from me and went to sit next to her. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her against him. At the moment, she looked terribly small next to him.
“Don’t you enjoy the other stuff?” Victor asked her in a soft voice.
Victor was trying to force her to say she liked him better than me. I frowned, not liking how he was starting to bully her. It was one thing to tease her but quite another to make her so uncomfortable.
“Leave her alone, darling,” I said. “Let her eat.”
Victor met my gaze and then, glanced at Danica. He understood what I meant even though I stayed silent. With a sigh, he came back to sit beside me.
Victor wolfed down two of the massive meatball sandwiches within five minutes while Danica didn’t touch her food again.
“This was surprisingly good,” said Victor as he wiped his mouth. The table before us was already a mess of torn wrappers, empty boxes, and carelessly strewn napkins.
I sighed. “You made a mess again.”
“It’s fine,” said Danica. “I’ll clean up.” She looked strange at the moment. Somehow, Victor’s forceful pushing reminded her of the “job” they’d been doing earlier. I couldn’t blame her for losing her appetite.
I couldn’t help but glare at Victor again. He had to ruin the moment.
“What’s with th
e pout, darling?” he asked, leaning in to kiss me.
I let him capture my lips in a kiss. His teeth scraped against my lower lip, drawing out soft moans from me. Taking advantage, he slipped in his tongue, kissing me thoroughly.
Heat flared inside me, driving every thought from my mind.
Victor was always possessive and dominating, but I didn’t mind at all. This was the kind of passion I was used to and felt comfortable with. It was so easy to lose myself in the familiar sensation of his hands sliding up my thighs.
“You’re going to have to wait if you want more,” Victor crooned in a low whisper, his eyes dancing with mischief. “I’ve got to finish up a few things before going to bed tonight.”
Breathless, I nodded.
I glanced at Danica sitting opposite us.
Her brown eyes were glazed with a haze of lust as she stared at us unblinkingly. I’d expected her to look at me with jealousy, even anger, but there was none in her expression.
Danica was so strange. I was used to scathing looks and cruel comments when I accompanied Victor in public. Men eyed me with disgust while the women glared at me for taking up their place beside the mafia prince. Even the whores working for Boris had hated me.
Why was she so different?
Victor smirked at me. He knew exactly the kind of effect we were having on Danica right now.
“Let’s go back, babe,” said Victor.
Part of me didn’t want to leave but I still rose from the couch. Danica needed her space to clear her head after whatever horror Victor forced her to participate in.
“Danica, be up early tomorrow,” said Victor just as we were about to step out into the hallway. “I’ll send you on an important job.”
“Sure, Victor,” she said with a grim nod.
Victor wrapped his arm around my waist and walked us down the hallway to reach our suite. I spoke after I heard Danica closing the door behind us.
“You could have invited her,” I said. “She looked like she wanted to join us.”
“She deserves a treat,” said Victor in a grim tone. “But it can’t be tonight. I do have a lot of shit to work through tonight. Business before anything else.”
“I want her with us again.”
