by Coco Miller
“Eventually,” Kazimir finally says. “Where is she?”
My father must relent because the door knob of the closest turns. Oh, no. No way am I going with these men! I grab a can of wet dog food to protect myself and as the door swings open I launch it, smacking the devil right in the forehead and run by him, but his arm snakes out wrapping around my waist.
“Let me go!” I kick and scream, punching his arms and throwing my head back to try and smack him in the face. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Put me down!”
I fight until a hot sweat breaks out over my body and when I meet my dad’s eyes, he shakes his head, telling me quietly to stop what I am doing.
He pivots me completely around, my back to his front, and then he whispers in my ear, “You are if you want your father to live.”
Dammit, his voice sounds even better so close.
I stop fighting but unfortunately the tears don’t stop.
“What have you done, daddy?” I ask defeatedly as Kazimir still holds onto me.
I try and ignore how good his touch feels, and how ironically it gives me a sense of security. That makes no sense when all he and his family have done is threaten mine.
“I’m sorry, Alegra. I wanted to support you through school. We were getting behind on the bills. The business is going under. I did the only thing I said I’d never do. They aren’t horrible men—”
“They aren’t horrible?” I say, disgusted. “They threaten to kill you. They want to take me and you have the nerve to say they are not bad men? They’re probably going to sell me to some prince in a foreign country!”
“You read too many novels,” Kazimir chuckles. “You will not be sold and you will want for nothing, Moya Dusha.”
“I don’t know what that means.” I try and fight against him again but he keeps me pressed against his body and from what I can tell he is hard all over.
He kisses the side of my temple and takes a deep breath. “You will in time.”
My father bows his head in shame. “Alegra, I’m sorry, but this way we will be able to see each other again.”
“You’re going to let them take me? Is that what I am to you? I’m that disposable?”
“We need to go.” The older Russian man stares at his watch as if he’s bored, annoyed that kidnapping me is taking so long.
“Oh, so sorry to be inconvenient!” I spit at him.
I want to hate everyone in this room right now especially my father. I want to say that I hope I never see him again after agreeing to this, but leaving behind the only life I have ever known, gives me hope that maybe I will be able to see him again. I love him and at the end of the day, my dad is my only family. I need him alive no matter what he’s done. No matter the cost.
I turn my head to the right as far as I can so that my mouth is against my captor’s chest. I want him to feel the words I’m about to say straight to his core.
“I fucking hate you.”
Of course my traitorous body contradicts every word, my nipples beading as his unique rich scent invades my lungs. Dammit, he smells good. I love a man that smells good, but I hate a man that has to take what he wants.
Bully.
“You will learn not to,” he replies and the soft breath of his words drift along the shell of my ear and goosebumps pebble alone the right side of my body.
I haven’t even gotten a good look at what this infamous Kazimir looks like because when he opened the door, I launched a dog food can at him and tried to run. I bet his stupid sexy voice is the only thing sexy about him. He’s probably old and ugly. I hate everything about this situation right now.
“I really doubt it,” I reply flippantly.
“When can she come back?” My father interrupts.
“I can’t believe you,” I say.
The pain is carried in my words as I speak to my dad, and no matter how much I try, I can’t stop crying. I see the regret in his eyes, but I also know there is nothing he can do. If I want to keep my father alive, I’ve got to leave with these men. My fate is sealed in the hands of the Russian mafia.
I’m terrified.
Mr. Volkov’s laugh is villainous but what he is finding humorous, I have no idea. “Mr. Wilson, once we are out of these doors, your daughter is my son’s property. She will never be coming back.”
“What?!” My father takes a step in my direction and the big guy that gave me the card steps in front of him. “You said I could see her. No, no! Please, just take my life then. Take my life.”
“No,” Kazimir purrs into my ear. “I want hers.”
“You’ll be able to talk to her when I allow her to reach out to you. No sooner. It’s enough that I’ve left you alive. Be grateful.”
Mr. Volkov steps around the bigger man blocking my father and that’s when I see him for the first time. The power emanating off him chokes me and I can see how a man like him always gets what he wants. He is tall and built, but I can tell he really used to be a looker back in his day when he was younger, probably thicker too. It’s his eyes that scare me the most though.
They are cold. When they pierce me with their soul−snatching gaze, it’s like dry ice is burning my skin, slowly torturing me. I’ve never seen eyes so blue that they almost look clear, but his are and I have a feeling every time I close my eyes, those eyes will be in the forefront of my mind, threatening me.
He doesn’t have to speak a word, just one look, one flick of his narrow gaze, and I’ll crumble and do whatever he wants. That’s how powerful that man is. Pure danger and I’m sure his son, the man still holding me with a death grip is just as bad.
“No, no, no, please don’t hurt her. Please.”
My dad falls to his knees and I have to look away, once again turning my face into Kazimir’s solid chest. I don’t want to witness my dad doing something so out of character. I’ve never seen him like this before. He has always been my superhero.
“Please, don’t hurt her. I offer you my life.”
“We don’t hurt women. You should know that. Women are precious to us. You will not need to worry. She will have everything she will ever want and more.”
Mr. Volkov is in front of me before I can blink. He places his fingers under my chin and has me turn my head to face him.
“No need to cry, ledi,” he says in his thick Russian tongue. “For whatever reason, my son wants you and your father will live. Hmm, you are quite striking. You remind me of someone. I can’t put my finger on it.”
His brows wrinkle in the middle as he ponders about who I remind him of.
“Probably the last woman you killed,” I say off−handedly and he snatches his hand from my face as if I have burned him.
He stares at the big dude, then back at me, then him again, and a look crosses his face. Something dawns on him, but I have no idea what it is because he makes his way toward the door.
“We shall be in touch, Mr. Wilson.”
I’m dragged from the clinic, kicking and screaming. I reach for my dad and he grabs my hands for a second, trying to pull me from my Kazimir’s grasp.
“I love you. I love you, Alegra. We will figure this out,” he yells after me. “I will get the money.”
The few people on the block ignore the scene as if it isn’t happening. Everyone turning a blind eye to the fact that I’m being kidnapped.
The door to the clinic shuts and I’m shoved insid the back of the same SUV that blocked me in the street.
My life is going to forever change but in what ways?
4
Kazimir
“Stop fighting me!”
My arms are still wrapped around this firecracker of a woman as she tries to claw her way out of my arms. Vlad keeps the front door propped open as I finally get my little hellcat inside.
“Alegra, stop. I’m not going to hurt you.” I let go of her arms and she stumbles forward not expecting me to let go.
She turns her gorgeous topaz eyes on to me, heated and angry. It makes my cock jerk behind th
e zipper of pants because while she is angry, her cheeks are flushed and her nipples are hard underneath her shirt as she directs her frustrations out on me.
Fuck me. Alegra wants me and she probably doesn’t even realize that she does.
“Stop fighting you? You aren’t going to hurt me? You expect me to believe that shit? You dragged me from my home and my father– the one place and the one person who has ever made me feel safe and loved. All because of what? He owes you a couple of bucks?” she hisses.
Dammit, she looks beautiful when she is riled up and pissed off. I bet the sex is going to be amazing because whether she knows it now or not, she and I will be together. I’ve been watching her for the last year, getting to know her, trying to find a way to make her mine and when her dad didn’t pay up, it was the perfect opportunity to get her into my arms and my bed.
She’ll love me.
She’ll realize we are meant to be together.
And if she doesn’t, it only means I need to work that much harder to prove to her that we belong together. I’ve always appreciated a good challenge.
“Try more like a hundred grand, Moya Dusha.”
Her eyes become wide as two moons.
“No, no. My dad would never borrow that much money.”
“Well,” I shake my head and crowd her space. “He didn’t borrow, did he? Borrowing entails he paid it back. He stole from us, so we stole from him.”
She takes a nervous step back. Vlad is on the steps, somewhere in the middle watching us and my father has gone into his office leaving me to handle Alegra. I think he was surprised that I asked for her during the collection, but I have always been a dutiful son and my father has rarely denied me anything as long as it makes sense.
“What am I doing here?” Her left hand holds her right arm. “If you’re going to sell me off or kill me, can you just do it?”
Vlad’s laughter fills the giant foyer and the crystals of the chandelier shake, chiming against one another and creating a beautiful melody.
“It isn’t funny! I deserve to know if I’m going to die,” she snaps at him, that boiling under coming forward again. She has fire in her veins which is good, because it will be needed here in this life.
“Moya Dusha−−−”
“Stop calling me that. I don’t know what you are saying!” she yells. “Just leave me alone, can you do that? I don’t want anything to do with this. Can I get a last meal?”
Closing the distance between us, she has nowhere to go. Her back is against the wall and she tries to press against it to get further away from me, but I have her trapped. I bring my right arm up and brace it above her head, leaning over her. My eyes shut and I inhale, her succulent sweet scent washes over me and I know she’s exactly where she needs to be. She smells of flowers and rain, like a meadow after a thunderstorm and I want to dance within her and rejoice in finally finding having her here.
As mine.
I’ve waited a long time for this.
“Alegra, darling, you are not going anywhere and you certainly aren’t going to die. I would never allow that to happen.”
I reach up and graze my knuckles down her cheek. They are warm and tinted with the hot blood rushing to her face. Her skin is soft, the color of rich coffee mixed with cream and I want to drink her down for an energy boost. Alegra will be my new form of caffeine. A jolt of everything I will ever need, every single morning.
“Am I going to be…” she swallows and a tear falls down her cheek. She’s shaking.
It breaks my heart she thinks so little of me. I want her to feel safe here. I know everything is a shock right now, but she’ll get used to it here. This is her home now.
“Am I going to be a sex slave? Am I going to be passed around?” Alegra looks at both me and Vlad then chokes out a sob as her eyes become brighter from the tears. “Please, don’t do that to me.”
The thought of another man’s hands on her makes my fists squeeze tight until my fingers pop and a growl leaves my lips. I’m not afraid to kill for her. If one man thinks about touching a hair on her beautiful head, I’ll have theirs.
“No, Alegra. Nothing like that will happen to you here.”
“Kazimir would never allow that, Alegra,” Vlad defends me. I know I can always count on him to have my back. He leans against the iron rails of it the stairway and looks down at us. “This isn’t what this is.”
“Then what is this? Will you explain it to me? I can’t be passed around…I…I have never—” and then she gasps. “Is that it? You’re going to sell me! You’re going to try and get top dollar for a virgin and I’m going to go into sex trafficking and be addicted to drugs, laying there unconscious while man after man use me up.”
She bends over and heaves all over the floor, puking up breakfast and whatever else she ate today. Alegra is getting herself so worked up that it is making her sick. Where does she get these crazy ideas.
“Calm down, Alegra. It isn’t like that.”
“Please, don’t,” she cries, pounding her fist into my chest. “I’ll be your sex slave. Just don’t sell me. I know virgins go for high prices, but I’ll try and be good for you. I will.”
She stares at me with eager eyes and I stare at her with pity. Knowing she is a virgin makes me happy, but the way she is offering herself to me is… unsettling.
“I can learn. I’m a quick learner, Kazimir. It’s Kazimir, right?”
Her face is soaked with tears and her nose is red, raw, and running.
Fuck, she’s hysterical. I didn’t think it would be this bad.
I cup her face with my hands, catching one last tear that falls off her lashes. I brush it away with my thumb.
“Alegra, Moya Dusha, what will it take to convince you? I am never going to sell you. Ever. You will not be my sex slave. If you want to have consensual, passionate, earth−shattering sex, we will, and I know it will happen because I believe you are meant for me. I will not push you, hurry you, or make you feel cheap. You are here because I want you here. I admit, I took advantage of your father’s situation to get you here but—”
She smacks me across the face, my cheek tingles, and that burning rage of hers is pointed at me again. Oh, if her looks could light fires, I’d be a man crumbling to ash.
“You arrogant asshole!” she lifts her hand again and I catch it in mine when she tries to hit me again.
“I understand your rage, but I will not be disrespected in my own home. I’ll let you get away with that one considering the circumstances but if it happens again,” I press my pelvis against hers, her tight nipples scratching against my chest. “I will bend you over my knee and spank you.”
“Fuck you,” she spits in my face.
Literally, spits.
“Shit.”
Vlad’s heavy boots pound down the steps, but I hold up my hand to stop him.
I dip my finger through the liquid on my cheek and suck my finger into my mouth. She inhales a sharp breath not expecting me to taste her.
“I knew you would taste good, but I never expected you to taste so sweet when you are so angry.”
“You’re disgusting.”
I chuckle.
“And fucking crazy,” she adds.
“Just wait and see how crazy I get when it comes to you. Vlad, will you please show Alegra to her room please?”
I take a handkerchief from my pocket and wipe my face off. She tries to run, but Vlad catches her and she doesn’t bother fighting him.
Vlad is a big motherfucker.
She screams as he lifts her up the stairs, spewing things like how much she hates me and she wishes I’d just kill her, that death would be better than being here.
Her words feel like shards of glass piercing through my heart. She has no idea how much she means to me but of course she wouldn’t. She didn’t know I existed until today.
I’ve been obsessing over her for almost a year now, following her, hunting her like an animal, falling in love with every move she makes.
I had no idea how much fire she has inside her. I’ve never seen her like this. It’s one of the many things I now admire about Alegra. She’s a bullet shooting from a gun with a silencer, quiet and fierce.
Her shouts of protest get quieter the further away she gets. Vlad is going to lock her in the room next to mine. She has no idea that our rooms will be adjoining, but I do not ever plan to have her far away from me. I need to make sure she is close enough where I can protect her.
“She’s a handful.” Vlad rubs his cheek which I notice is bright red, mirroring mine.
I smirk to myself. My woman is a handful and I fucking love it. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?”
“Da, if you mean she has an insane backhand, then sure, she’s perfection.”
“Thanks for today, I’ll be in my room.”
In my room taking care of my fucking cock because it’s so hard it hurts. It wasn’t before, not when she was crying and pleading not be a sex slave, but when she slapped me? I became turned on as fuck.
“Good luck,” he mutters, patting me on the shoulder and rubbing his cheek with his other hand.
He’ll never admit it, but being slapped by a woman is really going to eat him up on the inside. Vlad doesn’t like having anyone mad at him, let alone a woman. He’s big as a bear but totally soft inside for them.
After saying goodnight to him, I make my way up the steps, and I wonder if I made the right decision taking her away from her father. I did take advantage of the situation, but there’s no question that I’d do it all over again to have her here with me.
I’m obsessed.
Unhealthily, so.
Walking with an erection is difficult, but no one is around so I don’t bother adjusting it or hiding it. The wing to my floor is blocked off by a set of double doors. I place my finger against the scanner, the only way to get in this wing of the house and make my way down the Russian styled hallway.
I have statues of famous Russian historical figures on my right and on my left original paintings that date back two hundred years.
It’s pristine, luxurious, and classic with Russian flourishes, while the rest of the house looks like a military base. But after a long day, I want my bedroom to look different from what my life really is.
