by Marian Tee
Vassi would never like her the way she liked him.
But there was also that small, instinctive, and hopelessly optimistic part of her---
That part of her saw so much promise, so much meaning, so many hidden desires in his gaze.
Like now.
He was gazing at her under his lashes, his eyes glittering as they roamed Seri’s body. It was like he was undressing her with his gaze, and the feel of his eyes on her was so shockingly, shamefully, and irresistibly arousing.
It felt so real…
And yet, she still couldn’t be sure of it, even now.
“Seri?” Vassi was smirking at her, but his gaze was even more heated, and the promise of it even more dangerously forbidden---
Derr’ mo.
He was right. She did want to hug her…stepbrother, who was also the only man she had fallen in love with.
Lust won over common sense, and she pretended to grumble, “Fine.”
Fyodor chuckled. “Sorry, boys, it seems Vassi’s still Seri’s favorite.”
She heard Misha and Sergei protesting Papa’s words, but their voices sound distant, like she was in a different world, one where she could pretend she was someone else with Vassi.
Slowly, she moved towards him, and a moment later, his arms circled around her body.
She gingerly raised her own to wrap them around his neck.
Their bodies touched, chest to cheek.
Derr ‘mo. B‘lyad. Chort.
Shit. Fuck. Damn.
All her Russian cuss words came to fore at the heat that instantly enveloped her, turning Seri’s insides to mush and making her body go from dry to embarrassingly wet in seconds.
Any second now and she would inhale his scent again, but this time the scent would be too addictive, and she could lose control.
Seri suddenly had a terrifying image of her overwhelming desire, to the point that she would end up pushing Vassi on the table and have her wicked way with him---
Even with their entire family present---
No!
Seri pushed him away in a panic, and Vassi fell off the stool.
“What the fuck, Leech?” Vassi’s growl was drowned out by the roaring laughter from the other boys.
Derr ‘mo.
Now she had done it.
Knowing how Vassi could be such a beast when he was furious, she cautiously peeked at his expression as he got back on the stool. He cursed all the while, and Seri was pretty sure most of them were directed at her.
When he was properly seated, he reached for her suddenly, murmuring under his breath, “You’re going to pay for that.”
She gulped, knowing she should be afraid but instead she was…aroused beyond belief.
Vassi punishing her---
Vassi fucking her hard---
Breeeeeeeeeeaaaaathe, Seri.
Do not let anyone know how horny your stepbrother made you feel.
And so she kicked him on the shin again, and as Vassi cursed, she ran out of the dining room, yelling over her shoulder, “Welcome back, Vassi.”
Chapter Twelve
I’m not going to wonder if he ‘s doing his…thing…with his dick.
But it was another futile promise Seri ended up breaking, with every minute that passed and Vassi still hadn’t made it back.
Anxiety was always her best friend whenever Vassi was back home, and even though she knew it was pointless to agonize over where Vassi was or what he was doing, she just couldn’t help it. She didn’t mind as much when he was doing his thing abroad. But when he was here in California with the family?
It didn’t feel…right.
By the time the sound of Vassi’s car coming up the driveway had reached her ears, it was midnight and Seri had fallen asleep, curled up in sofa. She sat up straight, disoriented. Then she heard Vassi’s voice---
She scrambled to her feet, not wanting Vassi to think she had stayed up late waiting for him.
But before she could reach the stairs, the front doors had opened and she found herself face to face with Vassi.
He had changed into a leather jacket and jeans with ripped holes in the knees, every inch the bad boy from head to toe. “Solnishka moya.” His voice was unnaturally husky, and his crooked grin only made him look more devilishly good-looking.
Her heart melted, and Seri thought, I’m going to do it now. I’m really going to do it. I’m going to apologize about what happened this morning and then it will be back to normal.
Vassi started to approach her, and she started to speak.
But then she saw his jeans weren’t completely buttoned up, and she forgot all about her good intentions.
He bent to kiss her cheek, but she moved away, muttering, “You smell disgusting.” And Seri meant it. Vassi smelled like woman’s perfume – another woman’s perfume, which to her was the most disgusting smell in the world.
“Sorry.” But Vassi’s tone was more amused than offended. He bent down, and before Seri realized what he was about to do, his lips had already brushed against her cheek, and he murmured, “You smell great, though.”
B’lyad. Vassi’s words electrified her body, and Seri suddenly remembered the scene she had voice acted for last night. The hero / Vassi seducing the heroine / Seri---
“Seri?” His silver eyes were magnetic, and she could feel herself drowning---
No! Don’t daydream while he’s right in front of you!
Seri managed to back away, nearly tripping in her haste to get away from him. “D-don’t do that again!”
Vassi’s gaze narrowed as she rubbed her cheek like she was disinfecting herself. “You---”
She lifted her chin. “It was gross. Who knows how many girls you’ve kissed with those lips? I could g-get an STD because of you, you know?” She didn’t wait for him to answer, turning around to head up the stairs.
Fingers encircled her wrist just as she reached the first turn, and she immediately tried to struggle. She needed to get away from him. She wasn’t ready for this. She would never be ready until she started seeing him as just her brother.
“Seri!”
“No!”
He tugged her hard, and she fell against him. “Vassi!”
He caught her, his strength preventing him from toppling back even with her full weight on him. The feel of his hard chest against her had her frozen in his arms. Even with her standing one step above him, Vassi was still taller, placing her at eye level with his mouth. She glared at his beautiful lips, but it was herself she was mad at, with the way her body was shaking too hard just because he was holding her.
“Seri.” His voice was unexpectedly guttural, and her heart squeezed.
“Look at me,” he urged, and Seri squeezed her eyes shut.
His voice seduced her, his breath fanning her ear thrilled her, and his hard body, pulsing against hers---
She pressed her thighs together, but it did nothing to step the wetness from flooding out of her.
Eto piz ‘dets.
This was so fucked up.
She had over two years to either see him as a brother or hate him.
Two years, and yet everything was still so fucked up between them.
Seri looked up. “Can you just let go of me? You’re being too clingy---”
He released her abruptly, and the flicker in his gaze made Seri suck her breath.
She had hurt him.
It was what she meant to do, but it didn’t make her feel any better.
“Vassi, I---” But her voice trailed off because what was there to say?
I still can’t see you as a brother?
A humorless laugh almost escaped her. She could just imagine saying that, and she could as easily imagine Vassi laughing at her face. Or worse, he could look at her like she was a freak. He saw her as his baby sister, and she saw him as the guy she wanted to give her virginity to.
“You never seem to want me around anymore.” Vassi suddenly spoke between clenched teeth.
She was stunned at
the words, and Seri stammered, “It’s n-not like that.” He had always been the same with her even though she had become more antagonistic and constantly showed she preferred Sergei and Misha’s company to his. She had thought he hadn’t minded that they were drifting apart, but now she knew.
He had noticed.
She saw it in his eyes.
Vassi’s gaze met hers, and his voice was bitter when he spoke. “You used to welcome me with smiles and now you treat me like I’m an infection you need to stay away from. You never look at me, never want to spend time with me. You’re always with Sergei and Misha even though you see them every day and I’m only at home weeks at a time---”
“Vassi…” She swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
“Is it because…of what you read in the papers about me?” He asked the question slowly, as if he had to drag the words out.
Seri’s fists clenched. She hated herself for hurting Vassi, but being reminded of exactly what those papers said made her hate him, and she jerked her gaze away from him. “Let’s not talk about it,” she said thinly.
“No.” Vassi took hold of her chin and forced her to look at him again. “I don’t do drugs when I’m away from home. I don’t gamble. I don’t---”
“I know that,” she snapped.
“Then what are you mad at me for?” he grated down at her.
Mother of Russia, if only she could yell the truth at him!
She was mad at him for doing things with other girls. She was mad at him for being so blind. And most of all, she was mad at the way she still wanted him, dreamt of him, at the way she just couldn’t stop herself from loving him---
He shook her hard. “Tell me!”
His growl angered and hurt her, and she found herself yelling at his face, “Because you’re an ass! Because I don’t know you anymore---” Aghast at how her mouth had run off, she shoved him away and when his arms loosened, she ran up the stairs and threw herself on her bed.
LIAR, a mocking voice inside her head taunted.
Vassi was an ass. That part was true, and the endless flow of reports about the trail of broken hearts he left behind him was proof of it.
But the other one?
That was the lie, the very opposite of the truth.
Because Seri knew she did know him. So, so well that sometimes she had a feeling she knew him better than anyone else.
She knew him, but it was herself when he was around that she didn’t know and couldn’t ever seem to figure out.
The minutes trickled by. She saw that it was already one in the morning, but sleep was the last thing on her mind. Forcing herself to get up, Seri quickly stripped and got into the shower, hoping the jets of hot water streaming down her body would do its job.
Calm down.
Relax.
Stop thinking.
But all she could do was think of Vassi’s strained gaze.
You never seem to want me around anymore.
She shoved the thought away as soon as it occurred, knowing if she allowed herself to think of it for another second, she would end up a sobbing, heartbroken mess in the shower. Teeth clenching, she forced herself to concentrate on vocal exercises, which always worked to distract her.
Clearing her throat several times, Seri started practicing her sexy voice, which was still her weakest point even after all these years.
“Aaaah.” Drat. That sounded more like she was dying instead of being in the throes of ecstasy.
“Oooooh.” Yuck. It sounded more like she had seen a wrinkled pink dick she was being forced to blow.
“Aaah. Oooh. Yes. Oh, yes.” Seri winced. Now, she sounded like she was performing some animal killing ritual.
This was so damn bad.
Why couldn’t she make herself sound sexy when she wasn’t thinking of…him?
Seri tried again, but it was hopeless.
Fine then.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and allowed herself to dream---
Vassi, taking off his shirt slowly, inch by inch revealing the smooth muscled panes of his chest, every part of his body beautifully and unapologetically hard---
Vassi, unbuttoning his jeans, one at a time---
A moan slipped out of her, one that would do any porn queen proud.
Oh, Mother of Russian Miracles, just like that and it came out so naturally.
She had what she wanted, and she knew she should stop now.
But like how it always was, once she started dreaming of Vassi---
It was impossible to stop.
She closed her eyes again, and her mind had no problems picking up from where it had left off, so easily it was as if her fantasies had been with her from the very start.
In her mind, she saw Vassi stepping out of his jeans, and now he was only in his boxers, sleek black silk that outlined the bulge---
“Aaaaaah.” The sound was blissfully perfect, but it wasn’t loud enough to hide the click of someone opening her bedroom door.
“Seri?” It was Vassi. “I want to talk.”
She stood there, stunned into immobility while water continued to cascade down her body. Somewhere in the recesses of her brain, Seri realized that she had also forgotten to lock her bathroom door.
His footsteps came closer. “Seri? Are you still mad?”
The door creaked open, and Seri---
Pretended not to realize he was there.
She raised her arms over her head and began massaging shampoo into her hair, heart thundering against her chest as she waited what he would do. The exact moment Vassi saw her naked was easy to pinpoint, her body reacting to the moment even though she couldn’t see him.
Her body imperceptibly stiffening under the shower, the tingling of her senses, and the ache of parts that never used to make itself felt---
It was like her body had come alive, and Vassi’s gaze was the only thing its naked form was destined to be on display for.
Even so, she could feel his shock and tension, palpable even when the entire length of her vast bathroom separated them. And then she felt it, and Seri almost gave herself away---
Oh, but Holy Mother of Russia, surely she wasn’t imagining that?
Fingers trembling, Seri began rinsing her hair, turning towards the door so Vassi would see more of her body. And when she felt it again, she knew she hadn’t been dreaming.
Vassi wanted her.
Vassi wanted her.
The hard, desperate strength of his desire hit Seri like a heat wave, and she found herself moving her hands over her body. She let her fingers drift over her breasts, so slowly it couldn’t be anything but a soapy caress---
She heard Vassi suck in his breath, followed by the unmistakable sound of a zipper being pulled down.
A moan escaped her, the sound as beautiful as Vassi’s low gasp of desire.
Unable to help it, she risked peeking, and Seri was rewarded with the sight of Vassi’s eyes clenched closed, his head half-thrown back, his face a picture of need as he stroked his thick, hard dick.
For a moment, all she could do was stare – it was the first one she had actually seen in real life, and it felt like destiny that it was Vassi’s she saw first.
If she had her way, it would be her last.
Her mouth became dry as she watched his hand move more furiously, his body tensing, and the sight was so beautiful she couldn’t stop herself from moaning. His eyes started to open, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
Seri touched the triangle between her legs, fleetingly, and the fiery sensation was too much.
She moaned, again and again, and this time she couldn’t stop, the heavy weight of her forbidden love making the feather-soft touch of her fingers as powerful as the most seductive caress.
Dimly, she heard Vassi groaning, just before the sound was abruptly cut short.
Her body trembled hard as Seri realized that he had come, and the squishes and jerks as he spurted out his cum was so unbelievably sexy---
Pleasure swirled out of her,
taking Seri by surprise. She gasped as the force of her release shook her body, her thighs trembling as her own wetness streamed down her legs.
When she opened her eyes again, Vassi was gone.
She quickly wrapped the towel around herself but as soon as she stumbled out of her bathroom, she stopped dead, frozen in fascination at the sight that greeted her.
There were white stains on the carpet---
Vassi’s cum.
Her heart thudded against her chest.
Vassi’s cum---
Vassi had jerked himself off at the sight of her.
Seri leaned weakly against the wall at the thought.
For so long, she had dreamt of him, wished for him, and for so long she had loved him, urgently, secretly, completely.
After finding out how much their family meant to Vassi, she had thought that this would never come, that this would be impossible.
But it had.
Holy Mother of Russia, Vassi wanted her and---
Someone knocked on her door, and she jumped at the sound.
The door opened a moment later, and Seri stared in open-mouthed shock when Vassi strode in.
He tossed something into the bed. “An advance happy birthday for you, leech.” But he spoke without meeting her gaze, and his cheeks had an unnatural flush to it. He had changed into a white V-necked cotton shirt and sweat pants---
Unable to help it, Seri looked down, and she swallowed when she saw that his bulge still made a large, rock-hard dent against the soft fabric of his pants.
B’lyad.
Was it normal, to want him even more now?
She managed to pull her gaze away before Vassi realized what she was staring at. Clearing her throat, she mumbled, “T-thank you.” She made her way carefully to the bed, conscious of the fact that he was fully dressed while she only had a flimsy towel around her body. Bending down, she picked the gift up and tore the wrapping away. Wrestling the box open, she gasped when she realized what he had given her.
“Vassi!”
It was the bag that she had been hankering for, a limited-edition hand-painted design from a Japanese luxury brand. It was the same bag that Marianna had with her when she won Seiyuu of the Year during her debut. Since then, she had considered it her lucky charm, and she always took it with her every time she’d fly to Japan.
