“Wasn’t planning to,” I murmur, as he kisses me again.
His lips roam down toward my neck. “So you’ve given up running away?”
“Maybe … or I’m just crazily addicted to this.”
He kisses my collarbone, his tongue dipping out to trace a line all the way down to my little red dress. “This what …” he hums, kissing me everywhere.
“You. Us.”
“Me,” he growls, coming back to my lips. “That’s right. You belong to me.”
I melt from his tongue and his lips on mine … and from his claim on me. I do. I do fucking belong to him. I’m way past wanting him, way past fighting temptation. I’m way in over my head… but I need him.
Something about him makes me feel alive. Like I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
He licks his lips, murmuring, “Damn, Lexi, you taste so fine. I can’t stop, even though sometimes I really want to when you say I’m fucking adorable.”
“Lex or Alexis … and don’t stop,” I say with a coy smile. “Maybe if you kiss me harder, I might consider calling you not-cute again.”
“Challenge accepted.” Half-mast eyes hide behind seductive lashes as he blinks slowly and then dives back in for another deep, sultry kiss that just takes my soul away.
His fingers curl around the bottom of my dress, sliding it up as he wraps his fingers around my legs. Desire spreads through my body as he moans into my mouth, and I feel his pants tenting against my hips.
“Fuck, we’re outside,” I groan, tearing away from him.
But he grabs my face and says, “So?” And then he kisses me again.
“Damn you,” I growl. “Making me horny and shit.”
He lets out a low, rumbling laugh that vibrates through my body. “Good thing I’m not gonna stop touching you then.”
“Wha—”
“You heard me,” he interrupts, kissing me full on the lips so I can’t protest.
His fingers find their way to my panties, snaking underneath until he’s right on top of my pussy. I moan into his mouth as he starts toying with me. Wetness spreads across my folds from his slick movements. He knows just what buttons to push to get me off, and I love it.
“Already wet?” he murmurs against my mouth. “Just the way I like it.”
“Oh, fuck me,” I whisper as he flicks my clit.
“Oh, I will, believe me,” he says, with a mischievous smile on his face.
“But—”
“But what? I’m gonna fuck you. That ain’t a question, Lexi. It’s a promise.”
Jesus Christ, his words had me so hot and bothered that I actually let out a small mewl. “But should we?”
“Fuck yes, we should. I don’t give a crap what anyone else tells me, or what I should or shouldn’t do. I’m doing what I want, and what I want is to do you. Now, spread your legs.”
I don’t even get the time to respond because he immediately nudges my legs apart and makes me feel like begging with his fingers. He’s winding me up until I can’t even breathe normally; his eyes remain on me, taking pleasure in my pleasure. As if we’re both addicted to the drug called us.
We’re dangerous, two people combusting into something more than just lust, realizing it could mean our end. But it doesn’t matter because we’re living in the moment, fucking like there’s no tomorrow.
Because there might not be, and we gotta enjoy it while it lasts.
So I close my eyes and let him take what he wants without regrets.
He pulls down the straps around my shoulders until the top part of my dress drops below my breasts. He cups one and covers my nipple with his mouth, sucking hard. I moan and grab his hair, twisting my fingers through them as if they’re mine. He’s mine. Everything about him is mine.
“Are you mine, Lexi?”
I suck in a breath, surprised, as if he could read my thoughts. Not that he really could … but it’s as if we understand each other on a different level than what you’d need words for.
I nod. “Take me, Viktor,” I say. “I’m yours.”
He peeks up at me, still suckling my nipple. “Even with all these scars?”
“Only with all your scars.”
He smiles against my skin and immediately grabs my other breast to suck it too. Words aren’t needed. Pleasure is enough.
He licks and pulls my nipples until they’re taut, and his cock is fully erect against my hip. My fingers instinctively reach for him, my mind on blank as I rip open the button of his jeans and unzip him.
His cock springs loose right after I pull down the elastic band of his boxer shorts, and my mouth waters at the sight of him. I could never get enough of this.
“Fuck yes.”
“Like what you see?” he muses, kissing my chin.
“Like? Fucking love it.” I pull him closer to me, pressing his hard-on against me. “Give it to me.”
He slams his lips against mine, and then within an instant, he has me flipped around. I squeal as I’m shoved against the tree trunk with my tits hanging out and his dick pushing against my ass.
“Shh …” He puts a finger to his lips and gives me a seductive gaze. “You don’t want anyone to come watch, or do you?”
He slides up my dress and pulls down my panties in one go. Then his dick prods against me, slipping and sliding between my slit until he’s slick enough to enter me.
I moan when he pushes into my pussy, and his hand covers my mouth as he fills me up.
“Quiet, Lexi,” he growls, thrusting in and out of me.
It’s so hard … He’s so fucking hard.
He pumps me hard and sensually slow, almost as if he wants to savor the moment. A shiver runs through me, but I’m not sure if it’s from the cold draft or from the hold he has over me.
His hand slides down from my mouth to my neck, grabbing me like he owns me. I love the feeling of his fingers tightly wrapped around my neck, forcing every bit of resistance out of me as he fucks me hard.
God, I fucking love this man.
The thought hits me as hard as his cock, but I quickly push it away.
“So tight,” he groans. “Don’t come yet.”
“Fuck, I can’t hold it,” I murmur, as his other hand plays with my clit.
“Hold it, Lexi, or I’ll stop,” he whispers in my ear, gently nibbling my earlobe.
I gasp, trying to keep it together, my pussy on the verge of exploding.
Suddenly, he pulls his dick out. That’s when his arms wrap around my hips, and he twists me around again. Then he lifts me up against the trunk of the tree and shoves his cock back in again.
I moan out loud from the pain, not giving a shit if anyone can hear me. But Viktor’s hand quickly covers my mouth again. Not that I mind, not in a million years … I fucking love it when he silences me like that. No other man can do that … except for him. He’s the only one allowed.
“This pussy is mine, anywhere I want. Yes?”
I nod, breathing heavily through my nostrils as he fucks me raw.
“Good, because I’m going to have to fuck it every day from now on, just to catch up on what I’ve missed all these fucking years I didn’t have you in my life.”
His words undo me.
Melt the iron wall I built around my heart.
“Yes,” I moan, delirious with need as he slams into me again and again.
He holds me tight as he plunges in deeper and deeper. “Come now, Lexi. Come all over my cock. I wanna feel you.”
One more thrust and I lose it completely.
My body shakes with every sweet convulsion, pulsing with heat as I come around his shaft. His length swells and hardens, and a loud howl escapes his mouth. His cum jets into me, only adding to my pleasure. His body tenses against mine as he empties himself inside me. With both our needs sated, he lets me down, panting, still towering over me with that smirk on his face that I’ve come to know so well.
The smirk I’ve come to love.
His fingers reach for my cheek, and
I lean into his hand as he caresses me gently. The self-proclaimed beast petting me softly as if I’m something he cherishes more than anything in the entire world.
“Let’s go home,” he says, and he lifts and refastens his pants.
I do the same, making sure I look presentable again. When I bend over to pick up some wood, Viktor takes it from me and says, “Lemme carry it.”
“I can do it; it’s no problem.”
“No … Lemme do this,” he says abruptly, but then a smile appears on his face when he sees my confused look. “I’m trying to be chivalrous. Work with me here.”
I raise a brow, masking a laugh with a few nods. “What a gentleman you’ve become.”
“All for you, Lexi.”
Lexi.
Hmmm.
I used to get so mad when he’d call me that.
But now … now, it just makes me think of him.
Chapter 23
Viktor
I’m sitting by the fireplace reading a book while Alexis pokes the wood with a fire iron, enjoying the warmth, when, suddenly, Winston comes bursting in. I look up as Winston holds my cell phone out to me. “You should read this.”
Alexis stands up to watch us, but I focus on the screen. The text message that appears makes my blood boil.
“No …” I growl, looking up at Winston. “When?”
“Five minutes ago.”
I get up from the chair and waltz around, wondering what the fuck I’m supposed to do about this.
If Alexis finds out, it’ll kill her.
“What was it?” she asks, putting down the fire iron.
I frown and look away, not wanting to face her.
“You have to tell her, Viktor.”
“I know!” I growl. “Fuck!” I throw the cell phone as hard as I can. Luckily, it hits the couch instead of the wall.
“What about me? What did you see?” she asks, stepping closer.
“Viktor …” Winston mumbles.
I walk to the window and stare outside at the falling leaves and the dark sky ahead. “Leave us,” I say.
I can hear Winston’s footsteps echo away. Alexis’s hand snakes up my shoulder like a soft breeze, reminding me of what I’m about to lose.
I place my hand on hers and sigh. “They have your sister.”
I can hear her gasp, and as I turn around, her face goes through a mixture of emotions, from shock, to sadness, to rage.
“No … fuck,” she hisses. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. Vladim sent a picture of her.”
She shakes her head. “No …” Tears welling up in her eyes.
I grab her and pull her close to me; hugging her so tight, she can’t let out that howl I know she holds in. But she needs this too. I never had someone to ground me in a moment of despair … but she does.
“Where?” she says after a while.
“In your home.”
“How did they find out where she was? Where we live?” She sniffs.
“Vladim’s men regularly search the city for new kids to snatch. It was only a matter of time before they finally saw her tattoo and realized it was her.”
She grinds her teeth. “I should’ve been there. She’s all alone.”
“No, you getting captured doesn’t do her any good.”
She pushes herself away from me. “I don’t care; at least, she would’ve had me. Now, she has no one. No one. She’s all alone and in the hands of monsters.”
“You wanna go there? Walk right into their hands?” I snarl.
“You don’t understand. She’s my sister. My blood. My family. The only one I have left.”
She’s right. I don’t understand. I never had a family. Not like hers. Mine ditched me when I was so young, I barely remember. She has something I don’t have, and maybe, just maybe, I’ve been jealous of her all this time.
At least, she has someone who wants her and is waiting for her to return home.
I sigh. What am I doing, really? Keeping a girl away from the only family she has left.
If that doesn’t make me a monster, I don’t know what does.
In a fit of rage, I turn around and punch the wall with my fist. “Fuck!”
It hurts, but the pain isn’t nearly as bad as the guilt I carry.
“Did they say anything about keeping her alive?” she asks hesitantly.
“Yes … but only if I bring you to them.”
“So they want me,” she says, pursing her lips.
“Vladim says she’ll live … as long as you come to the house by yourself.”
“How long do I have?”
“Two hours.”
A deafening silence drops between us, and in that time, the small crack becomes a chasm.
“I have to go to her.”
She doesn’t need to say this.
I knew, deep down in my gut, this was coming.
It was only a matter of time.
The only thing I shouldn’t have done was fool myself into thinking she could stay here forever.
“She needs me, Viktor. I have to save her.”
“Even if you know you won’t be able to? Even if it means sacrificing not only her but also yourself?” I ask, but I already know the answer. I just want to hear it from her.
“I’d die for her.”
That.
That’s what I wanted to hear.
It’s exactly what I feel … for her.
“I need to be there. Even if there’s only a small chance we’ll make it out alive, I have to try to get her outta there.”
“I know,” I say, glancing at her over my shoulder. “Which is why I’m going with you.”
“What?” Her jaw drops. “You’d risk your own safety for my sister?”
“For you,” I say, with a smile. “Because I know I can’t keep you here, but I won’t let you die either.”
“I’m not gonna die that easily,” she says, crossing her arms. “But you can’t come, Viktor.”
“Why?” I growl.
“Because they’re looking for you too.”
“No, they want you.”
“And if Vladim’s there? Do you think he’d let you live?”
“I don’t care if he lets me live!” I yell. “All I care about is making sure you’re alive and happy.”
Her face softens. “Please … don’t.” She swallows. “I’d feel horrible if something happened to you.”
“You would?” I shake my head, as if I can’t even believe it, even though she’s saying it straight to my face.
“Of course. I don’t want you to get hurt, Viktor. This is on me. She’s my sister. My responsibility. Let me go after her myself.”
“But you know it’s a trap.”
“So be it. And if it is, I doubt Vladim would care enough to be there himself, right? He’s too fucking busy to be bothered to come find us himself.”
“I guess,” I murmur. “But his men … They’re still there.”
“I can handle them.” She balls her fists. “I’m a tough chick.”
“Right.” I nod, letting it all sink in.
“You know I can do this,” she says after a while.
I know she can. That isn’t the point.
She wants to go there—without me—and I know that once she goes, she’ll never come back.
Why would she? I’ve kept her here against her will. I’m not someone you spend your life with. I’m someone you forget.
And when she leaves … she’ll leave a gaping hole behind.
I can’t live without her anymore … but I can’t let her live in pain either. She has to save her sister, and she won’t accept me coming along. I don’t have any other choice.
My brows draw together as I turn to face her. My head drops between my shoulders as I realize I only have one option left. If I don’t, she’ll hate me forever … and nothing is worse than that. Not even losing her.
“Yes,” I mutter in a single breath. “You should go to her.”
She cocks her hea
d at me, her face contorting with sadness. Tears spring into her eyes, but she brushes them away. “You mean it?”
I nod slowly, gazing at the floor near the fireplace on which she just sat, realizing it was probably the last time she’ll ever sit there. But if losing her means she’ll get what she wants … I can’t say no.
“Yes,” I say, my voice trembling as I already regret the words I’m about to speak. “Take this.” I hold out my phone and a fifty-dollar bill. “It’s all I have, but it’s yours. Go. Save her.”
She rubs her lips together and then runs to me, wrapping her arms around my entire body. I freeze, absorbing the love she’s giving me so freely. In return, I give nothing but a vapid stare. Not much more is inside me right now … except for pain.
“Thank you,” she whispers, hugging me tight.
“Don’t,” I say, as I tuck the phone and the money in her hand. “Just go.”
She pulls away from me, her eyes filling with uncertainty as she walks backward. Throwing tempting looks at the door with her lips sucked in. My body shakes with violence and my fists clench.
Then she turns around and runs out, and I know this is the last time I’ll see her beautiful face.
But at least she’ll be happy. She’ll be with her family.
And I’ll stay here, where I’ve always been. Living without really living at all. Thankful she graced my existence for a moment.
As I hear the door slam shut, I sink to the floor in front of the window, grasping the windowsill only to take one final glance at her. When she’s opened the gates, she turns back once more to stare right at me. Straight through me and into my heart.
A final moment.
That’s all this has ever been.
When the gate closes and she disappears from my view, all that’s left is the emptiness inside me and an endless roar that drags on and on until I can no longer breathe.
Chapter 24
Alexis
I use Viktor’s phone to call a cab. I don’t call my sister. They’re probably waiting for me to do exactly that, which would put her at risk, and then I’d no longer have the element of surprise.
No, I don’t call my sister. I call Deangelo.
Viktor Page 19
