Crossroads

by Blake Haugen

  “No, it’s not,” she replied curtly. Vanya was shocked. Persephone was never rude. Never. In fact, her dedication to etiquette often irritated him. Her current behavior was completely unprecedented.

  Creepy Guy simply shrugged. He turned and walked back into the ballroom. Vanya erupted when he disappeared from sight.

  “What the fuck was that?! How the hell do you know him?” Vanya didn’t feel the need to confirm for Persephone that the man who just left them was indeed the man he spoke of earlier. The truth, along with glowing hatred, was plainly written on her face. Creepy Guy was a section of her past to which Vanya had not yet gained access.

  “I don’t know,” Persephone said in a deadpan tone. “Just some asshole from high school.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know? What kind of bullshit answer is that, Percy!?”

  “The only one you’re going to fucking get because it’s the only one I have!” she snapped back at him. “I don’t know his name!”

  Vanya took a deep breath. He needed to rein it in. One jerk from her past was not going to ruin this great day for them. He wouldn’t allow that to happen. With calm he didn’t feel, he resumed his questions. “Why is this guy an asshole? He knows your name, but you don’t know his. And why do you know him from high school? He’s definitely older than me.”

  “I mean I met him when I was in high school,” Persephone sighed after pursing her lips. “He hit me. It was a big fight with several people and he hit me.”

  Vanya’s face turned red. He rose up. Fuck no. That bastard hit his woman – when she was a girl no less – and thought he could just waltz up to them like that? He didn’t give a shit that the guy was one of his father’s guests. There was no way that man could remain at the reception.

  Vanya was halted by Persephone’s tug on his wrist. “Wait, Vanya. I don’t want to start anything right now. We’ll figure it out later. Let’s just keep having fun.”

  Vanya eyed her skeptically. Her words echoed his previous thoughts, but he wasn’t sure he could tolerate such a man in his home. He noticed the look of warning in Persephone’s eyes though. Deciding to heed it, he retook his position beside her.

  “What happened?” he urged. Vanya took her small hands into his larger ones and squeezed in order to relay his desperation. He couldn’t help her if she told him nothing. Her refusal to look him in the eye only worsened his worry.

  “Vanya,” she spoke quietly, “I don’t want to lie to you.”

  “Then don’t,” he said, taking her face in his hands. Vanya made Persephone face him and gave her a chaste kiss.

  “Look, can you trust me to tell you when the time is right? Because I’m just not ready right now.”

  “Promise you’ll tell me.”

  “Vanya, I don’t –”

  “Promise me.” His tone brokered no argument.

  “I promise to tell you the whole story… when the time is right. He and some other fuckers were trying to rob my house once when I was in high school. My parents were home; how stupid is that? I walked in on it, and he ending up decking me. There’s no big danger anyhow, I already got him back pretty good. It just makes me so upset to talk about it. Let’s just leave it at that for now. Can you accept that?”

  “Yeah. I think I can for now. I’m still going to check into this guy though. I want you to sit with Yuli and Mikhail – only for a short while.”

  “Vanya, geez –” she rolled her eyes.

  “Do it for me, please,” he pressed. Not waiting for an answer, he dragged her back into the ballroom and sat her beside Mikhail. His cousin looked up at him with a ‘What the fuck?’ face, but Vanya ignored Mikhail’s surprise and commanded him in Russian to not let Persephone leave the table. Vanya left before Mikhail could respond and pulled Yulian from his latest conquest to watch over Persephone as well. When he and Yulian returned to the table, he addressed them all.

  “Look, I need to go ask Max something. Can you guys just sit here for a minute?”

  “Uh, do you mean, ‘Can we sit here and babysit your girlfriend?’ Yeah, sure,” Mikhail quipped.

  Persephone answered before Vanya could. “No, I’m pretty sure I’m the one being asked to babysit, as you’re the one making asinine, juvenile comments. Just do it; it’s not a tall order.”

  “Damn girl, tell him!”

  Yulian cackled and snaked his head back and forth. He put his fist up for a pound that Persephone reluctantly returned after a few seconds. She inhaled and turned to Vanya with a frown. “The sooner you go, the sooner you get back.”

  Vanya took it as a signal to make haste and went out in search of Max. He found the giant leaning against the wall, pretending to eat a dessert while casing the crowd. Vanya made no pretenses when he reached him.

  “There’s a man who’s been paying too much attention to my woman all night. I need you to find out who he is.”

  “He’s Ryan Trask,” Max answered, not removing is gaze form the crowd. “He’s just begun some business dealings with your father. He’s a mercenary. He works in security, consulting, and intelligence.”

  “Security? Intelligence? My father doesn’t work in intelligence.”

  “Not yet, that is.”

  Vanya snorted at Max’s statement and looked around the room for Trask. The man was nowhere to be found. He began to look around again after checking to make sure Persephone was still at her table with Yulian and Mikhail.

  “He’s left for the evening,” Max said, interrupting his thoughts.

  Vanya tilted his head as he eyed Max. The man obviously knew a lot about this Ryan Trask. That Max answered Vanya’s questions in such a routine manner meant that he was completely abreast of the situation. Max had certainly anticipated Vanya’s appearance and questions. Perhaps he knew about Trask’s connection to Persephone.

  “What can you tell me about him?” Vanya asked. “How does he even know Persephone and why was he invited here?”

  “I don’t know about Persephone, and I can’t really answer the question about why he was invited. You’ll have to ask Kirill.”

  Vanya made a great effort not to explode. He pushed hot air through his nose and clenched his teeth and fists. Before opening his mouth, he reminded himself that this was all Kirill’s doing. As such, if Vanya felt anger, it ought to be directed at Kirill. His response was tempered, but still caustic. “That’s right; and ultimately you work for my father.”

  Max simply pushed off the wall instead of acknowledging Vanya’s jibe. He stood tall and faced Vanya with little emotion. The man was the definition of a cool customer.

  “Your woman is safe right now. You should keep her close.”

  Max sauntered away and didn’t look back. Vanya wiped his hand over his face. Just like that, the night turned to shit. Try as he might, he could not regain the buzz he had earlier that evening. Max’s assurance did little to assuage his fears. He danced Persephone around the dance floor until her feet were raw, preferring to have her ensconced in his arms. The reception’s end could not have come fast enough. He gave thanks when it was finally time to see off Lina and Austin.

  A small fireworks display began as the couple descended the staircase outside the ballroom. Rose petals and sparklers showered them as they made their way to the classic car that would carry them off to an executive honeymoon suite back in the city. The next evening they would board a plane that would carry them off to Australia for a three-week jaunt around Oceania. Lina looked ecstatic as she held onto Austin’s hand. She met her father, Vanya, and Persephone at the end of the crowd before climbing in the car. Without warning she wrapped her arm around Persephone’s neck and exclaimed, “Thank you, for everything!”

  Persephone was obviously surprised by the sudden display of affection, but returned the embrace nonetheless. Next, Lina took Vanya’s face in both her hands and kissed his cheeks, “I love you, Vanushka. You’re up next, okay?” Before Vanya could res
pond she moved on to her father who embraced her wholeheartedly. They shared whispered words before Kirill released her and kissed her forehead. After Kirill shook hands with Austin the bride and groom rolled away in style.

  Many drunken guests returned to the city in buses chartered especially for the celebration. Persephone had planned to drive back to the city with Finn and Lauren so that she could return to campus with them the next day. She would forego the continued celebrating at the Pravdin estate the next day because finals were coming up the following week. Vanya wasn’t so keen on that option now.

  “I want you to stay here with me tonight. You had an overnight bag to take to Finn’s anyway, right?”

  “Vanya, I already told Finn I would stay at her place in the city tonight. She’s the designated driver and she made arrangements.” Persephone faced the sky and bit her lip. Vanya knew she hated breaking commitments, but tonight she would just have to deal with it.

  “Can you just do this for me tonight? I’m sure Finn will understand. She still has to drive Lauren.”

  “Alright,” Persephone gave in, “let me go find her and tell her.”

  The last of the guests left on the buses or went to their guest rooms on the east wing of the main house of the Pravdin estate. Vanya and Persephone retreated across the grounds, to the main house, to Vanya’s third floor room on the west side. He explained to Persephone that he had long since removed all the teenage boy paraphernalia from his walls. Only his signed Michael Jordan poster remained. Persephone made fun of it in a good-natured way, saying she thought teenage boys were supposed to have supermodels on their walls. He doubted that she would have picked at him if he had told her it was one of his mother’s parting gifts before she passed away. For that reason, he declined to tell her so.

  Vanya removed his dress shirt and then the rest of their clothes. They took a quick shower together and fell into bed nude. Persephone was more than a little drunk and started a seduction, but she ended up falling asleep while they softly kissed. He admired the lazy smile she wore as he tucked her in. It pleased him to know that she always welcomed his touch, even in sleep.

  The evening had been salvaged with the absence of Trask, but he still felt there was too much left unsaid. The one person who could make him feel better was fast asleep. The one person who could fill him in on the meaning of Trask’s invitation was most likely downstairs in the study.

  After donning a shirt and sweatpants, Vanya feebly wrapped the silk headscarf he found in Persephone’s bag around her sleepy head. He hoped she would appreciate the gesture and reward him for his efforts in the morning. He slipped out of the room after kissing her temple and made his way to his father’s study. Sure enough, Kirill was wide-awake, sitting behind his burlwood desk and thick eyeglasses, giving his attention to some papers.

  “Vanya, why are you up so late? I’d have thought you would have gone to bed by now since you decided to drive your woman back to the city tomorrow morning. You’ll have to leave early to make it back in time for celebrating.”

  Vanya arched a brow. What was his father’s interest in his travel plans? Of course he was coming back for Day Two of the wedding. It was a given. Did Kirill think to intimidate him by slyly demanding that he report back to the house as soon as possible? Rather than respond to his father’s bait, Vanya chose to get what he came for.

  “Who is Ryan Trask? He upset Persephone tonight.”

  “Ah, you’re brave enough to come in my office and demand things now? This woman has changed you,” Kirill said, finally raising his head to face his son. Vanya remained silent and waited for his father to go on. The hairs on his arms raised as seconds ticked by, but Vanya refused to back down. This was too important.

  “Mr. Trask is my business associate,” Kirill went on.

  “Business? He had a rather military air about him, don’t you think? You’ve never worked with militants like that. Persephone said he was involved in the invasion of her home several years ago.”

  “I think that says more about her people than it does him. Anyway, don’t you worry about his background, Vanya. He’ll make sure to stay away from your woman in the future. Hopefully, she’ll prove to be an asset to us.”

  “Asset?! I’m more concerned about any threat he poses to her.”

  “I’m not aware of any threat,” Kirill said nonchalantly. “Besides, if you really cared about her safety, you would just let her go.”

  Vanya inhaled slowly through his nose. What was with all this ‘love is sacrifice’ crap? First Mikhail and now his father! No one else had to let their beloved go. His father might as well face facts now.

  “Papa, I will have Persephone as my wife. Nothing is more important to me than her safety.”

  “There was a time when nothing was more important to you than this family.”

  Vanya shrugged, “I love you and Lina and the twins and Uncle, but Persephone is my family now, too. If Ryan Trask threatens her or hurts her in any way, he will rue the day he crossed paths with me.”

  Kirill removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t raise his head to respond. Fire glowed from the fireplace to their left and he thought that the flames reflecting on his father’s face truly mirrored the man’s feelings. Vanya withdrew, knowing the discussion had left them at an impasse.

  On his way back to bed he ran into Max. At first Vanya was surprised by Max’s appearance, but then thought better of it. He thought to himself that Max’s patronymic name must have been Clandestine, not Petrovich. Of course he would be up and about the house when no one else was supposed to be awake. What kind of bodyguard would he be otherwise?

  “Max,” Vanya asked quietly, “I need a favor.”

  “Name it.”

  “I know Papa has told you about Trask. Frankly, at this point, I don’t give a shit about what they’re doing as long as it doesn’t harm Persephone. I need you to promise you’ll help me keep her safe.”

  Rather than answer aloud, Max simply nodded and clasped Vanya’s shoulder before resuming his walk down the hall. It was enough for Vanya; Max kept his word. It would allow him to rest a little easier by Persephone’s side tonight.

  ☐

  It was deliciously warm when Persephone opened her eyes the next morning. The bed was incredibly soft; she assumed the mattress had a down pillow top. She was scandalized that Vanya had such luxury throughout his teen years, and then, suddenly, she was jealous of the teenage ladies that may have visited this bed before her. She turned swiftly to face Vanya. He was already awake. Lying on his side, he propped up his head with his left arm and his right arm draped itself over her waist. She eyed him with suspicion and tried to suppress a grin.

  “What?” he asked curiously. Vanya’s smile brightened as he studied her and Persephone almost forgot that she wanted to conduct an investigation.

  “This is a pretty sweet bed.”

  “Yeah, and?”

  “How many trollops did you bring up here when you were in high school?”

  “Did you seriously just say ‘trollops’? What is this, ye olde times?”

  “Answer the question, Pravdin!” Persephone said glaring at him. She got in his face and touched her nose to his. “Or I’m gonna give you a raspberry!”

  “Someone’s wide awake for – ” Vanya paused to look back at the clock on his side of the bed, “ – six o’clock in the morning. I think you’re still drunk.”

  Persephone smiled and then attacked. She made for his jugular, but before her lips could touch his neck Vanya had her pinned underneath him. She squirmed and giggled as he tried to settle his body between her legs. Sometimes, she loved nothing more than to give him trouble in bed. Vanya was already hard, but by the time their wrestling match was over his cock was absolute steel.

  He cuffed her wrists with one large hand and pressed them into the mattress. He wrenched her thighs open with his other hand and placed himself between them. His cock rubbed her wet pussy lips and he rocked against her until
she started whimpering and wrapping her legs around him. Persephone no longer cared about trollops or raspberries. She just wanted her man inside her.

  She began to beg and roll her hips against him, using his rod to spread her wetness along the length of her pussy. Mercifully, Vanya slipped the head of his cock in her vagina. She sighed at the relief he’d granted. As he pressed in another inch of his cock she looked up at his face to gauge his desire. The gleam in his darkened blue eyes was the only warning she received before he pressed his lips to her neck and delivered an absurdly loud and sloppy raspberry.

  “Vanya!” she hollered, resuming her struggles against him.

  “That’s what you get!” he laughed and began tickling her.

  “No, don’t! Hah, hah! Wait, no, for real! Hah! Vanya, hold on!” Persephone gasped between laughs, trying to catch her breath. Even now she was hot for him. More than once she tried to get her pussy to ‘accidentally’ sheath his dick. Vanya finally relented when she promised to be good.

  “Had enough, eh?” Vanya’s breaths puffed down on her as he spoke. She was glad she could make him work a little, too. Already, sweat was beading on his forehead.

  “Mmm hmm.”

  “I’ll have you know, sweetpea, that when I was in high school, there were still two extra long twin beds in this room. It wasn’t until I was sleeping here over a year ago and thought on how juvenile that was that I had them replaced. Besides, even when I was in school my parents didn’t allow friends of the opposite sex above the first floor. Something about not wanting any idiot to have a Pravdin child. So, I’m happy to say that you’re the only trollop that’s ever been in this bed. May I be so bold as to say that you’ll be the only trollop that will ever grace it?”

  “You are –”

  Before she could finish, his lips were on hers and his tongue was in her mouth. Persephone was happy to lose this spat. The exquisite feelings of his hands palming her breast and squeezing her ass were well worth it.

  “From now on, you answer ‘Yes, Vanya’ or ‘No, Vanya’ and not another word. Do you understand me?” Vanya demanded.