Aleksandr

by S F Draven

  “You make him sound like a child.”

  “He is,” she confirmed.

  “Well, you’re not and I’m not going to sit back and let him treat you like this. You have two options. Either you come away with me, and we face the consequences head-on, or you wait here for him to collect his money, and make you do this all over again. You were strong, quick-witted this time around, but there will always be a time when someone slips up. I don’t want anything to happen to you,” I said, offering her a way out of this mess.

  “You shouldn’t have to put yourself in such a position for a girl you barely know.”

  “Come with me, and we’ll have all the time in the world to get to know each other,” I said, as we both heard noises and muffled voices coming from the hallway.

  “The time is now, Irina. Make a decision,” I said.

  “Okay. Okay, I’ll come with you,” she decided, her face lighting up once the words left her lips. I could tell that she’d been trying to plan her escape for a while, judging from how happy she looked about finally having the chance. I knew that I was entering into a dangerous game, and while this would mean the end of Edik’s and my friendship as I knew it, it was the right thing to do. Irina didn’t deserve to be toyed with like this, and Edik couldn’t have it both ways. He couldn’t throw her out to fend for herself for the sake of monetary gain, and hold her captive all at the same time. It wasn’t right, and I wasn’t going to let Irina stand for it anymore. I don’t know what it is about this girl that makes me care so much, but I know I’ll figure it out in time. Right now, I need to get her out of here, and I need to get her to safety before a massacre ensues, I thought, as we both ran up to the door. Irina slipped out of her bloody dress and into a clean one while I stared through the peephole to make sure that the connecting hallway was clear.

  “We’re going to have to be quick, and we’re going to have to take the stairs. Be ready to run,” I warned her, and she nodded.

  I stuck my head out of the door to make sure the coast was clear before we both hurried out of the room, closing the door behind us. I could hear voices coming from the opposite direction, and I knew we had to make it quick before gunfire erupted in the middle of this hotel corridor. It wasn’t long until we finally made it to the staircase, and I looked over my shoulder to see Irina trying to catch her breath. We hurried down a few flights of stairs, catching the elevator for the rest, and we made it to the lobby. I glanced around to make sure that no one had been following us, taking Irina’s hand in mine to lead her to my car. The cool evening breeze hit us hard when the revolving doors let us out, and once we got inside of my black sedan, she turned to me with the biggest grin on her face.

  “I don’t know how to thank you, Aleksandr. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting to do this,” she said, and that was enough for me. It was clear that she was incredibly unhappy, that Edik was doing nothing but abusing her, using her in his little games like the sick bastard he was. I knew he was going to come after me, that he was going to try to destroy my empire before I truly managed to get it off the ground, but I didn’t care. Irina was safe, and she was here with me. There was nothing that was going to change that.

  “You don’t have to thank me, Irina. Anyone would’ve done the same thing had they known what you’ve been going through,” I said.

  “Not anyone, trust me,” she said, and I could see that the fear had begun to set in. I could tell that she was worried about living the rest of her life on the run, and it was probably something that kept her from trying to escape in the first place, but now things were certainly different. Now, she had me on her side.

  “I know this is a big change for you, Irina. I know you may be finding it hard to know who to trust right now, or what the rest of your life is going to look like, but I can assure you that you’re going to be safe with me,” I said, and she shot me a small smile. I knew it wasn’t going to do much to convince her, because she had been through enough already, but I had to say something. If I was dealing with a situation quite like hers, I wouldn’t know where to turn. I wondered what their story had been, what it was like for them in the beginning, because I was sure she wouldn’t have signed up to a life like this willingly. There was going to be plenty of time for those conversations; for now we were on the run from a man who could very well take us down if he wanted. We had to be smart, we had to look at this from all angles to make sure that he didn’t get the upper hand.

  I decided that staying put back at the house wasn’t going to cut it, so I opted for a better plan. We were going to swing by to pick up a few necessities, and I was going to take her up to a cabin I owned, that was well enough out of the way for us to ride out the storm for a little while. Once things were settled, we could move somewhere secluded, but close enough for me to find a way to take out the threat. I glanced over at Irina in the passenger seat, and she looked absolutely petrified. I believed that the reality of what we had just done had begun to set in, and now she was worried that it would only be a matter of time before Edik made his next strike. I decided to do whatever I could to calm her nerves, even if it would only help for a little while.

  “He’s not going to lay a finger on you, Irina. No one is ever going to lay a finger on you ever again. I may not be as powerful as he is, but I come from a long line of people who know how to outsmart people like him. We’ll fight back, we’ll make sure that he’ll never have the opportunity to hurt you again. I need you to trust me,” I said, and she nodded.

  “It’s hard for me to trust a stranger, Aleksandr. I’m sure you can understand that,” she said, and she certainly had a point.

  “I know, but I’m going to show you that everything is going to be okay. You deserve a better life. You deserve to start making decisions on your own for a change, and look, you finally took the first step,” I said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can tell that you’ve been waiting for this opportunity, Irina. I know what it’s like to want to break out of a bad situation, leave everything behind and start over. This is your chance to do just that,” I replied.

  “But, what if he finds us? What if his men kill us?”

  “They won’t. I will find a way to make sure that you never have to worry about them again,” I said, so sure of myself.

  It wasn’t going to be easy, and it may have meant days, weeks, months even of squatting before it was safe enough to resume something of a normal life. It was a risk I was willing to take because I wasn’t going to leave a girl like Irina behind. She’d changed something in me from the moment I met her, and I wasn’t about to lose that over a battle with a tyrannical mafia boss. Edik may have had his cavalry waiting to strike, but I’d spent the better half of my life learning how to take men like him out one by one. It was war, since he tried to outsmart me by pretending to start a partnership, and all I wanted to do now was put him in the ground. There’s no telling who was going to come out on top, but I was fighting with a different kind of fire, I had something more than greed driving me. I can’t put my finger on it, but I certainly feel something for this girl. For a long time, I truly thought I was incapable of feeling anything, and now I see that I just hadn’t met the right one. Irina may be the one who changes everything for me, she may be the one who helps me regain the power I’ve been looking for, all while getting rid of the man who’s been threatening her for so many years. If I take Edik down, I take his place, and I give Irina a better life. It is a win-win for us all, I thought, smiling to myself at the thought of what that may be like.

  I’d been spending the last few weeks trying to happen upon an opportunity that was going to give me the purpose I needed to fight for something more than just a criminal empire. I wanted to make a difference, I wanted to be known as someone worth working for, and I felt like this was the move I needed to make to get where I wanted to go. It was going to be challenging, because Edik had a lot more experience under his belt than I did, but that wasn’t going to stop me from try
ing. I could feel the adrenaline course through me as I started working out plans in my head, and my brain ticked away with the possibilities of banding together the right kind of men for the job. I had a few who would find others, and I was going to build a foundation that would ensure our safety, and that would allow me to unleash my wrath on those who deserved to be buried six feet underground.

  Chapter Six: Irina

  I can’t believe I just did that. After all this time being locked away with the hopes that I would someday find it in me to try to escape, Aleksandr came to my rescue. It still baffles me that he’s taken it upon himself to make sure that I stay safe, especially considering we barely know each other. I’m eternally grateful to him, but I still worry about what this is going to mean for us once Edik learns that his old friend has taken something of his. I hated being treated like property, tossed around and forced to do Edik’s dirty work whenever he saw fit. I’m about to have a second chance at a better life, and I’m ready for an adventure.

  We were on the road for what felt like days, as the city I once knew disappeared into the distance, and we headed into a beautiful yet terrifying forest. I worried that by trying to seclude ourselves, we were only going to make it easier for Edik to take us out without consequences. I thought about what would happen if a fight ever broke out here in the middle of nowhere, and how easy it would be to pretend like it never happened. The thought sent chills down my spine, as I got out of the passenger seat. Aleksandr helped me with the few things I managed to grab on the way out of the hotel, but it certainly wasn’t much. I wished I had a bit more time, but if we’d stayed there any longer, Edik would’ve definitely tried to put a stop to me leaving.

  It felt incredible to be out from under him, to have a chance to do things on my terms, even if it was the scariest thing I’d ever had to do. I swallowed and blinked, pressing my lips together, feeling incredibly conflicted about how things were going to play out from here. I knew that Aleksandr did me a favor by rescuing me from that hotel room, but I still had to keep my guard up until I was sure that he wasn’t going to hurt me too. I took a chance when I left Edik, but that didn’t mean that I was in the clear from all the men who could potentially hurt me. Although, there was something about Aleksandr that made me believe that he was genuinely good, that he wanted to take me away out of the goodness of his heart. I knew it was going to put a dampener on business for him to be out here when he should have been back in the city building his empire from the ground up. That was what he was trying to do with Edik after all. I hope that he doesn’t hold that against me one day if things don’t work out, the way Edik would have, I thought, as he opened up the door to the quaint cabin.

  It was a comfortable little place, with one bedroom, a small kitchenette and a lovely fireplace. I was looking forward to just having a bit of uninterrupted time to relax, after all that I’d been through in the last forty-eight hours.

  “Will it do?” he asked, even though we both knew we wouldn’t be going anywhere else.

  “It’s perfect, Aleksandr. Thank you.”

  “I want you to make yourself at home. I know this isn’t your usual setting, but I promise you that it won’t be forever. We will return to the city when I know it’s safe,” he said, and I couldn’t wait for that day. I had no right to be impatient in my position, but I was just itching to get the inevitable over with. It was only a matter of time before Edik and Aleksandr crossed paths again, and when that happened, there was no telling who was going to come out on top.

  “I have a few of my men coming that will stand guard on the premises, and a few of my staff from back at the house to take care of whatever necessities you may need. When they arrive, feel free to let them know,” he said, and I thanked him again for being so hospitable.

  “Where will I sleep?” I asked, glancing into the bedroom that clearly hadn’t been used in years.

  “You’ll take the bed, and I’ll take the couch,” he said, and I shook my head.

  “Aleksandr, this is your cabin, I couldn’t possibly ask you to-”

  “You don’t have to ask, Irina. Please, I did say I wanted you to make yourself at home,” he said with a smile.

  “I’ll be honest, as much as I want to take this all with a grain of salt and hope that we’re not going to run into trouble out here, let’s just say I feel like I know better. I’ve been in countless situations with Edik, and I know how he thinks. I worry that we’re a little in over our heads here,” I said plainly, even though I didn’t know how much I wanted to share with Aleksandr right away.

  “I will keep you out of trouble, even if he gets wind of the location. I know you’ve dealt with this a lot in the past, Irina, and that will be a valuable asset when I finally track him down to put an end to it once and for all. I don’t know what I would do if I let anything happen to you, and that’s why I have to make sure that you’re safe,” he said, inching closer to me, and I could almost feel the warmth emanating from his skin.

  He brushed his fingers against my face, caressing it, leaning in for a kiss that sent shockwaves through my body. It was like the first night we met all over again. In that moment, all I wanted was to feel his touch again, to remember how incredible it was, the way he handled my body, because now it was just him and me. There was nothing wrong with slipping away into a fantasy for a while. It was exactly what I needed to take my mind off of things, to rid myself of the worry that surfaced inside of me. He pulled me in closer, giving me a taste of what was to come as his lips pressed into mine again, harder this time. I could feel the imprint of his length press into my thigh, and I knew that we wouldn’t be wasting any more time. I felt his hands brush against my waist, grabbing my ass, smacking it playfully while we wandered into the bedroom. We wanted a moment to explore each other further, just as we had when we got away from the crowd that fateful night.

  The bed hadn’t been used in a while, and it creaked beneath me as I crawled onto it. Before I could get settled, Aleksandr was already stripping me, tossing my clothes on the floor, and I laid there naked in front of the window for the world to see. The bedroom faced the thick of the woods, so none of his men were going to have a peek at the activities that were about to take place. I knew how rough Aleksandr got when no one was looking. He took care of my body in a way no man had ever done before. I longed to feel that riveting experience again, I couldn’t wait to see what he had up his sleeve this time. He opened up the windows, and the fresh air breezed in through the netting as he stared back at me, admiring every inch of my body in the sunlight. It wasn’t long before the skies had clouded, filled with rain, and ready to explode much like I was.

  He stood over me at the foot of the bed, grabbing ahold of my legs as he pulled me into him. I could see the hunger in his eyes, how ready he was to devour me completely.

  “You’re so wet already, Irina, and I haven’t even started yet. You really want me to fuck you, huh?” he asked, and we both knew well and good what the answer to that question was going to be.

  I bit down on my lower lip, my mind running wild with all the possibilities, as he turned me over on my stomach to get a good look at my bare ass.

  “I want you to remember what it felt like the night we first met. I want to make you feel good. How does that sound?”

  I found myself moaning at the thought, but this wasn’t good enough for him.

  “What’s that? I want you to say it, Irina. I want you to ask for it. Do you want me to fuck you?” he asked again, enunciating every word to leave his lips.

  “I want you to fuck me, Aleksandr.”

  “And so I shall,” he said, slapping my ass again, so hard that I was sure it left a red handprint behind. I could feel the warmth of his skin as he loomed over me. My bare breasts pressed into the sheets beneath me, and I felt small under him, ready to take whatever he was ready to give me.

  “Arch your back, Irina. Let me see that perfect ass of yours,” he said, and I obeyed without question. My lips parted in anticipati
on and I could feel the heat under the surface of my skin begin to heat up. I couldn’t wait anymore, it was absolutely torturous to be so close yet so far, but he had a plan for me. He always did. He ran his fingers along my wet pussy lips, spreading them apart so he could see all of me, right there waiting for him. He held me close while I felt every inch of his dick slide inside of me.

  “Put your hands behind your back, and don’t you dare move them,” he said, groping my breasts as my ass bounced against his torso. He wanted me to do the work, he wanted to see just how far I was willing to go on my own. It was my time to show him what I was capable of, as I grinded up against his dick, enveloping it in my pussy, and I was dripping down my leg. It was the most extraordinary slow fuck I’d ever experienced, but before I could lay there and enjoy the ride any longer, he began to pick up the pace. He held me at the waist, his dick thrusting deep inside of me, so hard I thought I might break. My breath was heavy as his hands caressed my hips, leading me into him with every ounce of force he had left in him. My heart was pounding as my moans grew louder, but I knew there was no one around me to hear.

  “What a good girl,” he said in my ear, as I turned my head over my shoulder to kiss him, and I felt his tongue in my mouth toying with mine.

  “When we’re here together, your body belongs to me, and you will touch it when I say so. Do you remember how good it felt when I did it the first time?” he asked, and I nodded. The memory burned a hole in my brain, filling my entire body with the longing that could only be fulfilled by experiencing it all over again like it was the first time. He was good at that, good at taking me for a ride, helping me escape my unfortunate reality. Only, my reality wasn’t so unfortunate anymore. He’d rescued me from a life of utter turmoil, and I’d repay him any way he wished.

  I sunk my teeth into the comforter beneath me, my nails gripping it for support as he hit it hard from behind, and he lifted my head up, cradling my jaw, just when I came. The orgasm shot through my body with a fiery vengeance, leaving me shaking and weak beneath him. It was exactly what he wanted, it was what he loved to see. I felt the warmth of his cum on my back, growing colder by the minute, as we both tried to catch our breaths. When we’re together, Aleksandr, my body undoubtedly belongs to you. I wouldn’t want it any other way.