Chapter One #2
Hands gripped me and lifted. Before I could utter a word of protest, I was carried out of the only home I’d ever known.
Viktor’s scent washed over me, and I knew he was the one who had picked me up.
For whatever reason, I felt like I was better off with him than my sperm donor.
The man had never been a father to me, not in the true sense. I’d been more of a slave than a child.
“Your father cannot harm you anymore, myshka . I’ll keep you safe,” Viktor said.
At what price? Had the other man been right?
Would Viktor tire of me and pass me on to someone else?
Would I be little more than a whore now?
This wasn’t how I’d seen my life going. I’d been blind since birth and had led a solitary life.
Other than my parents and a few neighbors, I didn’t really know anyone.
My mother had permitted me to attend school, but after her death.
Mrs. Popov homeschooled me. They’d sheltered me as much as they could, but I had to wonder if they hadn’t really been doing me a favor.
Now I faced the unknown, and I wasn’t the least bit prepared.
I’d never really thought about what it would be like to leave my home, to live somewhere other than the only place I’d been my entire life.
Viktor held onto me even as he ducked down and sat in what I assumed was some sort of vehicle.
Then I heard a door slam. He caressed my side with his hand and pressed a kiss to my temple.
I didn’t know why he was being so nice, or so gentle.
Weren’t members of Bratva known for their brutality?
I’d heard horror stories around the neighborhood of what happened to young women who went out alone at night.
Picked up by Maksim or his men, and never heard from again.
“What will happen to him?” I asked.
“He’s been given a second chance. What he does with it is up to him.”
“And… me?”
“You now belong to me, myshka . Do as I say and we’ll get along fine.”
Do as he said. I was too scared to ask exactly what that would entail.
I could still feel the proof of his arousal pressing against me.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew what happened between men and women.
Theoretically anyway. I couldn’t exactly watch porn, or read about sex except for the few romances I’d found in Braille.
And who knew if any of that was factual?
The audiobooks at the library didn’t cover things like sex education, and there was a limited supply of Braille books at our local branch.
None of them taught what to do when you found yourself in the midst of the Bratva.
Not that my father had permitted trips to the library.
Once my schooling ended, that had been taken from me too.
“My things. I don’t have my clothes or shoes,” I pointed out.
“Not to worry, myshka . I’ll handle it.”
Three more doors opened and shut, and then we started moving. I felt a breeze across my face and frowned.
“Did someone just wave a hand in front of my face? Or is the window open?” I asked.
“You really can’t see?” someone asked.
“No, I really can’t see. I’ve never been able to see. I was born this way.” Why would I fake being blind?
“Then how did you know I put my hand in front of your face?” the man demanded, his tone suggesting I was lying.
“I felt the shift in the air,” I said. “I’m blind. Not stupid.”
Viktor laughed softly. “Leave her alone, Aleksi.”
“We’ll drop you off first, Viktor, so you can get your woman settled into her new home.”
I sat quietly, trying to process everything.
Home. I was going to Viktor’s home, which meant he planned for me to live with him.
Was he married? Would his wife be angry that he was bringing another woman into her house?
No one had packed my things. What was I supposed to wear?
He’d said he’d handle it, but what did that mean?
I didn’t even have a toothbrush, and I could really use one right now.
“Something wrong, myshka ?” Viktor asked. He rubbed between my eyes. “You have a fierce look right now.”
“I need a mint.”
I heard some rustling, and then something was pressed into my hand.
I lifted it to my nose and smelled spearmint.
I popped it into my mouth, and hoped I hadn’t just poisoned myself.
It wasn’t wise to eat something a stranger had given me, especially these strangers, but I couldn’t stand the yucky taste in my mouth another moment.
Not to mention my breath had to be grossing out Viktor and anyone else close enough to smell it.
“If you need anything for your new pet, get Ilya to pick it up for you. I wouldn’t leave her alone just yet, until she knows what’s expected.”
I thought the voice belonged to Maksim, but I wasn’t certain.
I did know that I didn’t like being called a pet.
I was a woman, a human being, and I had rights and feelings.
They were treating me like something they’d purchased at a store.
Did things like this really happen? Weren’t there laws in place to prevent something like this?
I knew the police avoided my neighborhood, but had anyone seen these men carry me off? Would anyone care?
“Mrs. Popov,” I murmured.
“What’s what, myshka ?” Viktor asked.
“Mrs. Popov will be worried if she discovers I’m gone. She knows what my father is like.”
“Who is Mrs. Popov?” the man I believed was Maksim asked.
“Mrs. and Mr. Popov live down the street. She homeschooled me after my mother died. Until my father made sure I wouldn’t graduate.”
“Look into it,” the man told someone. “Assure them Cerys Humes will be taken care of and will come to no harm.”
“I’ll handle it.” I thought that was Aleksi, the one who had waved his hand in front of my face. I hoped I would eventually be able to match the voices to the names with some amount of certainty. Assuming I was around that long. I still didn’t know what Viktor planned to do with me.
The vehicle came to a stop and I heard the door nearest me open. Viktor gripped me tightly as he exited the car and I felt him step up onto the sidewalk. The car door slammed shut and I heard it pull away. Before Viktor could move, I reached up and placed my fingers on his jaw.
“What’s it look like? Do you live in a house or an apartment?” I asked.
“I have the penthouse in a forty-story building of condominiums. There’s a doorman, but I also have a private elevator that will only work with a certain code. Only my Bratva family have that code. You will be safe in my home, myshka .”
“You keep calling me that, but I don’t know what it means.”
“It’s a term of endearment in my country.”
“Russia?”
“Yes. It means little mouse. My first impression of you was of someone small but fierce, regardless of the fear she felt. You were like a mouse, taunting a room full of cats, except without your sight you honestly didn’t know what you were facing.”
“Are all of you so very scary?” I asked.
“You would be wise to fear us.”
“Even you?”
He growled softly and began moving. “Especially me, myshka . Especially me.”
I didn’t know what to make of that. Had I left one nightmare only to jump straight into another?
Viktor seemed kind, or at least nicer than my father had ever been to me.
Was it all a ploy? Maksim said I belonged to Viktor now.
I didn’t understand what was happening, or what was expected of me.
Viktor had told me to obey him and all would be well.
I only hoped he didn’t ask me to do something I’d want to refuse.
What would my punishment be in the hands of the Bratva?
Would I survive? Or would I even want to?
It was quiet as we entered the building, but Viktor murmured something to someone.
The doorman? I’d never felt sorry for myself for being blind, but there had never been a time I’d wished I could see more so than right now.
I hated not knowing where I was, who I was with, where I was going.
While my father had been cruel, at least I’d known what to expect from him.
My stomach dropped and I felt a lurch. My grip on Viktor tightened.
“It’s just the elevator, myshka . We’ll be in your new home soon.”
“Wh-where will I stay?” I licked my lips. “Will your wife be angry you’re bringing me home?”
He snorted. “Not married, myshka . But if I were, she wouldn’t have a say in the matter.”
Right. So, he was no better than my father.
I wondered how long before he insisted that I cook and clean for him.
Would he be angry when he realized I’d never used an oven?
I hoped he’d give me time to adjust to my surroundings before he demanded too much of me.
Then again, I’d be lucky if that was all he asked.
It hadn’t escaped my notice he’d been hard the entire ride here.
I might be a virgin, but I wasn’t stupid.
“Why do you not have one of those canes? Or a dog?” he asked. “They’re to assist people like you, aren’t they?”
People like me? I wanted to take offense, but I couldn’t. I understood what he meant. Someone blind was at a disadvantage without either of those items, at least in a strange place.
“My father got angry and broke my cane. There wasn’t money for another.”
“And the dog?”
“Too expensive. I’ll be fine once I learn my way around your home.
It might take me a little while to memorize the layout.
” I hesitated, not wanting the next part to sound like I was issuing a demand, which meant choosing my words wisely.
“If you move the furniture, I’ll have to relearn that particular room.
Sometimes my father would move something just to watch me trip and fall. ”
Viktor growled, but before he could speak, the elevator came to a stop.
There was a soft ding, and then the doors slid open with a soft whoosh .
Viktor stepped out and I heard his shoes click against a hard floor.
I couldn’t tell from the sound if it was wood or tile.
If he lived in a penthouse, depending on the location of the building, it could very well have marble floors for all I knew.
I’d never lived in a place like this, or even visited.
Even when my mother had been alive, we hadn’t exactly been well off.
We’d struggled a bit, but we’d been happy. Or at least I had been happy.
When Viktor released me, I wobbled a moment.
He pressed down my shoulders and I sat, giving a sigh of relief when I realized there was a chair behind me.
The cushions were soft as I sank down. I ran my hand over the seat.
It felt like leather, but not the tough kind we’d had in our house.
I had a feeling the piece of furniture under me cost more than everything inside my home.
“You never said where I’m staying,” I reminded him. “And I won’t have a change of clothes. It wouldn’t have been any trouble to get my things.”
“If they’re like the clothing you have on now, I’m sure they’re little more than rags.”
I swallowed hard and bit my lip. It wasn’t my fault I hadn’t had money for nice things. I didn’t even know if what I had on matched. My father had made sure everything I owned was monotone, but I didn’t know for sure. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d dressed me in neon colors.
“ Myshka , do you even know what you’re wearing?” he asked.
“No.”
He ran his hand down my leg and a shiver went through me from the heat of his touch. “These leggings are so thin I can see the color of your panties.”
I gasped and pulled away, suddenly self-conscious. How could my father do that to me? How many times had I worn these out somewhere? Had the entire neighborhood seen my panties?
“Your shirt is see-through.” He trailed his fingers across my collarbone. “And your bra is lace. There is little left to the imagination, myshka . Who purchased your clothing?”
“My father. He assured me everything would match regardless of what I picked out from my closet. I…” My cheeks flamed hot. “I didn’t know. I’ve been out in these clothes. Men have seen me, I…”
I didn’t understand why no one had told me, not even the Popovs. It made me wonder if my father had threatened them in some way. It seemed like the nasty sort of thing he’d do.
He cupped my cheek. “Easy. We’ll get you proper clothes. No one will see so much of you ever again.” I felt him lean in closer, the scent of him wrapping around me. “Except me, myshka . I plan to see all of you.”
And that answered the question of exactly what I’d be doing here. Little more than a whore. Should I tell him I was a virgin? Would it matter to him? Was that the only reason he had for bringing me here?
I felt the rasp of his beard against my cheek a moment before his lips brushed mine.
I tensed and wanted to run, but didn’t know where to go.
He reached up and cupped the back of my head, holding me still as he deepened the kiss.
My first. He was the only man to ever place his lips against mine.
And now I was terrified for a different reason…
because I enjoyed his kiss a little too much.
His tongue stroked mine, and I tried to mimic him.
Could he tell I’d never done this before?
“Relax, Cerys. I demand your obedience in all things, but I won’t be cruel to you.”
Obedience. I was good at obeying. It was all I’d ever done.
“Give yourself to me, myshka .”
“I’m scared, Viktor,” I admitted.
“No one will harm you. Not while you’re mine. I don’t share. If I find out you’ve entertained another man, your punishment will be severe. But for as long as you’re faithful and remain by my side, I will protect you.”
Cheating on him had never crossed my mind. Since I’d never been with a man before, I didn’t think I’d be tempted by anyone else. And if I remained in his home, who exactly would I see? Well, figuratively speaking, since my entire world was nothing but darkness.
But if I was going to give myself to him, I needed some assurances. Did I need to worry about him giving me some sort of disease?
“What is it, myshka ?” He rubbed a finger between my eyes. “You’ll get frown lines if you worry so much.”
“What if you give me something? If you’re with other women, then --”
He pressed a finger to my lips. “As long as you’re in my bed, I will not be with another woman. I haven’t been intimate with anyone since the last time I was tested. I’m clean, myshka . Can you say the same?”
I nodded, knowing I was clean since I’d never slept with anyone. Something told me that was about to change.