Chapter 25
Louhi
When I opened my eyes to find the bed empty…again, the hourglass on my patience officially ran out. Hey, I lasted a full five days. I’m afraid of what might happen if I allow this to go on any longer. There’s too much at stake.
Reaching for the new phone I procured, I open my text thread with Viktor. I type out a message, putting my plan into motion. A minute later, his reply comes through.
Sean has been left to his own devices long enough. My brother let me spiral for two weeks before he stepped in and helped me channel my emotions into a productive form of violence. Sean needs someone to do that for him.
Half an hour later, I leave the cottage. The snowstorm from yesterday cleared. The sun is bright, sparkling against the blanket of snow like glitter on the floor in the aftermath of a sensational party.
Filling my lungs with crisp, wintery air, I stuff my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket as I trek toward the main house. Once inside, I descend into Viktor’s subterranean basement.
I head toward the sound of pulsing music, the heavy riff and beat familiar.
When I reach the gym, I pause in the doorway.
I cross my arms and lean a shoulder against the doorframe.
“While We Serve” by Orbit Culture blares through the speakers as Sean, Jace, Sasha, and Viktor work out…
sans shirts. I stand there, openly gawking at the impressive display. Who wouldn’t?
The potent, mouthwatering scent of masculinity and testosterone-laced pheromones in this room have me clenching my thighs. If this smell could kill me, I’d gladly walk inside without a biohazard hazmat suit.
Slick sweat covers their bodies, dripping haphazardly onto the black mats and equipment. While the incredible physique of the other three men are abso-bloody-lutely worthy of attention, it’s Sean who I find my gaze latching onto.
His eyebrows are pinched in concentration, his lips pursed. The way his right bicep bulges and squeezes with every rep of curls he completes makes the notion of licking the salty sweat from his skin quite appealing.
At that moment, he turns, catching sight of me in the doorway. I wink, but his face remains carefully impassive. Give me something, Sean.
Viktor notices me next, racking his weights, and grabbing a towel that he runs over his face and neck.
Starting at his wrists, intricate, alluring tattoos snake up his arms and slither down both his front and back.
He lifts an eyebrow, a phantom smile threatening to break through. “Did you stop by just to ogle us?”
Smirking, I lift a shoulder in a shrug. “I’m enjoying the view, but I wouldn’t mind fewer clothes on the artwork.”
Jace sniggers as he shakes his head. Sasha and Viktor chuckle, and the latter, unfortunately, dons a shirt. Sean drops his dumbbell between his feet. I push off the doorframe and saunter in his direction.
Standing before him, I hold out a hand. He studies it, then slides his attention up my arm before landing on my face. “Come with me.”
“Where?”
I wiggle my fingers in answer. He exhales audibly but places his hand in mine.
When we arrive at the door I’m looking for, I type in the code on the padlock that Viktor sent me.
Swinging the metal door open, I allow Sean to walk through first, shutting us inside with a sinister-sounding bang.
I’ve been in here once before, helping Viktor question one of his soldiers for vital information we both needed.
Seeing it through Sean’s eyes, however, is like watching a small child experience the twinkling magic of Christmas for the first time, even if he’s trying to mask it.
He walks around the interrogation room, observing the reclinable chair positioned on the left side of the room, complete with straps and the metal table and chairs on the right.
With a smile, I hit a button on the wall next to the door, and the panels to both the right and the left of the entrance part, revealing shelves of tools and equipment.
He spins in place, taking in the vast assortment at our disposal. His eyebrows wrinkle, and his lips tip down. “What are we doing here, Louhi?”
Padding over to the metal table, I hop up onto the edge, my legs swinging freely. I glance at the camera in the left-hand corner. Vik assured me that he’d have the tape erased without watching it. I don’t believe him. Pervert.
“I thought we could have some fun.”
“In an interrogation room?” Sean’s gaze flickers between me and the tools on the shelves. I’d kill to learn what he’s thinking.
“We had some good times in the playpen, did we not?” I lean back, supporting my weight with one palm on the table.
“Lou, I—” I cut him off before he can give me some excuse that’s utter bollocks and continue.
“It’s a place to fuck, Sean, nothing more.”
However, where excitement and confidence flowed a few moments ago, concern oozes into my veins now.
I was hoping that being in here would help him become reacquainted with the dark sadistic monster that lurks beneath his skin, but now I’m wondering if this was the right move.
What if my eagerness to help him has only exacerbated his pain? Have I worsened a bleeding wound?
Perhaps I’ve just put a metaphorical gun to his head; I’ll have to wait and see if he chooses to pull the trigger. Regardless of my good intentions, he’s going to have to make some decisions in this room.
His chest expands with a deep breath as he scrutinizes me. “Only a place to fuck?”
I nod, and he approaches me with tentative steps. Reaching for his neck, I pull him down for a bruising kiss, our lips colliding like battleships in the night. My blood fills with fire and smoke as my tongue slips into his mouth.
My hands explore the mountain of his body like I’m looking to memorize the topography.
Eventually, I land on his waistband of his shorts.
Anxious to strip him both emotionally and physically bare, I hook my fingers into the band and yank.
It’ll be nice to be the one to strip him of his clothes this way after all the times he did that to me.
So good, in fact, that it gives me an idea, one that might be better than my original plan.
Throwing caution to the wind, I pivot entirely.
I remove my grip from his shorts and leave them hanging around his waist. Instead, my palms find his bare, muscled chest. I push against him to create enough room between us for me to jump down.
Our lips never untangle as I flip our positions, so his arse is pressed to the edge of the metal table now.
His one good arm wraps around my waist and presses my body against his. I can sense that he’s holding back, but he won’t be for long. Not if I have it my way. Who am I kidding? I always get what I want.
When I break the kiss, my lips curl into a mischievous grin that I can’t begin to contain. My fingertips graze down his torso, enjoying the feel of his rippled abdomen. His body is utterly insane.
“Stay,” I order lightly, my fingers falling from his form as I back away. He frowns, but does as I say like the well-behaved puppy he is.
Immediately going for the strips of reinforced nylon twine, I carry it back to Sean. I nod toward the table behind him. “Strip and lie down.”
He eyes the rope, my face, then the cord again. “Louhi.” My name on his lips is a low warning, a threat I don’t heed. He doesn’t scare me.
“Se-an,” I sing-song. “Show me that pretty cock of yours and get on the table.”
His chest expands, then deflates twice before he kicks off his sneakers and gets entirely naked. He doesn’t even complain when his body stretches out over the cold metal surface. This will be so fun.
“What are you going to do?” His eyes track the lengths of rope in my grasp as though they were live snakes.
Darling, the only one in this room that will bite is me.