Chapter 5
Briar
Rurik blinks once. Then blinks again. “Is that seriously the only thing you heard?”
“Of course not,” My grin widens like a fucking mad woman because he didn’t deny he thinks I’m pretty. “There’s a 0.1% chance you’re into me, too. That’s better than 0%.”
“You’re seriously impossible,” Rurik groans, turning around to continue walking.
I shrug and walk beside him, noticing that his pace was not quickening this time. I grin again, unable to stop myself.
“Stop doing that with your face. It’s creepy.”
“Thank you,” I try to eat up my smile but can’t. “Take my flower.”
“No, now piss off.”
“But why?”
“What kind of question is that? I’m not interested, Briar. Get that through your thick skull.”
“So now you think my head is pretty and thick?”
Rurik stops walking and turns to me. His dark blue eyes glow with rage, and I nearly swoon at the glorious sight.
“Fucking listen to me,” He growls. The rumble from his chest makes my mouth water, and I want to open him up and drink that sound.
Calm your tits, girl.
He lifts a finger, waving it in front of my face like some forbidden lollipop begging to be licked. “Out of respect for my friendship with Oscar and Natalie, I tried my damndest to tolerate you. But I’m sick of this. We are never going to be anything. Do you understand that? I am not interested in anything you have to offer. I am not interested in getting to know you. I am not interested in you. So why don’t you, for once, do as I fucking say and piss off before I choke the living hell out of you until I snap your neck.”
He keeps waving his long finger in front of my face. I can’t be held accountable for what I do next. I wonder how that finger would feel inside my mouth as I suck on it.
So I do it.
I capture his finger in my mouth.
Fuck.
Fucking shitballs.
Bad idea.
His finger is like an appetizer, feeding my hunger with little bits of samples as I get ready for the main course. Him. But I want more.
What does his neck taste like?
Will I like the lumpy feeling of his Adam’s apple against my tongue?
The gasp that comes out of him as my tongue swirls around his finger nearly makes my legs buckle. I look up at him as I slowly pull away with a pop and grin as he stares at me with wide eyes.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time, angel,” I whisper as I stand on my toes to press my lips against his jaw and nibble his skin. ”In fact, please do. Your filthy words are like music to my ears.”
I expected Rurik to shove me away, yelling and telling me to leave him alone again, maybe even calling me crazy, his favorite go-to nickname for me. So imagine my surprise when, the moment my teeth lightly grazed the velvety skin of his jaw, Rurik drew in a sharp breath and shivered.
Fucking shivered.
I deeply inhale his scent—a spicy, woodsy smell, like mahogany with a hint of lavender and espresso.
Shit. He smells so good. My eyes roll to the back of my skull. I don’t realize his hands are on my shoulders until he grips them tightly.
The best part is? He’s not pushing me away. No, he”s keeping me in place.
I’m getting fucking greedy because I want to know what else would he do if I push him some more?
To my disappointment, he lets go of me and quickly steps away to create distance between us. Do I pout like a fucking child who was denied her chocolate ice cream?
Fucking, yes, I did. Ugh, I need to chill.
Rurik”s finger hovers before him, and he blinks as if waking from a trance. His gaze slowly rises, locking onto mine with an intensity that sends a thrilling shiver down my spine.
At that moment, I see a flicker of something beneath the surface, a tumultuous mix of emotions swirling in those penetrating blue eyes.
Anger and confusion simmered there, but they were overshadowed by something deeper, something more… Feral? My breath hitches as his throat moves when he swallows, and I feel the weight of his gaze bearing down on me like a predator sizing up its prey.
Uh. What the hell was that?
Fucking glorious, that”s what that was.
Come on, Rurik. Tell me what you”re thinking. Were you imagining it was your cock my tongue was licking? How filthy are your thoughts?
To my disappointment, Rurik blinks again. It”s as if a heavy mask descends upon his face, erasing the intense look he had moments earlier and interrupting whatever thoughts were racing through his mind.
Where did you go, angel?
After finally collecting himself, he clears his throat and wipes his finger on his shirt. He shoots me a disgusted look.
“Don’t do that again,” he forcefully snaps, even though he sounds as if he just ran a marathon.
“Were you picturing your finger as your cock?” I ask teasingly. “Wondered how it’ll feel if my tongue licked your dick clean?”
My mouth twitches as he clears his throat again and turns around to walk away, not even saying anything as I walk beside him. I can’t help but grin like an idiot once more. I’m definitely wearing him down. He’s not going to be able to resist me.
I just know it.
We walk silently for a few seconds until I spot more flowers sprouting from the ground. I quickly pluck one and return to his side, offering him the new one and the one from earlier.
Rurik frowns at it and rolls his eyes, not taking it.
“Take the damn flowers this time, angel.”
He’s gorgeous, but my patience is starting to run out each time.
“No, Briar.” Rurik snaps, “I want nothing to do with you and your overbearing bullshit. Get the fucking hint.”
“But I want everything to do with you.”
“Leave me alone.”
“That song is overplayed. Next.”
He shakes his head and continues looking straight ahead.
A nasty thought suddenly drowns my mind, and piercing anger rushes through me.
I grab his wrist, forcing him to stop walking. He whirls around with a grunt and growls, “What the hell?”
“Is it because you’re already taken?”
“What the fuck?”
“You have a girlfriend? Boyfriend? A fling?”
Rurik stares at me, his eyes widening as my questions wash over him. I let him go and cross my arms, waiting. He looks away, muttering something under his breath before returning to me.
“Yes, I have a girlfriend.”
Cue the sounds of cars crashing and my heart exploding into billions of pieces.
I expect him to laugh at my stunned face and say, “Haha! Just kidding! It”s you, my beautiful, crazy girl! You”re my girlfriend. I’m yours!”
But he doesn’t. He only continues to stare back at me.
I chuckle softly, staring at Rurik as if he didn’t just rip my fucking heart out and stomp it like a bug. But he wouldn’t do that, would he? Rurik’s the type of person that wouldn’t hurt a fly. Except he’s breaking my heart. Literally and figuratively.
He lifts his chin with an air of arrogance. “What’s so funny?”
I purse my lips to stop them from grinning again. “Sorry, I have hearing problems thanks to my work. I”m pretty sure it’s just earwax, but I thought I heard you say something ridiculously impossible like you have a girlfriend that isn’t me.”
Rurik’s brow twitches before crossing his arms. “I do.”
I scoff, “No, you don’t.”
“How the hell would you know?”
Because I’ve been watching over you, angel.
“Because those girls wouldn’t have existed by now.”
“Jesus. Fuck, you’re a damn psychopath, aren”t you?”
“Sweet talking won”t work this time, angel. Who is it?”
“What?”
“Your so-called girlfriend.” When he didn’t answer me immediately, I start naming names I’d seen tagged him on social media. “Is it Poppy?”
“Who?”
“Aelin, then.”
“Who — What the hell are you talking about?” His gorgeous face scrunches up in confusion.
“Don’t tell me it’s Adeline.”
“What are you… Are you naming my cousin? From Scotland?”
“Cousin?” I wrinkle my nose. “Liar, they’re not your cousins. Long-distance relationships exist.”
Rurik stares at me, blinking repeatedly as if trying to make me vanish with each blink. Jokes on him, though. I’ll always be there for him.
He inhales deeply and closes his eyes as he exhales. He shakes his head before opening his eyes to glare at me.
“You’re ridiculous.” He groans.
“Ridiculously into you.”
“Get lost and stay out of my fucking face, Briar.”
“I can”t do that, angel.”
“You”re a fucking monster.”
“I’m your fucking monster.”
“Oh, piss off before I show you who the real monster is.”
“Show me. I’d love to meet the monster who soothes mine.”
“Fuck. Off.”
“No. Who’s the girl?”
He growls impatiently and throws his hands up. ”It”s none of your business if I’m with someone, Briar! As I told you earlier, I want nothing to do with you.”
“And as I told you earlier,” I close the distance between us, my voice a whisper. “I want everything to do with you. Everything. So lose your side chick because I”m taking over your thoughts, heart, and essence from this moment on.”
His throat bobs and my gaze quickly jumps to his Adam’s apple.
Would he freak out if I bit it? I really want to.
No.
But I’m hungry.
Chill the fuck out, girl.
Just a lick, then.
You already weird him out.
I loudly huff at that thought, causing him to jerk. I flash my adorable smile, and he replies by stepping away. And then another.
Then another.
My eyes narrow as he hesitates for a second before turning around and sprinting away.
What a dick. Probably a gorgeous dick, but still a dick.
I stare at him. He”d better run home and call his girl to break up with her or something. If he didn’t, I may have to gather my stalkerish skills again and visit her.
*-*-*-*
“I don’t think he has a girlfriend,” Oscar says as he backs away from fixing one of Mr. Rogers’s problems.
The problem in question? Nat’s former bodyguard, Luke. Former, because he fucked up. Oscar quickly removed his blindfold.
Luke furiously blinks, his vision adjusting. As soon as his eyes land on me, Oscar, and Nat, he squeaks like a fucking mouse and starts squirming in his seat.
I tilt my head to the side, watching him. I’m curious to see what his plan is. He’s securely tied up to his chair and has no weapons.
“Luke, I’m not mad,” Nat sighs, crossing her arms. “I’m just really disappointed.”
Luke stops struggling and cries out, “I’m sorry! Miss Rogers, I’m so sorry—” His head snaps to the side from Oscar’s brute force of a punch.
I even wince at that. I could have sworn I heard a crack somewhere.
Luke continues crying as Oscar snarls at him, “Sorry? You’re sorry that your stupid friends nearly kidnapped my fiance? We took care of them, too, by the way.”
“As soon as we promised them we’d let them go if they answered our questions, they sang like a canary.”
“Especially that girlfriend of yours, Nat adds, raising her brows. “She had no love for you, my dude. I’m sorry to say.”
“Speaking of girlfriends,” I turn to Nat. “Really? Rurik was making it seem like he had a girlfriend.”
She gives me a skeptical look. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, girl!” I exclaim, shaking my head in disbelief. “How dare he get a girlfriend and not know I would come into his life soon after.”
“I meant seriously, Briar. Do you seriously want to talk about this now?” Nat groans, gesturing to Luke. “We have more pressing matters, don’t you think?”
I return my focus to Luke and glare. “You fucking asshole. Thanks to you, I’m missing my Rurik time.” I walked up to him and pressed my gun against his temple.
Luke started shaking his head, “Please, please! Whatever they said is a lie!”
“I don’t think so,” Nat sighs and shrugs. “But what do you think they lied about?”
Luke stutters, “I… I… T-They made me do it. I d-didn’t want anything to do with —”
Oscar growls, “Your friends told us it was your idea to have them pose as thugs to kidnap Natalie for ransom and that you’d get a cut from the reward money.”
Luke pales. I let out a disappointed breath and glance at Oscar and Nat. The expression on Luke’s face pretty much gives him away.
I turn back to Luke and remove the safety from my gun.
“No!” Luke shakes his head, “Please! Let me go. Let me talk to my friends real quick, please!”
I shake my head, “Sorry, dude. Your friends are dead.”
He stares at me with wide eyes. “B-But, you guys said you let them go—”
“I mean, yeah,” Nat says slowly as if she was talking to a toddler. “We let them go to meet their maker.”
Luke frowns in confusion before Nat”s words settle in. He glances up at me and starts screaming.
Men. Always giving me a fucking headache.
I pull the trigger.
Luke screams again, his eyes closing shut as he tries to curl himself into a ball.
My nose wrinkles when wetness forms in his pants, and I sigh. Is he… Damn it, Luke just peed himself.
“Aww,” I lift my hand and awkwardly pat him on his head. “Fuck, my man. You know what, don”t feel embarrassed, Luke. Shit happens. I”ve met a man who shit his pants once. Literally. It”s cool, no biggie.” I wave my gun. “What is embarrassing, though, is how I forgot to reload this.”
“Girl,” Nat snickers, “That’s what you get for letting a man distract you.”
“Don’t talk shit about my angel, I won’t stand for it.” I scoff, walking up to stand next to her.
We both watch Oscar finish the job for me.
An hour later, after cleaning the room of the shitty bodyguard’s blood splatters and dumping Luke in a body bag for Mr. Rogers’s garbage crew, Nat, Oscar, and I sat in Oscar’s living room.
“I’m not giving you his number, Briar,” Oscar says as he hands me a plate of grilled cheese.
I gawk at him, “What? Why?”
“Because Natalie said you’re trying to leave him alone.”
I look at my so-called best friend and say, “Oh, I am? That’s new. I didn’t know I was doing that.”
Nat rolls her eyes, “We talked about this, Briar. He’s not part of our world.”
I swallow a bite of my sandwich and grumble, “What does that have to do with me wanting his number? What if Rurik could be my art buddy, and we could make beautiful art together?”
Oscar and Nat exchange looks.
I glare at them both before asking, “Okay, just to confirm… He doesn’t have a girlfriend?”
“I’ve never seen him with anyone,” Oscar shrugs, ignoring Nat’s warning.
I throw her a smug smile as I address her fiancé. “You’re the real MVP, Oscar. Can I have his number?”
“No, stop asking.”
“I changed my mind. I don’t approve of you marrying my bestie.”
“Damn. That sucks.”
I glare at him. I’m not leaving his house until I get my angel’s number. That way, I can talk to him even while I’m at work, and he’ll do his own thing! See, I can give him his space if he wants.
*-*-*-*
I look at my watch and frown.
Where the fuck is Rurik?
It’s already 6:45 AM. He should have been here on his morning run around the park. This is his usual route; from what I’ve gathered after watching him for weeks, my angel loves routine.
So where the hell is he now? I would be annoyed if he decided to change his route out of the blue.
I almost give up and start running in the opposite direction, but I stop when I finally see him running upward toward me down the hill.
I grin. Aw, he’s coming to get me. He’s so fucking gorgeous. I just want to eat and swallow him whole until we’re one.
Shit. Why does my heart feel like it’s doing backward somersaults and my stomach dropping simultaneously? Is that normal? Also, are my hands sweaty?
Oh, god. I’m dying. That must be it.
Oh well, even more reasons to stay close to my own personal angel.
As he pauses by a shaded tree to adjust his shoelaces, I lift my hand and open my mouth to call out to him. But before his name can pass my lips, a blonde girl in pink shorts and a white sports bra calls his name and sprints toward him.
I drop my hand.
As he straightens up, the girl throws her arms around his neck, pressing her barely covered cleavage against his chest. Rurik grins down at her, his hands immediately finding her tiny waist.
Uh, excuse fucking me?
Who the fuck is she, angel?
She doesn’t look like any of the bimbos I’ve seen in his tagged photos.
Again, who the fuck is she, and does she prefer death by choking or by sharp objects?
Shit, they’re coming this way. I look around me and dart to the closest tree, shielding myself from their view.
“It’s so good to see you, Rurik.” Wannabe Barbie says in a false baby voice, making me want to claw my ears off. She pretends to trip, making Rurik wrap his arm around her waist to steady her. “Oh, you’re so sweet, thank you!”
This bitch. Who told her it was cute to act dumb?
”I’ve actually never been here before,” Wannabe Barbie giggles.
“Really?” Rurik asks, “I thought you said you lived here all your life? Surely, you’ve been to Central Park.”
My rage surges like a hemorrhage, threatening to spill out of my eyeballs. Steam seems to billow from my nose and ears as I watch her tightly wrap her fingers around Rurik”s. When he shows no signs of stopping her, I nearly erupt.
Fuck, should I call Mr. Rogers to have the clean-up crew on standby?
Goddamnit, I didn’t want to kill anyone right now.
“Wow, handsome. Your arm feels so strong.”
Fuck it.
I’m seconds away from blowing my shit and making Murdered-As-Fuck Barbie a thing when Rurik’s eyes quickly dart to mine before returning to hers just as quickly.
And that”s when I realize...
The way his face tightens into an uncomfortable grimace, the closer her face gets to his, the way he angles his body away from her despite smiling so charmingly at her...
Fucking asshole.
I straighten, staring at them. My heart returns to its usual rhythm, and my anger slowly dissipates as I realize what I”m witnessing. This is all a show. Rurik doesn’t like this girl; he’s just using her to get to me.
I grin.
He’s just trying to make me jealous and provoke a reaction. He almost got it, though.
But I’ll give him something else instead.
I fluff my hair and straighten my clothes before taking a position as if slowing down from a run. I breathe heavily, mimicking the exertion of a 10K race, and pretend to ignore Rurik as I jog past them.
Then, with a sudden stop, I spin around, feigning surprise.
“Rurik?” I gasp, jogging back toward him. “Oh my — Is that you, angel?”
Rurik blinks, his eyes widening until they surpass his face”s breadth. The adorable flush in his cheeks drains away, leaving his complexion ashen.
That’s right, angel. Lose your shit like I almost lost mine.
Wannabe Barbie looks between us as if trying to figure out our story.
I wink at him, relishing the sight of his jaw clenching and his face flushing bright pink. Fuck, even with him looking all angry and shit, he’s so damn attractive. Also, why is he pissed off at me? I’m the one who told him to lose his side chicks.
I turn to Dollar Store Barbie and smile innocently, “Hi! My name’s Briar.”
She frowns for a second before plastering me with the fakest of the fakest plastic smiles that were worthy of Barbies. “Nice to meet you, Briar. I’m Barbara!”
Barbara.
I slowly turn to Rurik and give him a subtle What the fuck?
Of course, her fucking name is Barbara. Why wouldn’t it be?
I can already picture the social media posts from her other plastic friends praising her authenticity and crying about how it”s unfair that she left this world so early.
“How do you know Rurik?” My voice is as high and overly cheerful as hers.
Rurik clears his throat, “We’re actually —”
“Oh, we met online!” Walking Plastic exclaims, interrupting him. “This is actually our first date.”