Chapter 9 – Elijah
9
ELIJAH
A lone in this abandoned building, I waited for Niko to show up with Zanae.
Yesterday’s memories lingered, replaying the scene where she struggled to hide her arousal and maintain composure in front of her father and that now-dead idiot.
Who in their right mind would even think of marrying her when I’m here? They’d have to be certifiably nuts. Even in death, I wouldn’t allow this fucking nonsense.
My little Zanae wasn’t mine entirely yet.
And her father is still too alive for my liking. Too ambitious with his legacy, too insane trying to marry her off to someone other than me. As if I’d just watch that in silence.
Stupid.
The Devil would never not own his Lilith.
Seeing Elias wasn’t new; I’d grown up seeing him. Though I craved to devour his heart and watch him die slowly, I knew that time would come.
For now, I’d content myself with having fun with his daughter.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from that star necklace. Even if her father wasn’t behind those gifts, he was the cause of all this.
And those amber eyes of hers...
I couldn’t shake them from my thoughts, no matter how hard I tried. She haunted me. It was too late now; I could no longer tear my eyes away from that girl.
After an hour, they arrived, and the training began.
Her eyes were still the same, and looking at them up close reminded me of how much I wanted to push her to her limits and make her know what real pain was.
Damn, I was obsessed .
Blades clashed, the sound echoing in the room. Her long ponytail begged to be grabbed, to feel it twist around my hand as I brought my knife to her throat.
Her sweaty, pale skin glistened under the soft dim light, veins pulsing visibly.
The contrast of her sweat-drenched skin against her dark hair teased something within me, fascination and frustration.
She was both strong and vulnerable, a combination that made my blood boil.
“Pathetic,” I spat, my voice dripping with disdain. “Fight like you mean it.”
She met my gaze with defiance and confidence, then smiled, “I mean every attempt to slash your throat, Elijah.”
I bet she is.
“Do better then. You can’t even touch me with your blade.”
Her lips curved into a smirk, “Oh, please, try harder if you want to hurt my feelings.”
I was so fucking lost in her dangerously attractive stupid face that she swiftly disarmed me, her blade pressing against my throat once more. She was suffocating, her dilated pupils staring into mine, her amber eyes poisonous. Our faces were inches apart, and she never stopped smiling.
Fuck me.
“See? Got you again,” she whispered.
I met her gaze with a smile, pressing my other hidden blade against her pulse, relishing in the sound of her heart beating. “Are you sure, Milaya ?”
She stepped back, the smirk fading from her lips.
So pouty and full. What if I just devour them?
I really need to stop thinking about that before destroying that mouth, here and now.
Moving on to the makeshift shooting range, the scent of gunpowder enveloped the room. I guided her in handling the firearm, watching as her delicate fingers grasped the gun with ease. Those red nails are killing me.
“Now, grip it firmly, but not too tight. You need control, not just force it.”
“I thought control was your thing, Elijah.”
A chuckle escaped me. “Pull the trigger, Zanae.”
She smiled while firing, and a surprising sense of satisfaction filled me. I knew she was strong. “Not bad. Maybe there’s still hope for you.”
Zanae’s satisfied beautiful grin widened, “I think it would be better if you were the target.”
So much fire in her.
I just shook my head, loving this side of her way too much. The one that made me want to murder her. “You might almost be tolerable if you weren’t so insufferable.”
Her eyes met mine again, this time, defying me. “Likewise, Volkov. Almost.”
My beautiful Little Nightmare whose existence echoes through the dark corners of my soul. My muse of chaos and beauty, haunting my dreams.
This little nickname was perfect for her.
And I was sure of that when those amber eyes threatened to burn me during this training.
Attraction and competition are a really fucked up mix.
I wanted to kill her, but first, I wanted to see how she would defend herself. I wanted to win, but against her strength, not her weakness.
Our training continued, each clash of blades and every shot fired amplifying this attraction to her. “You’re too slow. If this is the best you can do, you won’t last a minute out there.”
Her eyes shot bullets at me. Brown again, I see fucking brown again, only brown.
“Maybe I’m just waiting for the right moment to strike, Elijah. You should learn a thing or two about strategy and when to make a good first move, just saying.”
My blade nicked her arm as I closed in on her. I needed to see red, and I needed it now.
“Your moves are too predictable,” I sneered, her frustration fueling my desire to make her angrier, “I could read you like an open book with the way you’re reacting, Zanae.”
She glanced at her cut and then back at me, smiling. Fuck. Brown , not red anymore. “So, you can read?”
Her amber eyes bore into mine, it’s like she knew I was fighting my own self to not bend her over and spank the shit out of her because of that filthy mouth she has.
“You don’t know how much I’ll appreciate ruining you, Milaya .”
We transitioned back to firearm training again. I watched her closely, my eyes assessing her every move, to make sure she was learning. “Remember, it’s not just about pulling the trigger, it’s about how you handle it, and you seem scared of this gun.”
“Don’t provoke me when I have something that could kill you in my hands,” she replied, red cheeks, fiery eyes. Beautiful .
I couldn’t help but smile at her. So insolent. “I could kill you before you even think about pulling the trigger, Zanae.”
Maybe, just maybe, she had the potential to be an asset. A dangerous one, even for me. Especially for me.
The desire to outdo each other, to prove superiority, was so palpable that I could feel it, taste it, fucking touch it.
After that session, she retrieved her things and Nikolai drove her back to Miranda’s café. She winked at me before getting into Nikolai’s car.
She. Just Winked. At. Me.
And I lost every capacity to breathe.
No more brown. Now it’s black.
Her vanilla scent, her face, and her attitude were the epitome of torture for me. The thing is, I thrived in pain