Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Viktor
I ’m being a dick, but watching Ava walk out the door makes me want to claim her more. I want to bring her to submission. She has awoken the Dom in me. Just thinking of her tied to the post of my bed excites me. I don’t need to marry. I can take over without a wife, but I want her, and this is a guaranteed way to get her.
My musings are interrupted as Mom arrives. “Where did your friend go, sweetheart?”
“She had to leave. Work in the morning.” I look at the door like I’m expecting Ava to return.
“Where did you meet her?” she asks as she sits.
“Would you believe me if I told you I met her this afternoon when she walked into the restaurant and demanded to speak with Dad?”
She smiles. “That little thing? What did she want?”
“Her dad’s a gambler who owes us money. She wanted to know who would loan money to a gambler.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
She laughs. “I smell horseshit.”
“Mom—”
“Viktor Manarch, I carried you for nine months and was in labor for twenty-two hours. No one knows you better than me.” Mom crosses her arms over her chest and stares accusingly at me.
“I was in Eros, and we crossed paths. She was hungry, so I brought her here. End of story.”
I love my mother, but if I let her, she’d plan the rest of my life. She’s been bugging me of late to find someone to settle down with, someone to make me happy. I’m not interested in settling down. I am not a one-woman man. Not anymore.
“A woman like her will bring you to your knees,” she says as she stands again.
“She’s not making me do anything. No woman can,” I respond defiantly.
She smiles. “If you pursue her, you won’t be able to be without her. Ava will become your world.”
“I’m not interested in her or settling down. You know that.”
“Yet you brought her to the family restaurant, into my kitchen, introduced her to me, and dismissed the men to have her to yourself. You already lost the war.”
“Mom, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And you don’t give me enough credit.” She sets her hand on my shoulder. “She’s beautiful. I can tell she’s feisty, but her eyes scream of a hard life. She will not be another woman in your black book. I won’t allow it,” she orders, something she doesn’t often do. I look at her, confused. “She reminds me of me. Life clearly hasn’t been kind to her.
“It’s getting late. Lock up.” She kisses the top of my head.
“Good night, Mom.”
“Good night, sweetheart.”
Her words play over like a broken record. I don’t know why I care. Mom is wrong—I’m not starting anything with Ava. This is business, a quid pro quo. She is getting something out of this too. I want her, although I don’t know what it is about her that lures me. I am not a good man, and she deserves better, but that won’t stop me from claiming her.
“Ready?”
I look up. “Oliver, I thought you left.”
“I was waiting. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to go back to Eros.” He sits down opposite me.
“I’m going home.”
“And the girl?”
“She got up and left.”
“Good for her.” Oliver laughs and I glare at him. “It’s nice to see that some women don’t fall for your charm.”
“What are you implying?”
“Nothing. It’s an observation. You haven’t spent a second night with a woman in several years.”
I slap my hands on the table. “I’m going home,” I say as I stand.
“Viktor…” Oliver runs his hands through his hair, “… I didn’t mean anything by my comment.”
“I have an early meeting with my lawyer,” I say, deciding not to acknowledge his comment. “Close the restaurant. Mother has left.”
Oliver looks at me and scowls. “Fine,” he says finally.
I think he wants to say more, but I don’t give him the opportunity. There’s truth to his words. In the last few years, I haven’t felt the desire to be with a woman for more than one night.
Fiona saw to that.
I want to say I don’t think of Fiona, but the bullet scars are a permanent reminder of her mark on my life. But it was a lifetime ago. No point in remembering the past.
As I drive, I think of Ava. I’m not sure why she fascinates me so much. There’s no reason she should. She’s a means to an end, and this is a transaction. Her father’s debt will be paid off, and I will get a distraction. I will have an obedient submissive. Someone I can claim without worrying about marriage or kids.
As I drive, I find myself turning left at the lights. Not the way home. I drive straight ahead, not conscious of any final destination.
Ten minutes later, I’m in front of the Governor Alfred E. Smith Houses at the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I can’t remember the last time I was here. Maybe when I was a teenager trying to bed a girl. Girls from the projects were known to be easy. I turn the headlights off. I don’t know what I’m expecting. She is probably home by now.
I‘ve been sitting in the car for ten minutes when I spot her across the street. She’s walking fast and looking down. She is too trusting. Anyone could be lurking in the shadows.
A car pulls up beside her. She looks at it, ignores it, and keeps walking. The car drives onto the sidewalk, and before I know it, I’m opening my door, and my gun is in my hand.
As I walk toward the car, I hear voices. Ava sounds upset.
“Nathan, leave me alone.”
“Get in the car.” That must be Nathan.
What right does he have to order her around?
“Go away.” Ava’s voice shakes, and I’m not sure if it’s with fear or anger. Either way, I’m putting an end to this.
The driver is distracted with his head turned to her. He doesn’t see me coming, but Ava spots me and mouths, “No.”
I don’t listen.
No one tells me what to do.
I focus on the task at hand and put the gun to the side of his head.
My voice is calm. “I suggest you leave before I pull the trigger.”
When the man spins to face me, I press the gun to his forehead.
His face pales, and I can see the fear in his eyes. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What the heck, bro?”
“I’m not your bro. She told you to lose her number and leave her alone.”
“She’s my girl.”
I lower the hammer. He flinches.
Another fucking wannabe thug.
“I won’t repeat myself.”
This jerk has no idea who he’s dealing with.
“Viktor, please don’t. He’s not worth it.” Despite the severity of the situation, Ava’s voice does something to me. I look into her eyes, they’re wide, and a tear glistens. “Please,” she begs.
I put the hammer back in its position. “If I ever see you or hear that you’ve come near her again, you will meet your maker.” I take a step back and walk to Ava as he takes the opportunity to leap in his car and speed away.
“What are you doing here?” She looks at me, confused.
“I believe a thank you is in order.”
“I had everything under control.”
The feisty girl is back.
“If that’s what you call under control, I don’t want to imagine what out of control looks like. Let me take you home.”
“I don’t need your help. I can walk.”
“Baby girl, I wasn’t asking.”
“I don’t appreciate being called ‘baby girl.’ My name is Ava.” Her eyes, which were pleading a moment ago, now flash with anger.
I stand in front of her. “I’m not asking. Either you come willingly, or I’ll carry you to my car. I thought we’d established that you do as I say.”
“Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are?” She takes a step back. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Especially when you have a loaded gun.” Until that moment, I’d forgotten my gun was still exposed. I place the gun in the back waistband of my slacks until my jacket covers it then take a step forward.
Ava stands firm, and I’m again impressed by her tenacity. She puts her hands on her hips and meets my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I can take care of myself.”
“I’d rather you not walk alone.”
“You realize I’ve walked alone a thousand times before. This is where I live.”
“Doesn’t make a difference to me.” I take a step closer. We are so close I’m surrounded by the scent of lavender from her hair.
“You’re not going to give up, are you?” she finally says.
“Not in my nature. My car’s across the street.”
She looks past me and nods. “Fine. If it will get you to leave.” She walks past me into the street. She doesn’t look both ways to check whether a car is coming. Her carelessness irritates me.
“It’s dangerous to cross without looking.”
“No one drives here at this time of night.”
I see the car before she does and pull her to me. I hold her in place as the car honks and passes.
“You were saying?” If she were mine, I’d spank her into submission. “You have no regard for your safety.”
She pulls away from me. “You know nothing about me,” she says as she walks to the passenger door and gets in.