Chapter 4 - Daria
As much as I didn’t want Ivan to see anything I was feeling, I couldn’t stop shaking. His audacity caused that current of seemingly endless frustration to move through me, begging for an outlet.
The way he used his anger and smugness against me was maddening, like I was caught in a constant state of whiplash, unable to read him or his true feelings.
One moment, he looked ready to end me himself, and the next, he seemed to be hanging on, precariously resisting the urge to rip my clothes off. It was confusing, frustrating, and, to my dismay, almost intriguing.
I was in no position to find him alluring in any capacity, but that choice seemed to be out of my hands.
As much as I still thought he was beautiful and at least tempting, I knew I couldn’t let myself slip up.
Even while the vehicle pulled up to a gated property and went up the driveway towards the obscenely impressive mansion, I urged myself to maintain some level of restraint. To push back my attraction to him and remember that I wasn’t some welcomed guest.
I was his prisoner, and surely that meant he didn’t mean to treat me like one of his friends. I had to keep my guard up and remember exactly what he was.
With the SUV parked out front, I ogled at the structure that seemed to scream eloquence and more wealth than I could ever dream of having. I shouldn’t have been surprised at all.
I knew the Fokins had money, but I was still impressed either way. Hearing about it and seeing it for yourself were two very different things.
Without the same aggravating display as last time, Ivan unbuckled himself, then reached over to mine and did the same before exiting the vehicle. After a few seconds, he appeared at my door again, popped it open, then gestured for me to follow.
When I moved slower than he liked, Ivan huffed and reached for my wrists, hoisting me out with ease.
The smoothness at which he manhandled me was enough to make me bristle, reigniting that desire to be anything but compliant or complacent.
Wishing he’d just treat me like a normal person, I gritted my teeth and pulled back against him.
Ivan’s entire body seemed to tighten at the resistance while he gripped my wrists harder and shot me a warning look. His eyes were dark while silently telling me to give up. To give in.
I knew that putting up a fight against him was playing with fire, but I didn’t care. He was treating me like a criminal, and I couldn’t stand it.
Digging my shoes into the driveway again, I was swiftly brought closer to him as he stared down at me, face to face, so that I could feel the gentle fan of his breath against my skin. Despite myself, a shiver scurried down my spine.
“What did I tell you?” He snapped, jaw tight and giving away the full extent of his anger.
He may have been pissed off before, but with every moment I grated against his nerves more, I was only making it worse.
“You can’t handle me like this,” I returned, not letting up despite how something in me was screaming to just give up. To sate his need for control long enough to save my own skin.
The skin of his neck tightened around a vein there as he restrained himself, eyes roaming my face for a moment. “Can’t I?”
God, everything about him was infuriating. From the way he looked at me, to the way he talked down to me, and how he seemed so convicted in his disdain for me. Like he was entitled to ruin my life, all because I wasn’t truthful about my real identity. Even if I was an unwilling participant in my brother’s plan. But regardless, it was no use trying to appeal to him.
“No…you can’t,” I mumbled, uselessly pulling my arms back. “I won’t go inside.”
This only made him grip me tighter with fiery rage in his eyes. “Yes, you will.”
“You can’t make me—”
The breath was stolen from my throat the moment he kneeled down, pressed his shoulder against my stomach, and hoisted me up. Instinctively, my body folded over his as my eyes widened, and everything felt off-center.
My blood boiled as he pinned me against his hard shoulder and maintained that tight grip on me even while I flailed and tried to fight against him. It was a brave attempt, even if pounding my fists against his back did nothing.
“Ivan!”
“Yes, prisoner?” He asked mockingly while he continued walking, heading straight for the front doors with ease. Despite my thrashing, he seemed virtually unaffected and went right up to the guards posted by the door.
Seeing an opportunity, I continued fighting him. “Help me—please! He’s abducting me. Call someone!”
I half expected them to stop and ask if everything was all right, or at least show an ounce of concern between them. But they kept their mouths shut and barely paid any mind to how Ivan carried me through the ornate doors.
As the moment passed for them to offer me any kind of help, my stomach dropped, and my throat burned at the thought of truly having no one to help me.
I didn’t want to believe what Ivan said to me earlier about being all alone, and nobody noticing I was gone, but the longer it went on, the more I couldn’t help but see his point. It made my stomach ache.
With the guards not moving a muscle to get me out of that mess, it made me wonder what kind of sick things they were used to seeing. They didn’t even flinch.
“Unfortunately, they don’t follow your orders,” Ivan muttered to me, adjusting me over his shoulder before continuing through the lit-up front foyer. The jostling movement forced more air from my lungs, and I pulled in the deepest breath I could. “They work for me, and you’ll find my staff are quite loyal. Scream all you’d like…they don’t care.”
I had the feeling there was no point in doubting his words. They were on his payroll, after all, and if they ever decided to help me, some sort of punishment was a given.
Even if he couldn’t see it, my frown deepened, along with the helplessness that settled in my gut.
No comeback or argument came to me then, and I couldn’t find it in me to fight as much while the blood rushed to my head.
I watched with blurry vision while the sleek steps moved beneath us, feeling like I could hurl at any moment. He carried me up, not uttering a single complaint about having to move me, or about how heavy I was. He didn’t seem affected at all.
A part of me wished he would at least struggle and begin to question if I was even worth the trouble. I wanted him to regret even wasting his time, both for my own satisfaction and with the hope that he might decide to let me go after all.
But, something told me that anyone who became useless in their path would be effectively removed from it, and I didn’t like the connotations accompanying that hypothesis.
Flitting between feeling hopeless and furious about how everything was unfolding, I couldn’t do anything about either while he carried me down a hallway before reaching a door and pushing it open. After a few more steps, he adjusted his hold on me and let my body slide down the front of his until his hands were on my waist.
My breath hitched as he dropped me onto a bed, letting me feel the soft bedding beneath me for a moment. Then, I looked up at him, meeting his gaze to see just how scalding it was.
For half a breath, I had the mind to picture that scenario unraveling differently…of Ivan delivering me to his bed, but looking down at me with only desire in his eyes. The thought of him having his way with me instead of holding me captive and playing games seemed much more appealing.
But one glimpse at his smugness triggered me all over again.
Snapping back to reality, I glared up at him. “You’re not the only one here from a prominent family.”
While it was mostly true, a small voice in the back of my head immediately called me out, reminding me that my brother had nothing to do with me outside of using me for his ploys. I hated how that voice seemed to mimic Ivan’s.
Before he could even attempt to hold it in, a genuine laugh escaped Ivan while he loomed over me, inching close enough for me to feel his breath against my cheek while he spoke.
“That’s funny, really…” he murmured, eyes locking on mine while his hand slowly moved up my thigh.
Heat simmered beneath my skin with every agonizingly languid drag of his palm up my body, silently mapping the space there. My heart lurched, forced to look directly into his eyes. I wanted to pretend his touch didn’t affect me, but I knew better.
His opposite hand settled beneath the back of my knee to shift me closer to his domineering form while the other grazed past my hip. That amusement lingered in his grin, sparking a mirthful gleam in his eyes.
My breath quickened with every second that eye contact lingered, feeling more like a trapped rabbit than anything else. Goosebumps rippled across my skin, all the while his hand curved around my waist, dipping down to slide across my backside.
Silently cursing the faint shiver that ghosted through me, I swallowed hard and did everything in my power to remain composed.
But god, having him that close, feeling his hands on my body, was enough to make me both question his intentions and my resolve.
He was so close that my lips almost tingled with anticipation. A part of me wished he’d just get it over with.
Ivan’s hand slowly inched further down, shamelessly getting a feel of my curves while his triumphant expression lingered.
My breath caught as he moved closer until his lips were against the shell of my ear. His voice made every nerve ending of mine stand on end.
“…Your brother’s locked up now, and there’s nothing he can do to help you,” Ivan whispered, allowing me to hear the smugness in his silky tone. “If he ever would…”
The daze he had me in clouded my mind and made me take an extra moment to process what he was saying. Once it settled in, my brows furrowed, but his fingers slipped into my back pocket and forced my heart into my throat.
Ivan chuckled, reaching for something before carefully pulling up.
Feeling like I was enduring the harshest form of whiplash, I registered the sensation of my phone sliding against me, and after a moment, it left my pocket entirely.
Heat scattered through my cheeks once Ivan let go of me and pulled back, holding my cell phone in his grasp. He held it up, gave it a slight shake as if to mock me, and then slipped it into his pocket. That damn grin never left his face.
“That’s better…”
Realizing how caught up I had been in the moment, I scowled at him as the embarrassment settled into my skin.
As much as I wanted to seem indifferent to the whole thing, I could tell he was perceptive enough to clock my every reaction. I hated knowing how easily he could fluster me despite his disdain for me, and mine in return.
“You’re an ass…” I muttered, aware that even biting back was useless. Still, I couldn’t keep the irritated words in.
“I suppose you’d think so,” Ivan mumbled, taking a half step before silently grabbing my wrists and pulling slowly at the silk restraints. His dark lashes sat heavily on his cheeks while looking down and working in no particular hurry. Despite his gentle ministrations and the disarming luster in his words, I didn’t miss the subtle threat in them. “But I’ll warn you, Daria…I’m only getting started.”