Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Mackenzie
I press my hand to the pillar next to me as if it can protect me from Dimitri's heated blue stare.
The moment he reached the door and looked at me, I recalled our last encounter in perfect clarity. My insides are still burning like I’ve been set on fire.
Dmitri walks in and closes the door behind him. His hair is slick with sweat, and he looks as daunting and formidable as he did on the field.
Every time I see him play, he seems to get better and better. More unstoppable. It’s like he’s fighting in a war he must win. Even during a practice session.
Those massive shoulders are as wide as a wall in his jersey. During the training, I watched the way he used them to eliminate anyone in his path.
Yet now he walks with an elegance I haven’t even seen in some dancers.
As he advances closer, he stares at me as if he can see straight through to the walls I've built to protect my heart. Maybe he can, and he’ll knock them down to get to me.
This isn’t where he told me to meet him, but I’m here because this is another attempt to reason with him about the contract.
I was already in a state of mindfuck from our encounter at the club. But after the way his father looked at me in the assembly meeting yesterday, I knew I had to do something. Something more to get out of the contract.
It’s not what I want. Against my better judgment, I still want to be with him. But I’m worried.
That dark uncertainty tightening slowly around my neck like a noose almost strangled me during the assembly. It’s back now, intensifying with his stare.
It’s a stare that’s just as sharp as the one his father gave me but less cold.
If looks could kill, yesterday would have been my last. And I'd be a distant memory in the dust.
There’s no telling what that man may do if he finds out about Dmitri and me.
Then everything will cause chaos again, like it did before. I’m worried he’ll try to do something to my family. To my father.
Our fathers may hold the same rank in the Knights, but Maxim Valneko is ultimately more powerful with his connections than my father.
Dad is still in L.A., and this morning I saw on the news that a major investor who’d worked for Dad for over twenty years had pulled out of our company without giving a reason.
If that’s not weird, I don’t know what is. I don’t usually keep myself up to date with the company’s affairs, but it was on the news. There was no way I wouldn’t have seen it.
I don’t care how Mom tried to soothe me, but I know in my heart that something is going on. Now is not the time for me to make things worse.
“Spider.” Dimitri smiles, stopping by the pillar opposite me.
“Scorpion.” I’m so nervous there’s a noticeable quiver in my voice.
“Want to play a different game in here?” His smile takes on a dangerous edge that's as alluring as it is menacing.
“I needed to talk to you sooner. And I wanted to catch you before the groupies.”
A low chuckle falls from his lips, and he gives me a sidelong stare. “I don't have groupies.”
Now it's my turn to smile. “Yes, you do. You'll always have groupies, Dimitri Valneko. They'll come by the hundreds when you're pro.”
“Are you going to be one of them?”
My cheeks heat, and something like longing tingles in my heart. “You don’t need me to be a groupie.”
“Maybe I’ll need more than that from you when I join the Patriots.”
“The Patriots?”
He nods but keeps his gaze trained on me.
I hadn’t realized he’d already decided on a team, but it doesn’t surprise me. I’m also not surprised he picked the Patriots. They’re one of the best. I know he's had a hell of a lot of scouts fawning over him. He could have the pick of the bunch, just like he does when it comes to women.
“I’m happy for you.”
“I’m just being a cocky bastard. I haven’t been picked yet.”
“They’ll pick you.”
His tilts his head, and his gaze drops to my lips. “You sound sure.”
“Aren’t you?” I know he’s just humoring me and feigning humility. He’s always been sure of himself.
“I’ll make sure they pick me.” A sly smile slides across his lips. “So, why are we in here, Spider?”
“To talk about the contract.”
“We already spoke about that. There’s nothing more to say.”
“I’m worried your father will find out.” I swallow hard and press my palms into my skirt. “You know he’ll raise hell if he catches me with you.”
“I told you, you don’t answer to him.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Yes, it is.”
No, it’s not. I never left his radar ,and I don’t believe for one moment that he wouldn’t use his position to punish me.
The fact that Maxim looked at me with such disgust suggests he’s still harboring hatred toward me for the loss of his son. As if it was my fault. He’s the only person who blamed me— the victim . “I’m worried.”
“Clearly about the wrong things. Had I been anyone else, you wouldn’t dare ask me to release you.” His voice is a slow drawl, but there’s venom beneath it.
He’s right. “I wouldn’t have gotten myself into this situation if I’d known you’d be involved.”
“What a cruel joke of fate, then, because here you are. Involved with me.”
“Dmitri—”
“No. My answer is still no .” He pulls his jersey from his pants. “This conversation is over.”
“Won’t you even consider it?”
“What the fuck for?”
“Because I’m asking.” I stare up at him. “And because we should.”
“Should? Clearly, you really don’t know who you’re talking to.”
“I thought I did.”
He steps forward, right into my personal space, and glares at me, giving me a peek into his darkness. “No, Spider, you don’t know this version of me. But you will.”
The dark promise charges the air around us, making it feel heavier than it did moments ago. Suddenly, I feel foolish for thinking I could reason with him. He’s right again. I don’t know this version of him.
The scary Hades version that’s decided to hold me captive for making a foolish contract. I feel like I’m about to fall deeper into the underworld, and when he’s done with me, I won’t know what to do with myself.
Dmitri’s silent stare feels worse than his words, and his dark gaze seems to trace every inch of my body, not with lust—at least, not entirely—but with the kind of possessiveness that chills me to the bone.
“This isn’t a game you can walk away from, Mackenzie.” His sharp eyes pin mine, and I feel no different than a rabbit frozen before a wolf. “In this game, I make the rules, and you follow because you belong to me.”
The word belong scrapes against my soul. “I can’t belong to you.”
“You already do,” he murmurs, a wicked smirk curving his lips.
He pulls his jersey over his head, and I lose the ability to breathe.
Every inch of him is carved from raw strength, a masterpiece of muscle and sinew that shouldn’t belong to any mortal man.
My gaze traces the sharp cut of his abs with faint scars slashed across his torso, souvenirs of fights I’m certain he won.
Dark, intricate designs twist over his chest and creep down his ribs—ravens in flight, their wings spread as if about to take off, and beneath them, Viking runes.
When he stretches, his muscles shift like liquid steel, and I can’t help but stare, and stare and stare, caught between fascination and the heat that curls low in my stomach.
Dmitri tosses his jersey to the side and gives me a sinful grin. Then he kicks off his boots and walks closer to me.
“What are you doing?” My brain returns from wherever it went, realizing that my captor is up to something.
“Making use of the time we have.”
Before I can think of anything to say, he scoops me up and tosses me over his shoulder.
“Dmitri, what the hell are you doing?”
I get my answer when he heads toward the row of shower cubicles, and we walk into the nearest one.
He closes the glass door, turns on the shower, and I gasp as a burst of water shoots over us.
He sets me down before him, and the water sprays over me, soaking my hair and clothes and shoes. It drenches him, too, but all he has to worry about is his pants.
My mouth goes slack again as I watch the water running down his body, right down the fine dusting of his happy trail.
I’m stunned and shocked in equal parts at what we’re doing and that my ex-best friend turned into a super-hot Greek god with a body that Hollywood would plaster onto their silver screens.
Dmitri adjusts the flow to a slower setting so the water is sprinkling over us like a light rain.
“You’re crazy,” I mutter, shaking my head at him.
“Obviously, Spider.” An almost playful smile floats across his lips, tamping down the darkness that was previously there. Then he lowers his head and seals his mouth to mine, coaxing me into another forbidden kiss.
Opening my mouth, I allow his tongue to capture mine, and I instantly become intoxicated by that taste of menace and power.
It takes mere moments before my head is spinning and my body is melting into his. And damn it. I’m trapped again.
I tried to break free and failed. Now he’s guiding me back to that place where I won’t be able to resist him.
He pushes me up against the wall, and we kiss under the spray of the shower.
His hands slide down my neck to feel up my breasts, then my ass, and a pang of pleasure shoots through me, sending the nest of butterflies living in the pit of my stomach into a frenzy.
This possession of his kiss clears away all worries, and I don’t want to think of all the reasons why we shouldn’t be doing this.
I want to think of me. Myself.
What I want.
I’ve always known the answer to that question. The answer keeps coming back to me.
Him, him, him.
Desire screams the answer through my head like a chorus, and I know that no matter what I said about right and wrong and all my worries about his father, I’m going to let him take me. Screw the consequences.
I feel like I’m owed. Like life and the universe owe me this guy. So, why fight?
Dmitri pulls back, his eyes darker, then all the words dry up in my mind when he shoves his pants and briefs down his legs, revealing his huge, thick, very erect cock.
It’s so hard and erect it’s curved into an arc with precum beading at the tip. And it’s huge. Huge .
Oh God. This is it. We’re doing this now. He’s going to fuck me, and I’m going to let him. And everything will be different.
The tightness in his jaw increases when he flexes his hand around his length, making it grow even bigger.
“Do you know what I want to do now?” He continues rubbing his cock up and down, tantalising my nerves.
“What?” The word falls from my lips on a raspy breath.
“Fuck you hard up against this wall. But I want play with you first.”
His raw words send dangerous heat scorching through me, and the lust in his eyes steals my senses.
He reaches for the hem of my top and tugs on it. “Take this off. Show me your tits.”
Like I’m under a spell, I obey, lifting my top over my head and undoing my bra so that my breasts fall free.
They are not as big as the girls’ I’ve seen him with, but I’m bigger than most dancers. Usually, I’m confident in my body, but I’m with Dmitri.
This is the first time I’ve ever felt conscious of myself and like maybe I don’t measure up to what he’s used to. But the ravenous look in his eyes sets me straight.
He’s staring at me as if I’m some kind of goddess and like he’s worshipping every inch of me.
“You’re beautiful,” he husks, his voice low and warm enough to ignite that fire in me again.
“Thank you…”
“No, Spider, thank you.”
He leans forward and traces his tongue across the top of my breasts, leaving a line of fire in his wake. Then his large hands are squeezing my breasts, his thumbs rolling over the hard peaks of my nipples and making them harder.
I moan from the pleasure, already lost in his greedy touch.
“I’ve been dying to suck on these for years,” he grates out, then his mouth closes over my right nipple and he sucks.
His tongue grazes across the taut peak, sending shivers of molten pleasure through my body from head to toe. He sucks and strokes, knowing exactly what to do with his mouth to have my body under his control.
I arch into him, my breath coming in uneven gasps and load moans. Then he moves his mouth to my other breast and does the same thing.
My knees go weak, my stomach feels like glass, and I’m wetter than I’ve ever been in my entire life.
I grab on to him, my fingers weaving over his shoulders then into his hair, holding his mouth against my skin.
God, his mouth on me feels so damn good. I never want him to stop touching and tasting me.
Dmitri pushes me harder into the wall as he sucks more of my breast into his mouth, and I watch his jaw working me as if he’s enjoying a fine meal.
He leaves my breasts and licks his way down my stomach until he’s crouching, then he hugs my body to his mouth, his tongue pushing under the waistband of my skirt.
With his gaze riveted to mine, he pops the buttons on the side, then the zipper, and slides my skirt down my legs and over my feet.
My panties are next. And now I’m naked.
The look in his eyes becomes feral as he gazes at my pussy. The rawness sends a thrill of excitement through me.
Those blue eyes hold me in place, and I’m frozen in his stare.
“This pussy belongs to me.” His fingers glide over my clean-shaven mound, and my heart stills. “It’s all fucking mine with or without that damn contract.”
He slides his hands over my thighs, and then his mouth is between my legs, pushing them wider so he can push his tongue into me.
“Oh God,” I cry out as he sucks on my clit and nibbles on my folds.
“This is just the beginning,” he promises, speaking against my skin.
Then, my God, he thrusts his tongue into me again, and I’m shattered with pleasure. My orgasm rises with insistence, throbbing in tandem with the thrusts of his tongue.
Bursts of pleasure wrack through my nerves, and I brace myself against the wall, my body shaking, unable to fight the onslaught of sweet pleasure riding through my veins.
No one has every touched me like this. Like I truly belong to him and he knows what to do with every part of my body to give me ultimate pleasure.
He glances up at me before flicking his tongue hard over my clit, and that does it.
I come.
I come so hard I claw at the wall, then I’m grabbing on to him as the pleasure tears through me. It explodes all over my body, and wetness rushes from my pussy down to his mouth.
Pressing me against the wall, he continues swirling his tongue inside me, licking and lapping me up.
When he’s done, he stands with his cock straining even more than before.
“Feel better?” he asks in that cool, casual manner he’s known for speaking in.
“Yes.”
“My turn, then. I want you on your knees sucking my cock.”
My thighs clench, and arousal pulls on my insides from the image that comes to me of me sucking his cock.
He takes my hand and guides me to my knees, then his cock to my parted lips.
“Open for me.”
I do.
I take him into my mouth and lick the precum off his crown. He groans, and the sound seeps into me.
He likes what I’m doing, so I take more of him inside my mouth and suck.
Lacing his fingers through my hair, he pushes more of his cock into my mouth, deep-throating me.
His cock hits the back of my throat, setting off my gag reflex, but I control it by loosening my jaw and turning my head. Then he starts moving inside my mouth, fucking my throat.
“Fucking hell, Mackenzie.”
He thrusts in and out in long, hard strokes, groaning from deep within his chest.
Tears stings my eyes from the impact of his cock, but I melt into his dominance, taking what he’s giving me and giving him what he wants.
His reaction fuels me and knowing that I’m finally the one giving him pleasure.
I could relish in the sound of his groans and the way he’s looking at me—like only I can please him— forever .
I feel when he’s close to coming. His cock stiffens, pulsing in my mouth.
I want him to come undone and unravel in my grasp like he did to me.
Sucking harder, I take him deeper, and he comes. Hot cum floods my mouth then sprays onto the back of my throat.
That taste of power fills me, along with raw masculinity. I take it all, and then I swallow.
The satisfied look that spreads across his face as he watches me swallowing his cum is something I’ll never forget.
He allows me to clean him off then pulls out of my mouth and takes my arm to guide me to stand.
He catches my face, and that menace flows back into his eyes. “You know what happens next, Spider.”
“Yes, Scorpion.”
“I’m clean. I’m not wearing a condom. Not with you. I want to be bare inside your cunt. And I won’t be gentle. Not with you.”
“I’m on the pill, and I’m clean, too.” The last time I was with anyone was several months ago. It was a stupid one-night stand weeks before I signed up for the Valkyrie auction. I was never with Kyle. At that point, I had the man holding me on my mind and couldn’t think of being with anyone else.
The ghost of a smile flickers across his face. Then we both freeze when we hear the locker room door opening.
Footsteps follow and stop by the pillars where we were.
“Dmitri,” comes the low, deep voice of Maxim Valneko, Dmitri’s father.
Holy. Fucking. Shit .
Dmitri’s eyes goes wide, then rage fills them, reminding me of a wild animal.
I shudder, the air becoming too thin. Every breath I take is a struggle as my chest tightens with the weight of terror.
God in heaven. Of all the people to come by now, it had to be him?
“Dmitri.”
The two of us glance through the door glass part of the door and see that his father has picked up Dmitri’s jersey.
We may have been able to get away with pretending we weren’t here if not for that. His boots aren’t far.
“Dmitri?” Maxim’s voice is louder.
“Hey, I’m in here,” Dmitri calls back, pulling me flush against him and cupping the back of my head to his chest, as if protecting me.
I gaze up and him, and he presses a finger to my lips, warning me to be silent.
“Yuliana and I are heading to the city for dinner with the scout from the Patriots. We thought you’d like to join us.”
Dmitri seethes, narrows his eyes to a steely stare, and rests his head on the wall.
I thought he would jump at the chance, but he stares down at me, and each passing second confirms that he wants to be with me.
“Go.” I mouth the word, and he closes his eyes.
When he opens them again, they softens just for a moment, making him look like the little boy from my past.
The look is there for a fleeting second before it’s gone, taking the boy with it.
The hard man returns, and the scorpion on the side of his neck pulses with his vein as he straightens.
“Sure, I’ll meet you out front,” Dmitri replies, then looks back at me. “I’ll be ten minutes.”
“Alright, see you then.”
We listen to the footsteps tracking back out the room, then the click of the door when it opens and closes.
A minute passes, then two before Dmitri returns his gaze to me. His hand glides back to my throat, and he lifts my chin, guiding my gaze to meet his.
“We’re not done here.” He keeps his voice low, as if he senses his father is still lurking nearby. “Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Dmitri, your father?—”
“Don’t. Don’t fucking say it. We’ll finish this next time.”
“Next time?” I stare back at him wide eyed.
“I’ll find you.” It sounds like a promise, a vow even. “Be ready for me.”
I nod once, and he releases me.
“I’ll leave first. Get dressed then wait for ten minutes before you leave.”
The only reason he would say that is if he thought he was being watched. And the only reason he’d even think that is if it were true. “Okay.”
He seems to sense my worries, so he gives me a quick kiss, then he stares deep into my eyes, looks away, and opens the cubicle door.
He steps out, glances back at me, then walks away.
Naked and alone with the shower still pouring over me, I listen for him to leave.
When I hear the door close and I know he’s gone, a piece of my heart goes with him.
I keep asking myself what I’m going to do. Then I make things worse. Then I feel worse.
We almost got caught. What will happen next time?
Especially if Dmitri is being watched.
What am I going to do?