Chapter 13
Chapter thirteen
Dmitri
I elbowed a dancer blocking my path. As if sensing my rising temper, everyone else in the vicinity cleared out of the way. But I didn’t even see them.
All I saw was that man’s arm around Alisa’s waist, and the glassy look in her eyes. She stumbled, and he yanked her forward with a grimace.
I was going to cut his fucking hand off.
The instant Alisa’s unfocused eyes caught sight of me, her mouth dropped wide open. And stayed that way.
What the fuck was wrong with her? I’d never seen her lose control like this.
The guy didn’t register her reaction, didn’t even glance at her as he yanked her towards the door.
I blocked his path.
“Excuse me,” he said, trying to maneuver Alisa’s swaying body in the opposite direction.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I growled.
When he met my eyes, his expression transformed from annoyance to wide-eyed trepidation.
“I’m just trying to get my drunk girlfriend home,” he said, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.
Bullshit. I’d been stalking her for weeks, and I’d never seen this guy before. I didn’t even spare him a glance after that, my entire focus on Alisa’s wobbling form.
“D-Dmitri,” Alisa slurred.
It’d been a long time since I’d felt surprised. But shock rang through me when she willingly reached for me.
“Help me,” she said, bunching her hand into my suit jacket.
Her lip started to tremble, and my vision turned red. I wrenched the guy’s hand away from Alisa.
A tear tumbled down her cheek, and I knew I wouldn’t be finished with this guy until he was crying blood.
I snapped his wrist at a sharp angle. Bone peeked through the skin, and he screamed loud enough to be heard over the pounding music.
It wasn’t nearly enough.
Security was approaching us. All I wanted to do was cut off the heads of anyone who got near Alisa when she was this vulnerable.
A tall man appeared behind me, and I grabbed him by the throat.
Ivan coughed behind the pressure, and said in Russian, “I found you a room to deal with this.”
I released my loyal man and ordered him to take that asshole there while my other men dealt with security.
Alisa was still trembling, and she was looking at me like I was some sort of hallucination.
“What happened?” I asked.
Alisa blinked rapidly, then released my suit like it’d burned her. She shook her head and tried to take a step back. But she just stumbled into a dancing couple behind her.
I grasped Alisa’s arm and pulled her unsteady body into my own. What had that asshole done to her?
The girl she’d bumped into shot Alisa a nasty look, but her skin turned pale when she caught sight of my expression.
“Dmitri what are you doing here?” Alisa asked into my chest.
“Apparently saving you. It seems to be a common occurrence when I’m around you,” I grumbled.
Alisa mumbled something, and I reluctantly pulled her head away from my chest. She was frowning.
“I need to make sure my friend’s okay.”
Like I gave a fuck about anyone else. All I wanted to do was haul her back into my chest while I tortured the man who hurt her.
“Please,” she said, her eyes glassy. “I’ll owe you.”
“You already owe me,” I said, but I nodded at one of my lingering men to handle it.
Before Alisa could reply, I swept my arm underneath her legs, and drew her into my arms.
She blinked at me with confusion, but all I could focus on was the unsteadiness of her heartbeat against my own. I wanted her docile and confused after I fucked the fight out of her. Not because someone else forcibly broke down her defenses.
“What happened?” I whispered into her ear, and she shivered against me.
The feeling had me hardening immediately, but I ignored it.
She wasn’t sober. When I fucked her, I wanted her completely.
I wanted to watch her fight against her soul as she realized she couldn’t resist the temptation any longer.
I wanted to break her in half, and for the memory to stalk her dreams.
Not like this.
“I think he drugged me,” she said, and my grasp hardened around her frail body. “It’s something strong… something I’m not immune to.”
Fury railed against me, coiling through my body so tight that it stole the words from my chest. It took all my self restraint to not tear everyone apart within my sight.
When we arrived in the dimly lit private room, I allowed that anger to shift to its rightful target. The man who’d drugged her was currently gagged and tied to a chair, but his expression didn’t shift until he caught sight of my face.
The man tried to shuffle backwards in the heavy chair.
“He drugged you?” I asked Alisa.
Muffled words tried to escape from behind the rough cloth yanked between the man’s lips. Denials no doubt, but he was addressing the wrong person. It wasn’t me that would determine his fate.
It was her.
Alisa’s response would determine if he’d spend the last night of his life moaning in agony, or if I’d make the walls of hell flinch at his cries.
Either way, he’d never take another step outside this room. He’d hurt my kitten, and he’d die for that mistake.
Alisa frowned before her head lolled against my chest.
“I don’t know,” she said, staring up at me like she was back in a dream. “After my body started feeling heavy, I tried to get away from him. But he was just too strong and wouldn’t listen to me. No one seemed to notice or care….”
She trailed off, her eyes focused on a blank point in the corner of the room.
I ran a finger across her pulse, and her body jolted. She turned back to me.
“Is this a dream?” she asked, her body sagging against mine.
“Do you usually dream about me?” I asked with a smirk.
“More like nightmares,” she muttered.
“I’ll gladly be the star of all your nightmares.” I carefully set her down on an empty chaise. “Starting with this one.”
Her head slowly drooped to the side, and I propped a pillow up underneath her.
I stood up and slid the switchblade out of my pocket.
“Should I cut off his right or left hand first?” I asked, tilting my head as I assessed the desperate look in the guy’s eyes. “He touched you without permission, so it's only fair I deprive him of the use of them.”
She mumbled something, and I glanced down at her. Her eyes were closed, and a soft snore was coming from her lips.
For a second, I debated shaking her awake. But her shoulders were so relaxed as she took in deep, steady breaths.
I’d handle her living nightmares. I smiled as I clicked the blade open and decided to start with his ear instead.
He had no use for it since he hadn’t listened to her pleading with him.