Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Lily
“I didn’t know.” I trotted on my stupidly high heels to catch up with him as he strode from the car towards the door of the Aces Ten Casino. It was right at the last minute that he seemed to remember I was there.
Slowing his feet, he turned and pulled me into his body. His arm loosened around my waist. “Sorry,” he apologized quickly. “Sometimes I forget how little your legs are. I should have waited.”
Daniil was teasing me in the same way I had seen him tease Anya. It was just another thing that confused me.
Recently, Daniil had been different. Not loving, that was the wrong word.
But he was treating me like a girlfriend and not someone he was sleeping with.
At first, it was small things, the softness of his touch when he absently touched my face, and when he had asked me out on a date tonight, I hadn’t expected it.
And I sure as hell didn’t know how I felt about it. When it came to Daniil Popov, I had no idea what I was feeling.
There was no mistake that the sexual chemistry was off the charts, but was he wanting more? And if he did, did I? It was true that I hadn’t thought about Greg since the night in Daniil’s office, but technically, I was still his fiancée.
The thoughts vanished as Daniil, his arm still around my waist, led me into the grand gold and red foyer. The doorman nodded his head politely. The woman at the desk looked up with surprise clear on her face.
“I didn’t know you owned this place?” I finished in a whisper.
“I own more than eighty percent of the casinos in the city and a fair few in Las Vegas.” Turning me into his body, he brushed his lips against mine again. “Do you like to gamble?”
“I’ve never really had the opportunity to,” I admitted. “I didn’t really have the spare cash to risk.”
A flicker of anger flashed around his eyes. “Well, that changes as soon as I can take you to Vegas. I think you will like the hotel.”
Trailing off, he turned towards a heavily tattooed man who strode forward with a grim look on his face.
“Wait here a second,” he said with another brush of his lips against mine, and then he strode to meet him, leaving me standing there awkwardly. I didn’t want to eavesdrop because Daniil didn’t like that, so I made a point of looking around.
This place was seriously grand, and even though I was dressed up for dinner, I felt instantly out of place. From under my lashes, I watched a beautiful woman walk past, her neck dripping with diamonds.
She flicked her eyes to me, and her lips thinned in distaste.
“Sorry about that.” Daniil was at my side, his arms around me, and strangely, I felt better again, like the judgmental looks couldn’t touch me as long as I was with him.
“It’s ok,” I whispered, hyper-aware that more and more people were watching us.
“I need to deal with this.” He rubbed the tip of his nose against my cold one. “I’m going to leave you in some capable hands, though.”
I paled. “Are you leaving me?” I glanced around.” Here?”
His smile was indulgent.” You will be fine. I’m going to have someone take you to one of the private suites. Order a drink and relax.” He rubbed his nose on mine, back and forth.
Jesus, this side of Daniil Popov was loving. He almost reminded me of a puppy dog. How was I meant to figure out my true feelings for him when he kept acting this way? His lips found mine hungrily, and I responded by reaching up on tiptoes and kissing him back harder.
When he pulled away with a smile, we were both breathless. Yeah, how was I meant to figure out what all this was when he kept kissing me like that?
“George.” He called the burly man forward. “Please look after Miss Ridgeway. She’s my very special guest.”
The man didn’t smile, but his eyes crinkled. “You can count on it, sir. This way, Miss.”
I barely heard him because Daniil was kissing me again, and when he did that, my brain literally tuned to mush. “I won’t be long,” he whispered against my lips.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Take as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
“What I need is to get you home and out of that dress,” he growled. The sound of it hit me somewhere in the lower stomach, and I fought back the urge to kiss him again.
“Go. The sooner you do, the sooner you get back.”
One last kiss, and he strode away. “Try to miss me.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “The saying is try not to miss me,” I called out after him.
“Not for us it isn’t,” he threw back over his shoulder. “I want you to miss me.”
“This way, Miss Ridgeway.” The man’s face was totally unreadable, but his cold blue eyes held a shock. “I’ve already radioed through, and someone will be bringing you a bottle of champagne to drink while you wait. If there is anything else you need, you just need to ask.”
“I really don’t need all of this fuss,” I said. “I’ll just wait at the bar.”
His eyes widened. “I can’t allow you to do that. Sorry ma’am. Mr Popov was very clear in his instructions.”
I wanted to argue that I was a grown woman who was more than capable of sitting at a bar alone, but I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.
“Fine.” Straightening my skirt, I smiled. “But can you direct me to the ladies’ restroom first? Am I allowed to go to the bathroom alone?”
“Of course,” pointing down a wide hallway to the left, complete with gold mirrors and frames on the walls and bare carpet on the floor. “It’s there on the left. I will wait right here. If you need anything, just call.”
I walked away with a roll of my eyes. What do you think I would need in the bathroom? I was just washing my hands when I heard the door open. Turning off the tap, I glanced into the gold-rimmed mirror and came face to face with—
“Greg,” I croaked. “What are you doing here?”
My eyes searched him. He was dressed in a suit that looked designer. I frowned. We didn’t have the money for those kinds of clothes. Leaning heavily against the wooden door, he scowled at me. “I could ask you the same fucking thing, Lily.”
My frown deepened, my eyebrows knitted together. He was clearly drunk, his words blurred together, and his eyes were glassy.
“I’m here,” I took a step forward, and he stepped to meet me, blocking my way.
“I saw you and him back there,” he slurred. “The way you were all over him. I always knew you wanted to fuck him, but I never thought you would be so blatant about it.”
Anger bubbled up. My fists clenched tightly at my side. “You were the one who gave me to him,” my voice shook with the effort to yell it at him.
I didn’t want to make a scene here and embarrass Daniil.
“To work.” Lashing out, he caught my upper arm in a bruising grip. I yanked it back, but he just held on tighter.
“Get off me, Greg.”
“Not a chance.” He yanked me into his body hard enough to force the air from my lungs in a whoosh. “You were all over him, Lily. Do you know how that makes me look?”
“You were the one—”
He smashed his lips down on mine. Completely in shock, I let him kiss me until I felt his tongue slip against my lips. Bile rushed up my throat as I was overcome with the stench of days-old liquor on his breath.
Pulling my arm back, I slapped him across the face as hard as I could. Greg reeled backwards. I made a dash towards the door, but not quickly enough. He reached over my shoulder and spun me around, slamming me against the wall painfully hard.
“If he wants to enjoy what’s mine, then he’s going to need to pay up,” he gritted out.
I could do nothing but stare at him. “I am not asking for more money, Greg. I am not sleeping with him for money.”
His hand came up to close around my throat. His fingers dug into my Windpipe and squeezed until I could feel tears fill my eyes. I scratched at his hand, but he didn’t let go. I couldn’t breathe.
“I need the money, Lily,” Greg continued, like we were having a friendly conversation and he wasn’t throttling the life out of me.
“So if he wants to keep fucking you, he will pay up, otherwise.” He thrust his face into the crook of my neck, holding me in place with one hand so his other could tease up my thigh.
“Otherwise, I’ll have to remind him and you just who you belong to. ”
I couldn’t move. I could barely see through the tears streaming from my eyes.
“Is that right?”
Daniil appeared in the doorway, but Greg was blocking my view. Daniil stepped to the side, and my eyes met him in a silent plea.
“Come here, Lily,” he ordered.
“She’s not going anywhere. She isn’t yours.”
If I’d had the ability, I would have laughed. Either Greg was a fool, and I just never noticed before, or he was blackout drunk and didn’t know what he was doing. Either way, no one spoke to Daniil that way, and Greg would soon know why.
“No.” Daniil took another threatening step forward, his eyes on Greg and not me. “Then why are you reminding me of it? Greg, if you could keep her satisfied, she wouldn’t be in my bed every night, and you know it.”
“She wasn’t that good anyway. Beautiful, you want her, then it will cost you more. Otherwise, I’ll give all the details to the press.”
There was an icy, dangerous note in Daniil’s tone as he threw back his head and laughed. Greg’s fingers tightened around my throat. I spluttered, choking from lack of air.
Daniil’s eyes swerved towards me, and the look on his face was almost enough for me to piss my pants. It wasn’t just anger that showed on his features. It was rage and hatred.
“Let go of her.” The calmness in his voice was completely contradictory to the look on his face. “Now.”
His voice brokered no argument. Greg’s grip loosened, and ducking under his arm, I rushed to Daniil’s side. Rubbing at my throat.
“I’ve done what you asked,” Greg said, straightening. “Now it’s time for you to give me what I want.”
“You’re not getting another cent out of me.”
“Then, I want her back.”
Firmly, Daniil moved me behind him. “You don’t seem to get it, Greg. Lily Ridgeway is no longer your concern. She belongs to me now.”
“I’ll fucking ruin you,” his scream was aimed at me. “Slut.”
I closed my eyes. “Stop, Greg,” I begged him. He was going to get himself killed if he carried on. “Please just stop. You’re drunk.”
There was a grunt, and when I opened my eyes, Greg was on his ass on the floor, holding a hand to his busted lip.
Fuck, had he gone to attack me?
“Please take Miss RIdgeway to my office and make sure she stays there.” Daniil directed his roar to the same man who was meant to look after me the first time. “I need a quiet chat with Greg here.”
“This way, Miss Ridgeway.” He reached for my elbow, but I stood my ground.
My stomach flipped as Daniil took a step forward.
“Please,” I grabbed at his arm, drawing his eyes to me. There was a look in them that I didn’t like. A different person looked back at me. And it was a person who revelled in violence.
“Please don’t hurt him.” Tears still fell from my eyes.
Daniil didn’t blink.” Take her back to my office,” he ordered, ignoring me completely.
The sound of the first punch hit me before the bathroom doorway was fully closed, and bile rushed up my throat.
“Is he going to kill him?” I whispered.
“Maybe.”
That wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear. I felt sick. Greg had been drunk, but that didn’t mean he served to die.
“Mr. Popov is very protective of the people he cares about, Miss Ridgeway. Now follow me, please. There is nothing you can do there.”
Silently, I followed after him.
Ok, I had been wrong. Daniil wasnt a puppy dog at all. Daniil Popov was an attack dog.
The wet sound of fist hitting flesh filled my ears.
A feral beast, every rumor I heard about him was true.