Chapter Twenty #2
I didn’t mind being studied by her. I had spent years being feared, deferred to, handled with caution by men who never once looked at me with the kind of open, furious scrutiny she was giving me now.
I found I preferred it considerably.
“What about phone calls?” she asked, her voice quieter now, the fight in it banked rather than extinguished.
“Not allowed.”
“So I can’t see my friends and family?”
“That’s the whole point of being kidnapped,” I said flatly. “Nevertheless, if you cooperate and I’m convinced the narrative we’ve established is stable, we’ll work something out.”
Her lips quivered as she glared at me.
“Until then, no calls. No contact with the outside world.”
A brief pause.
“So, basically, you’re saying if I prove that I’m a ‘good girl,’ I get to ‘enjoy’ some privileges.” It landed more as a statement than a question.
I ignored the disdain and sarcasm in her tone. “Pretty much. Yes.”
“Okay. Got it.” She stabbed her duck breast with her fork.
“Make no mistake, Aria Bennett. Your presence here is not temporary, and any attempt to escape will attract severe consequences.”
She didn’t answer that.
Aria finally began eating in silence, her jaw tight, her eyes fixed somewhere just past my shoulder rather than on my face.
I watched her eat and said nothing further, content, for the moment, to let the silence sit between us rather than fill it.
She would test these boundaries. I had no illusions about that. Everything I knew about her told me she would spend the coming days and weeks searching for every crack in the structure I’d just laid out.
Knowing her, she would probe for weaknesses with the same relentless instinct that had whisked her into the Bratva world in the first place.
***
Later that same night, thoughts of her occupied my mind, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the way she looked in that dress earlier.
I tried to replace the images of her in my head with something more productive.
But the more I tried to erase her from my memory, the more difficult it became to focus on anything else.
I got out of bed in my white singlet and a pair of loose joggers. I stepped out into the hallway, attempting to clear my head by taking a stroll through the mansion. My bare feet were soundless against the cool marble floor as I walked aimlessly, wandering the halls like a ghost in the night.
The plan was never to stop by her room, but when I saw her door slightly ajar, something pulled me toward it. I tried to resist, tried to walk away and pretend like I didn’t see it. But I couldn’t.
Instead, I found myself walking in the direction of her room. I paused for a second outside her door, telling myself it wasn’t too late to turn around. My eyes scanned the interior, and that’s when I realized she wasn’t inside.
Now I had a genuine reason to invade.
I pushed the door open and closed it gently behind me. The room was dimly lit by the table lamp beside her bed and the moon’s ethereal glow streaming in through the open window.
The spread-out curtains danced to the rhythm of the cool breeze. And the scent of her, mingling with the aroma of fresh flowers, drifted through the air.
For a second there, I thought she’d actually attempted to escape through the window, and that’s why it was wide open. Without hesitation, I rushed over to check, my eyes scanning the environment outside for any signs of her.
Her room was on the fifth floor—a long way from the ground. I doubted she was bold enough to jump from this height.
“I might be crazy, but I’m not that crazy,” she said from behind me.
A wind of relief blew across my face, making me shut my eyes for a fleeting second.
“Jumping from that height is the quickest way to end my life,” she added. “Which I’m now realizing might not be such a bad idea.”
When I turned around and saw her standing there with a towel wrapped around her, my breath hitched. Her hair was damp, strands sticking to her moist skin as faint steam curled up from her body.
The smell of shampoo and conditioner filled the air around her, and her striking blue eyes sparkled with something mysterious.
“Suicide is never the answer,” I said, replying to her previous statement.
“You’re right.” She moved toward her vanity. “There are better ways to escape one’s reality that don’t involve exiting this cruel world.”
I watched how she moved so comfortably around her space—a stark contrast to the furious and confused woman at the dinner table hours ago.
“Why are you here, Rodion?” she asked. “What do you want?”
I stepped forward, my gaze sweeping over her body—not in a perverted way. Discreetly. “I wanted to make sure that you haven’t done anything stupid.”
“Like what? Jump out the window?” She raised her brows. “You made it pretty clear that trying to escape would attract consequences. Punishments.”
“Are you afraid of punishments, Miss Bennett?” I halted in front of her, a small smirk playing on my lips.
She raised her head, her eyes boring into mine. “Depends.”
“On what?”
Her voice dropped to a low whisper, one that made my cock twitch in my pants. “On the kind of punishments we’re talking about.”
I had a feeling this conversation was starting to veer toward something dark. And that expression on her face was so soft it could easily pass as seductive.
“Tell me, Miss Bennett.” I leaned in. “What kinds of punishment aren’t you afraid of?”
She paused, refusing to tear her gaze off mine. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
My smirk broadened by a whisper. “You’re not the only one who lets their curiosity get the better of them sometimes.”
She edged closer, mirroring my face, her fresh breath brushing against my skin. “I’m not telling you.”
That low whisper unraveled something in me, forcing my hand to snap out and grab her arm as she tried to walk away.
Her gaze shifted between my firm grip and my face, her chest heaving slowly. Not from fear. From something else—something darker and more sensual.
“I thought you didn’t touch women without their permission?” she said softly, her voice low and slightly uneven.
“Tell me to let go, and I will.”
She swallowed hard, her eyes searching mine.
I pulled her to me, my hands finding the small of her back as I held her gaze. She didn’t struggle—didn’t push me away either. With her gentle swells pressed against my chest, I could feel her heart racing.
I wrapped one arm around her waist and, with the other, tucked a strand behind her ear. “Whatever happens now is entirely up to you, Miss Bennett,” I whispered. “Push me away, and I’ll walk. Don’t, and I can’t guarantee self-control on my part.”
Her throat bobbled, her eyes blinking rapidly as if she were fighting so hard against her own flesh and desires.
“Only cowards shift the responsibility of making tough decisions to other people,” she said without looking away from my face.
“I’m not a coward.” I locked my jaw, knowing exactly what she aimed to achieve with those words.
“Prove it,” she said to me, her voice sounding more like a dare than a statement.
In a split second, our lips collided in a heated kiss, as if drawn together by a magnet. She shoved her tongue in my mouth, her hands pulling my singlet over my head. Our kiss deepened, and I caressed her breasts over the fabric of the towel around her body.
My heart raced with anticipation as I devoured her lips with the kind of fervency that left us both breathless. She rubbed my torso and broad shoulders, her palm soft against my skin.
Aria broke the kiss and said with a shaky voice, “Just so we’re clear, this doesn’t change anything.” She stared into my eyes, desire flickering in hers. “I still hate your guts.”
“I’m okay with that.”
“Good.” She pushed me back until I fell on the mattress behind me.
Positioned on my elbows, I watched the hunger in her eyes burn like nothing I’d ever seen. She met me on the bed and hovered over my body, her cherry lips reclaiming mine.
While our heads danced to the passion coursing through our veins, she cupped my face with one hand. And with the other, she caressed the print of my erection—hard and straining. I threw my hand around her neck, kissing her more intensely as I groaned at the pressure of her palm rubbing my length.
She tore her lips off mine, and I watched a slow, mischievous grin appear on her mouth. Leaning down, she kissed the nape of my neck through to my torso while slowly working her way down my body.
My breaths came in short gasps, my eyes pinned on her as she stared up at me through her lashes. Aria settled on her knees and positioned herself between my legs. I propped myself on my elbow again, watching her fingers close around my waistband.
“What’re you doing?” I asked, my voice low and unsteady.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Her tone was as seductive as the expression on her face.
She pulled down my waistband just enough to dip her hand inside my joggers, all while looking up at me. Aria stroked it behind the fabric before withdrawing it.
Once she had it out and stood in her face like the Eiffel Tower, she bit her lower lip, rubbing it from base to crown. Slowly and efficiently.
“Fuck,” I groaned, my thighs stiffening.
She threw a hand into her hair, styling it into a messy bun before dipping her head.
The second her lips closed around me, and the warmth of her mouth wrapped around my dick like silk, a cold shiver ran down my spine.
She bobbed her head in and out of my groin, her tongue curling around my crown with an audible, filthy noise.
I reached down, taking a handful of her hair as she worked me with both her hands and her mouth. A muffled groan tore from my throat as I basked in the sweet sensation coursing through my body.