Chapter 21 #2
He grins. “You’re proving me right. What part angered you more? Saying you’re going to lose your entire fucking empire or calling her a bitch?” he asks, jutting his chin in Alina’s direction.
“Give me your knife,” I order Pyotr while holding out my free hand without looking away from Nazar’s smug face.
“But sir…”
“Now!” I demand and the weight of the weapon instantly drops into my hand along with the reason for his hesitancy, an idiotic Russian superstition about never taking a blade directly from another man. That it severs ties or some nonsense.
Too late now.
I slice the blade slowly across Nazar’s neck while he stares up at me, eyes bulging, mouth gasping.
And my first thought when his body goes limp is that maybe I should’ve sent Alina away first. I didn’t expect to kill him in front of her, just rough him up.
But she needs to see the chaos she’s caused firsthand.
In my fucking life and my business.
Dropping the knife on the ground, I wipe the blood dripping from my hand onto Nazar’s shirt before turning to face her.
My heart races faster than it did killing a man as she stares at me in the aftermath, her lips pursed, still as a statue before she finally speaks. “I already knew you were a monster before you killed him.”
“Good,” I reply.
“Did you want me to watch so I would be scared of you?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m not,” she replies with her chin stubbornly raised.
Why do those words feel like a weight has been lifted off my soul?
I’m filled with relief, and yet all I can think about is that I want her so fucking badly that I can barely breathe.
I’m still afraid of what will happen if I let her get too close. I don’t want to screw up like my brother, but the thought of not having her like I want her causes me actual pain. It’s agonizing.
I need her now, before this hunger turns into something I can’t hold back.
Before all of this pent-up anger and uncertainty and desire destroy me from the inside out.
“Alina. Come,” I say, crooking my finger at her.
She glances once more at Nazar’s body before she walks over to me.
“Good girl,” I murmur as I reach out, testing her brave words. I stroke a strand of her hair between my fingertips with my blood-free left hand, and she doesn’t so much as flinch. “How long will you continue to obey me tonight?”
Alina’s brow furrows. “What?”
“Let’s find out, shall we?” I tell her before grabbing one of her wrists. “Leon is free to go,” I instruct Pyotr before leading her out of the interrogation room.
We head up two flights of stairs to reach my bedroom, her questions bouncing off the walls as I continue to ignore them. My blood runs hot the entire time as I pull her into the cage and fish the extra key for her handcuffs out of my pocket.
“You shouldn’t have lashed out and killed him so fast,” Alina comments. “That other man was right. It’s what he wanted.”
So, she thinks I should’ve let him suffer a little longer?
I smirk as I take off the cuffs and stuff them in the back pocket of my pants.
“What if he had more information? You could’ve found out who else the Irish are working with.”
“You think I should’ve tortured him?” I ask in surprise.
“That’s what Dominik would’ve done with tools and a plastic sheet.”
She looks so sweet, but deep down, she’s fucking ruthless. And I find that sexy as hell.
“He wasn’t ever going to offer me anything useful,” I reply before taking hold of her chin, making her breath hitch but she doesn’t flinch. “You didn’t look away when I killed him, did you?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“He deserved it, right?” she asks. “Not for insulting me, but for being a traitor. For nearly getting Leon killed.”
“No wonder my brother loves you,” I remark in Russian.
“What?” she asks in confusion.
“I said that if I’m going to be accused of being so pussy-whipped, then it should at least be the truth, don’t you think?”
Alina’s eyes widen as my gaze lowers to her mouth. “Gavriil…”
“It’s time for you to finally pay up on our agreement,” I murmur, unsure if she can even hear the words.
Alina places her hands on my chest to prevent me from getting any closer. They stroke more than they push me away, though. “I can’t…Dom.”
“You’re the one who offered yourself to me for a month, remember?” I remind her. “You didn’t think that would include letting me ravage you? You haven’t thought about it even once?”
“That’s not…” she stammers then snaps her mouth closed, unable to deny it.
“So, you want me, but my pathetic brother is in the way despite not even being here,” I say, frustration crackling within me as I release her chin. “Maybe you just need a little more motivation so you can blame it all on me.”
“Motivation?” Alina questions me, a look of uneasiness crossing her face.
I take out my phone and send a message to Valentin, knowing that I’m crossing a line I swore I wouldn’t, and I step over it anyway.
“I think we both need a shower. I got some blood on you too,” I comment as I swipe my stained finger down her cheek.
She swallows.
“Take off your clothes for me, Alina,” I tell her as I remove my suit jacket, then reach up to start unbuttoning my shirt.
She shakes her head as she backs away from me. “You finally put me in some clothes, and now you want me to take them off?”
“The only reason I put you in clothes, was so other men wouldn’t have the pleasure of seeing you naked,” I answer just as the bedroom door swings open.
Valentin and Simeon drag Petrov into the room by both of his arms, including his injured one. Alina’s jaw drops at the sight of him. “Petrov? You’re alive? I saw Dom shoot you, and I thought…”
“He shot my shoulder to spare me. It hurt but…I’m okay. For now,” Petrov says. “Are you?”
“She’s perfectly fine. She’s about to be even better,” I reply while keeping my gaze on Alina. “Help me decide whether or not to return him to the prison. Do you think Dominik would be happy to see him alive or not? You can make this call.”
Alina’s eyes widen in understanding without me having to spell it all out. “Are you serious?”
“As death.”
Alina looks over at Petrov, who clenches his jaw in anger. “Gavriil, this isn’t fair.”
“Petrov betrayed Dominik. So technically, he’s not one of his men who I can’t harm as part of our previous agreement.” I pull off my shirt and let it drop to the floor by my feet. “Choose, Alina. Just like Dom had to do, remember?”
It was the perfect thing to say, just like I knew it would be to convince her to yield. Why should she remain loyal to the man who killed her brother?
Alina narrows her eyes at me, her fingers flexing by her sides. She exhales sharply while her eyes remain glued to my bare chest then gradually move lower.
“Is Petrov part of our new agreement or not?”
“Fine. Send him back downstairs.”
I glance over at my guards and give them a subtle nod. Good. I wanted to be alone with her for the next part.
Once they leave, she reaches back to unzip her dress, peeling it off her body, her shoes and tights following right behind it.
“A shower. That’s it, though. Nothing else is happening, Gavriil.”
I scoff at her weak lie as I walk past her to turn on the showerhead, hot water tumbling down to the drain on the floor. “You’ve been staring at me like you want to either rake your fingernails or your tongue down my abs.”
“No, I haven’t!” she argues, sounding so defensive I chuckle.
“I wouldn’t mind either,” I admit. “And I think you would enjoy inflicting a little pain on me, wouldn’t you, wildcat?” She stays silent. “Tell me the truth, Alina. If I reached into your panties, would I find you already soaking wet just from arguing with me?”
Her face reddens, and she remains quiet.
“Answer me honestly or finish undressing.”
“I hate you,” she mutters while taking off her bra and panties, leaving her confidently naked. The sight of her is enough to for me to mostly ignore her declaration.
I don’t like hearing such venom in her voice. She’s still so stuck on my brother and the guilt that their relationship makes her feel. If I can break that trance, we’ll both get what we want.
She’s close. I can feel it.
She wants me, even if she won’t admit it. And deep down, while she may have said she forgave him, I think she still wants to hurt Dominik the way he hurt her. I’m eager to become the catalyst for his punishment.
“Under the water,” I tell her, breathing faster as I hurry to take off my belt and pants.
Alina hesitates long enough that I see the war inside her eyes. She still needs another little push.
“I could turn the cold water on if you prefer.”
That does it.
Finally, she steps under the spray, tilting her head back to let the water soak her hair, looking so damn gorgeous I want to lick every drop from her body.
I remove my briefs and take myself in my fist that’s covered in blood. Alina freezes, watching transfixed as I begin to stroke myself while moving closer until I join her under the downpour.
“Do you like seeing the effect you’ve had on me since the first night we met?” I ask her.
“Yes,” she whispers, not even bothering to deny it. “I hope it hurts.”
“It won’t hurt for much longer,” I reply confidently. “I always knew you would end up here, naked and dripping wet in my cage.”
It takes everything in me not to push her up against the wall and devour her.
Instead, I reach past her to grab the body wash, squeezing a sizable amount in my palm before rubbing my hands together. The soap bubbles up, washing away the blood in its white foam. And when they’re clean, I take more, lathering it to spread it up her arms toward her shoulders.
“Gavriil.” Her voice comes out in a strained whisper. Alina shakes her head, but she doesn’t move away. “You shouldn’t…Dom…”
“I can do anything I fucking want,” I tell her, my hands gliding back down before moving to her waist. “So can you.”
Alina’s eyes flutter shut as I drift my hands up her sides, my thumbs grazing the underside of her breasts. “Gavriil.”