Chapter Twenty-Two
My eyes focus on Vivienne’s sleeping body. She’s nestled between me and Mikhail. The golden rays of dawn rain down on her bare legs. She’s wrapped up in my bed sheets from her thighs to her chest. Hiding away that pretty pussy of hers. My cock stirs as I remember the way her mouth felt last night. So fucking warm and wet. The way she sucked me down her throat is something I will never forget. Last night was the hottest night of my life. I’m no stranger to sex, but with Vivienne… it’s just different. Better.
My whole life is better since she’s come into it. I don’t feel so much like a heartless beast when I”m around her. She gives me a light I didn’t realize I needed. A space in the void for me. I’m not lying when I tell her she’s everything. If I didn’t think she’d freak out completely, I would probably blurt out that I love her. And I know she is falling for me, too. She just doesn’t know it or is ignoring all the signs altogether. I’m not sure which.
Vivienne is wounded. I can see that much. There’s a dullness in her eyes. As if she’s lost all hope. She looks weighed down by life, and I want to take that off her shoulders. But getting her into bed is one thing; getting her to open up is another. She told us about her father last night, but that isn’t the full story. There’s more. Something even worse that stole the light from her eyes. I hope she tells me what it is and how she got her revenge. Because I know her, she’s vengeance in a physical form. There’s no way she left anyone who harmed her or her family alive.
I reach out, brushing a strand of her messy hair off her face. Her skin is the softness to my roughness. This girl has bewitched me with a flick of her dagger, no less. Her long eyelashes flutter open, the blueness of her eyes focusing on me. She smiles at me in a sleepy, adorable way before closing her eyes again. Vivienne scoots closer to me, coiling her arm around my middle. For a second, shock goes through me. This is unlike the guarded woman I’ve come to know. My lips split into a sly smile. This proves me right; she wants me. She might not want to, but she does.
Leaning down, I kiss the top of her head. She smells like the sweetest cherry. I want to bottle the scent and always keep it with me. I’m obsessed with her and haven’t known her for over a week. But I already know she’s never going home. Vegas is her past now. I’m her future. A piece of it, anyway. I glance at my still-sleeping brother. He’s another piece. I don’t know how I know that. But I do. Vivienne needs more than just me. I’ve known that since the first time I fucked her. The way she drenched me when she watched Mikhail told me all I needed to know. She needs him, too.
I’m about to invite Vivienne to take a shower with me when my bedroom door slams open. The sound vibrates against the walls, waking Mikhail up. The barely conscious Vivienne jolts in my arms, sitting straight up.
“What the fuck?”
“I could ask you the same fucking thing,” Dmitri spits.
He looks at my girl with revulsion. Instantly, my blood is boiling. I should knock his ass out for how he’s looking at her.
“What the hell is happening in here?”
Mikhail sits up, and the sheets fall to reveal his chest. “What do you think?”
Dmitri shakes his head. His attention turns back to Vivienne. The hair on the back of my neck raises. Whatever is coming next won’t be good.
“You’re not only a thief,” Dmitri seethes. His face is stony and cold. “But you’re a fucking whore too.”
I scoot Vivienne off my chest before leaping out of bed. I’m in front of Dmitri in a millisecond, my fist connecting with his left eye.
“Don’t talk about her like that.”
Dmitri staggers back, yelling. “Fucking asshole. Could you at least put your dick up if you’re going to hit me?”
He gestures to my lack of clothing. I don’t take my eyes off him as I go to my drawer and pull on a pair of sweatpants. Mikhail gets up, pulling his boxers back on.
“What the hell do you want, Dmitri?” he asks.
I look back at the bed, Vivienne is up on her elbows. The sheet is all thats covering her. She looks uncomfortable in front of Dmitri, and with the way he’s glared at her so far, I don’t blame her. I grab one of my shirts for her.
“Here, baby,” I say, pulling it over her head.
She waits until I’ve got her fully covered before letting the sheet fall free. “Thank you,” she murmurs.
I kiss her quickly before standing with Mikhail in front of Dmitri.
“I found proof.”
“Of what?” Mikhail asks.
Dmitri smirks. His eye swells quickly, but it doesn’t bother him. “That she conspired with her family and the Taylors to steal our money.”
“What the fuck?” Vivienne asks. “No, I didn’t. How can you have proof?”
My brother hands a piece of paper to me. A printout of some financial transactions between Thomas and the McBride casino.
“What am I looking at?”
“Thomas launders the money through their casino, don’t you see? They’re in on it.”
Vivienne snatches the paper out of my hands, damn near ripping it. She scans it before scoffing. “This doesn’t prove a damn thing. Bristol entered those payments. My name is nowhere on them. Neither is my family’s.”
“It’s your casino, is it not?”
“Yes, but up until a few months ago, Bristol worked there, and she had the power to do this.”
“Your sister isn’t stupid enough to let her get away with it,” Dmitri says. “Your family had to have known. Were you getting a cut? Is that what it is?”
“If they were laundering money through, we didn’t catch it.”
“Bullshit.”
Vivienne looks from me to Mikhail. She looks worried but angry. “Look, I killed Thomas; I’ve admitted it. But it had nothing to do with you or your money.”
“I still want to kill him for threatening you.”
She tenses as my words wash over her. “You can’t. I already did.”
“Where is he buried? I’ll dig him up.”
“Why?”
“To kill him more,” I deadpan.
She laughs. She fucking laughs at me. But I’m dead serious. The thought of anyone speaking to my princess like that, how can I not want to kill them? I’m a killer. It’s only natural that I be the one to defend her. To protect her.
“I can handle myself, Kaz.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Are you two kidding me? She stole from us,” Dmitri shouts. His eye is turning an ugly shade of purple now, but he’s not backing down.
“Mikhail?”
My oldest brother is quiet. He stares at the paper. “She’s right, D. It doesn’t have her name on it.” He sucks in a breath. “But it’s still suspicious,” he says to Vivienne.
To her credit, she doesn’t flinch. She stands there emotionless, almost like she expected to not be believed. I pull her into my side. If they don’t believe her, I do, and I won’t have her feeling alone in this.
“Why does this matter so much to you?” I ask Dmitri. “It’s just money. We have enough of it.”
“If we allow them to steal from us, everyone will think they can.”
“Bullshit,” I tell Dmitri.
We all know what his real problem is. Vivienne looks like his biological mom. Matilda Volkov. I was five when she died, so I don’t remember much of her. But I’ve been told she was the sweetest woman who died in the worst way. And I see the pain in Dmitri”s eyes every time he looks at Vivienne. The war. He doesn’t hate Vivienne, but it’s like looking at his demons in the face. He’s scared. Threatened. In his mind, he’s just protecting us. But all he’s really doing is prolonging his suffering. The worst part is Vivienne has no idea. She’s just thinking he’s a total dick when he’s really not.
Dmitri gives me a deadly look. “Don’t.”
Vivienne’s hair tickles my skin as she leans back, looking up at me. “What is going on?”
“It’s time, Dmitri. And you know it.”
“Fuck you, Kaz. How can you judge me when you’re sharing a fucking slut with your brother.” He shouts.
Mikhail lunges for him this time, tackling him to the ground. Vivienne looks on as Mikhail and Dmitri wrestle around on the floor.
“I don’t know why y’all are so offended by those words.”
“You’re not?” I ask her.
“Why would I be offended? To be offended would mean that I actually care what Dmitri thinks. That I believe the lie he is telling about me. I know I’m not a whore. So why would I believe his lie?”
I raise my eyebrows, impressed with her logic. This girl is something else. She’s an enigma, and I’m devoted to figuring her out.
“What the hell?” someone shrieks from the doorway.
We look up to see Mama Volkov standing in the doorway. She stares at Mikhail and Dmitri on the floor.
“What is going on?”
“Nothing,” Mikhail growls, climbing off Dmitri.
Dmitri struggles to stand up, dizzy from the blows to his head. “It’s nothing to worry about, mama.”
“The hell it isn’t. Family meeting,” my mom says. “Get dressed and get downstairs. Now.”
She stalks away. Dmitri follows her out, holding onto his bloody lip.
Mikhail looks at Vivienne. “Are you okay?”
She nods. “I’m fine. Just confused.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I tell her.
“I’m going to go get dressed.”
“I’ll walk with you,” Mikhail says.
Vivienne looks at me. I give her a nod. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
She follows Mikhail out. The moment they’re out of my bedroom, I grab my cell phone out of the pants I wore last night. Dialing the number, I hold it to my ear and wait. Feelings of betrayal bubble in my chest, but I push them down. I have to do this—for her.
“Vivienne?” he answers.
“It’s Kaz, Declan,” I reply.
“She hasn’t killed you yet?”
“Quite the opposite.”
“Volkov, what the fuck does that mean? You better not have touched her.”
“That’s not important. Listen, Declan, I need your help. Dmitri found evidence that Thomas was laundering money through your casino. He’s convinced Vivienne is your spy, sent here to take us out or some shit like that.”
“Through my casino? Are you sure?”
“He’s pretty sure. I saw the paper. However, Bristol put in every transaction.”
“Fuck. She’s still screwing my family over, even from the grave. Call your brother off and give me back my sister.”
“I’ll talk to my brother, but I have no promises for your sister. She’s mine.”
“The hell she is, Volkov. You are not the man for her. No, I forbid it.”
I laugh. “Like I need your permission. Just be happy I’m giving you a warning.”
With that, I hang up on my future brother-in-law. A part of me feels like I’m betraying my brother. But I won’t let him screw things up with Vivienne for me. Whatever his problem, whatever the reason, he will have to get over it. Or die for it.