Chapter Five
Ada
Three Weeks Later
The last three weeks have been amazing at work, but hellish at home.
The only thing to break up the bad is the constant back-and-forth texts with Viktor.
I have gotten way closer to him than I should, but he’s just so easy to talk to.
We never talk about anything inappropriate, and it’s never even come close to inappropriate, but the way he looks at me is downright filthy.
I’m like a feral bitch in heat sleeping in my office every night. I even moved my shit out of the room and into my office. I changed the locks when Chris was gone a few weeks ago after the rings incident.
Chris is fucking some chick at the bar down the road all the time, so he leaves me alone. He doesn’t even try to hide his cheating, but I don’t care. More power to ya, dude. The more he is with her, the less he bothers me.
“That’s fucking stupid,” Shelly says with a frown.
“Watch your fucking language,” Trisha barks.
“Fuck you,” Shelly snaps back.
“Do I need to put you in timeout like children?” I ask, making them laugh. “You two fight all of the time, and it’s honestly annoying.”
“Can you say that to us?” Shelly asks.
“She said it, didn’t she?” Trisha snaps.
“How was your week, Archer?” I ask since he and Maisy are the only ones not getting on my last nerve today. I am so fucking tired, so that isn’t helping.
“It was good, Ada. How about you?” Archer responds warmly.
“Tiring,” I laugh.
“At least it’s Friday,” Melody says.
“She has that appointment six days a week with that giant man,” Trisha reminds her. “She’s here every day.”
“Not every day,” I laugh.
“Do you ever relax?” Payton asks.
“Yeah, Ada. Do you?” Archer asks.
“Since when are these group classes about ganging up on me?” I ask.
“Since she…”
We all stop and listen when we hear Paula shouting. She is the front desk receptionist and is very mild-natured.
“You can’t go back there. She has patients!” Paula yells again.
I don’t know how I know, but I know it’s Chris. He has threatened all week to show up to see who my client is. “Shit,” I say as I stand up.
“What’s wrong?” Archer asks.
“Go into the classroom next door, and I’ll be there in a second,” I say. “Now, guys. Go.”
They all get up and go to the adjoining door. Mere seconds after it shuts and I am alone, stacking chairs, Chris comes stomping into the room. “Where the fuck is he?” Chris demands. His pupils are huge, and he smells like beer. He’s drunk, but is he actually on drugs right now?
“You need to get the fuck out of this building,” I snap. “Are you trying to get someone to call the cops on you?”
“I know you are cheating on me, bitch. Where the fuck is he?” Chris growls, stepping toward me. I see both Archer and Viktor at the door now watching, and I am fucking terrified for what might happen.
“Chris, I need you to go. Okay? I know you are upset. I am not saying we can’t talk, but if you come in here doing this, I could lose my job,” I say gently.
“Fine,” he snaps. When he turns, he stops and stares at Archer and Viktor. When he turns back to me, he looks even angrier. “Who are they?”
“They are clients here, and you stomping through the damn building drew attention,” I say.
“Are they your clients?” he asks.
“No,” I lie. “Please go.”
“Fine,” he repeats, only this time he grabs my face and gives me a wet kiss. “I won’t be home tonight. Don’t wait up,” he says before turning and walking out.
I snatch up my notebook and go to my office. I am so fucking angry right now. It feels like my world is caving in, and I’m not strong enough to hold it all together. I abruptly sling my notebook across my office and shout, “Goddamn it!”
“Whoa there, Miss Mellow,” Archer says, grabbing me so that I have to face him.
“Go on and I’ll…”
“Shut up,” Archer says bluntly. “Stop trying to be everything for everyone else for a second. Who was that?”
“My boyfriend,” I say quietly.
“Why was he screaming at you?”
“He thinks I am cheating on him with a client,” I explain. “He’s pissed that I am alone with Viktor almost every day.”
“So he came up here drunk and drugged out to what, say hello?” Archer asks. “Ada, honey. Do I look like an idiot?”
“Please, just drop it. I just need a second. I will handle him this weekend, and that won’t happen again,” I say. “Can you go dismiss the group, please?”
“Yeah,” he sighs. “I’m telling Andre, though.”
“Rat,” I mutter. He smiles and walks out. I ignore Viktor staring at me and sit at my desk. I prop my elbows up and bury my face in my hands to breathe for a second.
“Ada,” Viktor says after a few minutes.
“What?” I ask with a sigh.
“Can you come sit with me?” Viktor asks.
“Sure,” I say, forcing myself up. I go over and sit on the loveseat, but this time he sits with me, rather than in the armchair.
“Turn around here and give me your legs,” he says.
“What?” I ask, slipping my shoes off and turning my body.
He scoops my legs up to lay across his lap, and I am suddenly hyper aware of how attracted to him I am.
When he starts rubbing my foot, I groan and lay my head back.
“I don’t think this is appropriate for a therapist and her patient,” I mutter.
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No,” I laugh.
“Tell me the truth about Chris,” he says. “The alternative is I go talk to him myself.”
“There’s not much to say. He is a manipulative narcissist who is convinced that I am cheating on him,” I say.
“Has he ever hit you?” he asks.
“No…” I hesitate.
“Ada…”
“Please… ask something else,” I say.
“Why don’t you want to answer that?”
“Because I don’t want to have to speak at your trial,” I say honestly. “Just… something else, please.”
“Ada,” Viktor pushes softly.
“What, Vik?” I ask, lifting my head to look at him.
“If I promise not to do anything, will you tell me something?” he asks. “I don’t want to go to your funeral.”
“The night I got the notification that I was taking you on, he slapped me,” I admit. “He’s gotten in my face before, but that’s the first time he’s put his hands on me.”
“Has he hit you since?”
“No. He is more volatile, but I just keep the peace. I need those rings, so I just need to deal with it for now,” I say. “I have all my stuff moved into my office, and I can lock myself in there, so I’m safe.”
“Ada, that’s…”
“Domestic violence? I know,” I say. “He’s mentally, physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive.”
“Sexually?” he asks.
“That same night, he, uh… raped me. I was in a lot of pain for a few days,” I say. “That’s what I lied about. I mean, my couch does suck, but I have it worked out now.”
“The only reason I’m not going out there and making him eat a curb is because of those rings,” he says.
“I know,” I say. “I appreciate that.”
“I will be honest with you, though, Ada,” Viktor says. “I’ve been trying to track down the rings.”
“What?” I ask. “Why?”
“So you can have the last piece of them back,” he says. “If you have that, you don’t need him.”
“Why are you so concerned about me? You have so much to do already,” I argue.
“Because I’m selfish, Ada. I want you for myself, but he’s in my way,” Viktor says sweetly.
“You don’t mean that,” I say.
“I do,” he says, resting his hand on my thigh. “Honestly, I’m only being respectful because you don’t show your emotions, so I haven’t picked up on any signs that say you are into me.”
I pull my legs back and start to get up, but he grabs my hips and pulls me into his lap to straddle him. “Vik, I can’t…”
“Stop for a moment,” he says softly. “You spiral silently, and this is you spiraling. Correct?”
“I just want my parents’ rings back,” I say quietly. “Vik, I’m supposed to be…”
“You think you are immune to struggling just because you are a therapist? I hate to break it to you, Pretty Girl, but everyone struggles. Right? Isn’t that something you say?”
“You can’t use my words against me,” I say with a frown. “Why am I in your lap?”
“Why are you not moving?” he asks. I realize that while he put me here, he isn’t forcing me to stay. His hands aren’t even on me. “The door is locked. Can you please let me comfort you?”
“Yeah,” I whisper, dropping my head.
I can feel it coming on. The moment he wraps me in a hug and pulls me down to his chest, it feels like my chest has been cracked open.
Emotion starts to flood out of me so suddenly that it scares me.
He holds me tightly as I quickly fall into hysterics, but says nothing until, after a while, I start to calm down.
“You told me on the first day I came here that I needed to find peace,” Viktor tells me. “You deserve peace too… I won’t interfere with your relationship with him, but I will be that peace for you.”
I sit up and wipe my face, and he rests his hands on my thighs. “I’m just so tired,” I admit. “I’ve gone nonstop since they died, and I just want…”
“Want what, Ada?” he asks when I stop.
“I just don’t want to feel so alone anymore,” I say quietly.
“Sweet girl, you are not alone anymore,” Viktor says, cupping my cheek. “Understand that I don’t give a shit if you are dating someone. I will be the man who pursues a woman who is in a relationship. Give me an opening, and I am going to take it.”
“What opening?” I ask.
“Show me you want me to, and I’ll take every piece of your soul and claim it as my own,” he says. “I will take whatever part of you I can get, and I’ll want more. I will take more, because you wouldn’t give it up if you didn’t want the same.”
“I’m not a cheater,” I say, but I don’t mean it. I will absolutely let this man fuck me.
“To him, you already are,” he says with a smile. “Might as well live up to your potential.”
“Don’t tease me when I’m vulnerable,” I laugh. “I might believe you.”
Viktor slowly pulls my lips to meet his, gently kissing me, and then I melt.
It happens so fast that one minute I am standing tall against cheating, and the next I am holding his face and kissing him hard.
Our tongues fight for dominance. He tastes like all the secrets we keep packed away and all the peace we can find together.
He presses his thumbs into the bends of my hips, and I moan as I rock my hips against his.
I break away from his lips and drop my forehead to his chest when he doesn’t stop.
“You can’t hide from me, Pretty Girl,” Viktor says gently. “I see you.”
I keep rocking my hips, and I can’t stop. It feels so damn good. “What the fuck are you doing to me?” I ask, nearly whimpering.
“It’s all you, Ada,” he says, gently kissing a spot on my neck just below my ear. I groan and start to lose myself to the growing pleasure. “What do you feel?”
“Like I am breaking so many rules,” I pant. “Fuck, I can’t stop.”
“Do you want to?”
“No,” I moan.
“Speak up if you want me to stop, Ada,” Viktor warns.
He moves his hands to unbutton my pants and then slides the zipper down.
I gasp when he slides his hand into my panties and pushes two thick fingers into my pussy.
I am fucking dripping, and he feels so good inside of me.
When I rock my hips again, my clit rubs against his hands, and his fingers move against my G-spot.
“Oh fuck,” I pant, rocking my hips again.
“That’s it, Pretty Girl. Take what you need,” Viktor says, peppering my neck and chest with gentle kisses. “You are so pretty when you lose control, Ada. What else are you hiding from me?”
“Fuck, I am a terrible therapist,” I moan, still rocking my hips as I chase an orgasm.
“I think this is very therapeutic, Ada. Best therapy session yet.”
“I liked the one when you cried,” I quip, but moan when he curls his fingers more. “Fuck! You evil man.”
“Come for me, Pretty Girl. You are so close,” he encourages softly as he wraps his other arm around my body. I bury my face in his neck and move my hips faster. The pressure is building, and I am fully lost in the pleasure. “That’s it. Fuck, you are so close, Ada. Ride my hand, baby.”
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I groan. I keep going and going, but when the pressure starts to break, I surprise myself when I bite down on his neck. I am completely unprepared for him to moan in my ear, sending me off the edge as my orgasm breaks.
When he pulls his hand out of my panties, he brings his fingers to his mouth to lick my arousal off his skin. “So sweet,” Viktor purrs.
“You are the devil,” I say with a frown.
“And you are a pretty little demon, begging to be put on her knees,” he quips with a charming smile. “Every day, I am going to make you come. Eventually, you’ll beg me to fuck you… Oh, and when I do… I own you.”
“You already do,” I admit.
“Then let me find these rings for you, and I’ll get you away from him,” Viktor says.
“If he finds out…” I start to say, but stop myself. “He will kill me.”
“He won’t find out,” Viktor says, gently kissing me. “And if he touches what no longer belongs to him… I’ll make him beg me to kill him.”
“You’re crazy,” I laugh.
“No, just falling for my therapist,” he says smoothly. “What are you?”
“Falling for my walking red flag client,” I say, and he laughs heartily. “Lucky for you, red is my favorite color.”