Chapter 46
Aleksandr
Lay It On The Line
Sitting down at the bar, I threw the first drink back and asked for another. The bartender took one look at my face and poured me a full glass. Same shit, different day. I had taken to sleeping at the club. Easier access to women and booze to get my mind off Kinsley. It was a good thing we had private rooms to accommodate that.
Nik had shared that he and Ivan went to Skagit when they realized Kinsley was missing. I kicked myself in the ass for not being more diligent. The truth was, I was thankful they stepped in. She’d apparently left them alone in the cabin, so they did a bit of snooping.
One oddity they noticed was that there was literally only one picture in the entire house. It was of Kinsley and Owen; it looked like it had been taken while hiking. The waterfall behind them was magnificent.
A text came through my phone. I sighed; the little shit let him install the system. I guess I should feel better. At least she’d be more secure now. I was still struggling with what I had done, hence why I was hiding from Ivan and Nik. I was also trying to drown Kinsley out. Sipping on the second whiskey for the night, I succumbed to the numbness.
Alisha and another girl sauntered over. I knew what Alisha wanted without having to look at her. After nearly a week of utterly debasing sex with her and Jenna, I realized I was done. I wasn’t even slightly interested in either of them anymore. Fuck, I wasn’t interested in anyone since Kinsley.
Not to mention, Alisha had gotten possessive. I considered telling her to piss off until the fucking song Kinsley and I danced to started playing. Images of holding her in my arms, her body moving with mine, flooded me.
Hating my photographic memory at that moment, I threw back the drink, slammed it down on the counter, and turned to the girl with Alisha. She was another regular at the club, one I had fucked around with in the past.
She resembled Kinsley in some ways; she was taller and a little more on the thinner side. But my dick at least stirred. I cocked my head to the side, pointed to her, and ordered, “In the office. Now.”
Smiling and nodding, she rushed off ahead of me.
“Alek?”
Alisha’s brow pinched with confusion. I knew she was wondering why I was taking Leah instead. This confirmed for me what I’d been suspecting for the last few days. I walked right past her without so much as a glance.
I stood at the door behind Leah, thinking about Kinsley and wishing it were her going into the office. Just the thought of it made me painfully hard, so I led her inside. Leah went over and perched on my desk with a smirk. I unzipped my pants and shoved them down. She knew exactly what to do. She got down on her knees.
Her eyes fluttered closed as I ran the tip of my cock over her lips. I yanked her hair hard and pushed my dick inside her mouth unceremoniously. She gasped, and I began fucking her mouth hard, becoming savage with her.
I didn’t stop, even when she started gagging. I thrust my hips forward, not giving her time to adjust to the pace. I looked down at her, trying to picture Kinsley, but Leah was no Kinsley.
Closing my eyes, I tightened my hold on her hair, causing her to wince. I quickened my pace, imagining Kinsley’s lips. I wondered if she’d have any idea what to do with my cock as I fucked her mouth. I imagined teaching her exactly how to suck me, how to take all of me deep inside her mouth.
I'd slide it so far down her throat, cutting her air supply off, only to pull back, hearing her little gasps. As I imagined tears rolling down her cheeks, my orgasm built, fucking finally. Maybe tonight, I’d actually be able to get off.
I was so lost in the moment that Kinsley’s name almost escaped my lips, shocking me. My eyes flew open as I was about to come down Leah’s throat.
“Fuck,”
I muttered, feeling like shit. My dick went soft. The damn thing didn’t want anyone other than Kinsley either.
I nearly tripped in my haste to step away from her, and once more was filled with disgust for myself. My cock dripped with her saliva as Leah peered up, confusion etched across her face. I hated myself at that moment.
“Get up,”
I said, feeling dead inside as I yanked my pants back up.
She scrambled to her feet. “Please leave,”
I muttered, turning away. The only woman I wanted was Kinsley, damn her ass to hell.
Leah peered at me in confusion. I’d never left a girl unsatisfied before, yet here I was. Kinsley’s grip on me tightened like a damn noose. Leah opened the door and rushed out, mumbling a greeting to Ivan.
Right on time, here he was to piss me off. He stepped back with a surprised look on his face, cocking an eyebrow as he stepped in. He sat down in the chair across from my desk.
“You fucking her? What happened to Alisha? Does this have to do with Kin—”
“Don’t say her name, Brother.”
I pointed at him, glaring. “And I didn’t fuck her.”
“Got it. If it makes you feel any better, you probably still have a shot. If her breakdown today at seeing Nik over you means what I think it does.”
There he was, always being reasonable, trying to talk me down off the ledge.
“What is going on with you? Talk to me, Alek…this has gone on long enough.”
He leaned forward. The concern in his voice only made me angrier.
“Do I fucking look like I want to talk?”
“Okay, but mind telling me what happened? Why did you put someone else on Kinsley? And why didn’t you want to go over with Jason to install the security system?”
He sat back, his gaze persistent. He didn’t want to let it go. Took him two weeks to finally ask. I guess I should be thankful for that.
“Yes, I mind, Brother. Now get the fuck out,”
I said, rubbing my eyes. Ivan sighed, frowning.
He said, “I’m on Kinsley tonight.”
“You? Perfect,”
I mumbled, glaring. Not because I didn't trust him or was jealous, but because if he stayed any longer, I’d end up fighting with him.
My brother, one of only four men who knew me better than anyone on earth, stood to leave. I ignored the concern on his face. Kinsley had left me gutted. I’d never felt such intense desire before.
I chalked it up to wanting something I couldn’t have. She had tested me in ways she didn’t even know. The level I’d sunk to on the night of our last fight made me literally sick to my stomach.
It was better I stayed away from her. I would not stoop so low again. So I did the only safe thing. I grabbed my pencils and sketch pad to draw her. My pencil drug across the paper as I began the basic outline, and before I knew it, I was staring at a drawing of her, her face flushed with desire. Her lips were shaded red, swollen from my kisses.
I’d drawn her eyes with a level of desperation. She consumed all of my thoughts. I had several sketches scattered around the desk by the time Nik arrived an hour or so later. If it wasn’t one, it was the other.
“Nikolai, for the love I bear for our mother, you should just leave.”
“We need to talk.”
He took a seat. Fuck me.
“Like hell we do. Unless this involves ripping some piece of shit’s throat out later, you can leave.”
After several long minutes of complete silence from him, I caved. “Why are you here, aside from the fact that your asshole brother couldn’t get me to—”
“I take it Ivan’s been to see you. Did you show your ass to him as well?”
Calm and cool as always. My head throbbed as he continued, “As I said, we need to—”
“Damn it, this is fucking killing me. I don’t know how else to say this to you, but I want nothing to do with Kinsley Taylor.”
I drug in ragged breaths. That overwhelming feeling of disgust consumed every part of me.
“Well, her case has gotten its first big break, so I’m going to need you to get your shit together. You’ve fucked and drank your way through two weeks.”
He picked up one of the sketches. “Damn, these are good renditions,”
he said, looking at the one I had just finished.
It was Kinsley in the damn lingerie set I purchased for her. He looked at it hungrily as if she were here in the flesh.
“Can I put in some requests? I’d love to see her in several poses.”
I snatched it from his hands. Fucker.
“It’s time we ask her some serious questions. You should also know she just walked through the doors to The Dove.”
What the hell is she going there for?
I stared at him, waiting. There must have been more.
“She was pretty dolled up. Brian, her coworker, is there.”
The reply and tone of his voice let me know he was purposefully egging me on. “Are you coming? I’ll fill you and Ivan in on what Madame Pierce had to say today,”
he added quietly.
What the fuck was he going on about? What did Madame Pierce have to do with Kinsley? Sighing, I nodded. I couldn’t fight it anymore. I needed to see her. Every part of me craved her.
Nik and I swiftly made our way to the car. The urgency in my steps matched the intensity of my thoughts. All of this was fueled by the burning need to see her sweet face, inhale her scent, and kiss her neck. The drive to The Dove felt like an eternity as my mind raced with thoughts of Kinsley.
As I settled into the car, the weight of anticipation hung in the air. Nik’s fingers drummed impatiently against the screen of his phone as he dialed Ivan’s number. I glanced at him, guilt filling me over the secrets I had been keeping—the ones eating me alive. Kinsley wasn’t the only reason I stayed at the club, just the main one.
The call connected, and Nik wasted no time, his voice filled with urgency. “Hey, Ivan, are you in a place where you can talk freely? We’ve got something big,”
he said, his words laced with determination.
Ivan’s voice came through the speaker. “I’m outside but alone. What’s up?”
Nik filled us in on his visit with Madame Pierce. “I’ve got feelers out on the potential lead for the agency,”
Nik explained, his voice brimming with excitement. “I don’t want to celebrate too early, but if it can give us any information at all, we have to try.”
My heart pounded in my chest, the gravity of the situation sinking in. This newfound information held the key to unlocking Kinsley’s secrets and bringing us closer to understanding her, in some small way. I realized I wanted that—to know her, to understand her—and that knowledge frightened me.
“I’ll keep her here,”
Ivan grumbled. He was still mad from our earlier conversation. I’d have to find a way to make it up to him.
“It’s time,”
I said, my voice firm. “We need to confront Kinsley, lay it all on the line, and let the chips fall where they may. We owe it to her, to ourselves, to find the truth.”
Nik’s nod mirrored my determination as he ended the call. “I’m not sure it’d do any good, but maybe you can swing by New Haven and see if Madame Pierce will give you any additional information. I have a feeling Kinsley will not give it up that easily,”
Nik implored.
I nodded absently, and when we pulled up, I asked for a minute to collect myself. Ivan rolled his eyes. He didn’t understand. He had the luxury of not having to hear her say she’d kill herself before she let a man master her.
Despite my drunken orgies, I’d figured out Kinsley’s actions stemmed from me saying the word Master. Couple it with the fact that I was a full-on creeper. Yeah, I needed a minute. Ivan would bloody well give it to me, too. I looked up to see my other brother smirking.
“You’re not helping, Nik,”
I exclaimed in frustration. Then, running my fingers through my hair, I grumbled, “Let’s go.”
“Swear to god, Alek, you need to promise you aren’t going to lose it on her,”
Ivan said, pushing me back a little. I glared, my anger rose another notch.
“Why are you even here?”
I asked, knowing full well why.
“Because you can’t be trusted when it comes to her. And someone needs to keep you in line.”
“Don’t you fucking think I know that? It’s why I’ve been staying away.”
“I’ve never seen you lose your shit like this, damn it, and over a piece of pussy. Mum will kill you if she hears about you making a scene. So behave yourself. I’ll wait out here in case she tries to leave with anyone,”
Ivan said, walking away. I was glad he opted to stay outside.
The Dove was one of the shittiest clubs around. Not only was the music all over the place, but the floor was disgustingly sticky. It was one of those establishments where, if you waited around long enough, a fight would break out. And don’t even get me started on their private rooms. This was no place for a girl like Kinsley.
It didn’t take us long before we saw her. She was sitting at the bar. Clearly, it was a double date of some sort. I recognized Sarah, and Brian had his arm draped over the back of Kinsley’s bar stool.
He whispered something in her ear, his lips lingering a little too long near her neck. She laughed and pushed his face away. I stalked over toward them. Her outfit once more had me enraged.
A new dress, apparently. I didn’t remember seeing it in her closet. For fuck’s sake, it might as well have been a chemise for all it covered. It was all wrong for her. It barely covered her pussy and ass, the damned thing was so short. I suppose I should have been happy that her tits were covered, at least.
We drew closer, and there was a pause in the music, or I wouldn’t have heard her. Brian leaned back in and planted a small kiss on her neck. He motioned for the bartender to give her another drink.
“Brian, don’t, seriously.”
Her voice was playful but firm.
I wanted to rip his head off. That was my fucking neck. Nik laughed loudly.
“Clearly, she isn’t interested.”
My voice rang out, cold, sinister, and full of the anger I was struggling to contain. The kid at least had the right amount of sense to pull back from her.
“Oh, now you want to show up?”
She jumped down from the bar stool and threw her hair back. Her eyes blazed with a fiery passion.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
I demanded.
“It’s called a date, asshat. And now you’ve ruined it. I was having a lovely time.”
“With him?”
I sneered.
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
Her eyes were glossed over. I wondered what she was drinking and how many she’d had. Too many, by the looks of things. We’d get no answers from her tonight. She stumbled.
“Using the word fuck again. Tread carefully. You know I don’t enjoy hearing you say that.”
“Then you should probably leave. Because I plan to use it a lot tonight. What was that you told me you do with Jenna, Nik? Oh, that’s right—you fuck, a lot. That’s my plan. Just need to get another drink or two in my system. Then I’ll fuck, a lot. Maybe I’ll go through with the spanking too.”
“Like hell you will,”
I roared, wanting to dig my brass knuckles out and destroy Brian’s face. I glared at him.
“Don’t worry, not with Brian. Nik also told me that it would be a bad idea since we work together. He’s smart. I see why you keep him around. Now I need to find me a Jenna. Someone at my beck and call. Know anyone like that?”
Her drunken mouth was about to get her into so much trouble. Changing tactics with her, I sighed.
“You don’t belong here.”
I grabbed her purse, and she tried to wrestle it away from me.
“Look, old man, for the last time, you’re not my father, my brother, cousin, or uncle. You don’t get to tell me what to do. Leave me alone.”
She shoved me away, giving up the fight for her purse.
The fingers on my right hand closed around her throat, and I used my grip on her to haul her body close to mine. Her eyes grew wide, and desire flared in them. When she breathed my name, it broke my resolve in an instant.
I leaned down and took her lips in mine, kissing her passionately, only breaking away after she wrapped her legs around mine and moved her hips against me. Her short dress rode up, and I could see her light-blue cotton panties.
Pulling her dress back down, I stopped her. “No, kitten. We’re leaving. Let’s go.”
“I hate you, Aleksandr King.”
Her voice broke. I ran my hand down her arm, reveling in the softness before she shoved my hand away.
“Marcus, will you take me home?”
She burst into tears.
I turned around, surprised to see Marcus had followed us in. I was sure it was to keep me in check in case Nik needed backup. With Ivan waiting outside, it was basic protocol.
“Of course, Ms. Taylor.”
He took his coat off and draped it over her body. Taking her hand, he led her out.
“You’re always so nice to me. The Reaper needs help in that department. He’s mean all the time,”
she said. The smile on his face made me shake my head.
“Brian, I’ll tell you one time and one time only. Stay the fuck away from my girl.”
I stalked away from him.
“She’s your girl now, huh?”
Nik asked, laughing.
“Shut it, Nikolai,”
I said, sitting my ass down at one of the tables. I needed another minute. Marcus would see Kinsley safely home.
“We’ve got work to do tonight. Ivan and I put it off, hoping you would come to your senses. But I’m telling you now, this shit needs to stop. We don’t keep secrets.”
I swear, he was like my own personal mind reader.
“First, I need to call Marcel. I need to bring him up to speed. He knows about game night, but…we’re going to need him on board.”
“Because she’s your girl now, or something deeper.”
“Something much deeper. I need a shower and to sleep in my own bed. Then you, me, and Ivan can talk.”
“Call him, then. But as soon as you’re done, we take care of business. Our latest target already tried to skip town once,”
Nik urged.