Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Viktor
The rusted door of that shithole apartment building slammed shut behind me, cutting off the cold wind from the street and the lingering stench of blood that bastard had left behind.
If it weren't for her, I'd never have set foot in this place again.
Days ago, I'd kicked down that door right here, crushed that scumbag landlord's right hand beneath my boot.
Violence. The kind carved into my bones. The kind I excelled at.
And now here I was, trailing after a woman like a goddamn puppy, climbing those creaking wooden stairs one step at a time.
The most fucked up part? I didn't want to break free.
My eyes locked onto Hailey's back.
That goddamn white silk dress.
In the dim aquarium light, under the soft candlelight of that fancy restaurant, I'd used every ounce of self-control not to rip those two fragile crisscrossed straps apart.
Now, in the flickering hallway lights, that expanse of unguarded, honey-toned skin was the deadliest provocation, tearing at my crumbling restraint.
My right knuckles were still seeping blood. When I'd smashed them into Matthew's face, I'd used every bit of force I had. That sensation of bone splintering—it used to excite me in my Bratva days. Today it only made me furious.
Because that piece of shit had put his filthy hands on my woman.
Hailey stopped on the third floor, pulled out her key, and opened that wooden door I'd kicked in—the one that had been hastily patched up.
"Come in."
She didn't turn on the main lights. Only the streetlamp glow filtered through the window. The small living room looked even emptier now that everything had been packed away, a few unsealed boxes scattered across the floor.
She flicked on a dim yellow wall lamp by the entrance, then turned to face me, looking somewhat uncertain.
"Have a seat." She gestured toward that faded fabric sofa in the middle of the living room. "I'll check the bathroom for the first aid kit. I think I haven't packed it yet."
I said nothing, just walked to the sofa and sat down, legs spread wide.
I watched her scurry into the bathroom like a startled kitten trying to look calm. The sounds of rummaging came from inside. I leaned back against the sofa, lifted my bleeding right hand, and casually wiped the blood from my knuckles.
The metallic scent filled my nostrils.
I closed my eyes. All I could see was her downstairs, backlit by the streetlamp, gripping my blood-stained hand with that determined look.
She hadn't screamed. Hadn't run away like any normal woman who'd just witnessed violence. She'd looked at me with those eyes that made my blood boil, and pulled me into her territory.
"Found it."
Hailey emerged with a white plastic first aid box. She sat down on the edge of the coffee table near me, leaning forward slightly. That faint, sweet vanilla scent mixed with a hint of ocean salt immediately invaded my senses.
"Give me your hand." Her voice was soft, head lowered.
I extended my right hand. She gently supported my wrist with two fingers. Her fingertips were cool, trembling slightly, but her movements were extremely careful.
She opened a bottle of medical alcohol, soaking a cotton swab.
"This might sting a little." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she pressed the cotton ball against my wound.
The burn of disinfectant seeping into broken skin barely registered.
All my attention focused on her lowered lashes, on that expression so serious it was almost reverent, on that barely controlled tremor in her fingertips as they held my hand.
As if she were the one who was hurt.
I exhaled involuntarily.
She immediately looked up. "Are you okay?"
My Adam's apple bobbed. "Couldn't be better."
She froze, then quickly averted her gaze, but her ears turned bright red.
My eyes traveled down her slender neck, stopping at her collarbone peeking out from that straight neckline. The fabric in my pants grew tight. The fire in my lower abdomen spread like wildfire.
"I nearly beat that man half to death just now." I stared at the crown of her head, my voice hoarse from suppressed desire. "Hailey, aren't you afraid of me?"
Hailey's hands paused.
She didn't look up, just continued cleaning the blood from my wound with the cotton swab.
"Why would I be afraid of you?" she asked softly, a barely perceptible tremor in her voice. "Viktor, he almost dragged me away... If it wasn't for you, I don't know what would've happened tonight."
Her warm breath brushed across the back of my hand with each exhale, like a barbed brush scraping directly against my nerve endings.
Christ, I was losing it.
"I know you're someone very capable." She took a deep breath, murmuring quietly, "Honestly, I'm a bit shocked. I thought CEOs were, you know, the type who just sit in offices talking. Didn't expect you to be so... good at fighting."
She said it so casually, so innocently.
Like a small animal willingly offering itself to a predator, rolling over to expose its belly.
"Hailey, do you know what you're saying?" My voice turned rough.
"Of course."
She looked up, meeting my eyes directly. Those emerald eyes held an unexpected stubbornness and clarity.
"In that moment, to me, you were the only person who protected me. You were my hero."
My breath caught.
My heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible fist.
She didn't know.
She knew nothing.
She just saw me as—as a hero. A man who threw punches to protect her.
Not a monster with blood-soaked hands.
A strange, unfamiliar fervor crashed through my chest.
"Do you know what consequences those words will bring you?"
I suddenly reversed my grip, seizing her wrist.
The medicine bottle toppled onto the coffee table, alcohol spilling everywhere, the sharp scent instantly filling the air.
Hailey gasped as I yanked her forward, pulling her into my lap.
I wrapped my other arm around her waist, pinning her against my thighs. Her hands instinctively pressed against my chest. Through the thin linen shirt, my heart pounded wildly with excitement.
"Viktor..." She called my name in panic, trying to struggle, but my arms locked her in place like iron bands.
I lowered my head until our noses almost touched. I could clearly see her violently trembling lashes, the instinctive panic in her eyes, and... deeper still, a desire she refused to acknowledge even to herself.
"You think I'm your protector?" I stared into her eyes, my voice low and dangerous, like I was reciting a curse. "Hailey, you're too naive. I'm a starving beast. You brought me into your room, looked at me with those eyes—you're forcing me to devour you whole."
My thumb gently traced her soft lower lip.
"You have one last chance, Hailey." My voice was hoarse, carrying a tension even I hadn't noticed. "Push me away. Run out that door. Go back to your secure Upper East Side apartment. Submit your resignation tomorrow morning. I'll let you go. I'll never appear in your world again."
The most generous mercy I'd ever offered in my life.
I stared at her, waiting for her verdict.
One second.
Two seconds.
Hailey didn't move.
She looked at me. In those emerald eyes, fear slowly faded, replaced by a desperate determination and suppressed madness.
"Do you think I can still run now?"
She suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse.
The next second, she did something that made my sanity completely collapse.
She didn't push me away. She lifted those hands that had been pressed against my chest, slid them up my shoulders, and wrapped them around my neck. She tilted her head slightly, closed her eyes, and pressed her soft, cool lips against mine.
The string called "restraint" in my brain snapped completely in that instant.
All control, all pretense, turned to ash before this willing, sacrificial kiss.
I grabbed the back of her head, taking over. I opened my mouth and attacked like a crazed beast, ruthlessly claiming territory. My tongue forced past her teeth, greedily plundering every inch of sweetness in her mouth.
"Mmm..."
Hailey whimpered weakly, but it only fueled the violence inside me.
My uninjured hand slid down her slender waist, directly onto her bare back.
The warm, delicate texture of her skin made my fingers tremble.
"You little temptress..." I panted, my lips trailing from her jaw down her neck, biting her collarbone and leaving a clear red mark. "You asked for this."
"Viktor..." She was dizzy from my kisses, clutching my collar desperately, her voice melting like water. "Not here..."
"As you wish, my princess." I scooped her up from the sofa and strode toward the bedroom.
The shabby bedroom held only a bare mattress and a large cardboard box leaning against the wall.
I didn't care.
I kicked open the bedroom door and pinned her against the wall.
Without hesitation, I grabbed and tore those two fragile straps. The expensive white silk dress immediately lost its support, sliding down her perfect curves and pooling at her ankles.
Dim moonlight streamed through the curtainless window, illuminating her body clad only in black lace lingerie.
The intense visual impact made my eyes burn red.
The delicate lingerie wrapped tightly around her breasts. The stark contrast of black and white made her look like a siren luring men to their doom.
"Look at me."
I commanded in a low voice, cupping her face.
Hailey opened her eyes. A misty haze already clouded them. She looked at me, breathing rapidly, her chest heaving.
"Who am I?" I demanded.
"Viktor..." she panted, her voice unbearably seductive.
"No." I lowered my head, biting hard on her earlobe. "I'm your hero, princess."
Hailey trembled all over.
"My hero, fuck me hard..." she said obediently, trembling.
A growl rose from my throat.
I could no longer tolerate any barriers. I roughly unbuckled my belt, abandoning all reason.
I hoisted her up against the cold wall, lifting her legs. "Hold on to me," I rasped, and she wrapped her legs around my waist, arms tightening around my neck. I positioned myself and drove in hard, burying myself to the hilt in one brutal thrust.
She cried out, her body tensing, fingers digging into my shoulders. "Viktor, it hurts—"
"Relax," I growled against her throat, not stopping, not slowing. My hips pulled back and slammed forward again. "You're going to remember this. Remember me. Only me."
I needed her to feel this—to brand the sensation into her memory so deeply she'd never think of anyone else, never want anyone else. My hands gripped her hips, holding her in place as I set a punishing rhythm, each thrust forcing another gasp from her lips.
"That's it," I murmured roughly, kissing along her jaw. "Take all of me, princess."
The pain in her expression began to shift, her body gradually adjusting, accepting. Her whimpers changed pitch, softening into moans that drove me insane. She started moving with me, rolling her hips to meet each thrust.
"Viktor, oh God, Viktor..."
My name became a prayer on her lips. I captured her mouth in a savage kiss, swallowing her cries as I drove deeper, harder. The wall behind her creaked with each impact. Her nails raked down my back through my shirt.
"Mine," I snarled against her lips. "Say it."
"Yours," she gasped, trembling. "Only yours."
Her words shattered the last of my control. I pounded into her relentlessly, chasing that edge, dragging her with me. Her body tightened around me, inner muscles clenching, and she threw her head back with a sharp cry as she came apart in my arms.
The sensation of her release triggered mine. I buried myself as deep as possible, groaning her name as I emptied myself inside her, marking her from the inside out.
We stayed locked together, both shaking, gasping for air. I pressed my forehead against hers, still holding her against the wall, unwilling to let go.
Whatever distance had existed between us had been obliterated this night.
All that remained was the most naked, burning, undeniable truth—
She was mine.
And for the first time, I truly, completely belonged to someone else.