2. Katarina
Katarina
The corridor leading back to my windowless room is draped in shadow and littered with ghosts. If I strain my ears, I can hear the squeals and giggles of teenage girls.
The summer I spent training here wasn’t dissimilar to a ladies’ finishing school, but with little extras such as choosing the right weapon for an assassination, and the relative strengths and weaknesses of various poisons.
Yana, Kira, Tanya and I had bonded in and out of the classroom, and our education became secondary to making mischief.
Causing trouble has always been second nature to me.
“I won’t forget what you did, bitch,” Vlad hisses in my ear.
As annoying as the interruption is, I’m relieved to be pulled from my reverie before my mind follows it to its bitter conclusion. “What are you whining about now?”
Vlad leans over my shoulder, close enough for me to smell the pickled onions he’s always eating. “You think Vasili’s going to forget your suggestion that we fucked? I’m not getting demoted a second time because of you.”
Poor Vlad was my original bodyguard when I’d been posted to the United States in the summer to snag myself a rich husband.
Back then, Vasili had been under the misapprehension that I was a good little soldier with no agency of my own.
I was allowed certain freedoms, which led to me sneaking away for an unforgettable night spent in the company of some of my uncle’s deadliest enemies.
Life wasn’t the same after that little trek to the Blue Ridge Mountains. It never will be.
“Your one job in Chicago was to watch me at all times. It’s not my fault you fucked up.”
“Danyl and Andrey didn’t do much better at keeping you in check,” Vlad says, grumbling about his replacements.
“They didn’t do better at all. It’s why they’re dead,” I correct him, but my throat constricts at the mention of those bastards. They got what they deserved and when their bodies were returned to Russia riddled with bullets, I would have gladly added more.
Vlad drops back a step, anticipating that his next comment will give him the excuse he’s looking for to lash out if I react. “At least they got to kill the sewer rat.”
Pain flares at the bridge of my nose as I hold back tears. I never used to cry. I still don’t if I can help it. Not often at least, but fighting the constant urge to sob is a battle I never expected to face. That’s what I get for caring.
I concentrate on emotions that are more useful to me.
Anger and hatred. These are feelings I know how to control because they’re far more familiar to me.
I’m seemingly relaxed as I stop at my bedroom door and turn to Vlad.
His pock-marked skin looks ghoulish in the deepening shadows that herald the end of another miserable day.
When Vlad holsters his taser, I hunch my shoulders and wiggle my hips. “I am sorry. Genuinely, I am,” I tell him softly. “If you like, I’ll speak to my uncle and clarify the situation.”
He trails a rough hand over his closely-cropped scalp.
“Too little, too fucking late,” he snarls.
“And to think I could have made your stay here far more enjoyable. Fuck, I could have given Vasili a reason to kill me. But no, you think you’re too good for the likes of me, don’t you?
” His mouth quirks into a smirk. “In case you’ve forgotten, I was there that night in Chicago too.
My only regret is I wasn’t the one to put a bullet through that bastard’s head. ”
I drop my head and close my eyes briefly so I can repeat a mantra that’s got me through worse. I’m in control of my emotions. They’re not in control of me.
“You deserve all you get,” Vlad continues. “I’ve heard stories about Eric Peterson. None of them good.”
My lower lip is snagged between my teeth when I look back up, drawing his gaze to my mouth. “Maybe I did miss my chance with you,” I reply in almost a whisper. My eyes narrow as I reach behind to open my bedroom door. “Or maybe you were never up to the task.”
Vlad’s grey eyes turn stormy as ego and duty battle for control of his temper. “Don’t play games with me, kotenok.” Kitten. “You won’t win.”
My hackles rise, but I try not to let it show how much I hate the pet name my guards christened me with. It was never a term of endearment and was usually paired with some form of physical abuse or torment.
I look up at him through my eyelashes. “But you want to play, don’t you, Vlad?”
He tries so hard not to react, but when my tongue slides between the seam of my lips, his pupils blow. If he wasn’t seriously contemplating stepping over a line, he is now. He shrugs. “Your uncle already thinks I’ve fucked you. I don’t have anything to lose. Do I?”
My uncle’s guard is so close to breaking. I arch an eyebrow before giving him the final push. “Except your pride. My guess is you can’t satisfy a woman the way–”
Vlad slams his palm against my chest and marches me backwards into my sparsely furnished room. My calves hit the edge of the bed and with one final shove, he forces me onto my back.
The laughter rumbling up through my chest escapes with a gasp. I offer a wicked smile as I lift my knees and spread my legs. My thin cotton dress bunches around my hips. “Looks like I underestimated you. Maybe you are more of a man than I thought.”
“Oh, you’re about to find out.”
As his gaze fixes on my virgin-white panties, his oily tongue slides over his bottom lip. He doesn’t take his eyes off me as he steps back and unbuckles his holster. He removes all the weapons I might make a grab for while he’s otherwise engaged. He even takes off his belt. Good thinking.
While he piles his weapons just outside the door, I open and close my legs, showing my impatience. I’m looking forward to this more than he is.
Vlad keeps only three items. A set of keys, a pair of handcuffs and the cell phone he’s using to tap out a message. He smiles when he’s done.
“The cameras are off and Alexei won’t disturb us. You’re all mine now,” he says, flicking the door shut with his foot. “Arms over your head, Kitty.”
Fortunately, Vlad has turned to lock the door and doesn’t see my mask fall. If I had one of the knives he left in the hallway, it would be in his back right now. There’s only one person who was allowed to call me Kitty.
“You’d enjoy this better if you didn’t tie me up. I have very gifted fingers,” I reply. You can’t blame a girl for trying.
“I know you have,” Vlad says dryly. He drops his keys and phone on the dresser next to the door before approaching me with the handcuffs. “Arms over your head.”
I huff out a sigh and as I throw back my arms, I bring my knees together in rebuff. I’m scowling as Vlad hooks the handcuffs through the wooden bedstead and snaps them tightly around my wrists.
“Comfortable?” he asks with a smirk. I roll my eyes, but he’s not looking at my face as he positions himself at the end of the bed and unfastens his pants. “Open your legs, bitch.”
I sigh as I let my knees drop to the sides and watch him take out his cock. It’s prettier than his face, but that isn’t saying much. Should I tell Vlad I’ve seen bigger? No, that might push his fragile ego too far and I need him eager to prove himself.
Vlad takes what I’m guessing is a very old condom from the inner pocket of the leather jacket he has no intention of taking off. It’s going to be a quick fuck. No cuddles.
Once he’s sheathed, he climbs onto the bed and kneels between my legs. “Even with the cameras disabled, you’re going to have to be quiet, kotenok.” Kitten. “Don’t scream my name too loud.”
My jaw wants to clench, but I manage a coy smile. “I’ll try not to.”
Without any further preamble, Vlad grabs my hips. He’s about to yank down my panties, but I use my knee to hit his arm.
“Not so fast,” I gasp out. My breaths are labored as if my desires have got the better of me. “Use your teeth.”
Vlad straightens. There’s a wicked glint in his eye. “Like this?” he asks with a snarl as he spreads my legs to the point of pain and bites my inner thigh.
I tense, but there’s no pressure where his teeth nip at my delicate skin. Vlad can’t risk my husband-to-be noticing bite marks if he’s to stand a chance of convincing Vasili he hasn’t touched me. Instead, he makes a revolting slurping sound as his tongue trails up my inner thigh.
“You just wanted my head between your legs, didn’t you?” he says with a knowing smirk. “I can already smell your need. You’re dripping for me.”
I’m as wet as the Mojave Desert.
Vlad’s tongue finds my center and he tugs at my cotton panties with his teeth. When he nips again, his teeth scrape against my clit.
“Do that again,” I gasp.
Vlad burrows deeper as I rock my hips back and forth against his mouth. My pulse quickens and as my movements grow more demanding, I hook a leg over Vlad’s shoulder. A groan vibrates up my throat and spills over my lips as he suckles the thin cotton of my panties.
Eager to prove himself, Vlad adjusts his position so both my thighs come to rest on his shoulders. With the next sweep of his tongue, I keep one leg pressed against his shoulder while lifting the other higher so my thigh is closer to his ear.
“Vlad?” I plead. “I need…”
He lifts his head, baring his teeth in a smug grin. “Feels good, doesn’t it, Kitty?”
He thinks he has me at his mercy. He thinks he’s tamed me. He thinks the desires consuming me are carnal. Fool.
I groan in satisfaction. “This. Is. Perfect,” I whisper as my back arches and my leg muscles tense.
I plant a heel between Vlad’s shoulder blades to give me the leverage I need, and as I snap my thighs together in one violent jerk, I dislocate his upper cervical spine with lethal precision. Paralyzed from the neck down, poor Vlad can no longer breathe and death is inevitable.
“Oh dear, you’ve gone all limp,” I tell him gently. “It happens to plenty of men, but I’m pretty sure in your case it’s a one-off problem.”