49. Natalia

49

NATALIA

"No, Natalia. Out! Out now!" Yelena literally shoves me out of the laundry room, her face twisted into a no-nonsense scowl.

"Yelena, it's just the laundry!" I complain. "I can help with the laundry."

She pulls the laundry room door shut behind her and puts her hands on her hips. "Those detergents are full of chemicals, and I don't want you breathing in the toxins."

I can't help but pout. "I can help! And then you can tell me more stories about your childhood in Russia."

"Another day," she says, her scowl softening ever so slightly. "Right now, I have to get the laundry done. Where are your two shadows?"

"Misha is in a tutoring session."

"Which means Remi is with him," Yelena finishes knowingly.

Remi must be able to sense how much Misha hates his study sessions, because he refuses to leave Misha's side while he's working at the table. Remi curls up under the desk, and it's so damn sweet that I don't even mind being abandoned.

Even though I'm desperate for some company. Which is why I'm begging to do laundry.

"Find Mila then," Yelena suggests.

"Mila is out with Leonty."

"Katya?"

"Katya is busy, too," I grumble. "If you just let me into the laundry room, I promise I won't touch the det?—"

Yelena slips into the laundry room and closes the door before I can even finish.

So much for that.

I've spent plenty of lonely days in this house, so I don't know what makes today so unbearable. Or, maybe I do know why…which makes it all even more unbearable.

The sad, pitiful fact is that I'm jealous of my friends. Mila is out with Leonty and Katya is with Shura. My two friends are out being wined and dined by handsome men, and I'm left behind to twiddle my thumbs and daydream.

I wander through the house, lowkey hoping that I might run into a certain silver-eyed distraction. But the manor is dishearteningly empty.

I'm nearly desperate enough to go hang with the Bratva boys who aren't out wooing my friends. Except I already know Anatoly and Leif are in the gym, pumping iron and slapping each other in the back of the head for shits and giggles. And no amount of boredom is worth enduring that.

I'm about to give up and retreat back to my fortress of solitude in the pool house when the sound of an engine catches my attention.

Mila is back!

I careen through the house towards Mila's wing of the house, prepared to drop to my knees and beg Leonty and Mila to let me third wheel with them.

I don't see Leonty's car in the drive and the entryway is quiet, so I keep moving to Mila's room. It crosses my mind that I could be about to walk in on my friend and bodyguard getting it on, but desperate times and all that.

Unfortunately, Mila's room is empty.

"Huh." Hands on my hips, I spin in a slow circle like I might be able to make a friend appear.

Suddenly, the door behind me swings open.

"It's about freaking ti—" The words die on my lips, replaced by only one. "Viktor."

His eyes are bloodshot and hooded, and his attention is sluggish. If I hadn't spoken, he probably wouldn't have even noticed I was here.

"Who're you?" he slurs.

He's clear across the room, but I can smell the booze coming off him. Booze and smoke and filth I don't even have the words for. If Yelena didn't want me near laundry detergent, she's certainly going to have something to say about my proximity to this walking trigger warning.

"I was just… waiting for Mila," I mumble uncomfortably. "I'm gonna head back to the pool house."

Suddenly, his eyes go wide. Recognition flickers across his face.

"Natalia." There's a strange new silkiness in his voice. He runs a greasy hand through his even greasier hair. "It's been too long."

If you ask me, it hasn't been nearly long enough.

His eyes slip down to my belly. There's no denying my pregnancy anymore, but this is the first time I've felt so self-conscious about it. I feel vulnerable.

"You're glowing," he remarks.

If that hideous drawl is supposed to be charming, he ought to go back to the drawing board.

"Er, thanks." I move to leave, but he's blocking my path out of here. His blue eyes are clearer suddenly, brighter and full of intention.

"Going so soon?" Viktor asks. "Don't break my heart. We've barely had a chance to catch up."

My skin crawls. It's amazing how violated I feel just standing here under his gaze. I take a miniscule step back. "Maybe another time. I'm a little tired."

"We are family now, after all," he says, plowing right over my protests. "I should get to know my future sister-in-law."

"I'm not your future anything, Viktor. Andrey and I aren't together."

Viktor takes a step forward. "Then my brother is a fool. I would have made you mine in a heartbeat." He lurches forward and plants his hands on either side of the table I'm standing in front of, trapping me between his arms.

"Viktor—"

"Hush." His breath is vile and the erection pressing into my thigh is even more so. I cower against the table to keep some distance between our bodies.

"Please," I whisper, afraid to scream the way I want to for fear of escalating things. "This is wrong."

"‘Wrong'?" Viktor chuckles. His foul breath is making me lightheaded. "What's wrong about this? You're not with my brother. You just said it yourself."

"I am carrying his child, though."

"So what?" he scoffs. "Does that mean he owns you? Does he own your body, Natalia?"

His hands trail over my stomach, and I slap them away. "Get off of me!"

"It's okay," he croons, holding me tighter. His fingers dig into my hips. "My brother won't mind. He lets my bride fuck whoever she wants. I'm sure Mila has told you all about it."

I press a hand to his chest, trying to force his eyes to mine. Trying to make him see me as a human, not an object. "Viktor, I didn't make that decision. None of that has anything to do with me."

"I beg to differ, pretty girl. It has everything to do with you. If Andrey can do whatever the fuck he wants, I should be allowed the same right."

Oh, God. This is really happening. If I don't stop, Viktor is going to…

I squeeze my eyes closed as Viktor suckles his wet mouth to my neck.

I can't fight him. I'm trapped with a predator who is more than capable of taking what he wants from me. I need help.

I want to scream.

I'm about to.

Then I notice movement in the doorway, and my stomach plummets.

Misha is staring at me, wide-eyed and horrified. He understands exactly what is happening, and somehow, that makes it all so much worse.

He takes one step forward, but I shake my head gently.

Viktor will kill him if he comes in here. Misha is tough, but he's just a boy. If Misha intervenes, Viktor will hurt him. And tough as I know Misha can be, I also know that he won't stand a chance against a full-grown man. Especially one with as much rage as Viktor.

Go, I mouth to him. Please.

For a second, I don't think he's going to listen.

Then he turns around and runs.

I sigh in relief, and Viktor groans. "I knew you'd like it. I'm gonna fuck my brother right out of your system."