Chapter Six - Dimitri

Another day in paradise, but unlike most other days, I won’t be retiring to my house alone. No, I’ve got a new houseguest, and I’m sure by now she’s likely to be awake and kicking. Smirking, I drive my silver Mercedes into the garage and stepping inside.

I’ve done well for myself, and my five-bedroom mansion complete with expansive study and full-scale theater and recreation room is enough for me. If plans change and I need more space, then I’ll move, but I like it here. Everything is monochrome designed in black and white with splashes of red for extra violence. As I arrive, walking down the short hallway and turning left into the kitchen, my chef, Henry, smiles.

“Ah, you’ve made it back. I’m done for today. The plates are warm and dinner is ready. Will you and your guest be dining in the main living room tonight?” he asks as I sigh. It’s been an extremely long day of paperwork chasing for Raven’s Peak and further investigation into closing other deals for the month.

“No. We’ll be dining separately.” I offer no explanation, but my chef knows the drill. He sees nothing and he’s only here to prepare my meals.

“Okay. If there’s nothing else you want me to prepare, I’ll check out and be back tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Henry. Nothing else. You’re free to go.” As Henry walks out of the kitchen, I stand in the hall for a second, a loud thumping sound drawing my attention to the upstairs bedroom. Grinning, my frazzled housekeeper descends, her feet flying down the stairs.

“Ah, Glenda. How’s our houseguest settling in? Is she awake?” Judging by the thudding coming from behind the door, I presume she is more than awake.

“Yes. But, Dimitri, you can’t keep her in there! She’s been yelling the house down all afternoon,” Glenda remarks, her soft brown eyes widening. She’s my cousin’s niece and wanted a job to do to make extra cash while studying. I personally wanted to keep it all in the family and find someone I could trust. It’s going to be a shame to let her go when her interior design degree is over.

“Let me fuck out of here!” Ava shouts at the top of her lungs, enough for me to grimace.

Chuckling, I stare at the door. “I think I have my answer. You can go for the day,” I tell her, not wanting her involved.

“Are you sure? I’ve got two of the downstairs rooms to clean, and there’s still the games room as well—”

Dropping my hands in my pockets, I glare at Glenda. “Leave. I’ve got it from here.” I hate it when my staff defies me. What I say goes and there’s no negotiation. Glenda’s eyes avert from mine as she stares down at her shoes.

“Okay. See you in the morning.”

“Good. You can finish those rooms then, since you’re so keen.” Without a word she scampers past me. Yes. It’s good that she’s scared of me. That’s how I want it to be. One, so she doesn’t go running her mouth to the rest of the Bratva, and also so she knows where the family line is drawn.

Two of my men emerge from other ends of the house as I stare at the door from the bottom of the stairs wondering how long before Ava’s lungs give out. She keeps going, repeating her sentence. “Let me out. Let me out. Let me out,” but that’s not going to help her. Only her signing over her deed and title will, and even then, I’m tempted to trade in on other ideas of what I can do with her.

Returning to the living room, I find a snack, deciding to leave my dinner for a little later and flicking on the TV as Petrov and Kosta enter. “Dimitri, you’re back,” Petrov remarks.

“No shit.” I slide my feet up on my ottoman, unbothered by their presence. I tilt my head up to Petrov. “You can open the door. Bring Ava to me, but given how feisty she is, I’m sure she’s going to walk herself in here.”

And I’m right. A couple of minutes later, a red-faced and frustrated Ava with her big, hauntingly beautiful eyes arrives in my living room. Or should I say—limps in. Amused, my eyebrow arches as I reach for my cigar box, selecting a Cuban and cutting off the end of it for lighting.

She stands sturdily, her berry lips begging me into temptation, her thick brunette hair messy and complicated. She’s fucking gorgeous, and there’s plenty of her to hold on to, her voluptuous curves fitting splendidly in her well-fitting jeans. She’s thick, and probably can take some pounding if that’s what I want from her. Small, but enough fire in her veins to bring my cock out of its slumber. All of this is going on my head, though she’s not to know, but this is why I wanted to hunt the girl and not one part of my manhood is disappointed. Her confidence falters just a little I notice, her slender fingers shaking as she threads a hand through her mane of mess, but oh what a fucking beautiful mess she is. Her breasts are full and round, unhidden in a stretchy T-shirt giving me enough ideas to jack off to later. Holding her gaze for a second, I let her stew in her puddle of discomfort in front of me.

There’s fear behind her soft sienna-colored eyes and that’s enough for me to work with. Just the emotion I’ve wanted to stir. “Would you like to sit down, Ava?” I ask politely, after noticing the wince on her face. I did order the maid to keep an eye on her knee and provide her with an icepack. No doctor yet. I don’t think it’s that serious, but she shouldn’t have run from me in the first place and she wouldn’t be in this position. Shielding my hand over my cigar, I light the tip, letting out a long plume of smoke.

“Why the fuck am I here?” Ava rightfully asks.

Sighing, I regard her blandly. “Well. I think you fell into that. Excuse the pun. You ran.” Silence follows as I watch her ease into the black leather armchair across from me. My men have given us some space, which I appreciate. This shouldn’t take long anyway.

“Yes. You were chasing me. On my own property.” She blinks rapidly, her cheeks blooming in embarrassment.

“Sorry about that. Speaking of Raven’s Peak. I need that property. All you have to do is sign this document and you’re free to go. I won’t bother you again. And I think you’ll find the amount I’m offering very pleasing.”

Confident, she’ll take my offer, I’m celebrating early as I toke on the cigar again, when I’m surprised by Ava’s prickly derision. “No. I don’t want to accept your offer.”

Chuckling, I side-eye her, a rush of adrenaline flooding my veins. I’ve got a live one here. Okay. Let’s play. “That’s a shame, since you haven’t even read the document.” I take the bookend stand off the paperwork, handing it to her, and pointing at the bold amount for multi-millions on the front page. I’ve been generous in my offer as well. She wouldn’t have ever seen that type of money in her life. Ever. And she probably won’t again, especially if she practices law like her daddy in the not-for-profit sector.

Sitting tight, I allow myself the privilege of checking out her legs. God, I want to bury my head between those thick thighs. I can tell there’s a pussy gold mine inside them. I don’t back down from letting my eyes undress her, but she catches me, forcing me into a grin.

Coughing uncomfortably, she averts her gaze, but the tiny flicker of her own version of sizing me up doesn’t go unnoticed. So, she is checking me out. This is perfect, but it’s only going to be brief. She’s going to be out of my fucking mansion in a matter of minutes and on her way back to her shitty law school life.

Sign the fucking document. Read the amount. You’re lucky, I’m willing to give you that.

She looks down at it, and then back at me with a stoic stare. “I don’t need to read it. My answer is still no.” She shakes out her hair as rage boils up in my system.

Letting my eyes do the talking, I give her a lengthy glare, holding on to my cigar, and rising to my full height, I close the few steps between us in a quick few seconds. Opening my light jacket, I remove my gun from my holster, and tip it under her full face forcing her to meet my eyes.

“Is it a hard no, Ava, like this gun?” I whisper staring down at her and running the steel along her round jaw.

She doesn’t balk from the touch, instead replying in earnest. “There’s no point killing me, because the property will just go to my second cousin. Jackson is keeping it all in the family,” she taunts, her brown eyes holding court with mine as her sweet berry mouth curves into a provocative smile.

“Do you know what the fuck you’re doing? Do you even fucking realize what I could do to you?”

Drawing my gun back in astonishment at her blind courage, I drop it back into my holster, but all she does is grin back at me as if she’s won some hollow victory. Clicking my fingers, I invite my men back into the room as I glower at her, furious at her response.

“I do.” She nods, then pauses before blurting out the rest of her sentence. “Know what I’m doing, that is. You can’t bank on there only being a second cousin either. After that there’s likely to be a third and then a fourth. The Knights have so many descendants in the family tree,” she adds on, her brown eyes shining as her hands grip on to the armchair.

Renewed panic flashes in her eyes as I motion to Petrov. “Hold her down,” I bark, done with the games.

“What are you doing?” she squeals, twisting in her chair as Petrov holds on to her arm and my other associate holds the other side of her. She’s pinned in the chair and can’t go anywhere.

“Since you think it’s okay to be a little cunt, I’m going to show you how that’s a problem.” I take the end of my lit-up cigar, looking her in the eye, reveling in the terror as I grind the burning end into her flesh, torturing her and opening up a burn wound the size of a small penny.

Yelping, she flinches hard, jumping in the chair, but my men have a good grip on her. She can’t get far. “Fuck! Stop!” Her vocal cords strain as my breathing picks up.

“No. I won’t. You stop first. Sign the fucking papers for Raven’s Peak and you can go. Simple as that.”

I watch as her arms tense up and her steely gaze bores into mine. “No. I won’t sign,” she grits out, her teeth grinding together.

“You’re fucking dumb!” I shout, dropping the lit-up end on the spot next to the other one so they can twin. This time she takes it, pressing her eyes shut, leaving me in awe and anger. She’s impressive, and her hard outer shell is tough not to acknowledge.

“No. The answer is no,” she repeats, her voice wavering as I stand in front of her. And for the first time in a long time, I’m left speechless by a young woman. Fuck her bravery. I want Raven’s Peak, and she’s going to hand it over to me one way or another.