11. Alek

11

ALEK

S he sat there glowering and fuming. Her cheeks were pink when I kissed her, but now, as she eyed me with such beautiful fury, she was ravishing. That blush deepened with anger. Those bold blue eyes radiated with such fire. She was breathtaking, alive with this rage.

Fuck, is she something else.

I couldn't remember a time I'd ever been so drawn to, so mercilessly hungry for a woman. No one compared. But I knew better than to try to get closer. She couldn't hurt me. That gag prevented her from biting me, and with her hands bound to the headboard, she wouldn't get far in attacking me. Mila wasn't going anywhere, and the only good option that remained for me was to let her stew and simmer.

She could hate me as much as she wanted, but only if she could admit why. Sure, she was pissed. I expected that much. I had kidnapped her, after all. But she'd be a liar if she told me she was upset to miss out on marrying Andrey. If I hadn't been watching her so closely, I would've missed the slight glance to the side she did when I challenged her. When I asked if she wanted me to take her back to that wedding, she couldn't reply in the affirmative.

Because she hadn't wanted to get stuck with him. She hadn't wanted to marry him. I'd done her a fucking favor getting her out of there, and until she could agree with me on that point, I didn't want to waste my breath.

She fidgeted, testing the bindings at her wrists. After she pulled and tugged, grunting at the effort to wrestle out of the secure grips, she winced and dipped her face to look at her arm.

"Don't fight it." I stepped back to the bed, chancing this proximity to examine her arm again. If she resisted and kept at this, she'd only worsen that wound. Her shoulder tensed as I grabbed her arm and lifted it to see the gauze. As she wriggled to wrench out of my hold, I grinned.

Sassy, stubborn little fighter.

The fabric was still white, not pink or red with new bleeding, and I felt good about her injury. She was awake, no longer worrying me about her state of consciousness. She was alert and not in pain?—

Her stomach growled.

I eyed her sternly, debating the wisdom of taking that gag off. "Behave."

She furrowed her brows as I stepped away.

I returned with a water bottle and a plate of crackers and dried fruit, simple non-perishables I'd found in the cabinets. "Behave or this goes back on."

Her gorgeous stare stayed on me the entire time I loosened the gag and let it drop to her neck. As she worked her mouth open and closed and licked her plump lips, she said, "How am I supposed to feed myself?"

I didn't reply, loosening her hands so that they remained connected to the headboard but with enough slack that she could eat and drink. She wasn't going anywhere. Even though I compromised to see to her nourishment, I was no fool. That faint glimmer of hope in her eyes wouldn't get her far. She didn't wait, taking the water first. I watched as she snacked, never lowering her scowl from me.

After one last look over her, committing her furious expression to memory, I turned to pace at the other side of the room while she ate.

Distance helped. She was a force. A magnet. And fuck it, she was a distraction I'd have to work hard at ignoring.

I had no business kissing her. I didn't have a reason to lean in and toy with her, to play with her and touch her the little that I had. Those touches were mere examples of what I wanted. If I'd had the time and freedom to give in to my desires, I would've had my hands full of her luscious tits and sweet curves.

It was time to do damage control. I'd instigated the damage, and I stood by it, but I had to check in and see what I could do about steering it. First, I called my brothers. Maxim and Dmitri didn't answer, but I refused to worry. They were instructed to be careful and hide, and they damn well better have done just that.

As I called Ivan and waited for him to answer, my phone beeped with an incoming text. The message was short and to the point, as was Nik's style.

Nikolai: I'm coming over.

I didn't need to worry about his trip here. He was too smart to be tailed, and I wondered how far away he might be. I didn't have to wait long. Before I could start redialing Ivan, since he hadn't answered when I thought he would, two succinct raps sounded on the door.

It was Nik's signature knock, and I let him in. Nothing could have prepared me for how bad he could've looked, but he didn't give me a chance to fuss over him.

"Fuck," I said on an angry exhale.

He pushed right past me, leaving me to close and lock the door after him as he headed toward the bathroom. On the way there, his head turned slightly as he noticed Mila sitting on the bed. She still snacked, glowering with every bite.

"Ivan looks worse," Nikolai said as he turned the faucet on and began to wet his bloody hands.

"Pavel did this?" I wasn't shocked that he'd want to come after my brothers for how I'd stopped Andrey's wedding. Our uncle would want blood. I knew this. But seeing my sibling beaten and bloody filled me with an instant, ugly rage.

Nik nodded. "Well, Andrey wouldn't get his hands dirty and do it himself." He wet another washcloth and began clearing the blood from his face. "Had Igor do it. And Stephan. Ivan was taken to the warehouse." Pausing to look at my reflection in the mirror, he raised his brows. "He won't talk."

I sighed, dipping my head in a slight nod. If I spoke, I'd scream. My brothers were no weaklings. They could take a hit or two, but I still hated that my actions were impacting them the most so far.

"Maxim and Dmitri are sticking together," he said. "Pavel wants blood. Your blood."

No shit.

"Any of the men he even thinks of as a traitor, anyone he assumes is a supporter, he's pulled in to question." He wet the rag again and continued wiping at his face. "He's not going to kill us. Too valuable for information."

I shook my head and offered him a towel to dry off the wounds. Now that the blood was cleared away, it didn't look that bad. Maybe he was right. Pavel wanted to keep them all alive to beat them again. It wouldn't matter. My brothers wouldn't fess up. They'd protect me. If I could avoid more pain on their shoulders, though, I would.

"Kastava is threatening war," he added quieter, leaning around me to glance in the direction of the bed where Mila sat. This studio apartment didn't offer much for privacy. Whatever he said, she'd likely hear.

He slanted toward me and sighed. "Kastava vows to end the Valkov Bratva."

"He won't," I argued just as quietly. My Family would not be done away with, not like this. All I wanted was to secure my Family, not ruin it. Preventing an alliance with our enemies was the only way to go about making it happen.

"We will be stronger. Without them," I swore. "I will rebuild stronger in a way we never could have with them trying to get into our business."

His nod was a weak reply, but I didn't need to remind him about what was at stake. I followed him out of the bathroom, watching as he got a water bottle out of the fridge. Once more, he glanced at Mila. He drank the water and considered her snacking in mulish silence. He seemed curious but knew better than to speak to her.

"How?" he asked me. "How can we start the process of rebuilding stronger? While Pavel is mad and focusing on finding you and making you pay, what can we do?"

I shoved my hands in my pockets and exhaled a long, hard breath. "We get answers. Meet up with Ivan and go down to the docks again. Investigate this big shipment." I'd already texted them all what I'd overheard before the wedding. "Check out the office. Find evidence that Pavel can't ignore. Or find someone who can explain those codes."

Nik rubbed his jaw, nodding. "They have to reference a third party."

I agreed. "Someone else who is helping the Kastavas try to fuck us over."

He left, in a hurry to help however he could while everyone would be up in arms about how I'd crashed the wedding. I hated to feel like I was hiding from the action, but I knew that staying here and keeping this bride out of the equation was my role.

After he was gone, I returned to her, finding her still pissed and scowling. The plate was empty, as was the water bottle.

"Want more?" I offered.

She tilted her head to the side. "More of…?"

I pointed at the plate and bottle. "Did you have enough?"

She didn't reply, lowering her gaze and licking her lips. "No," she murmured softly.

"What do you want?" I asked, ready to get another water bottle.

"What do I want?" She gazed up at me with hooded eyes, so obvious with her coy and sultry look.

Oh. I see how it is. While I could appreciate her attempts to tease me, she had a lesson to learn. It would take a lot more than that to manipulate me. I wasn't mad, though, but amused. If she thought she could trick me, acting all sexy and acting innocent like this, she really was na?ve. Ignorant. It again reminded me of how young she was. A young lady, not an experienced woman who knew how to play with a man like me. And it would be too much fun to play with her and show her how this worked.

"Yeah." I leaned in until she fell back on the bed. Covering her with my body, I braced myself on my forearms, relishing every sweet press of her soft body beneath mine, all those sexy, soft curves, every push of her breasts against my chest. "What do you want?"

"I…" She frowned, her eyes wider with alarm as she adjusted to our position. Her arms remained tied, and with the quickness of how I'd covered her on the bed, the bindings twisted and trapped her hands over her head.

"I…"

I kissed away her indecision, and within a moment of her soft lips parting under mine, I had her mewling and gasping for more.

"You want some comfort?" I taunted, reaching beneath her torn dress. Her panties were nothing but a thin scrap of satin, a thong that easily ripped in my grip.

"Alek!"

Oh, fuck. She'd shouted it in shock, but hearing her say my name was something wicked and sweet. I'd have her screaming it in no time.

I covered her mouth with mine again, kissing her deeply. I stole her breaths and forced her lips apart wider as I tasted her. She didn't hesitate to reply in kind.

Just like that. She melted in my arms, arching toward me and eager for my touch. Under her dress, I stroked my finger back and forth along her slit until I slipped two fingers into her soaked pussy. Dripping. She was so wet with arousal that I knew this had to be her first time. She was too tight, too impatient.

"Can't you—" She gasped as I pumped my fingers into her faster. "Can't you untie me?"

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

"So I can—" She sucked in a hard breath as I added another finger. Her moan was the filthiest, sexiest sound.

"So I can touch you too."

I kissed her quiet, fingering her faster and getting her off all too easily. She was definitely a virgin, coming so fast like that. Her pussy clenched my digits, and as her cream slickened and dripped, smeared over her thighs as I removed my fingers, I kept my eyes on her face.

Her brow remained furrowed, her eyes shut tight. She panted and strained to catch her breath, but soon enough, she wrenched her eyes open and stared up at me. "I want… I want to touch you too."

I scoffed, getting off the bed and ignoring how hard I was from getting her off.

"Alek. No. Come back. Let me touch you."

"So you can run?" I shook my head. "I'm not that fucking stupid."

"Alek," she growled, tugging her hands and trying to get out. "Just let me?—"

I yanked her gag back up and secured it, reducing her to mad, muffled mumbles. Kneeling on the bed as I tightened her hands toward the headboard, I made eye contact once more. "I'm not letting you go until I'm ready."