Chapter 10: Daniil

I stood by the window in my office, both hands shoved into the pockets of my neatly pressed black pants, watching the horizon, deep in thought. Sirens were wailing in the distance, but I tuned them out. All that mattered was the fiery princess locked away in the special room I had set up just for her.

It had been a couple of days already, and she still hadn't loosened up yet. She would, though. I didn't care how, but she would succumb.

She hadn't taken it well when she realized that her rescue came with a steep price tag. And how I loved the look of fear and anger etched upon her beautiful face! It was priceless. This was my game, and I held all the cards. I was the one calling the shots. She didn't like it one bit, but that was the fun of it; that was the idea.

I had warned her not to make me jealous, but her pride and arrogance pushed her into daring me. That was a wrong move, and now, she had just learned the hard way that I wasn't the type of man who backed down from a challenge.

The more she resisted, the more I wanted her. Her spunk and guts always turned me on, and I wanted to have her all to myself. I wanted her heart and her body. That sexy body she'd paraded by the pool, turning heads…I wanted it, and I wanted to be the only one to have it.

I gritted my teeth and frowned at the thought of another man having his way with her.

"I never share! She's mine and mine alone." I drilled the man's face with my fist.

After leaving Vivian in the room, I had gone down to the basement to deal with those fuckers who had attempted to kidnap my milaya .

I wiped my hands with a white handkerchief as I watched them beg weakly for mercy, their voices faint. They were each strapped to a chair, naked with wounds all over their terribly bleeding bodies.

The one whose face I had just drilled with my bare hands was passing out, and Andrei picked up a bucket of water. He stepped forward and splashed it over the man's face, jerking him back to consciousness.

"Ah-ah. You're not taking the easy way out," I said, bending down to his level.

He was my prime focus because, unfortunately for him, he had been the one caressing Vivian's body when we rescued her. The image was seared into my mind, and my rage was simmering. I glared at him, my focus razor-sharp.

"Please, I'll tell you whatever you want to know! Just stop with the torture," he pleaded, barely audible, as he'd lost his voice from all that wailing.

"There's nothing you can tell me that'll be useful to me," I said, watching the fear in his eyes escalate.

"What?" he mumbled, confused. "I could give you the names of our sponsors and those we work for. Anything, please…" he whimpered.

"Pathetic." I grabbed a fistful of his hair, pulling hard enough to make his head jerk back. I yanked so hard, tempted to rip it out by the roots.

He screamed.

"I don't give two fucks who you work for, nor am I interested in knowing who your sponsors are." I slightly eased the strength of my pull so he would enjoy a few seconds of relief. "You see, my friend, my beef with you is strictly personal; you didn't just kidnap my milaya …you went ahead and attempted to have your way with her!" I lifted him together with the chair and flung him against the wall.

The man slammed into it, the impact shattering the wooden chair as he dropped treacherously to the ground, groaning and coughing blood.

"Nobody"—I walked up to him and seized his head—"touches my milaya and goes free!" On each word, I dented his skull into the wall, his body convulsing in a desperate bid for survival.

I towered over him, eyes fixed on the struggle playing out on his face as life clung to his battered body by a thread.

He was a traitor to the organization he worked for, and if he was one of my men, he'd suffer a fate worse than death. I was doing his sponsors a favor, eliminating the rats amongst them.

His eyes froze, his body going limp as the life force flickered out. The faint twitch of his limbs ceased, and his chest stilled, no longer struggling to draw in air. The flutter of his eyelids slowed, then stopped, leaving only a vacant stare. A thin trickle of blood traced a path down the wall, a stark contrast to the pale skin that seemed to drain of color before my eyes. The faint gurgle of his final breath whispered through the silence. He was dead.

I adjusted my jacket and cracked my neck.

"Take care of his body," I said to Andrei and headed out.

"And the others, what should we do with them?"

I stopped in my tracks, pondering for a moment.

"Do with them as you please. But keep them alive. They might come in handy later."

He nodded, and I left the basement, the creaking steps drowned by the wails behind me.

Heaven dreaded the fate that awaited anyone who would ever lay hands on my milaya again.

People said that I was a madman; some said that I was a demon from the depths of hell, that I was the devil incarnate. But they were wrong—all of them. I wasn't any of those things—I was worse.

Vivian was mine and mine alone. If anyone tried to find her and got lucky, I would end them without thinking twice, without breaking a sweat.

I knew she saw me as a monster, and she wasn't wrong. But if the beast in that fairytale could find a beautiful lover, then why couldn't I?

She would learn to love me whether she liked it or not. Vivian had managed to unlock something in me, something I had buried a long time ago. She was the one I wanted, and I always got what I wanted. She wasn't like the other girls, but I still couldn't isolate the exact reason why I liked her so much, why I was obsessed with her.

I walked away from the window and picked up the remote on my table, stretching it toward the TV hanging on the wall. I turned on the CCTV footage of Vivian's room.

That stubborn beauty was sulking like a petulant child, her full lips pouted and her eyes flashing with defiance. She lay on her bed, her slender body tense with frustration and her usual radiance dimmed by a scowl.

I could sense her anger and resentment emanating from the screen, her body language screaming, Let me go!

A smile lined the corner of my lips as I enjoyed her little show. However, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance at her behavior, yet a part of me wanted to reach out and soothe her ruffled feathers.

As I continued to watch, Vivian's gaze flickered to the camera, her eyes flashing as if daring me to return to her. My lips curled into a wry smile, acknowledging the silent challenge. She just wouldn't learn. I knew that look, that spark in her eyes; it was a warning, a signal that she was not to be trifled with. And yet, I was drawn to it, like a moth to a flame.

I watched her get up and walk around the room aimlessly, occasionally eyeing the camera because she knew I was definitely watching her. With a frown on her face, she walked to the camera and stood under it, seething silently. Instantaneously, she lifted both her middle fingers at the camera before returning to the bed.

"She's feisty, this one," Andrei said, walking into the office.

I must have been so carried away by her that I didn't hear him knocking.

"Yes. A wild one," I replied and faced him. "A wild one that I will tame." I took a seat in my chair, letting out a relaxing sigh.

"I don't doubt that." Andrei took his eyes off the screen and faced me. "You always get what you want, do what you want…like sinking a whole fucking ship. I have to admit, I did not see the coming." His tone was polite, but I could tell he wasn't in approval of what I had done, given that he'd still been amused till now.

"You think it was reckless, don't you?" I asked, leaning in my chair.

"What I think doesn't matter," he replied. "I'm just amused at the length you went for this girl. No one has ever moved you the way this girl does—and I know how obsessed you were with her."

"That should tell you something," I replied casually. "I merely sank a ship. Men used to start wars over women back in the day. And you know my rule; whenever I want something, I always get it."

He was quiet, taking a seat in the visitor's chair.

"Why, though?" he asked. "Why do you want this girl so badly?"

"Why do you need oxygen to breathe?" I answered. "Vivian is…." I leaned closer, stealing a glance at the screen where she was lying on the bed. "She's different: stubborn, affectionate, kind, happy, classy. She's beautiful yet untouchable. Polite yet fierce." I leaned back into my chair. "There's a lot to admire about her."

My attention was drawn to the screen after I caught a glimpse of movement in the room. I fixed my eyes on the footage and watched her approach the closet. Why was she going there? She was already dressed. Was she looking for something? I'd guess she was already getting used to her new life, but it was too early for her to succumb to this. What was she up to?

She pulled out a pair of pajamas and set them on the bed, then faced the camera with a look so sexy that I felt my cock grow hard in my pants.

What are you doing?

She took off her shirt, and my eyes reflexively widened in shock, however subtle. Next, she unbuttoned her pants, drew down her zipper, and bit her lower lip while slowly taking it off, her eyes fixed on the camera.

My hand reached for my jaw instinctively, rubbing it as my unwavering gaze remained on her.

A few seconds later, she was standing there in only her underwear, and her body was too sexy, too tempting to resist.

I heard Andrei whistle at the sight of her sexy figure, prompting my jealous eyes to dart at him.

"What?" He shrugged his shoulders defensively. "She is sexy."

"Fuck off, man," I said casually.

He chuckled, rose to his feet, and then left the office.

I sighed and returned my gaze to the screen, only to realize that she had set her pajamas aside and lay back on the bed, looking so sexy and seductive.

Her hand slipped into her panties, and I watched her body writhe slowly like she was enjoying the pleasure of her own fingers. She let out a very soft moan and shot her eyes up at the camera.

What are you up to?

She retrieved her hand and positioned herself sideways, then pulled up the sheets and turned off the lights.

"What the fuck?" I whispered to myself. "Did she just tease me?" A scoff escaped my lips.

Just when I was starting to enjoy the show, she shut me out. Not cool.

This had an incredible impact on me, an impact that I had never felt before.