Chapter 18

Katja~

M y mind was a jumbled mess as I stared out the window, wondering what I was going to do. Things just kept getting more and more complicated, and if I were a stronger person, I'd be able to say that I hadn't been affected by what had happened between me and Maksim the other night. However, I'd been very affected, and as much as I hated it, I couldn't deny that it'd been the best sex of my life, despite how horrible the entire situation was.

When Maksim had finally slid inside me, everything had suddenly become primal and desperate, and I'd never felt that kind of need and hunger for a man before. His raspy voice had been like a hypnotizing symphony of dirty threats, and I had eaten it all up. His violent promises, his rough manhandling, his big dick doing damage…I'd been there for all of it, and my body still broke out in shivers whenever I remembered how it all felt.

There was also the way that he'd treated me afterwards. To my utter surprise and horror, Maksim had redressed me immediately after we'd been done, and I'd been terrified as I'd waited for him to tell me that I'd been horrible. However, instead, he had put me to rights, then had escorted us out of the room, driving me home himself. The entire thing had been awkward and uncomfortable, but I'd chosen to keep my mouth shut rather than borrow trouble.

When Maksim had finally dropped me off at home, he had walked me to my door, then had said that he'd call me later before leaving. It'd been our weirdest exchange to date, and I still didn't know what I was supposed to do with all of it because, three days later, I still hadn't heard from him.

"Think you can escape me that easily?"

I jumped in surprise as I turned to see Klive Simpson sitting down in the chair across from me. Even though I knew that his real name was Nikel, I just couldn't stop myself from thinking of him as Klive. I also hadn't expected for him to ambush me like this in public. Considering what was going on, I thought that he'd want to stay as incognito as possible.

"What?"

His eyes looked dangerously alive with fire. "You think that I would not find out that you moved your grandfather, milaya devushka? Do you think that you are safe from me now?"

Doing my best to keep it together, I acted like the offended one. "Are you seriously upset with me because your plan is working?" I hissed. "Is that what's happening right now?"

His brows furrowed. "What are you speaking about?"

"I thought you wanted me to become Maksim's whore?" I bit out, making sure to keep my voice low. He'd found me eating lunch again, and Birdsoup's wasn't crowded enough to drown out our conversation. "I thought that you wanted me to get close to him, so that you could…what-the-hell-ever it is that you think?"

"What does that have to do with your grandfather living with you again?" he bit out, though making sure to keep his voice low, too.

"That first night that we were together, I tried to pillow-talk him like you wanted," I lied. "Well, since I don't have much of a life but wanted to sound sincere, I mentioned my grandfather. I mentioned how it bothered me that he couldn't be home with me, and…I don't know, Klive. I guess…I guess, instead of giving me diamonds or designer purses like a man would normally give to his mistress, he decided to pay for my grandfather's care at home."

"Really?" he deadpanned.

"I'm not lying," I hissed under my breath. "I was just as surprised as you are when I got the call that my grandfather was coming home. When I asked Maksim about it, he just ordered me to show my appreciation and that's all. How was I to know that he'd hire a live-in nurse?"

Klive leaned back in his chair. "Sounds like something the sonofabitch would do."

"Look, I have no idea what I'm doing here, so you need to cut me some fucking slack," I snapped. "I'm doing my best to get invited to his house, but until then, I don't know what you want from me."

"I want you to know that where your grandfather lays his head doesn't matter," he replied coldly. "Do you really believe that I cannot find my way into your home, milaya devushka?"

"Then what are you so pissed about?" I spat.

"Because I do not appreciate you not informing me of this change," he replied, and it had me wondering if all men with Barychev blood in their veins were straight crazy. Though I'd never met Akim Barychev, he was in the Russian bratva, so he had to be just as crazy as his brothers.

"And how in the hell was I supposed to do that?" I hissed. "Send a carrier pigeon?"

He shot me a look that reminded me of Maksim, but I didn't think that either man would appreciate the comparison. "Watch yourself, Katja Volkov," he warned. "You are just lucky that I want Maksim more than I want to show you what I'm capable of."

Like a glass of cold water in my face, that brought me back to reality. While I knew enough of Maksim's reputation to be cautious of him, I knew nothing about Klive Simpson. For all that I knew, he could be more dangerous than Maksim, or Avgust Kotov for that matter.

Letting out a deep breath, I said, "Look, if you want regular updates, then you're going to have to find a way to contact me. If not, then I'm not sure what you want me to do."

"I have not survived this long by being stupid, milaya devushka," he said. "If you've truly caught Maksim's attention, then he will take notice of another man being seen with you too often."

"Then what do you want me to do?" I asked, and it was a legitimate question this time.

Eyeing me, he finally said, "I will think on it, then let you know."

Still trying to prove that I was on his side, I asked, "What if I end up finding out something big?"

"I will find a solution to our problem soon," he replied evenly. "However, I must warn you, Katja. If you even think to betray me, I won't kill you. I'll keep you alive as I do the most unspeakable things to you, and if you think that I have a conscience, you would be wrong."

I was really getting tired of men threatening me, but I also knew that I couldn't do anything about it. At least, not without some realistic plan in place. However, there weren't any community college classes on how to deal with the Russian Bratva and their crazy relatives.

"Even with as much as I detest the position that you've put me in, I'm very much aware that you hold all the cards, Mr. Simpson," I said with enough disgust in my voice to make me sound genuine. "I wouldn't risk my grandfather's wellbeing for anything."

Klive eyed me for a long minute before finally saying, "There's one more thing."

My stomach tightened, but I did my best to appear confident. "What's that?"

"You've an incredible face and body, milaya devushka," he said, making the air in my lungs freeze painfully. "I do not see why Maksim should be the only one able to enjoy it."

"Wh…what?" I asked, my mouth going dry.

"Why can you not be both our whore?" he asked as casually as if he were giving his food order. "You could let me know who the better lover is."

I started shaking my head. "I am not doing this," I insisted. "I've got Maksim believing that he is the only man that I am involved with. I am not going to risk my life for something that's not necessary to what you're trying to achieve."

"You think you can tell me no?" he asked, a sadistic smirk on his face.

"I'm telling you that the risk is too big," I said, praying for common sense to prevail. "I'm not that good of an actress, Mr. Simpson. I'm barely holding up under the strain as it is. If you decide to…to complicate things further, then you'll lose your chance at Maksim. If he finds out that I've lied to him about sleeping with other men, then you'll never get another woman close enough to him again." I let out a deep breath, my heart beating painfully against my ribs. "Don't let your hate for Maksim ruin the progress that we've made so far."

He arched a brow. "We've?"

"I've already proved that I'm willing to do anything to keep my grandfather safe," I told him. "So, yeah… we've. I have just as much invested in this as you do, if not more since I'm innocent in all this."

After a few seconds, he said, "Fine. We can hold off on that for now. However, once I've taken care of Maksim and Akim Barychev, I'm coming for your pussy, milaya devushka. I'm coming for it, and you'd better be ready."

He didn't say anything more as he got up from the chair, then walked out. It wasn't until the front door of the café shut behind him that I was finally able to breathe steadily. Now, while I didn't know what the exact rules were, I knew that I had to talk to Maksim. This was the third time that Klive had ambushed me out of the blue, the second time since we'd made our agreement. I didn't like continuously being caught unaware, and if Klive changed his mind about sleeping with me, then I had no idea what I was going to do.

Nevertheless, very aware that Klive might have eyes on me, I was going to wait until I got off work to text Maksim. He needed to know what was going on, and I wasn't too proud to admit that I needed some serious advice.