32. Daniela

THIRTY-TWO

Daniela

N o one talks about the elephant in the room. Any guilt over giving the details of where Carly is staying to Valentin is chased away by protectiveness of Viktor. His dad and uncles have disappeared, but Inessa keeps us both busy as she throws the inflatables in the pool. She's like a female version of Vlad without the violence and double the authority as she lifts her chin in the air, relaying the rules, "You're not allowed in the deep end unless an adult is in the pool with you, rypka."

He doesn't argue with her as he stops beside her in his swimming shorts. She softens as she wraps her arm around his shoulders and he's definitely his father's son, thankfully, as he smiles up at her. "Does Ana count as the adult?"

Inessa flicks her eyes to the side, assessing Ana who is kicking the head of the swan inflatable. "Not today, wait for Katya."

His shoulders dip but he quickly picks his mood up before he leans up, kissing her cheek, then runs to jump onto one of the floating loungers with his hands behind his head and his ankles crossed .

She comes to my side and gestures toward the house. "You can wear something of mine if you want to go in the pool, they're new and even have the stickers on."

I take her up on her offer and follow her in, ignoring the fact that we go to Vlad's floor when it's always been the one place I steer clear of. She's calmer than her husband and I instantly regret it when we reach her closet. They're all two pieces. Carly's fist left its mark on my stomach and it's embarrassing as fuck to know it's there, someone else seeing it will only make the situation worse.

Inessa leaves her closet and I quickly change and pull my overalls on top of the bikini. I'm buckling the strap when she walks back in and gasps. She's frightening as her hard stare fixates on the bruise and she demands, "Who did that?"

I understand how she deals with Vlad when she gently moves my wrist out of the way to get a better look at the bruise.

Keeping my tone light, I step back and cover myself. "I was working and tried to catch a marble block."

The lie forms easily. It's something I've done before, and that bruise was a bitch going across my thigh. She doesn't question me further and hooks her arm in mine, leading us out. It's weird as fuck seeing Vlad's bedroom, I always imagined a graveyard aesthetic rather than an actual bed with normal furniture in the room and a pair of orange fleece sweats folded on the edge of the bed.

I don't look at the surroundings too deeply in case there's some freaky shit I shouldn't see lying around. I have zero desire of ever knowing what that psycho does for fun, but Inessa is full of questions as we get in the elevator.

"I know you and Tali are friends, but you slept in his room. Are you together? Or is it like a mutually beneficial arrangement?"

This is the slowest elevator in the world and my face contorts in disgust at the thought of touching that weirdo. She laughs lightly and nods in understanding. "Okay, just friends then."

I spent my teenage years listening to Tali's theories about what Vlad's type is, now I know he's right because she fits every single assumption. She's not timid or meek, which he would bulldoze over, but she's able to anticipate what other people around her need as she proves by stopping her questions .

The noise reaches us as soon as the doors open, and I haven't seen Katya since I've come back.

"Don't splash me, you little shit."

She's arguing with Ana who sits cross legged beside the pool flicking water in her face. Ana just laughs, dips her palms against the surface of the water then claps in her face so the droplets spray outwards. The actual child manages to get her to stop as he creates some game for them to play and I take a seat beside Ana as Inessa gets in the water to join his game. I feel at home as I dip my toes in the water, so I don't have any other reactions to my stomach. Katya hasn't changed, she's still competitive and kicks water onto the lounger when Inessa favors Viktor when giving their points.

There's no other way to describe it, the only thing that's missing is Valentin.

Like my thoughts have conjured him up, he steps out of the kitchen with his brothers at his side. Dima makes up their group and he grimaces at Ana beside me. I don't know why everyone hates her until I see that she's doing it back at him, mouthing, "little bitch." When she sees me looking at them, she shrugs to herself and lets a little of her crazy show.

"He tapped when we were sparring, and he threw my best knife out of the window," she extends her voice, making sure that he hears her say, "the big, ugly ogre."

Okay then. No part of that sentence was normal.

I look towards Val, incapable of stopping myself. He's so handsome, his anger drops away as soon as he sees us all. It's like a physical weight has been removed from his shoulders with having gotten his message through and knowing he's kept Viktor safe from Carly. She'll be running away, hiding again, and I can breathe easier.

His rage comes back when Tali drags me up to stand at his side and hooks his arm around my neck. There's an apology in his eyes that doesn't reach his tongue.

"You staying tonight?" he asks. "I'll let you beat me this time."

He's a cheat and pinned me down when I was winning the same zombie game we've been playing since we were ten. Pushing away from him, I cross my arms over my chest about to argue that I would have won when he's suddenly pushed to the side.

There's a loud splash and water hits my leg as Tali falls into the pool. Inessa replaces the spot he was in and leans down as he breaches the surface, spluttering. I can't hear what she's saying over Val's loud bark of laughter, but her face is in hard lines.

Extending his voice, Val keeps covering her threat as he declares, "I've always liked you."

She straightens with a smirk, accepting his compliment.

Wet hands grab my biceps and I'm pulled away by a soaking Tali. He doesn't say anything, but his jaw is clenched so hard that the bones are popping out. Stopping abruptly out of sight from everyone else, he tries to undo the buckle on my shoulders while I slap at his hands.

"What are you doing, you weirdo?"

He looks up, over my shoulder, with violence in his eyes and ignores me to say to whoever is approaching, "Grab her arms."

My heart is thundering against my rib cage as I kick out and Val's rough hands hold my arms behind my back. The dumb prick voices his concern but doesn't stop his brother as he asks, "What are you looking for?"

There's an edge to his voice and I deflate as soon as Tali uncovers my stomach. Both of them are staring at it, the same question leaving in a rough tone.

"Who fucking hurt you?"

Tali doesn't touch me, but Val's hand comes to my waist, and I hate my body for reacting.It's easier to blame the flesh than admit it's deeper.

Measuring the bruise as an excuse to touch me, he steps closer warming the length of my body. Because I'm an idiot, and a liar, I lean back hating that his other arm is limp and not wrapped around me. Tali crosses his arms over his chest, refusing to move away from the subject.

"I know you like assholes," he says, "but if one of them fucks put their hands on you I'll kill them."

I don't focus on his threat because Val's middle finger is stroking up my thigh.It's a light touch, barely anything there but his forefinger joins in, making a zig zag path.

"I don't like assholes," I argue.

There's only one who has my attention and he's standing behind me. Arguing about the wrong thing has Tali delving too deep into my psyche .

"You don't want someone like you, an artist and nice. You like dickheads who will force you to be mean, so you don't have to think. They'll protect you and they have the ability to hurt you, but it will be something you can prepare for."

Val snickers like a child and I deadpan, "Thanks for the psychoanalysis I didn't ask for."

I'm busy forcing away the introspection his words caused that it takes me too long to react when Tali pulls my overalls down. Val's chest turns to stone and his voice drops.

"Stop undressing her."

Tali ignores his brother while my skin turns the temperature of the sun as he flippantly says, "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

I'm burning up and Val is ice.The dumbass in front of me doesn't realize and makes it ten times worse, pointing to my hip. "Those are finger marks, now tell me. I swear to fuck Dani, I'll lock you in my room and fucking tickle you if you don't."

The smug egotistical prick behind me knows they're his and dares me. "Tell him."

What the fuck has my life become? The answer is worse than what they're thinking.

I fucked your brother then his baby mama, who's also my sister, tried to beat the shit out of me.

Choosing to keep the more confusing parts to myself, so I don't get lectured about cursed dicks, I say, "Carly wanted money."

He stares at me, and his anger doesn't leave until he's assessed my honesty. He relaxes enough to let me cover myself while issuing his threat. "If I find out you lied to me, I'm going to tie you up and leave you in Val's nasty ass room."

Val's stupid hand doesn't move and ends up trapped under the denim as he puffs his chest out and tries to make the threat a reality.

"I think she's lying, you said there were finger marks, right?"

Tali doesn't react to his brothers bullshit and finally relents as he stalks off with his anger, leaving me with the most potent one as Val moves his hand further down and traces the edge of my bikini.

Nosing my hair away from my neck, he wraps his hand around my thigh, pulling my legs apart. The husky threat is masked by my body coming to life .

"If you ever sleep in his bed again, I'll wake you up with my dick down your throat."

I tilt my head to the side, silently asking for more and contradict my body's needs as I say, "I can sleep where I want, with whoever I want."

He nips my ear lobe with his teeth, his hand moving lower as he darkly whispers into my ear, "Try it, I hope you can be quiet so no one else wakes up."

I'm so fucked up and get wetter at the image he's painting.

His fingers dig into my inner thigh as he keeps my legs apart, pushing his hips forward so I can feel him hard against my ass as he cups between my thighs and squeezes. "When you're ready to be my wife, I'll fuck you like my whore."

Pulling all the beautiful warmth away, he leaves me cold and wanting. I take a moment to collect myself and press my knuckles into my cheeks, waiting for them to stop burning. Stupid handsome prick.

He can't just touch me and then stop. Or order me to be his wife. We could be friends with an exceptional benefit and then mourn the loss of everything when it's over. Once I'm halfway back to normal I go back to the poolside and drool. Val is only in swimming shorts, his muscular thighs flex with each step before jumping into the pool. Each bead of water rippling down his body calls for my tongue and he's even more handsome as he picks Viktor up to sit on his shoulders. He's not a baby or even a toddler, but it's cute seeing them interact and my heart melts watching him.

One more time won't hurt, just to get him out of my system and then it'll be over. We'll draw a line and never touch each other again. Something touches my arm and Inessa's voice floats up around her cocktail.

"You might need to get in the water to cool off." Looking from me to Val, she smirks and adds, "Or would that make it worse?"

Elbowing her in ribs so she shuts up doesn't help as she cackles, forcing everyone's attention on us.

I'm tipsy and Tali is full on drunk as he stumbles into me. He has an ice cream cone in his hand that's appeared out of thin air, and I try to take it from him, so he doesn't get it on me. He holds it out of reach as I stretch up on my toes and I slap his bicep in frustration.

Holding it near my face, he pouts and pulls it away arguing, "I'm six foot four, inches are important to a man."

I grab his forearm and confiscate his food because obviously a man needs someone to do that.He's been stuffing his face since Val left to put Viktor to sleep so I know he's not hungry, if he is then he can eat something of substance rather than ice cream.

Guiding him to the bathroom, I dump his cone into the sink while he stares at it with longing, and I point to the toilet. "Piss and brush your teeth, then you're going to bed."

He nods and rattles off his theories as I leave and stand at the door to make sure he doesn't slip and crack his head open. He always had a high tolerance when we were teenagers, but it's gone to shit if tonight is anything to go by.

Once he's done, he stumbles out of the bathroom, wiping his wet hands on my hair and leans down into my face. He blinks trying to focus and gets the dopey puppy smile.

"I love you, sometimes I wish I was in love with you. We'd have beautiful babies."

I try not to laugh in his face, and I have to bite my cheek as I nod unconvincingly.Letting his drunken ramblings fill the room, I get him into bed making sure he's on top of the covers and lifting his legs up. He groans when I reach the leg that's scarred. The injury is new, and the healing skin is still shiny, so he must be on some pain meds which is making the alcohol more potent. It gets harder not to laugh when he slurs and mumbles, "She's so pretty, and she doesn't want me."

"Who doesn't want you?"

He slaps his hand on the headboard. "She's perfect, everything I want. So pretty, we'd make the best babies."

I leave him in his swimming shorts to mumble about the mystery woman. I steal one of his t-shirts and climb under the covers. It's too warm but I can't sleep without anything over me, my child brain thinks it's safer from the monsters under the bed.My eyes close as soon as my head hits the pillow, and everything sinks away .

It hasn't been long when cold air touches my ass, and my eyes snap open. The room is pitch black, the bathroom light isn't on anymore and I wouldn't be able to make out my hand if it was in front of my face. I grab the sheet to cover myself when a deep whisper brushes my ear.

"I told you what would happen."

My body relaxes with Val's presence, and he pulls my hips back, so my ass is hanging off the bed.His nose brushes my cheek as he shakes his head when I attempt to turn to face him, but the threat is evident in his tone.

"Don't move, or I'll turn the lights on."

This is so fucked up and wrong and my barely audible voice is unconvincing to my own ears. "He'll wake up."

Tali's snores prove he's in the room, but I want his brother to keep touching me.

"Can you be quiet, or do I need to stuff your panties in your mouth?"

Val waits for my answer as he squeezes my ass and I nod my head.Air brushes my neck before his soft lips touch the spot and I bite into the pillow, anticipating his movements. He slowly pulls my panties to the side, and strokes two fingers through my slit as he runs his mouth.

"Who are you soaked for?"

Turning my head, I keep my voice low and fuck with him back.

"I had a dream. You should have been there."

His teeth dig into my cheek as he roughly pushes two fingers into me, and I choke.

My mouth opens and I clench to keep from making a sound. It doesn't work, a fractured moan escapes. It's quickly shoved down my throat as a hand covers my mouth and Val whispers, "Shut the fuck up, I'm having fun."

Gripping my panties, he rips them down my legs causing them to fall off the edge of the bed and lace fills my mouth.