DAHLIA WESTBROOKE
"And your wife. Did you love her enough to let her go?"
Aleksei smiled, but there was no humor or light-heartedness behind the motion. It seemed almost pained, even. "You're a nosy one, aren't you?"
I smiled sheepishly, shrugging in defence. "I gue-"
We heard rustling behind the bushes a few feet away, and in the blink of an eye, Aleksei had a gun pulled out from God-knows-where, and it was pointed in the direction of the sound. I held my breath, completely frozen in place.
Aleksei swiftly covered the distance away from the bushes with quiet, long-legged strides, his finger on the trigger the entire time. He peeked around the corner, and the tension in his shoulders immediately dissolved.
He sighed, tucking his gun back into the waistband of his slacks before crouching to pick something off the floor. When he rose, a tiny kitten laid in his palm, curled into a ball of midnight fur. "It's a kitten. I wonder how it got on the property."
That was somehow able to snap me out of the trance that had befallen me from seeing Aleksei casually pull out a firearm, and I hurried toward them, scooping the kitten out of his palm. "Oh, my God, it's so tiny and cute."
He chuckled, and from my periphery I saw him shake his head at me. "Oh, you're one of those."
"One of what?"
"An animal fanatic. Cats are completely useless, by the way, and I'm sure your husband will agree with me. At least get a dog that can really protect you when you're in danger."
I gasped, turning away with the kitten pressed against my chest, as if to protect it from Aleksei's harsh words. "That's such a mean thing to say." I pressed a kiss on top of the kitten's head, and it mewled, curling deeper into my chest. "Don't listen to him, kitty. You're just as important as dogs are. He's just one of those dog lovers."
Aleksei laughed, shaking his head from side to side. "Oh, you completely misunderstood me. My disdain for cats has nothing to do with dogs. I don't care for either, but I'm sure it's more practical to own the latter."
I scoffed, glaring daggers at him over my shoulder. "It's not about practicality. It's about loving them."
"What's happening here?"
The new interruption had Aleksei sighing with relief. "Thank goodness. Your wife happens to be a cat lady. I knew she was too good to be true. Everyone has to have a flaw, just like how yours is you being a bitch."
Despite the situation, I found myself giggling. Viktor ignored his cousin like he hadn't spoken, making a beeline for me until he was standing behind me, his chest almost completely smoldered against my back.
"We found a kitten in the bush," I told him, turning halfway, so he could peek down at the kitten. It had slightly lifted its head, and I gasped when I noticed its eyes that looked almost too big for its tiny face, but in a cute way. "They're mismatched, just like yours. Isn't it so cute?"
Viktor was quiet for a beat, staring down at the kitten, his gaze just as intense as ever. Like it could detect the intensity of his gaze, the kitten shrunk away from Viktor, curling deeper into my chest, as if it was trying to hide away from the imposing man in front of us.
"Not really," Viktor finally answered, the rumble of his chest reverberating against my back.
"Finally, some sense in this household," Aleksei chirped in, the smugness in his tone detectable from Mars.
"Killjoy," I pouted, letting Viktor take the kitten out of my arms with the statement that it needed to be fed and kept warm if it was going to survive before he passed it off to his cousin, who made himself promptly scarce after that.
"Nice gossip session with Alyosha?" Viktor asked when we were alone, the rustling of the leaves the only sound that could be heard below the deep baritone of his voice.
"We weren't gossiping. I just asked a few questions..."
"Hm."
"About you," I completed, ignoring the unasked questions lingering in his eyes.
"You could have just asked me. You know I'll tell you anything you ask."
"Uh-huh." I shook my head softly, letting the gentle breeze blow through my loose curls. "I needed an unbiased opinion."
That pulled a dry chuckle out of him. "Oh, Aleksei is biased, alright. I'm sure he hates my fucking guts."
"Really?" It didn't seem that way to me when I spoke to him. Indifferent? Possibly. But I didn't get a whiff of hatred from him. "He seemed nice enough."
"Nice, hm?" Viktor's tone was deceptively casual as he took a step toward me until his chest was pressed up against mine, the heat rolling off his body warding off the chill around us. "What else is he? Pretty?"
"Mhm," I nodded, playing along. "He looks like he belongs on a big screen. He'd thrive as a model or a movie star, you know."
"A movie star," Viktor parroted, the words rolling off his tongue like they were laced with acid. "Tell me, Dahlia. Do you want to fuck my cousin?"
I smiled in his face, a pleased feeling that I'd been able to rattle him tickling my insides. "No, Viktor, I do not want to fuck your cousin." I rolled my eyes at how asinine the question sounded. Where did he even get that thought from? "Happy?"
His eyes darkened further, and he clamped a firm hand down on my hip, his hand searing my skin through the fabric of my dress. With his hand on my hip, he drew me closer into him until the steel buckle of his belt pressed hard against my stomach. "Say that again."
I breathed in a harsh breath as unprecedented warmth pooled in the bottom of my stomach. "Say what?"
"My name." His voice had dropped several octaves, the deep baritone of his voice mixed with heat that toasted my skin. "Say it."
"Say please," I teased, aware that I was playing with a volcano—fuck a tiny flame; it was so much more destructive than that. He looked like he was a second away from eviscerating me with his gaze alone, and that only excited me further. Clearly, I'd completely lost my mind, but I welcomed the changed with open arms this time. "Beg me."
"Please," he whispered harshly, hotly, the single word sounding tortured as they escaped the confines of his plush lips.
Mine parted slightly, half surprised and half excited that he'd done exactly as I'd asked.
He'd begged me.
The power rush that coursed through my vein was euphoric. It filled my head, letting me believe that I truly did own this man before me. That I could do anything to him, and he'd still be waiting at my feet, thirsty for just a sliver of my attention.
I decided to test my luck, tearing a page out of his book. "I don't feel like saying anymore. My time of goodwill has passed, husband. You have to earn it now."