Chapter Eight
"Come spend the night with me, krasivaya."
Juli struggled to get her brain to function enough to respond. Daniil had her pressed up against the rear door of his sleek black car and had given her one of his soul stealing kisses. She loved those kisses, and hated them. The stole her ability to think and melted her insides until she forgot why she didn't want a man in her life.
She shook her head, and he moved to nibble along her jaw, up to her ear.
"You have nothing to fear with me, Julietta." He moved one of his thighs between hers, rubbing against her aching center, which made her groan. "Follow your body, krasivaya. Let me take care of you. Give you what you need."
Should she give in? She knew precisely how well he'd take care of her sexually. Although, she'd probably struggle to teach her surfing lessons tomorrow if she did give in to him. That thought was fortunately enough to cool her body sufficiently she could form words.
"I can't. I have to work in the morning, and if I go home with you, I'll get no sleep. I'll barely be able to walk in the morning, let alone teach other people how to stand on a moving surfboard."
He growled low, the deep sound vibrating through her entire being. She loved that sound almost as much as his kisses. It would be so easy to lean on this man, to cede control and allow him to take care of her. Images of her mother flashed through her mind, of how she was always on the hunt for someone who could take care of her, give her everything she wanted. Of how she put more effort into making sure she looked perfect for those men, than she did into parenting or caring for her only daughter.
"You will be in back in my bed where you belong soon, solnyshka moto. But for tonight, I'll let you go rest. We will talk tomorrow."
With that he stepped back, took her hand in his and walked her to her door. He was full of contradictions, one minute was doing everything he could to seduce her out of her panties, and the next he was this perfect gentleman who walked her to her door before kissing her goodnight.
With her thoughts in turmoil, she closed the door and leaned back against it. What the bloody hell was she meant to do with this man?
"You okay, Juli? Have to be honest, I wasn't actually expecting you back tonight."
She banged her head back against the door twice before she turned to face Jess.
"I'm so fucked."
Jess smirked at her. "Well, that was why I figured you wouldn't be back until the morning … I'm guessing the issue is really the fact that you're not currently getting fucked, yeah?"
That had her barking out a laugh before she moved to drop down onto the couch beside her friend.
"Something like that. Daniil has me in knots. I don't know what to do with him. I swore after all that shit with Rodger, I'd steer clear of men." And because of her mother, but she didn't want to get into that with Jess. "Especially powerful, strong ones like Daniil."
Jess sighed. "But he is sex on a stick, babe. Not sure I could say no to that if he came calling for me. If you don't want to even try to see if it works long term with him, why don't you just fuck him out of your system? Enjoy the moment, babe. Because I bet that man rocks in bed."
Juli nodded before rising up off the couch. "That he does, rocks the shower, too." She gave Jess a smirk and wink. "I'm going to bed. Gotta work in the morning. Night."
Jess said something, but she didn't hear it as she wandered back to her room and locked herself in. Share houses sucked. She trusted Jess all right, but the two backpackers, not so much. It didn't help they seemed to switch out every couple of weeks. Tossing her bag in the corner, she put her phone on her bedside table before pulling off her dress and dumping it in her laundry bin. Her bra followed, and then she slipped into bed and stared at the ceiling unable to sleep. Thoughts of Daniil kept her mind too busy to sleep.
When her phone beeped with a message, she grabbed it from the table to see who was messaging her.
Changed my mind. Need u here. I'm coming 2 get u.
With a growl, she rolled her eyes. He was so fucking demanding! Although, it was nice to know she wasn’t the only caught up in knots.
I'm not going anywhere. I'm already in bed. Talk to you later.
She held her breath waiting for his response. Maybe she shouldn't have said she was in bed?
What u wearing?
That made her laugh. Such a typical guy thing to say. She took a couple deep breaths as she thought about what she should respond with. She was only wearing a cute little pair of panties, but should she be honest or have some fun with him? He got her so worked up every time she saw him that it seemed only fair that he got a turn at being riled up. Right?
Lacy blue gstring. Feels so good against me, didn't take it off. U?
A moment later her phone rang, and with a chuckle, she answered.
"Hello?"
"You serious or just messing with me?"
With a grin, she wriggled down further in her bed. "Bit of both. I am wearing blue panties, just not a G-string, and the only reason I still have them on is laziness. Why? Did my message get you all worked up?"
"Yeah, imagining you in nothing but a scrap of lace gets me hard, Julietta. Wanna put your fingers to work and let me know if you're wet for me?"
Arousal zipped down her spine. Listening to Daniil's sexy accent talking dirty to her definitely got her motor running. Without further thought, she ran her fingers down her torso, slipping beneath the lace and over her clit. She arched her back on a groan. Damn, she was horny.
"Like the sound of that groan, krasivaya. You wet? Or you need a little more dirty talk to get you going?"
"So wet."
"Yeah, fuck. You look so hot touching yourself. Could watch you all fucking day."
She slipped her fingers lower, teasing her opening with two fingers.
"How'd you know what I look like?"
"Because I fucking watch you do it every damn night. You did it after we had sex. I came out the bathroom to find you spread out on my bed working yourself over. Sexiest thing I've seen in a long time."
She froze at his words, pulling her hand free, she sat up with a frown. "What do you mean you watch me every night? You haven't fucking bugged my room or something crazy, have you?"
Oh, if he was spying on her she'd kill him. No idea how she'd manage it, but she'd find a way.
"Ah fuck. I didn't mean to say that. Yebat-kopat!"
She was pretty sure that Russian word wasn’t an endearment. Was he swearing at her in two languages?
"No idea what you just said, but it’s not making me feel any better here, Daniil. What have you done?"
"I just swore in Russian.” He sighed. “You looked so fucking hot, I grabbed my phone and took a little video—"
Fury exploded through her, and her mouth started moving before her brain re-engaged.
"You fucking asshole! You fucking videoed me? So help me if you've uploaded that to a fucking porn site, I swear I will cut your balls off!"
"Solnyshka moto, I promise, no one has seen it but me. No one ever will—"
With a voice like ice she cut him off again. "Don't you dare ever call me any of your bullshit Russian endearments. In fact, you know what? Don't ever call me again. And delete that damn video. I can't believe you would do that! Fuck."
She hung up the phone, not caring he was trying to talk to her. When her phone rang a second later, she screamed and threw it across the room. It landed in her laundry bin, and she hoped it didn't break. She'd worry about later. Fucking men! They were all pigs. Slipping on a pair of yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt, she left her room in search of alcohol.
She was way too angry to sleep now anyway.
****
Daniil let loose a string of curses. He was so furious it ended up being a mix of Russian and English. Viktor cleared his throat.
"You need some help, D? Because if you keep this shit up, you're gonna scare away all your staff."
He bared his teeth at his friend on a growl. He didn't give a fuck. It had been over twelve hours since he’d screwed up with Julietta, and she was still rejecting all his calls. Yury was on guard duty, and he'd reported that she'd refused to talk to him, or listen to anything he tried to say. Why had he said anything about that damn video? At least he didn’t mention the photos he’d taken… He rubbed a palm over the back of his neck. Why'd he take the damn video in the first place was a better question? He knew girls didn't like that shit. Dammit.
"That right there. That's why the girls called me. You need to cut the shit. Personally, I think it's funny as hell, but if you want to keep this part of your company running, I'd suggest dialing it back, yeah?"
He blew out a breath. He knew Viktor was right. He was working from his real estate office today, and he did need this business to function at a profitable level. Not something that would happen if he scared off all his staff.
"Fine. Come in and shut the door."
Once they were enclosed in his office, Daniil went and pulled out the vodka. After pouring out two glasses, he returned to his desk, handing off one drink to Viktor before sitting down and taking a large mouthful of the alcohol. He focused on the burn as the liquid flowed down his throat.
"I fucked up with Julietta. Now she won't answer my calls, won't talk to Yury either."
Viktor calmly sipped his drink, like all was well in the world, which made him angry all over again. Because it wasn't, at least not in his world. He felt like he was at the edge of his control, ready to snap at any moment.
"What exactly did you do to her?"
After downing the rest of his vodka in one shot, he told his friend about the video, about her finding out. His response was to raise an eyebrow with a smirk. He knew what he was silently asking.
"No, you can't see it. No one is seeing it. Ever."
He had it encrypted so hard no one would ever be able to gain access other than him. And if he managed to get her back, he'd delete it. He was only keeping it because he had a horrible feeling it might be the only thing he had left of her soon.
"She said not to call her. Stop being a coward and go get her. She's always wandering off someplace alone to take photos, get Yury—or whoever happens to be on guard duty—to tell you next time she does, and go get her while she’s alone and make it up to her. I gotta admit, she might still tell you to fuck off. Taking a video like that without the girl's consent is fucking asking for trouble. Even you should know better than to put shit like that."
Daniil shrugged. He was used to ruling his world and doing what he wanted when he wanted. Before Julietta, he hadn't cared what a girl thought. Nor had he ever wanted to video one so he could watch it later. On repeat. He growled. Julietta was majorly messing him up.
"You really like this girl, huh? You thinking of settling down? Having a family with her? Assuming you can get her to forgive your stupid ass."
He paused and looked over at Viktor. "Yeah, I think I am. Julietta's different. She makes me feel different. Better." He scrubbed his palms over his face. "I know I shouldn't take her. She'll always be a target, a weakness that others will try to use against me and the company."
Viktor shrugged. "We'll handle any threats. This life? It's lonely as fuck, and I can see the appeal of settling down. Coming home to a house with warmth and life in it, a wife waiting for your return? That kinda sounds like a slice of heaven to me. Money's nice and all, but it won't keep you warm at night."
He scoffed, "Well, it does when you use it to pay the power bill."
Viktor rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
"Yeah, I know. You sound like you've been thinking about it, too. You got a girl stashed away somewhere?"
Viktor stood and stretched out his neck. "Nah, I'm single like I’ve always been. You and your girl just got me thinking, that's all. I'm gonna head out. Try to stop scaring the natives, yeah?"
Daniil shook his head. "Yeah, I'll rein it in. Thanks, man."
With a nod, Viktor was gone, and once more Daniil found himself alone. He'd never minded before. In fact, he'd always preferred his own company. But since meeting his Julietta, he often found himself wishing she were with him. He thought over what Viktor had said, and he had to agree, coming home to a loving wife welcoming him, would be a nice thing to have.
He knew he'd really fucked up with Julietta, and he couldn't just go grab her off the street. She'd go crazy on him. No, he needed to ease the way a little. She'd liked the flowers he'd sent her. He'd send some more today, then maybe some jewelry or perfume tomorrow. He'd see if he could soften her up a little over the course of the work-week, and then on Saturday, when she was out searching for the perfect photo, he'd go to her. Force her to listen to him.
Even if he had to spend the entire weekend groveling, he would win back his girl.