Artur is lingering in the foyer when I come down the stairs. He paces the floor and stops when he sees me. “I wasn’t going to take advantage of her. I’m not that way and you know it. I like her,” he defends. He’s met her all of once and suddenly he “likes her.”
“You don’t know her,” I bite out, correcting his mistake.
“Well, I would like to get to know her. We could be a good match,” he offers, his expression earnest.
I have to school my features. I want to cut his tongue from his head and his touchy-feely hands from his arms, but I cannot let my emotions show. I refuse to let it slip that Irina belongs to me even if I can never have her the way I desire. The way she desires. Her face coming undone beneath me just now is scarred into my memory forever. It’s something I’ll visit to spill my seed to when Diana isn’t fulfilling my needs.
“She’s not looking for a match or losing her virginity in a drunken haze. You should know better than pulling this stunt under my roof, Voskoboynikov. Out of respect to your brother, I’m going to allow you to leave here with a warning and not a thrashing to teach you some respect and manners.”
He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing. There’s irritation in his squinted eyes, being my elder and all, but he knows better than to challenge me.
“Oh, there you both are,” Diana sings as she comes floating toward us in her angelic white dress. Her dog is not far behind, lingering in the background. I used to have respect for Anton. He’s been with Leonid a long time and is a ruthless killer, but this new assignment is beneath him and laughable. His displeasure is evident.
“Where is Irina?” she asks, coming to stand by my side.
“She retired to her room,” Artur informs her. “I’m just leaving, but can you give this to her for me? Perhaps tomorrow when she wakes?” Artur hands Diana a business card with his details emblazoned on it in overly fancy fonts. He tries too hard. Pathetic.
The smile that lifts Diana’s lips could make the sun look dim. “Of course, Artur. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to give you a call.” She flashes me a look that tells me she’s thrilled for her sister.
Good luck waiting for that call to come.
He returns her enthusiasm with a megawatt smile of his own, showing all his bought veneers, before leaning forward and kissing her cheek.
“Vlad,” he grunts with a nod in my direction, then takes his leave.
Challenge accepted. Foolish man.
“I should check on Irina.” Diana touches her hand to my chest and starts to move past me to the stairs. I curl my hand around her wrist softly and let it slip into her palm, halting her. “I already did. She’s sleeping. Leave her be and finish the evening with me.”
Her long lashes bat as she reaches up to press her lips to the corner of my mouth.
“I’m actually tired myself,” she admits with a yawn. “I’d like to retire to my room if that’s okay.”
“Of course.” I smile tightly as she pulls away and disappears up the stairs. I turn to find Anton behind me. He doesn’t say anything. He’s always known his place in this world. He nods his head in acknowledgement, then traces Diana’s steps.
I look down at the card I slipped from Diana’s hand and rub my thumb over Artur’s number. Then I rip the card into pieces.
When I get back to the dining room, everyone has left. All but Ven, Rus, and Vika. Ven is typing on his cell phone while Vika talks animatedly to him. He’s not listening and it’s pitiful. Quite laughable, in fact. Rus’s eyes bore into her, but she’s too self-centered to even notice she’s upsetting her husband-to-be. Not that she’ll care either way.
“Vika!” I bark.
Annoyance ignites in her amber eyes at my presence. She swivels her head in my direction, then sits back in her chair, folding her arms over her chest like a petulant child. Her tits bulge out the top of her dress for all to see. Images of her as a small child chasing after Viktor replay in my mind, but diminish as quickly as they came.
She’s not that girl anymore and Viktor is gone.
“Join me for a night cap,” I tell her. It’s not a request, it’s a damn order, and she knows it. She’s not married yet. Her huff is audible, as is the chair scraping across the floor.
Her heels click-clocking across the hardwood floors alert me to her following my order. I walk to my office. It’s the only place that, until this afternoon when Irina invaded the space, was private and just for me.
“What do you want, Vlad? I know this isn’t pleasantries.” She brushes her hand over one of the tall bookshelves adorning the back wall. Her nose turns up as she pretends to wipe dust from her hand. “This place is really going downhill. You should hire some help who knows how to actually clean and not just polish cock.”
“Your vulgar mouth is still intact I see,” I sneer, taking a seat behind my desk.
She makes a humph sound before crossing her arms and waltzing over to my desk, ignoring the chair situated opposite it. She sits on the corner instead, knocking over a pen holder with a clatter. “Did you think sending me over there would somehow tame me, brat?”
My skin feels too tight over my bones. There’s a dull ache throbbing at my temples. I’m done with this day. I cast a glance over her attire and answer her question.
“I know it hasn’t stopped you from flaunting yourself all over Veniamin like one of Father’s prized whores.”
Her eyes narrow and her lips twist up at the corners. “Jealous?”
Jealous? What a ludicrous thing to say.
“Of my sister? Doubtful. You know better than that, Vika.” I almost chuckle, but that would be a reward for her. She doesn’t deserve a reaction of any kind.
There’s a devious glint in her eye as she leans over my desk and whispers, “Not of me. Of him. He does appear to get all the girls.”
I’m not sure what game she’s trying to play, or what she’s implying. Veniamin is a good-looking man who has never struggled to find bed partners. This isn’t news to me, and I certainly don’t care. We’ve shared many dirty games ourselves. “Is there something you’re trying to tell me and failing miserably at, Sister?”
“I’m just saying Ven has an appeal even the prim of us can’t deny. Why don’t you ask your fiancée what she thinks?” With that, she smirks and gets to her feet before striding out of my office like she owns the place.
What the hell did she mean by that? I refuse to let her rile me up. It’s what she intends, and I’m not that easily played. I will ask Diana what she meant by her words and she will tell me. It’s Vika being Vika. Ven would have mentioned if Diana had made any passes at him. Wouldn’t he?
Tapping into the monitors of Diana’s bedroom, I see her bed rumpled and the sound of her shower blasting. My finger hovers over the feed for Irina’s room and my head swarms with a thousand bees. She evokes such a response in me, I don’t even think she’s human. How can she have such power over me?
My finger clicks on the feed, and her room expands, filling the screen. She’s sprawled over the bed, her dress discarded in strands on the floor, and she’s still in her panties, bra, stockings, and high heels. What a vision she is. Her blonde locks fan out around her like a halo, but she’s no angel. She’s a seducer, a succubus waiting to pounce and suck out all my willpower. Slipping my cock from slacks, I rub the liquid building on the tip with the pad of my thumb. I want to use my teeth on her, mark her skin, cause blemishes to raise and sting. My handprints will look wonderful on her precious, virgin skin. I hope she’s a moaner. I’ll torment her body, drive her to the brink of euphoria and drag her back screaming and pleading for more. My tongue will taste every inch of her, plundering into her tight little hole and stretching her. Her groans will shatter into wails of ecstasy.
Squeezing my shaft to almost the point of pain, I release it and stuff it back into my slacks. I have a fiancée for this shit. Getting to my feet, I march up the stairs and slip into Diana’s room. The shower is still blasting, but turns off a few seconds later. Her movements sound through the open door, but I don’t push it open to catch a glimpse.
She will show me everything in time.
What a good little wife she will be.
I rap my knuckles on the bathroom door and hear her sigh. “I thought you were mad at me…” she stutters the last words when she sees me standing there.
“Why would I be mad?”
She blinks a couple times, then shrugs her petite shoulders. Water pebbles over her tanned flesh. She’s darker skinned than Irina. It’s not sun exposure, it’s natural. Irina is like a porcelain doll, precious and not to be played with.
“Because I’d had enough of entertaining,” Diana says, looking warily at the door behind me.
“No one saw me come in here, and we are to be married,” I assure her, hoping to soothe her worries as I place my hands on her bare arms and guide her over to the bed. I sit and gently maneuver her between my legs. Taking my hands from her, I study her form, from her toes, toned calves, thicker thighs, and then towel.
Reaching up, I touch the fabric she clutches onto like it’s a raft and she’s drowning.
“Let go,” I order.
She swallows deep, her lips twitching in desperation to defy me. But I stare her right in the eye. Not dropping it now would be to lose.
Diana is a winner like me.
She releases the towel, and it pools at her feet. Her body is exactly what I expected. The clothes she wears each day display the curves beneath them. Not much is hidden from the imagination. Her hips are round, dipping into a small waist and curving up to accommodate her large breasts. They sit heavy and full, the darker nipples peaking with the chill in the air.
“Turn around,” I order.
Her defiance shows itself in her tense jaw. With flushed cheeks, she bends down and retrieves her towel. “I’m not a toy or yours to command, Vlad. You know I want to wait for our wedding night.” She moves toward the bedroom door and flicks the lock, locking us inside.
“Are you a virgin?” I ask outright.
She rests her head on the door for a few silent beats, then turns. The businesswoman mask is in place. “If I wasn’t, would we be here?”
That would depend on how many lovers she’s taken to her bed, but a virgin is rare these days in women of her age, no matter how under the thumb and restricted her options were.
Her father believes her to be, and a virgin is appealing to any man. He would be a liar if he said otherwise. To explore a woman who’s never been touched is like finding a treasure map. Irina is such a thing, and I want to watch her bloom under my hand. To coax all kinds of sounds from her lips. To watch her open up like a rose on a hot summer’s day is a prize that is so often wasted.
“Vlad.” Diana summons me back to reality. “Would it matter to you?”
“Tell me about Veniamin,” I demand, ignoring her question.
She’s taken back by my line of questioning, confusion wrinkling her forehead. “What about him?”
“Have you made advances toward him in the past?”
“Is this an interrogation?” she snaps. “No, Vlad, I’ve never made advances toward Veniamin. Is that what he’s told you?” She paces the floor in front of me, then stops abruptly, breaking into a surprised laugh. “Oh my God, did he tell you we kissed? Is that what this is all about?”
“You kissed?” I hiss, rising to my feet. “You kissed Veniamin?”
“Years ago, Vlad, when we were younger. It was because of Vika pestering him all the time. We did it so she would leave him alone. It was nothing. And for the record, she didn’t leave him alone.”
Vika, the little snake, worming her way into my mind and polluting it with her venom again.
“Are you a virgin?” I ask again.
She huffs out an exasperated breath, and snaps. “Yes, Vlad, I’m a virgin. Happy?”
Yes.
“It wouldn’t have been a deal breaker,” I say, moving past her.
Lies.
It most certainly could have been a deal breaker.
I need someone’s utmost loyalties, in and out of the bedroom.
I lean down and peck a chaste kiss to her lips, then I unlatch the lock and open the door. Anton is standing directly outside, staring at me with a look of surprise.
“Sorry, sir,” he utters. “I was just coming to check to see if Miss Volkov retired for the evening so I could retire as well.”
“She has,” I tell him, watching his eyes flit over my shoulder, knowing what he’s seeing.
“Right,” he grunts.
And with that, I close her door and hunt down Vika.