Slipping off the stool, I rush over to check for my phone. I need to make sure Dad got home in one piece. Plus, Mom will be worried if I don’t call, considering she still thinks I’m heading out of town. I also need to message Lucy. She’ll freak out if I don’t show up at her house in the next hour.
“Looking for this?”
I jump at Sasha’s voice and turn. He’s only wearing low slung sweatpants, and water glistens on his skin, drawing my attention downward. Shadows form obvious creases and valleys between his spread legs which does nothing to hide the bulge between them. His broad chest is covered in tattoos that appear to tell a story. I shake my head to focus. There’s a smirk on his face as he holds up my phone between two fingers.
“Yes, actually. I need to check on my mom, and my friend is expecting me to be at her house at any time.” I wrap my arms back around my middle, insecure under his gaze.
“I am sure your father will have filled her in.” He steps down into the living room.
“How do I know you didn’t have your goons finish him off?” I bite my bottom lip again.
He crosses the distance between us and rubs his thumb across it. “Don’t do that, solnishko.”
I release the breath I’m holding as I stare up into his eyes.
“Ilya and Yuri follow orders, unlike your father.” He hands me my phone and brushes a lock of my hair back.
The gesture somehow encourages me to believe him. Then he palms my nape again and pulls me to him. His grip is like a collar of sorts, although I’m strangely compelled to go along with it. I step closer and breathe in his dark, spicy scent. After his shower, there’s no longer any evidence of our deli encounter.
“Call your mother and your friend, but do not tell either of them about our arrangement.” He leans his forehead against mine and his accent grows thicker with each word.
I nod. “Okay.”
“Natalya,” he warns with a gentle squeeze of my neck, as though he doesn’t believe me.
My nose is practically butting up against his. I lick my lips and freeze because my tongue touches him, swiping a droplet of water into my mouth. A low rumble comes from his chest. I try to step away but he squeezes my neck ever so slightly tighter. I swallow, and his thick fingers work up and down my throat. His hand is big enough to circle it. The sensation of being owned, controlled, and subdued by him makes me flush under his grip.
“I promise, I won’t say anything. Just please don’t hurt my family or my friend.”
“Make your calls.”
Turning my back on him for some privacy, I call my mom first. I hate lying to her about still going on the weekend trip. Next, I open the messaging app. Lucy’s already messaged me a few times excited for the weekend that isn’t going to happen, for me at least. She’s gushed about Ben and how the cabin is set up and maybe things will click between him and me. Maybe I’ll finally lose my v-card. Which isn’t far off from my current circumstance.
I craft a message quickly not wanting to get Sasha angry. I hit send and peer up into his expectant face.
“What did you tell her?”
“That I had a new boyfriend and he wouldn’t like it if I went with them.”
His face morphs into a sinister grin. “Good girl.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Sasha
Boyfriend. Such a juvenile term, and yet I enjoy how it sounds coming from Natalya’s lips. Lips I’d pictured wrapped around my cock as I stroked it in the shower. I hadn’t lied. I don’t fuck scared little girls. Although I have no qualms about killing someone—including her father—with a single command and without an ounce of guilt, I have no desire for my solnishko to fear me. Which means patience and a cold shower with only my hand to give me release. For the moment anyway.
I sense Natalya’s weariness—I’m sure from the adrenaline crash—and settle onto the couch. “Come, sit with me.”
She hesitates and bites her lower lip again, a sign of how nervous she is. I don’t repeat myself—merely keep my eyes on her—but rather wait until she makes the right decision on her own. When I don’t force the issue, she takes slow steps forward, setting her phone down on the table first, until she stands in front of me. I reach for her hand and instead of drawing her down beside me, I tug her onto my lap.
“What are you doing? Let me up.” Natalya wiggles and pushes against me.
I merely wrap my arms around her and hold her until she settles, all while trying to control my hardening cock. I do a terrible job, because with one more move it slips between her legs. She freezes and stares at me wide-eyed.
“Have you finished?”
She nods shallowly.
“Good, then relax and talk to me.”
An adorable wrinkle appears between her brows. “About what?”
“Anything you would like.” I won’t tell her it’s because I love the sound of her voice.
At first Natalya remains rigid and quiet, but as though she realizes I’m not going to do anything more than hold her, she slowly relaxes. She’s so tiny sitting here in my arms. I’ve never been more aware of my size than I am with her. My cock hardens a bit more picturing how tight her virgin cunt is going to be when I finally fuck her.
“I’m not really sure what to say.” She twists her fingers together.
“Tell me about dancing, then.”
Natalya jerks away from me slightly and stares with surprise. “Why do you want to know about that?”
Because I want to know everything about you, solnishko. “I believe it is something you enjoy, is it not?”
She shrugs, but I sense an underlying grief. “Yes, although I don’t really get to do it much anymore.”
“Why not?” It is something she is born to do. I don’t like that she has stopped.
At last she sags against me and rests her head on my shoulder. “Between Mom being sick, trying to take care of Luka and Lydia, and all my classes there hasn’t been any time. They rely on me. Not that I mind. They’re my family and I love them. But I do miss it. I miss getting lost in the music. In the movement. When I dance, everything around me disappears. It’s magical.”
I swear, here and now, that Natalya will dance again soon. I’ll make it happen.
She gives a little laugh. “That was probably more than you wanted to hear.”
“Not at all. You light up when you speak of it. I can hear in your voice how much you love it.”
She sighs softly, her breath ghosting along the side of my neck. “What about you? I know you work for Mr. Sokolov. Do you have any family?”
I flinch the tiniest bit. “The Pakhan and our brothers are my family.”
“That’s not the same.” Her voice has grown soft with fatigue and she sinks deeper into me.
Natalya brings her hand up to rest on my chest. Her fingers curl tugging lightly on the mat of hair that grows there. I cover them with mine savoring the feel of her bare skin. If only the rest of her were just as bare.
“Sometimes families of your own making are better than blood.”
“I s’pose,” she murmurs and then her breathing evens out.
Several minutes pass while I wait for her to say something else or to snap awake remembering where she is, but she remains still. Certainly not how I planned for the evening to end when I claimed her as mine. But perhaps this is better. Perhaps it will ease her fear of me a little. I remain sitting with Natalya asleep on my lap, until my own eyes grow heavy.