Page 29

VLAD

H er fingers are already on the buttons of her dress as she slowly unbuttons them. Her eyes are on me, as if she's daring me to look at her sensuous movements.

She doesn't have to tell me as I'm already enthralled by the flesh peeking from her collarbone… then her cleavage… Soon, the entire length of the dress has been unbuttoned, and she slides it off her body, dropping it to the ground.

"Fuck," I whisper as my eyes take in her form.

She's not wearing anything under.

I survey her from head to toe. Her golden olive skin glints in the lighting of the room, making her look like a goddess come down from heaven—responding to the offering of blood. Her tits are round and firm, the nipples already hard and pebbled.

My gaze goes lower, to her smooth stomach and defined waistline.

I swallow.

I don't think I'll ever get used to the sight of her. She is so exquisite that no words can describe her. Fuck, but even a dictionary would likely be speechless—or is it wordless?

See, even my brain malfunctions when it comes to her!

Her hips are curved and shapely, flaring slightly outwards in the perfect hourglass figure. I move lower, to the small patch of trimmed blonde hair nestled between her legs. That delectable place that's only mine, and will only ever be mine.

"Sisi," I hiss, my body already primed for hers, my cock straining to attention as my eyes bask in her glory.

I was made to worship this woman.

There's no doubt about it. Not when my knees tremble slightly, already seeking to kneel in front of her and give her the respect she deserves.

She's the only thing in the entire universe that could bring me to my knees, and oh, but I'd gladly fall. For a taste of her, I'd do more than that. I'd prostate myself at her feet.

She moves, her feet almost gliding on the marble floor, her long, toned legs flexing and emphasizing her shape even more.

Damn!

She dips her toes in the bloody water, her lips twitching when she approves of the temperature. Then, slowly, tantalizingly so, she starts descending, the bloody water greeting her skin and staining it.

I watch, hypnotized, as she submerges herself until her hair is drenched in blood, the light-blonde becoming a pinkish red.

Coming up for air, she raises an eyebrow at me as she wades through the water to reach my side. Her entire face is now reddish, not unlike mine, and I feel the urge to grab her and bring her to me.

Simply devour her.

But first I need to see how mad she is at me.

"Sisi," I start, but she places her finger on my lips, coming to my side and nuzzling my throat, her nose moving up and down on the surface of my neck in a soft caress. I still, not knowing how to react.

"You've been naughty," she whispers in my ear, her teeth catching the lobe as she nibbles at my skin.

"Fuck, Sisi," I groan, "you can't go around saying things like that. Especially looking like that, " I tell her, my voice strained.

"Like what?" she asks, leaning back to bat those pretty lashes at me, her eyes twinkling with hidden meaning and mischief.

The minx.

I snake my arm around her waist, bringing her flush against me. In two steps, I have her against the wall of the pool, her legs open as she wraps them around me, her pussy rubbing against my cock.

"You know very well, my little seductress," I tell her, my fingers digging into her cheeks as I raise her head to look me in the eye. "You're the epitome of sin." My breath on her lips, I trail my hand down her neck, collarbones, before brushing the tips of my fingers over her nipple.

She gasps, a quick intake of breath as her eyes turn to me.

"How did you get in here, Sisi?" I lean in until we're mere breaths apart. She doesn't look away, holding my gaze defiantly.

"Through the door." She shrugs, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Sisi." I raise an eyebrow. "That particular door is password protected," I say.

"And whose fault is it," she starts, coming even closer, her tongue peeking out and brushing over my lips as she skirts by my cheek to whisper in my ear, "that the password is my birthday?"

I can hear the amusement in her voice, and my own lips twitch up.

"Hmm, my bad," I drawl, bringing her back to face me, my thumb under her chin. "But how did you find the door? Only Maxim and I know about it."

"Your friend Maxim can be very talkative for the right incentive," she continues, trailing her nails over my chest.

Her touch is making me lose my mind, especially when I need to keep my head in the game. A breach of security is a breach of security, no matter who the intruder is. And since Maxim can barely speak a word of English, I'm even more curious how she got the information.

"What did you do, Sisi?" I ask, a grave expression on my face. Inside, though, I'm almost overflowing with pride.

She's one of a kind.

"I just detailed some procedure from an anatomy textbook.

" She smiles sheepishly. "You've corrupted me," she says seductively, her fingers splayed over my chest. And to show me just how much of a minx she is, she raises herself on her tip-toes to place a kiss onto my lips.

" On mne mnoga skazal. Vse tvai secreti," she whispers cheekily, my eyes widening at her words.

"Sisi!" I groan, closing my eyes, my ears basking in the sound of Russian on her lips.

"I learned. A little," she blushes slightly.

"For me?" I ask, incredibly surprised. I'd have never thought she would have made such an effort for me.

She nods. "I wanted to be able to tell you I love you in your language too, among other things," she continues, and my lips widen in a smile.

Knowing Sisi, among other things means she doesn't want to be kept out of the loop, her inherent curiosity unquenchable.

"And?" I prompt her, dying to hear the words.

She bats her eyelashes at me, licking her lips suggestively before saying."I might tell you. After you tell me what this is all about." She motions to the blood room. Pursing her lips at me, she awaits an answer.

"It's… complicated," I reply, not knowing how much I should tell her. Because if she finds out everything… I don't know how she'll react to that.

"It's not." She shakes her head, her teeth peeking out as she bites her lower lip. "We're in this together," she says, a smile tugging at her lips. "You promised you'd trust me. No more secrets."

"Hell girl," I groan, knowing she's right. "I do trust you." I take a deep breath, my eyes searching hers. "But you might not see me the same when you find out some things about me."

Her hand tightens over mine as she brings it to her lips, laying a small kiss on my knuckles.

"Vlad," she says, her tone serious. "I've seen you at your worst, and I'm still here."

"This might be worse than that…" I trail off and her lips are set in a thin line as she raises an inquisitive eyebrow at me.

Fuck! It's now or never.

I know Sisi won't drop this. Whenever she gets something in her mind, she always sees it through. It's one of the things I love about her, but in this instance, I'm afraid it might cause a rift between us. Because there's no sugar coating my past. I just need to hope she won't see me differently.

"I told you about my sister, Vanya, and that I didn't remember what happened when we were taken."Taking a deep breath, I start. Sisi is listening attentively, and I force myself to tell her everything I've kept bottled up for so long.

"She was dead by the time we were found." I use one hand to tug a strand of her hair aside. "What I didn't tell you is that I didn't realize she was dead until years later."

"What do you mean?" She frowns.

"Something happened to me there," I purse my lips at the understatement, "and I never registered her death. To me she was still alive. Like you, I could touch her," I move my hand over her cheek, "talk to her, do everything with her."

"You're saying you were seeing your sister's ghost?" she asks, incredulous.

"Not a ghost. More like a figment of my mind. A phantasm borne out of my dependence on her." I sigh, knowing I'm about to peel all the layers and show myself bare before her.

"I was very lonely as a child. No one wanted to do anything with me. Vanya was the only one I could talk to… interact with. The only one by my side. Until I realized she wasn't real."

"When did you?"

"I was fifteen," I start, telling her the incident with the clothes and how my father had told me that Vanya had been dead for a long time. "That's when I had my first full-on episode," I explain, the thought of never seeing Vanya again having been so agonizingly maddening I'd just snapped.

And so I tell her everything from the beginning.

How everyone had shunned me since Valentino had found me and how my morbid fascination with death had made people fear me, or deem me a freak .

Vanya, or who I thought to be Vanya, had been the only one by my side, and the only thing keeping me remotely sane.

"And then you came along." I give her a smile. "From that first moment in the church, something happened."

"Vlad," Sisi says my name in a soft voice, and I see pain in her gaze. For me. Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes, her hand squeezes mine as I speak.

"For the first time, Vanya disappeared," I continue, and her brows knit in confusion.

"You mean…" Sisi trails off, and realization dawns on her as she draws back. "Is that why you sought me out?" she asks suddenly, her voice broken. A small shake of her head and I can feel her entire body trembling.

Damn! I'm making a mess of this.

"In the beginning. Yes. I wanted to figure out why you seemed to drive her away," I speak fast, trying to get everything out before she jumps to conclusions.

"But one moment in your presence and everything fell away.

I can promise you, Sisi, that Vanya's presence or absence was the last thing on my mind when I was with you. "