Page 7

SIX

Inessa

T he definition of a monster is a large, ugly, frightening imaginary creature. Vlad Vartanov has two out of the four characteristics, and it makes him more insidious. He has the capacity for humanity but chooses to lay it to waste.

I’m standing in the corner like a child hiding from the big bad wolf as he chokes his mother. Dropping her to a heap on the floor, my chest aches, seeing the pure humiliation he’s putting her through for his own entertainment. My own mother isn’t the best person in the world, and I’d lump Anika in with her on the likability scale, but no one deserves to be treated like that. Especially a woman clearly upset over one son being beaten to near death from the state of Vitali while the other tries to get her in the same state.

Sorrowful eyes pin me in place as she tries to control her tears, and I can’t move. It’s not fear of my life. It’s fear of hers if Vlad sees me hiding in the shadows he’s clearly forgotten he put me in. He smiles as he stares after her, and he doesn’t move as her tears fall with each step.

There’s no hope for my own life with someone who treats his own mother lower than shit on the bottom of his shiny fucking shoes. He walks away steadily and calm. There’s more joy in each step than he’s ever had, and everyone he passes can breathe easier knowing that the monster is leaving. My stubbornness of not wanting to give into his demand leaves me. There’s no fucking chance I’m letting him be the first person I fuck. It will scar me for life and ruin any chance of leading a normal life once this marriage is over.

Counting to a hundred, I wait in the shadows to make sure he’s gone. I’m not going to be a physical reminder of his earlier anger and deal with his shit right now. Not after what I’ve just seen, and I can’t stop my palms sweating, knowing there was a moment he had to physically force himself to stop killing his own mother. Keeping my steps silent, I creep through like a thief, not wanting to be caught, and manage to go undetected, making it back to the top floor.

The clothes that have been packed for me are all from the first section of my wardrobe. Dariya must have done it knowing the image that needs to be presented, and she’s put in my favorite heels. Pairing a simple black dress with the six-inch stilettos, I’m ready and step out of the bathroom.

Viktor’s little face pokes around the corner of the door, and he smiles sweetly.

“You look pretty.”

Nothing boosts my confidence like a child knowing they’re like little drunks unable to lie. I crouch down to his height and fish for information from a child mentally sinking to a new low.

“Thank you, handsome. Has Vlad left?”

I can deal with his brothers and father. They’re easy to ignore. Vlad is harder to ignore, and he doesn’t give a fuck about Grandfather being Pakhan. He’ll drag me any place he sees fit, even if it’s down to hell with him.

Viktor nods, and his brows slowly come together as I stand stroking his hair back. He doesn’t chatter and goes back to whatever he is doing as Dima steps out of the elevator. His silver eyes harden, and he assesses me from head to toe, filling me with unease. His hand slowly moves, reaching for his phone, and I straighten my spine as he lifts it to his ear. He’s a few years older than me and our only interactions have been during the parties grandfather holds, but I won’t answer to him.

I walk with purpose. As long as I act like I belong, no one will question it, and authority is taken never freely given. He doesn’t stop me and keeps his eyes pinned on me as I walk past him into the elevator. My head doesn’t drop as the doors close, and the corner of his lips twitch in the narrowing gap. As soon as I’m encased in the metal, I order a car. My usual go-to places are void with Vlad’s need to attack the Kadares. The Conglomerate own them all, and the Albanian’s alliance with the other factions of the Conglomerate means I’ll be blacklisted due to his need to be a brute.

Going through my contacts, one name sticks out, and I know my fake rich girl personality is needed as I check in with Stasya. Her reply is instant, already drunk, high, or both, giving me the name of the club she’s in. Anastasia Andreyev isn’t just a socialite; she is the socialite, and the guards will already be there, making it less crowded, and so I don’t have to double them up with Mischa following her around like a lost puppy.

I’ve seen movies where the couple go back to a hotel room and they can barely make it out of the elevator. This isn’t what’s happening with Jace or Jake. He has a J name, and his spit is on my neck, making me want to recoil. He’s attractive in the way I don’t notice, an unremarkable face, and his pupils are blown from whatever he’s taken prior to our conversation leading to his hotel.

There are no romantic notions about losing my virginity. It’s not something I want built up. I just need it gone so Vlad doesn’t physically tear me apart, and I have a reference point to focus on while fulfilling my duty and getting pregnant. I’m not na?ve enough to even ask him to take a non-physical method and expect him to allow me to go to a clinic.

The car rolls to a stop, and Jace gets out, walking ahead without even waiting for me. That’s already a bad sign for the night. If he’s rude enough to not check on me, he won’t give a fuck if I come.Before we even step into the lobby, a shiver works up my spine feeling like I’m being watched. Looking through the glass, there’s no one I recognize and Jace shows some chivalry and waits by the door for me. He hooks his arm around my waist, and his tongue touches my neck again as he groans low, trying to be sexy, but it just turns me off.

“I can’t wait to be inside you.”

The man sitting at the reception table calls him over, giving me his surname.

“Mr. Moore, we’ve unfortunately had an issue with your room.”

It’s a sign for me to get out, but my feet don’t move as I eavesdrop and stay at his side.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, and I can assure you none of your belongings were damaged. We’ve upgraded your stay to a suite at no extra charge.”

A suite sounds better than a normal room, turning the sign positive as he’s comped with champagne.

The porter looks at me, his eyes lingering too long and a lump builds in his throat. I know what he’s going to be thinking, the Maximoff heiress is a cokehead. The worst thing Grandfather ever did was become a legal entity with his media business. The criminals are easier to entertain and ignore, but the normal people in society love rumors and gossip so much more than the Bratva.

Jace guides us toward the bank of elevators. His dirty talk is awful, and he pants like a dog, fogging my skin as he kisses my neck.

“We should fuck here.”

His tongue comes back out as we’re enclosed in the elevator. It’s like being licked by a fucking puppy. The man has no sense of what to do, and I turn my head, trying to coax him away from treating me like a lollipop.

When his lips touch mine, it’s not any better, and I control our movements to get him on the right track. There’s urgency in his hands roaming over my body, and lust creeps in. It’s not the same as what I can build up on my own, but it’ll do as we step out of the elevator. His hands don’t leave my body and travel down, cupping my ass. He walks me backward and tries to pull off a move he’s clearly seen on screen by pushing me into the door. The force is miscalculated, or I’m overthinking like fuck, and it’s clumsy and weird.

For fuck’s sake, he goes to my neck again. I’d think he was a vampire if he used anything other than his tongue. At least there won’t be a mark on me in the morning. Just DNA I’ll be scrubbing off. Taking the card from his hand when he’s content in whatever foreplay he’s imagined, I swipe it on the lock, playing silly little drunk girl and stumbling back.

My alcohol tolerance is high enough that I don’t feel the few drinks I’ve had. Everyone wants to see the image they think fits their narrative. I’m a bitch, but dumb. Uptight and easy. It depends on the person and what they wish to assign me at that moment, but I’ll happily play my part as long as I get what I want.

None of the lights come on as he finally gets it right and kisses me. Gripping my nape, he pulls me closer, and his dick presses into my stomach. It’s a biological reaction grinding into him. Jace turns into someone I can more than tolerate as he picks me up by the back of my thighs and pushes me into the wall. There’s no burning desire. Just slow, built-up lust as I grind down, getting myself ready.

Wrapping my legs around his waist, I comb my fingers through his hair at his nape. His hands are on my ass, kneading my flesh as he walks blindly towards the doors on my right. There’s no break to our lips until the moonlight illuminates the bed, and I’m set down.

Pulling my dress over my head before he can open his mouth and chase anything away, I’m fully naked in front of him and lay back, letting my legs drop open. Excitement courses through me at his eager movements, and it dims slightly, seeing him stumble with his socks in an attempt to get fully naked. My mind has built up a faceless man littered with scars and calloused hands. Jace is a rich kid, and his hands are the same as mine, having never experienced any hard work.

He steps between my thighs and strokes his dick through my slit, making me pull my hips back as I rush out, “Condom?”

He doesn’t move away and kisses my neck as he holds my tits, squeezing too hard.

“Don’t worry, babe, I’ll pull out.”

He can tuck it back in if he doesn’t have protection. Opening my mouth to tell him just that, his mouth leaves my neck, and I turn to look at him as my entire body freezes.

He doesn’t sense the danger behind him as he tries to pry the hand out of his hair.

“What the fuck? Get the fuck off me.”

Vlad’s piercing eyes are locked on my face. They don’t dip below my chin as he pulls Jace’s head further back. I’m wetter from his eyes on me than the naked man he’s holding, and I can’t close my legs with him thrashing between them.

The low light makes him even more menacing, and something reflects off his hand as he slowly brings it to Jace’s neck. He keeps his eyes pinned on me as he digs the knife into his throat, not deep enough to cut, and the soon-to-be-dead man has me pushing away in disgust as he trades me for his life.

“You can have her after me. Or before. I’ll do whatever you want if you let me go.”

He’s barely finished offering me up like I’m a possession to the psychotic fuck behind him when Vlad’s arm moves in a clean practiced movement.

I don’t know what I expect to happen as he holds Jace’s mouth shut, and warm liquid flows onto my skin. It’s fucked and I can’t move, there’s no fear or argument. I just can’t move with his eyes on me. The tiny sliver of light only shows parts of his face, and he pushes the now-dead fuck away.

No part of our bodies touch as he leans over me with his palm flat against the mattress beside my head. The suit he normally wears is missing, replaced by all black, making him blend into the shadows, and Vlad looks down my blood-coated body with his lips set in an appreciative smile.

“You should wear red more often.”

I’m broken and laugh. There’s a dead man lying on the floor, and I’m covered in his blood. But I laugh, and Vlad’s smile gets bigger by a fraction. It dies in my throat as he uses the bloody knife to lift my hair away, and his voice is deadly, making genuine fear fill me.

“I’ve changed my mind, you’re mine to fuck when I decide.”

He doesn’t stop lifting each strand, dirtying the blonde until it’s dark red and his voice drops, speaking to himself like he’s in a play.

“Would you let me fuck you right now? I know you’re wet, meelaya. Who is it for?”

I hate him because he seems to know shit he shouldn’t, and the need to fuck with him back has my tongue moving.

“I was enjoying my night without a single thought about you.”

He’s probably going to kill me, but I lose any self-preservation instinct and cup his groin, testing my theory.

“What’s your excuse?”