“Good evening.” A young man greeted her in a fancy suit. Every person here belonged to some kind of wealthy family, and this kid still believed that money mattered as he conveniently adjusted his diamond-studded cuffs to expose the Rolex beneath. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before. I’m Alex Utkins.”
The name-drop was predictable, and so was the hand he held out, exposing the family ring. Kira gave a soft smile and shook it. “Kira.” He was at least nineteen with a fresh haircut and some hair gel. She took up her wine glass again, specifically in her left hand, so he could see the massive ring on her finger, but it didn’t seem to matter.
“My uncle is Fedor Utkins. You heard of him?”
The Utkins were not fans of the Morozovs, but Kira nodded politely. She didn’t want to chase him away. She needed the distraction because the buffet table was now staring at her, and her stomach was clawing at the lining.
“I loath such parties as these. Full of pretentious wannabes.”
He said pretentiously,Kira mused.
“The topics are always so dull. I don’t care who is in office. None of them do anything worth a damn anyway. The povertylevel hasn’t changed. The drug trade has only gotten better. Human trafficking continues to have the highest net worth.”
Kira was surprised he knew anything about it. Vapid teenagers were mostly all she ever came into contact with. No one had a voice. “I thought the Utkins would enjoy the lack of improvement.”
Alex smiled. “I’m not saying I don’t benefit. I’d benefit greatly if the Morozov family fell off the face of the earth, but I’m sure we all feel like that. Some bloodlines really should have limits.”
“Oh, I agree.” Kira pressed a smile. The Utkins should have died off a long time ago.
A hand touched her back, and Kira snapped her head to find Maxim now beside her. She stiffened, struck by the fact that he was touching her while in love with someone else. She pitied him while at the same time she was angry with him. How could he marry her?
Maxim grit his teeth as he eyed the young man taking up his wife’s time. Seeing Kira talking to him sparked a possessiveness in Maxim that he despised. He wanted her on leash, lest she get too far out of his reach. His hand was distractingly low, at the very edge of her ass where her panties would have been if she were wearing any. He cursed the thought of what it would be like to stick his hand under her dress to feel the bareness of her center.
Instead, Maxim stuck out his hand. “Alex Utkins.”
The boy was confused but shook it off. “Should I know you?”
“Maxim Morozov. I see you met my wife.”
Kira clenched her teeth. Another pretentious asshole. Maxim had no interest in her other than the power of her name.
Alex’s eyes doubled in size. He flicked his attention to Kira, taking in her appearance and her eyes. Then a malicious smirk pressed on his lips, and all the immaturity drained out ofhim. The college kid was replaced with a cold-hearted killer. “Morozovs don’t have niggas in their family. You must be new.”
Maxim kept his muscles tight as he stared down at the boy. There was no doubt he would get in trouble if he were to punch the little brat, so Maxim instead remained silent, ready to pull Kira away.
Alex focused on Kira. “Slumming it, huh? How much he pay for you? Or he knock you up?”
Maxim faced him, but Kira had his arm. Once more, he talked himself down. He would not fall out of his social status for a mouthy teen.
“If you like black dick, baby, I got–”
Maxim swung hard, the whole front of his fist connecting with Alex’s temple, knocking him out in one hit. His body was frozen like a statue as it fell and slammed into the floor. For a moment, the whole world was still. Kira stood next to him with a hand covering her mouth, and he stared at the teenager on the floor.
Then a wave of people rushed around them. Servants twist between bodies to get to the victim. It was a wild scene that embarrassed him, and Maxim cursed himself for it. He knew this would only damage his position, and he looked for Lazar to see his brother’s gritted teeth even from a distance. He took Kira’s hand and pushed out of the multiple onlookers, heading toward Lazar.
Kira stared at the back of Maxim’s head. Had he just defended her?
“What the fuck was that?” Lazar growled.
“He insulted my wife.” Maxim flexed his knuckles, shaking his fingers out.
Lazar glanced between the two of them, but Kira kept her head down as Maxim paced. He cursed and nodded. “Alright. Let’s stay ahead of this. Who do we use that’s connected to the Utkins?”
“Who don’t we? Everyone is connected to the fucking Utkins.” Maxim scratched the top of his head, barely looking over his shoulder. He screwed them in so many ways. He embarrassed his wife. He embarrassed himself. All because of that stupid possessiveness that’s only grown with time. He was weakening against the Morozov bloodline, and it was sickening to realize. Maxim turned to Kira, if only to chastise her for talking to Alex in the first place, but stalled when he saw a smile on her lips. “What’s funny?” Maxim asked through gritted teeth.
Kira shrugged and said nothing.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
