Confusion flickers across her face. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted?—"
"I do want you." I release her wrists and cup her face in my hands, forcing her to meet my eyes. "But I won't have you like this."
"I don't understand."
"You're going to meet Luka Kolar in two days." I stroke my thumb across her cheekbone, watching her eyes dart back and forth between mine. "You're going to sit across from one of the most dangerous men in Eastern Europe and convince him that you're Ana Veche, and right now, you're still approaching everything—including me—like a woman who's afraid to ask for what she wants."
She pulls back slightly, her brow furrowing. "Are you rejecting me?" There's fear in her eyes, of my rejecting her, but maybe also because she knows what I'm about to ask.
"No, Vivika. I'm not."
"So… what, you want me to be aggressive or something?" Her bottom lip pouts out. I know she wants softness and connection, and I want to give it to her. But right now, I want her to take charge of her power and use it. And I want her to learn.
"I want you to be a Donna." I let my hands fall from her face and cross my arms over my chest, leaning back against the porch railing. "Ana Veche didn't ask for things. She took them."
"I don't know how to do that."
"Then learn." I hold her gaze, letting the challenge stand. "Show me what Ana would do if she wanted a man. Show me how a Mafia Donna takes what belongs to her."
Vivika stares at me blankly, but she squares her shoulders and steps toward me, and I can see her trying to channel something stronger than herself.
"Come here," she says, and her voice is firmer than before but still lacks the commanding edge I'm looking for.
So I don't move. "A Donna doesn't ask. She commands. And when she commands, there's no question in her voice—only expectation."
She bites her lip, frustration flickering across her features, and tries again. "Come. Here." This time, she points at the ground in front of her, lifting her chin in what she probably thinks is an imperious gesture.
But I stay where I am. "Better, but you're still asking. You're still waiting to see if I'll obey instead of expecting it as your due."
"This is too hard," she mutters.
"Everything worth doing is hard." I push off from the railing and close the distance between us, stopping just inches from her body. "Think about it, Vivika. How does it feel when I tell you what to do? That certainty, that absolute confidence that you'll follow where I lead—that's what you need to project."
Her eyes search my face, and I can see the wheels turning behind them. Then something shifts in her expression, and when she speaks again, her voice has dropped to a register I've never heard from her before.
"On your knees."
The words are electrifying. I don't move immediately, testing her, and her eyes narrow on me, growing darker and filled with lust.
"I said on your knees, Lev." She steps closer and grips my jaw, pursing her lips before continuing. "I'm tired of waiting for you to decide what I'm allowed to have."
I sink to my knees on the worn porch boards, looking up at her through the mist of rain drifting under the eaves. This is what I've been waiting for. This is the woman who can convince Luka Kolar that she was born to rule.
"That's it," I murmur. "That's exactly it."
"Did I say you could speak?" She threads her fingers through my hair and tugs, tilting my head back. "You've spent weeks telling me what to do, how to walk, how to talk, how to be someone else entirely. This morning, you're going to listen to me and doexactly what I tell you to do. And you're going to thank me for the privilege."
The dominance in her voice sends a shiver down my spine. I've created something dangerous here, awakened something in her that I suspect has been dormant her entire life. And I couldn't be more pleased.
"Yes, ma'am," I say. "Whatever you want."
"Stand up." She releases my hair and steps back, her eyes raking over my body with a hunger that makes my blood run hot. "Now follow me…"
Vivika turns and walks back into the house where I see she stoked the fire before coming out. I shut the door behind us, and she leads me right to the fire where she turns on her heel and looks down her nose at me. "Strip."
I pull my shirt over my head, letting it fall to the floor, and test her by crossing my arms over my chest. She's nailed it perfectly. The voice, the tone she's taking… Vivika is making me hard as a rock.
"The rest," she commands when I hesitate with my hands at my waistband. "All of it. I want to see what's mine."
