“He wasn’t ever going to offer me anything useful,” I reply before taking hold of her chin, making her breath hitch but she doesn’t flinch. “You didn’t look away when I killed him, did you?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“He deserved it, right?” she asks. “Not for insulting me, but for being a traitor. For nearly getting Leon killed.”
“No wonder my brother loves you,” I remark in Russian.
“What?” she asks in confusion.
“I said that if I’m going to be accused of being so pussy-whipped, then it should at least be the truth, don’t you think?”
Alina’s eyes widen as my gaze lowers to her mouth. “Gavriil…”
“It’s time for you to finally pay up on our agreement,” I murmur, unsure if she can even hear the words.
Alina places her hands on my chest to prevent me from getting any closer. They stroke more than they push me away, though. “I can’t…Dom.”
“You’re the one who offered yourself to me for a month, remember?” I remind her. “You didn’t think that would include letting me ravage you? You haven’t thought about it even once?”
“That’s not…” she stammers then snaps her mouth closed, unable to deny it.
“So, you want me, but my pathetic brother is in the way despite not even being here,” I say, frustration crackling within me as I release her chin. “Maybe you just need a little more motivation so you can blame it all on me.”
“Motivation?” Alina questions me, a look of uneasiness crossing her face.
I take out my phone and send a message to Valentin, knowing that I’m crossing a line I swore I wouldn’t, and I step over it anyway.
“I think we both need a shower. I got some blood on you too,” I comment as I swipe my stained finger down her cheek.
She swallows.
“Take off your clothes for me, Alina,” I tell her as I remove my suit jacket, then reach up to start unbuttoning my shirt.
She shakes her head as she backs away from me. “You finally put me in some clothes, and now you want me to take them off?”
“The only reason I put you in clothes, was so other men wouldn’t have the pleasure of seeing you naked,” I answer just as the bedroom door swings open.
Valentin and Simeon drag Petrov into the room by both of his arms, including his injured one. Alina’s jaw drops at the sight of him. “Petrov? You’re alive? I saw Dom shoot you, and I thought…”
“He shot my shoulder to spare me. It hurt but…I’m okay. For now,” Petrov says. “Are you?”
“She’s perfectly fine. She’s about to be even better,” I reply while keeping my gaze on Alina. “Help me decide whether or not to return him to the prison. Do you think Dominik would be happy to see him alive or not? You can make this call.”
Alina’s eyes widen in understanding without me having to spell it all out. “Are you serious?”
“As death.”
Alina looks over at Petrov, who clenches his jaw in anger. “Gavriil, this isn’t fair.”
“Petrov betrayed Dominik. So technically, he’s not one of his men who I can’t harm as part of our previous agreement.” I pull off my shirt and let it drop to the floor by my feet. “Choose, Alina. Just like Dom had to do, remember?”
It was the perfect thing to say, just like I knew it would be to convince her to yield. Why should she remain loyal to the man who killed her brother?
Alina narrows her eyes at me, her fingers flexing by her sides. She exhales sharply while her eyes remain glued to my bare chest then gradually move lower.
“Is Petrov part of our new agreement or not?”
