Pulling myself off of her friend earlier than I should have, I found my way back to her. This time, I faced the mirror as I laid back against her. The reason I loved this room was the display in the mirror but when I looked there, I noticed her gaze wasn’t on the mirror; instead, it was on the side of my face. She didn’t care about my pussy on display or my body, instead she was enraptured by me.
Turning my head, I faced her, and our eyes locked once again in a battle of tension and heat. As I writhed on top of her, she writhed underneath me as her left hand slid over my side, down my stomach and settled on the skin just above my core. In rhythm with her hips that moved under me, I met her pace as her fingers stroked just above my slit, teasing at what I could have if she dipped her fingers just a couple of inches lower.
Her right hand wrapped around my throat and instead of panicking like I would with any other client, it sent shivers down my spine and wetness down my slit. I lost myself in the movement, shutting my eyes.
‘God, what I would do to you,’ she breathed into my ear. My eyes snapped open.
‘God, what I would let you do to me,’ I replied, needing her to believe I was right there with her in this moment and in the fantasies that this moment between us was conjuring.
The music faded, marking the end of our time together. As her friend nodded and left, she stood up to go, but I wasn’t ready for her to leave.
‘Stay, please. I want you to watch me put my lingerieback on.’ I gave her my hand to pull her up as she got to her feet.
‘I would love to,’ she said.
As her eyes took me in, I picked up my lingerie and slowly pulled the pieces back onto my naked body. Even as I gave her one last private show, her eyes remained on my face, not my body. It sent a thrill through me.
As I stood, finally clasping my bra on, I spoke without thinking.
‘You’re bad news.’ Instantly regretting my words, I waited for her to be irritated by my statement, but instead, she laughed and her smile was captivating.
Walking past me to leave the room, she looked back one last time.
‘Take care of yourself.’ In that moment, it felt like she truly cared and wanted me to be okay. It was a weird sensation but it made me feel safe. I didn’t quite understand it myself; it was a foreign feeling.
As she faded into the crowd once more, I found my eyes searching for her the rest of the night, but I didn’t see her again. When I went home I found myself thinking about her as I shut my eyes and went to bed.
3
VALENTINA
It had been a few days since Matt’s bucks party and I still couldn’t shake the thoughts of Sunshine that were plaguing me. She consumed my mind and even found her way into my dreams. She was magnetic and those eyes were the sexiest thing I had ever seen. I was infatuated and I felt like a horny teenager obsessing over her first crush, not the twenty-five-year-old that I was.
Matt’s words rattled around in my mind as I replayed every minute of that night over and over again. When I caught up with him following our shared dance, he told me he’d felt like he was interrupting something between us and that he should have left us alone for that dance. He swore that, although it was her job to make her clients feel wanted, he thought she genuinely wanted me. The palpable chemistry between us being clear for all to see.
It was comforting, in a sense, to know that he had seen what I’d felt—that I wasn’t completely delusional, even though that was exactly how I felt, having already fantasised a million different ways I might run into her again. Ifelt obsessed, and some of those fantasies had me feeling like a stalker. I suppose the apple truly didn’t fall far from the tree, knowing my family’s proclivities—well, Zane’s at least.
Tonight, was not the night to lose myself to my all-consuming thoughts. I had to be sharp. This dinner had been on the books for the last month. Xavier, my eldest brother, ran the family and our organisation, which meant he was the one who arranged these dreadfully boring dinners each month. I had already established that I had no interest in joining the more sinister business enterprises we owned and operated, but I still had value to give when it came to propelling us and our objectives forward.
My hand in marriage was highly sought after; many families and foreign criminal organisations sought a foothold in our city and saw allying through marriage as the perfect opportunity given my family ran almost everything. I was not opposed to the idea myself; I had always assumed this would be my reality, and my brothers had promised I would have a say in the final match. I didn’t have a strong inclination myself towards finding love, so something arranged always seemed more convenient. That’s precisely what these dinners have been about over the last eight months.
Tonight, we were sitting down with Alexei Petrov, the first in line to the Russianbratvacurrently run by his father.
I sat at the head of the table in our formal dining room. In any other family or household, that seat would have belonged to Xavier when there were guests, but here it was mine. My brothers always taught me I wasn’t secondary to any man, not even them. They would not accept someone in my life who wanted to push me down, forcing me to live a meek, subservient life. For one it did not suit me and if we were truly being honest I would kill anyone that tried.
What no one outside our family knew was that I was the second best fighter of my siblings, with only Zaneoutmatching me due to his sheer size, strength and penchant for violence. Xavier was the brains of the organisation and had a quiet power to him, whereas I had speed and agility, as well as a strategic mind. Even though I didn’t have an active role in the family, they respected me as an equal—but they preferred me to be safe and outside of the immediate fray. I would always be their little sister, no matter my age. The girl they had fought so hard to protect when the world wanted to tear us to shreds as children, with no one and nothing to our names.
Xavier stalked into the room and took a seat on my left. Even while seated, you could easily see how tall he was. My brother was handsome and always composed, wearing suits and carrying himself with perfect posture, but there was an edge to him that simmered under the surface. You could catch glimpses of it in his almost black eyes that matched his hair.
Zane followed behind him, taking the seat next to Xav. Where Xav was tall and lean, Zane was built like a beast; he oozed demonic energy, which completely went against his softer, personality when he spoke to those he cared about. He had a wicked sense of humour that not many knew how to process, especially since Z was known as one of the best enforcers in the business. He had the highest kill count in the country, and he was truly feared for his torture techniques. It was not uncommon for people to opt to end their own lives rather than face him and his depraved ways. The man was truly a psychopath in every sense of the word, but to me, he was just Z, my big brother.
‘How are you feeling, V? If tonight’s a success I keep a stash of condoms in the cloak room, just grab some on yourway out.’
‘Really, Z?! Can we not speak about V having sex? It’s really not very funny,’ Xav snapped at Z’s crass comments. Always poking at our stoic leader.
Before we could continue, the formal dining room doors opened as Evelyn, our housekeeper, ushered in Alexei. His eyes briefly glanced in the direction of my brothers as he sent a polite nod their way. His eyes raked over my body, taking me in before he briefly paused to assess the seating arrangement. He hesitated before making his way to the empty seat on my right. Refusing to give an inch—knowing the power play had already commenced—I remained seated as he came to my side, lifting my hand as he placed a chaste kiss on it before taking his seat.
I could feel Xav’s muscles physically tighten at the display of affection, while Z’s eyes twinkled with amusement. Z wanted to watch the world burn and tonight would be a slice of that.
