Page 32 of Black Ledger

Of course Dad didn’t care.

He never cared.

He just wanted her because she was his. His Moyó nébo i moya zvyez-dá.

Their love was sickeningly cute.

One day, I wanted someone to look at me and love me the way my father loved my mother. They were soulmates. Inseparable. Most mafia parents sucked. They neglected their kids—or worse, abused them—but not my parents. They loved us and protected us. They were also the perfect couple, disgustingly in love and always sneaking off together.

I shivered.

That was not an image I wanted in my head.

Unfortunately, sex was impossible not to imagine, because as I opened the door to my English class—to turn in my paper late—I was confronted with exactly that.

Everything moved in slow motion. At first, it was just the haze of bookshelves, tables in straight lines, the whiteboard and posters of literary classics. And then it was the noise—the slap of flesh and muffled moans.

I averted my eyes, embarrassed, and I started to apologize, but as soon as I opened my mouth to say the words, I realized they hadn’t seen me. And the they in question?

Severin Volkov and Miss Redfield.

And I really should have said something. What I definitely should not have been doing was watching my twenty-one-year-old teacher fuck my eighteen-year-old best friend.

Well, in all honesty, he was definitely fucking her. Miss Redfield was face down on the desk, her shirt off, her nipples rubbing against the wood as Severin pounded into her from behind. His shirt was off and pants undone, the ropes of his muscles on full display. His hips moved in a steady rhythm, his muscles tightening and releasing with each thrust.

With each movement, I became more fascinated, my eyes drawn to his ass and the cute little dimples at his lower back.

My heart slammed against my ribcage. I bit my lip to stay silent. Getting caught was not an option. But fuck it. I watched anyway.

I was transfixed.

Miss Redfield’s nipples were pebbled, and she bit the heel of her hand to suppress her moans. It stifled some of the sound, but plenty still carried through the room.

This was a discipline problem, and she was failing. It shouldn’t be that hard to stay silent.

Severin reached around her, his fingers moving to caress her folds, while his rhythm never faltered.

I squinted, trying to take in more details. Moisture pooled in my panties. That was strange. Was I getting my period? But no, I’d just had it seven days ago.

What was happening? My core pulsed, and an insatiable hunger licked my insides. I had the urge to slide my hand down and touch myself—something I’d never done before. But no, that wasn’t quite right. I wanted him to do it. To touch me the way he was touching her.

Not with his penis, just his hand.

I gulped. What the actual fuck, Xeniya? You have never thought of him this way before. You don’t want him.

You just want sex.

Normal girls want sex. It’s okay.

I must have made a small noise, or Severin had a sixth sense, because his gaze shifted and locked with mine.

Every muscle in my body froze.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.