Page 61 of Black Ledger

I enjoyed that far too much.

I watched his fingers gently play with my flesh, fascinated.

My heart pounded.

The veins in his neck bulged, pulsing from all the restraint holding him back from escalating this any farther. Which I knew he wanted to. Severin wanted to fuck any beautiful woman. He especially had a thing for brunettes. Loved them.

So yeah, he would easily fuck me if I let him. But I never would. I wasn’t a notch in a bedpost.

I pinched my eyes closed for a moment, letting myself enjoy the tingling sensation in my bones and the heat rising in my chest. I loved the way he touched me, but it had to stop. I had to put an end to this… because I didn’t want to. Because I wanted to let him fuck me and make me forget Chad.

But that would only lead to more pain, so I opened my eyes and stepped back.

“Thank you,” I said, my throat hoarse. “That was very helpful.”

Then I turned on my heel and nearly ran out of the house, leaving Chad’s severed head with Severin behind me.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Xeniya Morozova

Age 20

Fifteen Years Ago

Iwas officially a third-year now, twenty years old… and a virgin.

And that was a problem.

had successfully avoided mentioning the “will you please touch me” moment to Severin. I was still horribly embarrassed about it, so we pretended as if it had never happened, and life at college remained as normal as it possibly could when you and almost all your friends were members of the Russian mafia.

But back to the virgin thing.

All of my friends, including Nika, were no longer virgins—although my sister absolutely refused to tell me who she had fucked. I really wanted to hack into all our security feeds to find out, but I would respect her privacy.

At least for now.

I had a feeling I knew exactly who it was, which was exactly why Nika would never tell me.

But alas, now I was the only virgin in our group. Partially because of the event, but mostly because I had a very present, very frustrating stalker who never left me alone.

I’d had enough.

If Severin could date and fuck any girl he wanted, I could go on one date with a guy, and hopefully, hopefully, it might lead to more.

The most perfect part of my plan was that Severin was tied up in Bratva business tonight. So there was absolutely no way he would crash my date.

My night was going to go perfectly.

The guy in question was harmless. He was a nerdy but conventionally attractive computer science major who didn’t like parties and enjoyed staying in for a game night rather than going out for a rager.

The perfect guy for me to date.

He was sweet, warm, and able to hold a conversation, because, unfortunately, I was still far too quiet for most people’s liking. He had asked me out after one of our classes, and I had said yes. So now we were having a drink and chatting over a plate of nachos.

I still drank, but now I made sure I knew where my drinks came from, and I never exceeded two drinks at a party or gathering.

We were at the Pub on campus, and Spencer had ordered us beers. I’d watched the bartender pour mine and give it to me directly.