by A. Marie
"I'm curious about something," she said softly.
Adrik shut his book and placed it on the nightstand before turning his full attention to Avelina. "What are you curious about?"
Avelina couldn't ignore the way her body seemed to melt as he pressed himself closer to her side.
"Have you ever been with anyone before?" She asked.
"I am with someone every day.”
His answer left her to frown as she imagined him being with a different woman every day. "I work in an environment where people surround me. Your question is very dubious because I am with you right now."
She let out a breath of relief before a smile eased onto her features. "Not in that way, Adrik. I'm asking you, have you ever been in a relationship with anyone?"
"No."
“Okay," she laughed out.
She looked over at his hair to find that it was already tucked away in a neat bun. The thought made her eyebrows push together as she stared at it. "Hey, I just realized something. Who would do your hair before I arrived here?"
"Me."
Avelina's jaw dropped as she came to realize that he had just played her. The whole time when he was perfectly capable of doing his hair, he would tell her to do it for him.
"I'm mad at you," she spoke, her eyes narrowing into little slits.
"Why?"
She folded her arms over her chest, overdramatically.
The truth was, she wasn't mad at him at all. Deep down, she knew that she enjoyed doing his hair for him. It provided a sense of nurturing comfort. Not to mention that it was her job to do whatever the client needed in order to make their lives easier.
“You made it seem as if you didn't know how to do your hair," Avelina told him, a small smile playing out on her lips.
"Oh," he said, his eyes falling onto Avelina's before continuing, "it is not necessarily my fault for your misguided assumptions."
"Touché," she muttered.
Suddenly, a dog ran into the room, leaving Avelina to scream. She quickly leaped over Adrik to get behind him while the dog came closer.
"Get the dog!" She screamed out, pushing Adrik toward the bulldog.
A sob ripped out of her as the dog jumped onto the mattress. She was quick to step down from the bed, but Adrik grabbed onto her arm, making it hard for her to escape.
"Let me go!" She cried, her face probably turning a deep red intertwined with her olive-toned skin.
The tears were trailing so far to the point that they were seeping down her neck.
She finally realized that Adrik was laughing. He was laughing, and it was such a beautiful laugh. It made her completely forget about her biggest fear staring her right in the face as the musical sound of his laughter flooded her eardrums.
Sadly, the moment didn't seem to last long because her attention immediately went back to the dog, who had begun to lick Adrik's arm. However, she didn't care how friendly the dog was being.
"Avelina, this is Sobaka. She is Anton's bulldog," Adrik said.
She noticed that Adrik had already sat up against the headboard, and the dog hurriedly crawled into his lap as he ran his hand through the dog's short fur.
"Sobaka means something in Russian, right? I think I’ve heard it before," she spoke while slowly backing away from the bed.
Avelina was doing all she could do to get as far away from Adrik and the dog as possible.
"Sobaka means dog in Russian.’
Her heart was still beating out of control, and her eyes could never leave the bulldog in his hands. The dog began to move and walk over to Avelina.
“Adrik, get the dog!"
Adrik didn't do anything as the dog kept walking towards her. All he did was sit there laughing while Avelina plastered a frightened expression on her face.
The moment the dog jumped down from the bed, Avelina took off running. She could hear the four paws slapping against the ground as she ran out of the room.
"Get the dog! I'm not playing!" She cried only to hear Adrik's laughter coming from inside his room.
The hallway was way too long. She didn't stop until she had made it to her room, where Avelina slammed it shut the second she was inside. She was finally able to catch her breath as she leaned against the door.
The sound of the dog waiting for her outside of the door made her heart never slow its fast thumping. The dog then let out a small bark as if alerting her that it was ready to come into her room.
"Come here, girl!" The sound of Anton's voice called out, speaking in Russian.
Avelina then could hear the dog’s footsteps descending from the door and toward the sound of Anton's voice. Once again, she found herself letting out a breath of relief.
After a long moment, she could hear a rustling of the doorknob.
"May I come in?" Adrik's voice had questioned.
She stood up from the floor and opened the door with narrowed eyes. Avelina didn't want the dog to come back, so she pulled Adrik into her room and quickly slammed the door shut.
"I liked lying in bed with you. Do you mind if we do that more?" He asked.
Choosing to ignore him completely, she walked right past him and toward her restroom. Avelina couldn't believe he had just let the dog attack her while he stayed in bed, laughing his heart away.
"Did you not hear my question, Avelina?"
She let out of sigh before turning to look at him. "I'm choosing to ignore you because you let a dog attack me when I begged you to stop it.”
"Sobaka is harmless. She only wanted to meet you. If there were a dog that had plans on actually attacking you, I would not just let it do so.”
Her heart fluttered at his words. For someone so brutally honest, he managed to have a way with words. "Just because you're cute, it doesn't mean I am no longer mad at you.”
"Why was Anton here with his dog anyways?" She questioned.
"He came to get an assignment, and he brings Sobaka with him because she doesn't like being in his house all alone sometimes.”
She frowned at his response. It was such an adorable story, if only it weren’t a dog he had to bring.
"I'm going to shower, but you can wait for me if you'd like," she smiled.
"We should care more about the environment. A shower together would seem to suffice that, don't you think?" He asked, his hand touching her shoulder and trailing up her neck as his eyes followed his movement.
"Or we could both just take shorter showers.”
He walked closer to her leaving her heart to skip a beat. His other hand had moved down to her hip. Adrik pressed himself closer to her.
"I will see you after your shower.”
He moved over to plant a kiss on her cheek. The feeling seemed to tattoo itself in her brain. She was in a state of bliss, her body was awakened. Avelina didn't ever want to wipe it off.
Her eyes followed him as he walked out of the restroom and into her bedroom.
The second he was gone, she looked at herself in the mirror before cupping the cheek that he had just kissed with a smile on her face.
-
She stepped out of the shower. Avelina grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body. She then proceeded to do her nightly regimen of brushing her teeth and taking care of her skin.
Once she finished everything, she walked out of the room to find Adrik already sleeping in her bed. His shirt was completely off, giving her the perfect view of his abs that trailed down to his v-line.
Heading over to her clothing, she slid on a pair of underwear and shorts. She then turned away from Adrik before sliding on a T-shirt.
Avelina walked over to her bed, where she crawled in beside Adrik. A smile was playing out on her face when she leaned down and pecked his cheek just like he had done for her.
The moment she slid into the blanket, warmth immediately enveloped her. Desire picked at her emotions when Adrik circled his arm around her waist and pressed himself closer to the back of her body.
She didn't want to leave him within the
next three months.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Care for Laughter
Two weeks went by in a flash. Avelina had learned to adapt to being Adrik's sidekick. Wherever he went, so did Avelina. She became well-known throughout Adrik's business and managed to grow on everyone. Her kindness melted the hearts of even the cruelest at the workplace.
Zaria walked into the employee lounge with a smile on her face. "Miss Santos, Mr. Zolotov has requested your presence in his office,"
It took a lot of warming up to do, but Zaria turned out to be an amazing friend. Avelina loved chatting with her and gossiping about office drama. Zaria was just the kind of girl that took her job seriously.
"Okay, I'll be there in just a second.”
Avelina immediately walked out of the room. As she was making her way to Adrik's floor, she waved at a few of the employees, who politely waved back.
It didn’t take her long to arrive in front of the massive double doors to Adrik’s office. His familiar masculine scent immediately welcomed her when she stepped in.
"You've requested my presence?”
"Yes, I wanted to remind you that we have a wedding to attend tomorrow, and I also wanted an excuse for you to be in here with me,” Adrik told her before sitting down in his chair behind his desk.
Avelina walked over behind him where her head instinctively leaned down against his. Her arms would circle around his neck as a smiled melted on her face. “Aw, you missed me.”
He leaned back into her.
"Everything about today has been so perfect," Avelina spoke as she breathed in his scent.
"Today has hit an all-time high surpassing 102 degrees whereas yesterday was only 100. This is solely based on opinion, but yesterday was preferable weather compared to today. That also depends on t-"
"You're so cute, Adrik," she laughed.
When she attempted to remove herself from around his neck, he quickly pulled her arms back to where they once were.
"Cute?" He questioned.
She couldn't help but nod her head with a huge smile playing out on her face. Her fingers began to comb through his long silky strands of hair.
“In exactly three minutes and twenty-three seconds, I have to go to a meeting, but I do not want to,” Adrik stated.
Avelina stopped playing with his hair and pulled away from him. She hated it when he went to meetings because it meant that she had to be left alone in his office.
“I will return shortly,” he declared.
Nodding her head, Avelina watched him get up and walk out.
After letting out a loud audible exhale, Avelina walked around his chair to sit down. The cushions quickly provided her with comfort.
Her boredom grew so intense to the point she started spinning around in Adrik’s swivel chair.
Suddenly, she knocked over a drink from the desk. The glass had spilled all over her top. A groan escaped her as she lifted the shirt from her body. Avelina grabbed some paper towels and began to clean up the mess she left on Adrik’s desk.
When she caught sight of a document, her eyes narrowed at it suspiciously. It mentioned a man by the name of Vincent Santos. For some reason, the name sounded familiar.
The document further mentioned where he came from, Brazil, similar to Avelina. Maybe that is why he sounds so familiar.
She read all of his information.
It wasn’t until she saw an off-guard picture of him. The sight of his bird tattoo left her brows to scrunch together. His blue-eyes and black wavy hair suddenly coaxed a memory back into her mind.
"Mama!" Three-year-old Avelina shouted, running into the living room where she saw her mother.
Her mother was sitting on the couch, but she looked worried about something. The second she heard Avelina's voice, Mama shook her head as fast as she could.
"Listen to me; you go back to your room. Now!" Mama shouted, leaving Avelina to flinch.
Avelina didn't understand why her mother was yelling at her; she rarely yelled. Stepping further in the living room, Avelina saw a man standing in the corner. Worst of all, she saw her father lying on the floor, face down with blood all around him.
"Papa! Papa!" Avelina shouted, running over to him.
In the corner, the man didn't say a word as the young girl threw herself on top of her papa and tried to hug him. Even with the blood that covered every speck of his body, she wanted to hold him.
"Don't you mess with her! No one knows about Avelina," Mama pleaded, her eyes dripping with tears.
"Everyone knows about everyone in the Favela's," the man spoke.
Avelina looked up at him as he got down on the ground and lifted her head by her chin. He saw the streaks of tears that fell from her eyes and could only stare at them. Slowly, he peeled back his hoodie and lifted his mask. His blue eyes were piercing into her own. Although, what caught her attention was the bird on his neck that stood screeching at her.
"Go get your things ready. I'm taking you to grandma's," The man ordered before he moved a strand of her hair from out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.
Avelina tried to look at her mother, who let out a sob, but the man pulled her attention back to his own eyes.
"Go. Now! We don't have enough time. They will be here soon," he ordered.
Fear struck her hard as she did exactly what he asked. She grabbed her bags and packed them up before running back into the living room. Her mama was gone, but the man was still sitting in the corner. He was looking at a picture of mama, papa, and her.
"Where's mama?" Avelina cried.
He didn't say anything as he lightly grasped Avelina's hand and walked her toward the front door. She tried to look behind her in search of mama, but the man was far too fast. Just before they stepped outside, he wrapped her small body up in a blanket and carried her to his car.
Harshly, he threw her in the backseat before stepping into the driver’s side. She did not say another word as a silent tear fell, and her eyes looked up at the sky where she knew her parents were now resigned.
She knew they no longer existed, and she knew the man with the bird tattoo had killed them.
One question was left on her mind; was Vincent Santos the man who killed her parents?
CHAPTER NINE
Care for Hope
Avelina woke up to the feeling of Adrik's arm wrapped around her waist. Sometimes, he would go into her room and place himself on her bed while she slept. Avelina had gotten used to the treatment after the second time he had done it.
"Morning, Adrik," she muttered when she felt him move slightly.
She looked over at him as he lifted his head from the pillow with his eyes closed just before letting his head plop down once more. She couldn't help but laugh.
Avelina moved to get up but was pulled right back down into Adrik's warmth. She didn't know how he ended up on top of her, but there he was. His head nestled its way into her neck as his eyes remained shut. Avelina didn't exactly know how to respond except for running her hand up and down his bareback. She found herself tracing every muscle.
"You're usually the one being punctual and waking me up. Since when have things changed?" Avelina questioned, a smile coating her lips.
Her smile quickly went away as she felt his lips grazing her neck. It felt so good, but she knew it was so wrong.
"Adrik," she whispered out.
He must've taken that for validation because he had gone from kissing her neck to sucking her skin, possibly giving her a hickey. Her hand fisted his long strands of hair as he moved lower from her neck to the top of her breasts.
Avelina’s eyes were quick to shut in delight while he continued to kiss lower and lower down her body. Her lower region was pulsating in need and hunger.
Her back arched when he slipped his hand into her shorts and pressed his finger against her panties right over her wet area. Adrik began to rub her up and down while his lips never stopped their manipulations on her body.
When his other hand moved to th
e hem of her shorts, she knew things were going way too far.
"Adrik, stop.”
He pulled away from her, his eyes staring into hers. She didn't know what he was trying to say but could tell he was frustrated.
"Adri-"
"No.”
She felt her shoulders fall with a sad look on her face.
Adrik shook his head just before exiting the bedroom and leaving her all alone. With a sigh, Avelina decided to go after him, but as soon as she opened her door, he was already there.
"I don't understand why you're mad at me," she said.
"I am not particularly mad. My heart feels broken.”
"Why does your heart feel broken?" She asked sadly, her hand coming up to his face.
She could feel her heart breaking as he pushed her hand from his face and let it fall back to her side.
"You do not want me.”
She only sighed in response.
Avelina didn't know what she wanted. Not only did she work for Adrik, but he also did illegal things as a side-business. It wasn't something she would ever want to get involved with. Although he was charming, honest, and never failed to make her laugh, there was still a side of him that she couldn’t accept.
"That's not true. We're friends, Adrik," she told him.
The way he moved back and turned his head away didn’t go unnoticed by her. Avelina could see how he looked even more dejected.
"Okay.”
He wanted to tell her that he didn't want to be friends. She was all he could think about, and he loved how he couldn’t feel any judgments from her like he could with everyone else. He was a beast, and she was his beauty, but this wasn't a fairytale. For Adrik, there wasn't a happily ever after.
He walked into his room and shut his door in frustration. Adrik’s body felt like it was shaking. His mind always managed to figure things out, but no matter how hard he tried to figure out Avelina, he couldn't.
"Adrik," Avelina spoke softly on the other side of the door.