by Marian Tee
“Doesn’t seem like you like it that much,” Vassi teased, seeing her expression.
“Shut up.” But she couldn’t even take her eyes from the bag, couldn’t stop herself from grinning. And for that moment, all their problems and the tension between them seemed to disappear, and all she could feel was sheer happiness, knowing that this precious gift was from Vassi.
Running her fingers over its back, Seri told him, “You know the other boys will be mad at you again, don’t you?” It wasn’t exactly what she wanted to ask, but it was all her courage could afford.
What was that about? Does it mean you like me? Love me? What happens now?
All these questions were at the tip of her tongue, hanging on the edge and unable to see the light of the day because of her insecurities.
Vassi tugged on a lock of her hair, and the touch was so poignantly familiar she had to swallow past a lump in her throat to croak out, “What?” He tugged on her hair again, and she made herself look up.
“Do you really like it?”
She said simply, “More than anything in the world.” A distasteful thought occurred to her, and Seri bit her lip. “But how did you find it? Did you get a girl to help you with it?” Seri steeled herself the moment she asked the question, telling herself that she would still be happy even if the gift was something one of his countless lovers had shopped for him.
After all, Vassi was infamous for not wanting to go shopping. He had even been quoted for saying that anyone who wanted to fuck him had better not make the mistake of taking him to a mall.
But in front of her, Vassi only appeared incredulous and even offended. “What the hell, leech?”
Bemused at his reaction, she tried to explain, saying, “But you always say in your interviews that you hate shopping---” She stopped at his smirk.
“So you watch my interviews then.” Vassi crossed his arms over his chest as he gazed at her with triumph.
Oops.
She said huffily, “That’s not the point. I’m just saying, it’s reasonable for me to think you weren’t---”
“I’m the one who picked it out,” he cut her off sharply. “Did you really think I’ve changed that much? You know how much everyone in the family likes shopping for you.”
Oh.
“Besides, it wouldn’t mean anything if I hadn’t been the one to search for your gift.” And his irritation was more than evident as he muttered under his breath, “Idiot leech.”
Sweetness pierced her heart at the way picking her gift obviously meant so much to Vassi, but Seri told herself not to read anything into it too soon. “You can’t blame me,” she argued. “You never bought anything for Shelby, did you?” Back then, the only thing Vassi seemed to give his then-girlfriend was multiple orgasms, and her teeth gnashed as nightmarish memories flooded her mind.
The noises they made back then---
Seri tried not to gag.
“You’re different from the rest,” Vassi was muttering. “How many times do I have to tell you that, you stupid leech? You’re family.”
“Ha.”
He suddenly cupped her chin. “I mean it---”
His gaze seared her, and her mind chose that exact moment to replay the last time she had seen him.
Vassi holding his big, hard dick, stroking himself---
Bo zheh moy.
Oh my God.
Just like that, she was trembling. Just like that, she wanted to grab him by the collar and pull him to her so that his mouth would fall on her---
Vassi frowned. “Seri?”
She turned red. “I…” But no excuses came to her mind, nothing to explain the way his nearness was making her senses tingle again.
So she did the only possible thing next.
Seri grabbed a pillow from the bed and smacked him on the face with it, just like how she used to when she was a kid and Vassi hadn’t allowed her to tag along with him.
“What the---” Vassi held the pillow in his hand and stared at her like she was crazy. “How old are you again?”
“Old enough to know when you’re just trying to butter me up so you can ask for a free back massage---”
His eyes gleamed. “Now why didn’t I think of that?”
Oops. She had definitely said the wrong thing there. “Vassi---”
But he had already thrown himself on her bed, arms flung wide open. “Ah.” Vassi practically purred as he stretched out like a lazy predatory cat relaxing after a kill.
“Massage away.”
She gaped at him. “No.”
“Please?”
Oh no, he so wouldn’t get her with that puppy look.
“Come on, solnishka moya, please?”
Mudak.
He was such an asshole, the way he didn’t hesitate to use all the sweetest weapons in the world to get his way.
With a grumbling sigh, she got to her knees on the bed.
Vassi stiffened.
“What?” she asked, confused.
“You can…err…change first, you know?”
Oh. His gaze was averted, but his body was tense, and---
Again, her gaze went where it shouldn’t go, and Seri gulped. Was it just her imagination or had the bulge behind his pants gotten twice as big?
She heard herself say, “It’s okay.” Holy Mother of Russia, was that her voice? It was too sexy, almost like she could start dubbing for AVs after this.
“It’s just five minutes anyway.”
Vassi grunted, but his eyes were closed and his face had a strained expression on it.
Taking a deep breath, Seri slowly placed her hands on his back. His muscles jumped under her touch, but Vassi neither opened his eyes nor spoke.
Heat gradually enveloped her body as she kneaded his muscles, bathing her from head to toe until she felt like her world had become Vassi’s body. His scent was the air she breathed, the rough hiss of his breathing the only sound her ears could recognize, and the feel of his hard, powerful body the only thing that her hands could touch.
She tried, oh how she tried to concentrate on making her touch more therapeutic than sexual, but it was impossible. His skin was like satin over steel, tempting her fingers to linger and caress.
She wanted to close her eyes and savor every sensation. She wanted to pretend she was touching him for another reason---
“Seri?” Vassi flipped on his back as he spoke, making the entire bed dip at his sudden movement. It took Seri by surprise, and she fell against him with a cry.
Her body crashed down on his, his unyielding strength forcing her softness to mold into him. She felt Vassi stiffen as their bodies came into contact.
And then she realized everything of him had stiffened, and she stared at him with open-mouthed shock.
It was still stiffening, getting harder and harder---
His harsh breaths filled the room, and she struggled not to pant with him. The feel of his hardness was driving her crazy, it was so excruciating, tempting her to wriggle. Oh, Holy Mother of Russia, but how she wanted to.
But she couldn’t, knowing if she did she would give herself away.
So don’t move, Seri, she thought desperately. She mustn’t give in.
Mustn’t, mustn’t---
But then it was Vassi who moved.
And everything changed.
A moan escaped Seri and she shifted over him, wanting to feel more of that deliciously hard and pulsing bulge against her femininity. She felt him freezing under her movements, but she was too long gone to worry about it.
Right now, all she knew was that she had to…
Move.
Her body slithered and wriggled, and the pleasure intensified, making her body throb and ache like it never had.
She saw Vassi’s hands spread out on the bed, gripping the cover tightly like it was all he could do not to touch her, and the sight made her moan again.
A growl escaped Vassi, and his breathing became harsher.
She couldn’t help looking at him, an
d she gasped at the way his silvery eyes practically devoured her---
“Vassi.” His name was a cry, a plea - an invitation for him to do things with her.
Any kind of thing, all kinds of things – it didn’t matter.
As long as it was Vassi, everything would feel good.
“Vassi.”
But all he did was stare, his jaw tight even as the urgent, demanding movements of his dick were blatant proof that he was far from indifferent.
She swallowed, and suddenly it was impossible not to say a thing, impossible not to take a risk when his arousal was making her wet and hot, impossible not to seize the chance to make things different.
“Vassi, I want to tell you something.” Her fingers clutched his shoulders. “I d-don’t see you as my---”
But in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
Everything happened too fast, and the next thing she knew, he was lifting her bodily off him, practically throwing her away as he jerked to his feet.
Pain from his rejection threatened to engulf her, but Seri forced herself to move, kneeling up on the bed as she looked up at him. “Vassi---”
He shook his head, almost furiously. “Don’t.”
She almost shrunk away at the way he was gazing at her.
“I have to go,” Vassi said abruptly and he swung away, leaving her without a backward glance.
Her first instinct was to call out to him, but she managed to swallow her desperate need to cry for his attention.
He needed time, Seri told herself. She of all people knew how much family meant to him, and so she had to give him time.
Tomorrow, she’d tell him.
Tomorrow, surely, he’d realize that what they had wasn’t wrong.
Tomorrow, she would tell him.
But when tomorrow came, no words could leave past her lips.
Chapter Thirteen
“It’s time to blow your candles, baby,” Fyodor told her the next night.
“I know, but could we wait for a few minutes more? I’m sure he’s going to arrive any moment now.” She pretended not to see the strain in her stepfather’s face and turned to her other brothers. “You t-think so, too, right?”
“Of course,” Sergei said automatically even as he mentally cursed his youngest brother to perdition.
“You know how Vassi is,” Misha said. “Anything less than a grand entrance for him is unacceptable.” But even as he spoke, he mentally vowed to beat Vassi up if he dared to skip their little dove’s eighteenth birthday.
Pretending she was convinced by their assurances, she looked up at her stepfather with a bright smile, saying, “See? They think he’s coming, so we’ll just need to wait a bit longer.” She gestured to her guests, saying vaguely, “I’ll just go around and say hi to people while waiting…” Her voice trailed off and she quickly whirled away before they realized how perilously close to tears she was.
She danced and chatted with her friends, drank more than she should, but somehow heartbreak kept her sober, and she just couldn’t make herself stop counting the minutes that passed and Vassi still didn’t arrive.
The grand celebration Fyodor had thrown for her eighteenth birthday was a spectacular success and even though close to four hours had already passed since guests started coming, no one was in the mood to leave. The dance floor was completely packed, and with a popular DJ spinning tracks while waiters served an endless supply of champagne, the party was likely to continue for hours.
It was almost midnight when Sergei suddenly appeared by her side, the sight of him causing her high school friends to suffer a frenzy of excitement.
“Seri.”
“Y-yes?” She almost didn’t want to look at him, knowing that whatever he had to say was about Vassi.
He smiled down at her.
And seeing it, she almost broke down.
His voice was wry as he told her, “Your favorite brother has finally made his appearance.”
Oh.
He nodded towards the main doors, and she didn’t even stop to think.
She just ran.
She reached him in less than a minute, and he looked up even before she could call out to him, as if sensing her presence. He looked drop dead gorgeous in his white tux, and his smile was the definition of devilish charm.
“Happy birthday, solnishka moya.”
She smiled up at him. “Thank you.” Then she punched him in the guts, as hard as she could, and she was rewarded with his very real groan of pain.
“What the fuck?” His voice was muffled, Vassi bent over as he clutched his ribs.
“That’s for being late,” she said sweetly when he straightened. The crowd, hearing her explanation, relaxed, and most of Seri’s friends even cheered and laughed.
“You pack a strong one, leech,” Vassi muttered. “Did you join the UFC while I was gone?”
“Ha. Ha.” But it was hard to be sarcastic when she was busy fighting back sudden tears. She was just so relieved that he hadn’t skipped her eighteenth birthday.
Fyodor and the other boys came to join them. “I won’t even ask you why you’re late,” her stepfather said darkly. “Whatever your excuse is, it’s unacceptable, so…”
Before she realized what was happening, Fyodor had also given his youngest son a hard jab in the middle.
“Papa!”
Sergei and Misha were cracking their fists.
She quickly stepped in front of Vassi, throwing her arms wide open like a human shield. “Don’t hit him!”
Her older brothers scowled.
“So…do you assholes get it now?” Vassi wrapped an arm around her shoulders from behind and pulled her close. “I will always be her favorite brother.” He looked down at Seri. “Right?”
She mumbled incoherently. It was not unusual for Vassi to hold her this way, but somehow---
It felt different tonight.
Or maybe it was always like this, and she was the one who had changed.
“Enough horsing around,” Fyodor said irritably. “We can finally get her cake out now that Vassi’s here.”
Vassi was visibly surprised. “I thought you’d have her blow her candles right after dinner?”
Sergei looked at him pointedly. “Seri thought we should wait for you.”
Vassi flushed.
Seeing that Sergei was still seriously pissed, she quickly ducked out of Vassi’s hold and gave her oldest brother a quick hug. “Don’t be mad, please? For me?”
Sergei shot Vassi a grim look before saying reluctantly, “Fine. For you.”
She beamed. “Thank you, Sergei.” She glanced at Misha expectantly.
Misha rolled his eyes. “You know you don’t even have to ask, little dove. You have us wrapped around your little finger.”
Before Seri could thank him, the celebrity host Fyodor had hired for the party announced that the cake was being brought out. “A round of applause, please, and everyone greet our birthday girl a happy birthday again!”
The guests clapped and yelled their birthday greetings, and Seri could feel herself flushing with pleasure. With Vassi here, everything was perfect.
The cake was gigantic, a three-tier red velvet creation designed with edible crystals. The eighteen birthday candles were spread all over the cake, and the host said, “On the count of three, please blow the candles and make a wish. Three, two, one---”
Outside the hotel’s panoramic windows, fireworks exploded in the sky and the crowd gasped and cheered.
She turned to Fyodor in surprise, and his boyish grin made him look decades younger. “Happy?” he asked gruffly.
She threw her arms around him. “I love you, Papa.” She hugged him tightly, too choked up to say more.
Fyodor hugged her back just as tightly, and she knew he had understood.
He might not be her real Papa, but in her heart, he was the only father she could ever love.
She blew her candles one by one, and the crowd laughed when she had to tiptoe and stretch up so she could
blow the candles on the second layer.
There was one last candle on the topmost layer, and she stared up at it in consternation, wondering if she had to jump just to---
Before she knew it, Vassi had her by the hips and lifted her up in the air. She cried out in shock, “Vassi!”
He grinned up at her. “Blow, solnishka moya.”
Ooooh. Even as her heart squeezed with happiness, her dirty little mind couldn’t stop conjuring another image, and something else for her to blow---
Stop it, Seri. This is not the time for…things.
She forced herself to look at the candle. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and made her wish.
Please let Vassi love me back.
She blew the candle.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was…Vassi.
And it felt right.
He slowly lowered her to the floor. “What did you wish for?”
She couldn’t make herself answer, could only look at him with mute hope.
His jaw clenched, and she knew he understood. She also knew that while it felt right for her, it had not felt the same for him. “Vassi---”
He suddenly smiled at her, and she fell silent, confused and just more than a little bit…scared. She used to think she loved everything about Vassi, but now she realized it wasn’t true. That smile of his was…different, terrifying, it was a smile that was too savagely beautiful, like a smile meant to hurt.
But there was no time to think about it.
The rest of her family closed around her, and she was lost in a chain of hugs as Fyodor and the other boys greeted her again. When they stepped away, other guests surged forward, and Vassi disappeared from her gaze.
She returned their well wishes with vague replies, forcing herself to concentrate on her guests, but it was futile. All she could think of was Vassi’s smile.
That savagely beautiful smile, which was already making her heart break even though she knew she could very well be paranoid.
Half an hour passed when she felt Vassi’s presence behind her, and she stiffened as he curled an arm around her waist. He smelled faintly of alcohol, and because he had never tried to imbibe liquor in her presence, she whirled around in surprise.
And there it was again, that savagely beautiful smile---