by Amaya Black
The street lamps were throwing their hazy orange hue around my bright orange Porshe. I'd always dreamed of buying one and six months ago, I had paid for it in cash. It outright belonged to me with the peanut butter insides. I fucking loved this car. It exuded a sexiness reserved for the rich, but it was mine.
The entire ride to Smoke and Mirrors, I contemplated what I was doing. My fingers were squeezing the steering wheel as anxiety rippled over my skin. Valentin's sudden presence had been causing ripples in my life for weeks. It'd been like he was a rock skipping across a pond.
I was the pond.
Parking my car, I let the valet take it before I jumped in line. My stomach had become a ball of knots as I contemplated what I was going to say to Valentin. I wasn't a perfect woman. I just hoped he would take pity on me. Maybe not take my daughter from me?
The line moved fast, and I found myself inside and searching for Nova. They were all in V.I.P. and it seemed as if Valentin had just arrived. Naturally, he had someone with him.
Forcing down my nerves, I spoke, "Hope I'm not too late!"
Nova spotted me and with a squeal of delight came over to say hello. We embraced and she planted a quick peck on my cheek. She swiped at my face to remove any traces of the pink lipstick she wore.
"Girl, Valentin's face when he heard your voice," she whispered to me.
Nova's face had added a cringe factor to it but I didn't have time to think about it. She handed me some champagne and then Liam had made his way over. Val finally turned and faced me and it amazed me that even after all these years he was still gorgeous, even if he was a more hardened version of himself. I realized it was his stepmother hanging all over his arm when she spoke to me.
I barely had time to breath because the next thing I knew I was being dragged by Valentin through the crowds and up some stairs and into an office. The only light in the room was coming from the lamp on the desk.
He started in on me immediately once the door was shut. I watched him paced and wondered if he was feeling how I'd felt just hours ago when he'd shown up at the recital.
"Kill you?" he asked in response to my question.
"Yes."
He came close then and I stumbled back until I bumped up against the desk. "I want to."
His hand slid up my body, all the way to my throat, and I had flashbacks to all those times after work when we'd get hot and heavy in the parking lot. He had begged for me to let him inside of my body.
Pop!
I slapped at his hand.
"Then do it!"
"I don't think you're worth the bullet," he admitted. "Why are you here? Where is our daughter?"
"My daughter...is at my aunt's house and she's fine."
He scoffed. "Is this what you do? Party 24/7 and leave our kid with random relatives?"
"I get it," I moved away from in front of the desk.
The huge windows of the office overlooked the club scene below. People were dancing to some rapper that was on stage. I had the best view of V.I.P. and I could see Liam and Nova smooching while drinking all the while the world twinkled around them.
"You get what?" He asked and then came to stand behind me.
I didn’t flinch.
It felt familiar but weird to have the man I'd feared for so long standing behind me.
"I get that I stole from you. That I took time from you."
"And you did it because you're a malicious bitch," he turned me around to face him.
I tilted my head up and met those green eyes that had haunted me like a phantom for five years. He was hovering a little too close for my liking, leaning over me. He was just as tall as I remembered, still resembling an oak tree that I'd desperately wanted to climb.
"Wow, name calling?"
He ignored me. "You never told me why you were here."
Taking a deep breath, I stared past his head and mumbled my words out. His face turned stony at that point and it caused a shiver to slide across my spine.
Speaking more clearly, "I want to come to an arrangement concerning, Lexie."
His face remained stoney, it almost seemed void of emotion, not that I was surprised. Even in that short time we were together, he was reserved.
"Really?"
"Why would I joke about this...I'm scared to death of what you're planning," I looked away finally unable to take his gaze much longer.
"And what is this arrangement?"
I took a deep breath, wringing my hands. "Give me a few days to break the news to Lexie about you. "
"I want to be there when you do..."
"What? No. I need to explain things to her. It's always just been the two of us."
He huffed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Fine. But after its done...I want to meet her properly, Astrid. I've been out of the picture for too long."
"Alright, deal. I'll tell her and then we'll meet up. She loves ice cream."
He seemed thoughtful. "I'd like that."
A sigh of relief left my mouth and I nodded at him. I could feel myself sweating under my arms like crazy. Adrenaline was rushing through my body and I couldn't believe. "I can breathe a sigh of relief now."
"You have could have said this in a text message," he offered.
"Yeah but I don't have your number," I carefully admitted to him.
It would have been simpler to have called or texted. Some part of me had wanted to see him. Maybe by seeing hi, it'd make things less awkward.
"Take out your phone," he ordered.
"I'm not one of you little Russian lackeys," I exclaimed but did as I was told.
He came over to make sure that I was ready. He rattled off his number so close to my ear that his breath tickled my flesh. I punched his number in quickly, wanting to leave now. He was way to close.
"I wish you would've told me," he said.
I tried to step away but he'd grabbed hold of my arm, turning me into him. Trying my hardest to avoid his gaze, he lifted my chin.
"Little Star, why didn't you tell me," he asked.
That name...
The way he said that name...
If there had ever been a picture of a bad idea in human flesh, it was Valentin Safaryan. He was made of pure sin and the way he made words drip from his lips...there was a reason he'd been the one to deflower me.
Damn, he made it hard to swallow the same air as him.
"I called..." I stepped away.
"And?"
"And no one could get up with you. I only had that one number for you...and the restaurant wound up closing. It was for the best, though."
"How! How in the hell was it for the best....I have a daughter. I missed the first five years of her life. You think you're going to just skate free and clear because you're letting me be a part of her life now."
I could feel the rage rolling up inside of him. Suddenly, he had grabbed ahold of me again. He pushed me towards the desk, and I was forced to brace myself against it. Before I even knew what was happening my gold dress was up around my waist and he was palming my ass cheeks left bare by the thong I wore.
"I'm going to punish you, Little Star. For all the time you stole," he hissed out.
His hand massaged my ass a little more and then it was like a clap of lightning spread through my body as my ass caught on fire. Valentin was spanking me. In my shocked state, all I could do was stand there, my arms braced as the assault continued over and over and over.
"Does it hurt," he asked.
"Yes," I managed to bite out, regaining my senses.
I tried to turn but my dress was gripped in his hand, laying right above the valley of my back. With just one hand and the fear of ripping my pretty dress, he held me there. My ass was out for anyone who wanted to walk through the door and see.
"Good," he replied. "You should get use to this, Astrid."
I'm guessing for good measure; he slapped my ass one more good time.
Hard.
A shudder went through me as I tried to figure out what was going
on. Why was I suddenly wet from his exploits? A man had never...ever...spanked me.
Shoving my dress down, I world on him and saw this his eyes were glazed over and he was sporting a huge erection. I snatched my eyes away from him. He wouldn't get under my skin that easily.
"You're insane," I said.
He ignored me and adjusted himself and that mask of control slipped into place. "Tell our daughter about me...and you no longer have days. You now have one. By tomorrow evening, I want to be taking her for ice cream. Good night, Astrid."
Just like that, he dismissed my entire being, my entire presence. He strolled from the room and left me standing there with my mouth open. Tears threatened to spill. I was embarrassed by how I'd just been treated.
Spanked.
The word danced so clearly in my head. My flesh was still stinging, and I had no idea what I needed to do about it. Biting my bottom lip, I ran my hands through my blond tresses. Then I fixed my dress back into place. Taking a deep breath, I headed out of the office. There was no way I could go back to Nova and Liam and act as if a grown man hadn't just spanked the shit out of me.
No.
I needed time to process all of this, including having one day to tell Lexie that she had a father after all. Our whole world was going to change.
Her whole world was going to be different.
Chapter 7
Valentin
Katia had gotten drunk, and we had practically dry humped in front of everyone to see. The clients didn't care they were snorting coke in a corner, while Nova and Liam had left a few hours earlier. Katia had had every intention of fucking me but...
All I could think about was Astrid. The way the gold dress had twinkled from the strobe lights outside of the office windows.
How full her lips had looked.
How kissable.
Most of all I loved how vulnerable I'd made her.
Flashes of the gold dress wrapped around my hands as I slapped at her ass cheeks slithered around in my mind. It would have been nothing to go into the desk drawer, tear open a condom and slam into her until she begged me to stop. Taking her in the office over and over again while she screamed out in ecstasy.
How had I lost control?
Astrid had done this to me.
The moment I had seen her again things had felt like they were slipping out of my control.
I was always in control, though.
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I felt a slight headache beginning to form. I'd had too much vodka and felt sick to my stomach. Slipping on a t-shirt and my night pants, I went into my perfectly neat bathroom and found the bottle of Aspirin. I was down to three, which I took and discarded the bottle into the waste bin. Filling my mouth with water from the sink, I stood up. The pain had begun to shoot from the base of my head to my eye sockets. In fact, my eyes were bloodshot.
Quickly, I brushed my teeth and went downstairs to find Nova and Liam in the kitchen. The kids must have been elsewhere because even the tv room was empty. Nova gave me a small smile that told me she was waiting while Liam had his nose buried in a newspaper.
"Eggs?" Nova asked already preparing me a plate.
I nodded and sat down next to my cousin. "Morning."
Liam refolded the newspaper and turned to view me. "I heard it was a good night after we left."
Groaning inwardly, I reached for the juice Nova had sat in front of me. She was grinning like a cat that had eaten a damn canary and I wasn’t in the mood. What had Astrid told her?
"It was okay," I shrugged and shoveled some of the eggs into my mouth.
"Lucien told me that you and Katia were so drunk, he had to drive you home..."
"Please tell me you two didnt...ya know?" Nova interjected.
I relaxed at his words.
So, Astrid hadn't said anything.
"Of course not," I looked at both of them.
Once the words were out of my mouth, both Liam and Nova relaxed under my gaze. I went back to eating my food and only stopped when I saw Nova was still looking at me.
"What?" I snapped and winced from the sound of my own voice.
"Astrid texted me bright and early this morning. Like six a.m. On the dot. She said that she's explaining to Alexandra about you," she shrugged a little and looked at Liam.
"Yes. Your little friend has cost me time," I said.
"If it helps her case, any....she never told me about who Lexie's father was."
Shrugging, "It doesn't matter, Nova."
"Are you going to punish her forever?" she asked.
I smirked my usual shit eating smirk, "Something like that."
Nova winced and I clapped Liam on the shoulder about to leave. He stopped me however and we walked out of the kitchen together. He looked happier than I'd seen him in a while.
"What's up?" I asked as we reached the base of the stairs.
"Nova and I are taking a honeymoon, finally. I found us a great house on Martha's Vineyard this late in the season. We want to do it before school starts and we can take the kids with us."
"That doesn’t sound romantic," I wiggled my eyebrows at him.
Rolling his eyes, Liam didn't comment, "You'll be in charge of everything. We're leaving in the morning."
"I'll report in..."
"You most certainly will not. I want to relax and Nova wants the same. I can't tell you the last time I took a vacation."
I smirked. "Never. Nova's really changed your perspective on life. I'm happy for you, cousin."
Clapping him on the back I promised to check in on him later. Jogging up the wooden staircase, I stopped by Katia's room and raised my hand to knock. Mentally, I began to kick my own ass. It was a bad idea, especially because I'd forced my cock down her throat just a day ago.
I needed to come up with a plan for her and soon. She had intel on a supposed brother of mine but had yet to give me any actual information. I had one of my feelers out looking for crumbs of information but so far all they could find was that Katia had indeed had a child. There was no name, no birth certificate that could satisfy my curiosity.
Once back in my room, I locked the door and shed my clothes. Checking my phone before my shower, I saw that I had a text message: The Therapist.
You haven't scheduled your next session, the message read.
I ignored it.
I didn' t want to see The Therapist at the moment. She loved to rehash my history and why I was in therapy to begin with. My last session had been the day after finding out Astrid had been hiding our daughter, even when she hadn't wanted to confirm it.
As I turned on the water, it began to steam up the bathroom immediately. I stood directly under the shower head as water began to scold me alive practically. I loved the pain it inflicted, and my thoughts turned to Astrid and the first time I'd had an actual conversation with her. Before I'd fucked her and taken her virginity...
The restaurant had been dim with jars on the table and a candle inside. It was also quite empty inside for a Friday night, but I didn't mind. I'd been coming in for weeks and not just because the food was good but the waitress. Her smile lit up a room and all the old heads that my Uncle had associated with talked about how they wanted to fuck her into oblivion.
That night she'd come over to the table with her cute little black shirt unable to hide the curves she possessed. If I'd guessed correctly, she wasn't much taller than four foot nine, making her extremely petite.
"Can I get you anything tonight?"
"What's your name? " I'd been swirling the salt and pepper shakers around on the table bu had stopped on her arrival.
"Aaaahhhstrid," I'd caught her off gaurd and her light skin had revealed a blush.
"I'm Valentin," I'd stuck out my hand, but she hadn't took it.
"Do you need more time with the menu," she eyed the unopened and still tucked away black and gold menu.
"I need your number," I smirked and raked my eyes up and down her body.
The second she'd gotten turned on, I
knew. Her nipples had turned pert inside of thing bra she wore. Determination became a factor in that moment. I was determined to have myself in between her legs with one of her breasts in my mouth.
But she made me work for it...
I slipped out the memory and began to soak my body down in soap. The sting of the hot water rolling over the scars of my childhood. Some days because of my line of work. I felt that I would never be clean.
Once my shower was done. I checked my cell phone again with three missed calls from Lucien, one of our captains. He was dedicated to his job and needed a raise soon. I placed him on speaker phone and waited for him to answer.
"Morning boss," came his Russian accented voice.
"Go ahead," I said waiting for the daily report I got from him.
"Seems we've found ourselves another rat...and he might have information on Viktor."
"Where are?"
"The Sleepy Mermaid," Lucien replied. "What should we do with him boss?"
"I'll be there...keep him warm for me," I replied hanging up.
The need to punish someone was lingering. I couldn't punish Astrid the way I wanted to and Katia would get to clingy. Violence was the better solution.
I went to my closet and got dressed and then pulled out a perfect black tie. It shined in the light as the silk threads soaked in the rays bouncing from the window. I slipped the suit on and it became like a second skin on me. Nothing fit against the build of my body better than tailor made Armani suits.
I briefly wondered had Astrid told our daughter about me. What would Lexie think of having me for a father? Then I thought about how my world could affect hers. What would she do if she knew the worst about me? So help me, if Astrid tried to poison her against me....her punishment would never stop.
It was already going to be severe enough as it was.
My car felt warm as I got inside of it. Already the morning heat was seeping through the cracks forcing me to adjust the air in the car. Only when I was satisfied, did I pull away from the mansion. After this little meeting, I made a reminder on my phone to stop by a toy store.
I didn't want to officially meet my daughter empty handed.