by Rose, Bella
“And you’re telling me that money isn’t responsible for every inch of you?” he said sarcastically.
“I can’t believe you brought her. You never brought me to your charity functions.”
“She isn’t making a scene,” Alek pointed out as he tried to brush past her. “You are.”
Before he could even blink, she reached out and grasped his coat. “Alek, please.” Her voice was soft and pleading. He looked down at her in puzzlement. In the entire time that he’d known Claudia, she never seemed as vulnerable as she did right now. “You have to understand my point of view. You dropped me like a rock. No warning. One minute I was in your bed, and the next minute you had replaced me. I just want to know what I did wrong. I deserve at least that much.”
As gently as he could, Alek reached up and removed her hand. “Claudia,” he said softly, “it’s not you. Before our tryst, I never kept a woman for longer than a month. We had a good time, but it was time for me to move on. You knew getting into this that it wouldn’t be forever. I don’t do forever. I don’t do commitment.”
“But she’s living with you,” Claudia said. The bitterness returned to her voice, and Alek winced.
“It’s not romance, Claudia. It’s just politics. Who are you here with?”
His ex rolled her eyes. “Vlad,” she muttered.
Alek tried not to wince. Vlad was a wealthy man easily thirty years her senior. He was a disgusting drunk, but it didn’t surprise him that she would hook up with him. Claudia followed money, and she didn’t really care where it came from. She didn’t blink an eye at the violence that he dealt with. He knew she was happy that he was young and handsome.
“Enjoy your evening, Claudia. Leave Natalia alone,” he said as he sidestepped her and continued searching for Natalia. The ballroom was expansive, and he wasn’t overly concerned when he couldn’t find her. But when several more minutes past and he still couldn’t find her, he grew uneasy.
Maybe he had pushed her too far too soon. Who’s to say that the news of her father wouldn’t spurn her to leave? After all, he wanted her to realize what kind of man she was protecting. What if she decided he wasn’t worth protecting anymore?
An unfamiliar feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. A couple of people stopped to talk to him, and he tried to focus on the conversation. Silently, he told himself that she was probably in the bathroom or standing out on the veranda. But he couldn’t help but fear that she had gone.
And he didn’t understand why it made him so upset.
***
After Alek abandoned her, Natalia stood awkwardly near the food and picked at it. She wasn’t hungry, but she needed something to do with her hands. Part of her couldn’t believe that a mob boss rubbed elbows with the rich and famous. Part of her couldn’t believe she was supposed to rub elbows with the rich and famous.
Picking at the food, she kept to herself. She had absolutely nothing in common with these people, and she tried to will herself into invisibility. Unfortunately, Alek’s ex had already spotted her and was shooting poison darts from her eyes. Furthermore, several men were opening drooling over her. If only they knew her background.
If only they knew who she was here with.
None of the women came up to her and tried to greet her or make her feel comfortable. After snagging two glasses of champagne in hopes the bubbles were settle her stomach, she’d finally had enough. Slipping from the crowd, she began to explore the rest of the mansion.
Where the downstairs was magnificently decorated, the rest of the house was plain. As Natalia wandered down the halls, she saw the discarded toys left behind and the crayon drawings on the walls. Smiling softly, she ran her hands over them. It was hard to believe, after seeing the downstairs, that this place housed children.
“I try not to let them draw on the walls, but when they do, I let them stay up for a week or two. They always think it’s a masterpiece.”
Natalia whirled around to find Dorie smiling at her. “I’m sorry,” Natalia stuttered. “I probably shouldn’t be here.”
“Please,” the older woman waved her hand with a smile. “You all paid so much money to be here that you’re allowed to go wherever you want. And any guest of Alek’s is a guest of mine. Besides, I could tell you were uncomfortable downstairs.”
“So uncomfortable,” Natalia confessed with a smile. “I feel like everything I touched would have cost me a year’s worth of pay. I didn’t grow up with money.”
Dorie laughed. “I know the feeling. I live in sweat pants. It’s easier to chase the children down in them. If it was up to me, I’d just collect the money and say thanks, but Alek thinks the swanky parties bring in more money. He’s right, of course. The rich do love a good charity event so they can show how humanitarian they are while drinking the finest alcohol and eating the finest food. The party alone would bankrupt us if Alek wasn’t the one paying for it.”
“Alek is paying for this?” Natalia said with a frown. “Really?”
The woman cocked her head and stared at her. “How long have you been with Alek?” Natalia opened her mouth before shutting it. Alek had warned her not to saying anything their situation. Dorie seemed to understand. “That was a rude question. I shouldn’t have asked it. I can see you probably don’t know Alek all that well. Let me guess. You see him and all you see is a mobster?”
“You know?”
“Darling, this is Russia. Everyone knows. If it weren’t for Alek’s background, I wouldn’t take a dime from him. Honestly. What kind of message am I sending if I raise these kids on the dime of a violent mob boss? But when I desperately needed the help, he was there. I took over a few years ago to help these children, and instead I thought I was going to have to close the place down. There was just no money here. And when I realized what happened to these kids, I wanted nothing to do with it.”
“What happened?” Natalia asked slowly. She had a feeling that she already knew the answer.
“When Alek’s predecessor, Grigori, was in charge, the kids were recruited. They were eligible at the age of ten. Ten. Can you imagine? Healthy able-bodied males were studied and given a choice. They could find a safe place, a family, and a home under Grigori’s watchful eye, or they can hope that someone would adopt them. At the age of ten, most kids understood that they were too old for anyone to want them. They almost always went with Grigori’s offer. Who wouldn’t? They desperately wanted someone to protect them, to love them, and Grigori offered that.”
“Oh my god,” Natalia said as she pressed a hand to her stomach. She thought she was going to be sick. “So Alek?”
Dorie nodded. “Alek doesn’t talk about it, but I looked up his file after he got in touch with me. He left the orphanage at the age of eleven. He’d been here since he was four, so I’m not sure why Grigori didn’t take him earlier. Or maybe he tried, and Alek resisted. But when he took over for Grigori, the first thing he did was force the headmistress out. I was just working as a maid at the time, but he offered me the position with a few conditions. There would be no more recruiters. He wanted to help. He wanted to put money back into the institution to make it great again and give these kids a fighting chance. I know that Alek isn’t a good man, but to these kids, he’s an angel. And let me tell you, nothing gets past him. He looked over my books every week to make sure that every dime goes to those kids.”
Natalia didn’t want to ask, but she had to. She had to know the truth. “Dorie, have you ever heard of a Petr Primac?”
“I didn’t meet him, but everyone has to sign a log with them come in. I know that Petr was given his own pass because he was here so often.”
“Oh God.” Natalia put a hand out to brace the wall so she didn’t pass out. Alek wasn’t lying. Her father was a recruiter for Grigori. Her father recruited orphaned kids who thought they had nowhere else to go.
Her father recruited Alek.
“Miss, are you feeling okay? You don’t look so good?”
Natalia took a deep breath. “I’m fine. I feel
a little overwhelmed. Is there some place quiet I can go to collect my thoughts?”
Dorie reached over and took her arm. Natalia resisted the urge to wrap herself in the woman’s arms and cry. She seemed like such a mother hen, and Natalia could have used some advice. “Come on my dear,” Dorie said. “You can collect yourself in my room.”
She led Natalia down the hall and opened a darkened room. Natalia sat on the bed and smiled weakly. “Thank you.”
“Can I get you some water?”
“No, I just need a few minutes to get my bearings. I’ll be down shortly. You’ve been so kind to me. Thank you.”
“All right, dear. It can be overwhelming to be around all those people. Take your time.” Dorie thought she understood, but she had no idea.
As soon as she was alone, Natalia felt the first tears prick her eyes. Her father had been a horrible person. He’d sculpted Alek into what he was today, and she was paying the price.
But what could she do? She loved her father. He’d done so much for her in the short amount of time he’d known her, and she couldn’t possibly back out of her contract now. No doubt Alek would strike out in anger. He must have hated her father.
Still hated him.
She wrapped her hands around her body and rocked back and forth. She didn’t know if minutes or hours passed, but she couldn’t stop the onslaught of emotion. Hatred. Regret. Pity. Sympathy.
Just because Alek was recruited as an orphan didn’t excuse the things that he did in the past. It certainly didn’t excuse what he was doing to her now. And just because her father did horrible things in the past didn’t mean he wasn’t a good father to her now. It didn’t mean she couldn’t love him for who she thought he was.
“Natalia.”
She caught her breath and looked up. Alek stared at her from the doorway. She didn’t even hear him open the door. Quickly, she stood and tried to straighten her dress. God, what if she had wrinkled it on the bed? He’d probably be furious. The damn thing probably cost an arm and a leg. “I’m sorry. I’ll return to the party,” she muttered.
As she tried to brush past him, he reached out and grabbed her elbow. “I shouldn’t have brought you here,” he said in a low voice.
He was angry. “You told me not to make a scene. I didn’t make a scene,” she said frantically. “There was just so much going on downstairs, and I just didn’t think I fit it. Plus your ex looked like she wanted to rip my hair out. I just needed some place to collect myself.” Why was she even explaining herself to him?
“Dorie told me what she told you. She shouldn’t have done that.” He sighed. “Get your coat. I’m taking you home.”
“You are?” What would he do to her when they got home?
“Yes.” He stared at her coldly. “Like I said, I shouldn’t have brought you here. The sooner we leave, the better.”
She felt a bloom of fear as he steered her out of the bedroom. For the first time, Natalia realized that she was probably safer here, rubbing elbows with the snobby rich, than she would ever be alone with Alek.
Chapter Seven
He was silent during the drive home. She threw a few wary glances at him before settling on staring out the window. The lights of the city blurred as her vision grew more and more unfocused. Even though she was away from the glitz and the glamour of the party, she still felt unsteady.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that a glamorous party hides such a seedy past,” she murmured out loud. She hadn’t even realized that she’d spoken until she felt the air around her grow even more tense.
“I’m not talking about my past,” Alek muttered. “And if you know what’s good for you, you will never bring it up again.”
“That’s healthy,” Natalia said sarcastically as she stared out the window.
“You and I are nothing,” he snapped heatedly. “Don’t believe for a second that this invitation for you to stay with me means we discuss personal matters.”
“Invitation? You’re kidding me, right? Believe me, I have no sugarcoated thoughts about what this is,” Natalia hissed. The tension between them grew dangerously heavy, but she refused to be scared of him. “I doubt you’re even capable of a single drop of compassion for anyone other than yourself.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. Didn’t she just witness an entire event to prove his compassion? To show what he was willing to do for the orphanage to ensure that no kid was in his position?
“I would ask you to apologize for that, but I think it would be best if we just dropped the whole matter,” he said softly. Natalia felt nothing but guilt as she stared out the window. It was almost absurd. Here she was, a prisoner, and she was guilty for the things she said about her captor.
She could practically feel him seething. When they finally got home, he got out of the car without waiting for the driver and marched back to the house. Natalia slowly followed him. When she entered the mansion, he was nowhere to be found.
“What did you do?”
She turned and found Ana with her arms crossed and glaring at her. “Can I just go to bed or are there more instructions for me?” she asked tiredly.
“Come on,” Ana said tightly. Natalia followed the woman up the stairs and was almost relieved to find the suite empty. “There are no instructions except that if you require more dinner, I’ll to make you a tray. He’s very upset.”
“I don’t need any dinner,” Natalia muttered. “I just need to get some sleep.” She felt the weight of the whole evening bearing down on her. Ana must have seen something in her face because she dropped her arms.
“You know that most of his women just do whatever he wants. They’re enamored by his money and status or they’re just plain terrified of him. I knew you two would clash, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so upset before. Whatever you did, just don’t do it again.”
“I don’t know what I did. I just tried to talk to him about something that I found out, and he snapped. And that just brought out the monster in me,” Natalia said as she began to yank her dress off. “And I am not one of his women. I’m just here to pay off a fucking debt, and apparently that includes emotional manipulation.” She was practically in tears before she finally got the dress off. Ana hurried to help her, but Natalia waved her away. She didn’t want the woman’s help right now. She just wanted to be alone.
“Your cat let me pet him today,” Ana said quietly. “I think we’re making progress.”
“He’s a sweet cat,” Natalia said tiredly. “He’s just a little prickly in the beginning.”
“He’s not the only one,” Ana said tightly and left the room. Alone, Natalia trudged into the bathroom. Apart from the large oval bathtub was a large walk-in shower around the corner. It was completely tiled with two horizontal showerheads on both sides and a drop down rain shower overhead. There were two tiled benches on either side.
When the steam began to rise from the shower head on the left, she pulled the silver knob to activate the rain shower. As she stood under it, she scrubbed her face clean. Although she wanted nothing more than to wash away the events of the evening, she was consumed with seeing the replay of the party in her mind.
It wasn’t until a hand touched her that she realized she wasn’t alone. She gasped and tried to whirl around, but she was anchored in place. “Don’t move,” a husky voice said in her ear as a body pressed against her back. She knew it was Alek, and even though she was furious with him, she couldn’t stop her body from reacting. His heavy erection pressed up against her, and she wanted desperately to turn around and drink him in.
She also desperately wanted to run.
“Alek,” she said in a shaky voice.
“No talking,” he said harshly. She swallowed hard, but she obeyed. What did she have to say to him anyway? That she was sorry? That she was angry with him? That she wanted him to go, or that she wanted him to stay?
Slowly, his hands moved from her hips up her sides. Natalia resisted the urge to reach up and cir
cle her arm around his neck, but she couldn’t keep her eyes from drifting shut. His touch was light as a feather and made her heart beat a little bit faster in anticipation.
“Last night, I gave you just a taste of what I was capable of,” he murmured in her ear as his hands drifted around to her abdomen. Her muscles tensed under his touch. “Now it’s time for you to show me what you’re capable of.”
There was something harsh in his voice, and her heart started to pound from more than just excitement. He reached up and roughly pinched her nipples. She couldn’t help but immediately cry out in pleasure and pain.
His teeth scraped over the crook of her neck, and she tried to pull away, but he anchored her to him. “Spread your legs,” he muttered.
“Alek, wait,” she said.
“Spread. Your. Legs.”
There was no arguing with him. This was what she had signed up for, and he would no doubt remind her of that if she continued to resist him. Swallowed hard, she slowly widened her stance. His hand slipped down her body, and without any warning, he pushed one finger up inside her.
“Good. You’re already wet. Bend over.”
“Please don’t,” she whispered as tears pricked her eyes. “Please.”
“I said no talking,” he said harshly as he whirled her around. Scrambling out of his grasp, she backed up, but soon her back was against the tile of the shower. There was no escape unless she got past him.
Although she was terrified, she couldn’t help but notice he was absolutely magnificent. The water pulled his dark hair around his face and caressed his sculpted muscles. Green and black tattoos decorated his body, and there didn’t look to be an ounce of fat on him. She’d barely seen him the night before, but now his naked body was hers for the taking. All she had to do was give him what he wanted.
“Are you denying me?” he asked softly as he advanced toward her. “You do realize what that means, right?”
“You would take a woman that doesn’t want you?” she said in a trembling voice. She was so completely torn, and he knew it. A wicked smile crossed his face.