Gabriel has whispered similar words on more than one occasion. She pushed him back and stood.
“That’s only because you’ve never played me before, Mr. Wolfe.”
Chapter Seven
By Friday afternoon, Belle needed a day off. Everything about Aleks confused her. The constant anxiety of seeing or not seeing him, of interacting or not interacting with him, had her on edge.
The day after he had issued the challenge, he had called her into a meeting along with a lawyer who seemed very nervous in his presence. Rather than ignore her, Aleks made a point to ask for her input. Belle was more attuned to him than she wanted to admit — small gestures she was sure no one else noticed; the way he focused on her as she spoke, the way he tapped his fingers on the table when he talked, how he licked his lips whenever he caught her eye. Belle had to wonder how much was intentional and how much she created in her mind.
She thought she handled herself well, yet questioned herself when she didn’t see much of him for the rest of the week. Sirena mentioned he worked out of the office a lot — or would shut himself in his office, away from the world. The private elevator led into the hallway behind his door; he often came and went without anyone’s knowledge. Belle couldn’t decipher what bothered her more — the anticipation of being alone with him again or the disappointment when it didn’t happen.
One thing was certain, despite the emotional roller coaster Aleks presented, she truly liked her job. The legal team was generous in the assignments they gave her. On more than one occasion, her recommendations for plans of action were complimented and used to initiate several contracts.
She spent her lunches with Sirena, talking about anything and everything. The two women hit it off immediately, even making plans for the upcoming Saturday. Belle also invited Cynthia, knowing she would fit right in. With all the tension, a girls’ night was well overdue.
“Ready to go?” Belle asked Sirena as she filed the last of the paperwork from her desk.
“Am I ever. I can hardly wait until tomorrow night.”
Belle waited until Sirena was ready, and the two got on the elevator together.
“I can’t wait for you to meet Cynthia. I think you guys are really going to like each other.”
“Me either. It’s nice to have some girl time. My best friend is a guy — I love him to death, but I miss estrogen.”
Just as the doors were about to close, a hand reached into the opening, causing the elevator to reopen. Aleks flashed them both a smile as he entered. “Good afternoon, ladies.”
His eyes never left her, and Belle caught Sirena looking back and forth between them, amusement on her face. Belle swore she rolled her eyes. Just as the doors were about to close, Sirena jumped out.
“Forgot my purse,” she called from outside the car as she pressed the down button, closing the doors on them, purse obviously over her shoulder.
The intensity of him filled the tiny room. Her nipples hardened involuntarily at his presence, and her stomach tensed.
As always, he looked extraordinarily handsome. His blue-grey pants with a matching vest accentuated the blue of his eyes. The collar on his light grey shirt lay unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up to just under his elbows, jacket and tie absent. She guessed he left them back in the office. The bastard probably knows how good he looks.
“Well, here we are. Again. We really should stop meeting in elevators,” he rasped.
“Maybe you should use your own then,” she replied as she turned towards him. He remained silent as he took a key from his pocket and inserted it into a slot under the numbers.
“What are you doing?” she asked cautiously.
“Locking the elevator — we’ll go straight to the ground floor. No one else on or off. Unless, of course, you want to get off. In which case, it would be my pleasure,” he looked at her with a gleam in his eyes.
The last thing Belle needed was for him to make innuendos. She battled against the temptation to let him do whatever he desired, but her stubborn streak refused to give him the satisfaction of “winning”.
“No, thank you, Mr. Wolfe. I’m perfectly fine just going down.” She closed her eyes the moment the words came out of her mouth, realizing the mistake in her choice of phrasing.
“I bet you’re more than fine,” he remarked.
Belle could feel his stare, but could do nothing to stop the blush rising on her face.
“Let me take you out tonight,” he said.
“Sorry, busy,” she lied.
“Tomorrow night then,” he persisted.
“Plans.” This time not a lie.
“Plans with whom?” he crossed his arms, challenging her resistance.
He does not give up!
“Not feeling the need to tell you, Mr. Wolfe.”
“A boyfriend?”
Belle stared him straight in the face. “I don’t think that’s any concern of yours.”
“I’m assuming you’re fighting your attraction to me to avoid being unfaithful?”
Belle shook her head and exhaled. “No, I’m single. I just don’t want to sleep with you. Unlike some people in this elevator, I don’t need to screw everyone I find attractive.” She hoped to bring his pride down a notch with her comment, but it didn’t seem to faze him one ounce.
“Tell me about Mr. Avenant. He lied about being your fiancé, and I sensed some bad blood between you two. What, were you saving yourself for him and he screwed you over?”
Belle recoiled at the thought. She wanted to avoid any conversation about him. “Saving myself? You think I’m a virgin?” she laughed, in spite of the fact she was annoyed with his line of questioning.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Sirena is. I thought perhaps you were as well.”
“Why do you even know that?”
“Because we talk. I am capable of having a conversation with someone attractive without trying to screw them.”
“Could have fooled me.” She realized her earlier comment had gotten to him, if only slightly.
“Tell me about him.”
“Tell me why you haven’t tried to sleep with Sirena.” The words came out of her mouth before her brain realized she wanted the answer.
He paused for a moment, also caught off guard by the question. “What does she have to do with anything?”
“What does Gabriel?” Good save, Belle!
“I would ruin sex for her,” he reported matter-of-factly with a shrug of his shoulders.
Her face scrunched in question. He would hurt her? “What?”
Aleks moved closer to her as he spoke. A rush of energy coursed through her body at his nearness. He needs to stop doing that.
“Baby girl, I’m that good. I would hate her comparing every man she slept with to me, because they would never measure up.”
Arrogant prick. “I doubt that.”
“You may not be a virgin, Belle,” his stare turned dark as he continued, “but have you been with a man who actually knew what to do with his cock?”
She swallowed at his words. The intensity of his look mixed with the crudeness of his words left her heart fluttering. God, don’t talk dirty to me. Just don’t.
“I can demonstrate, kotik.”
A third time. “Why do you keep calling me that? What does it mean?” Her fists clenched at the thought of him calling her something derogatory. Instead, he smirked.
“Tell me your secret, I’ll tell you mine.”
“You do not give up, do you? Jealous much?”
“I don’t get jealous, kitten,” he remarked, indicating he answered her question.
Okay, that’s kind of hot … in a totally sexist way. Belle heard herself asking, “Are you fluent in Russian, or do you just know enough to make yourself sound good?”
“Ty govorish’ po Russki, krasavitza?”
Belle’s cheeks heated. She loved accents, always finding them attractive. Russian happened to be her favorite. With the harshness of the enunciations mixed with the beauty of the
sounds, she always likened it to sex.
“I just recognize it. I don’t know how to speak it,” she admitted, annoyed at having to acknowledge that he knew something she didn’t.
“I can teach you if you want. Quid pro quo. Russian for what happened with Gabriel.”
Her throat dried at an image of him teaching her Russian — his words flowing over her like silk as she lapped up each sound. Fuck no. He’d have me naked in minutes. Shaking her head of the fantasy, she processed what he had said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing happened between me and Gabriel.” She prayed he couldn’t hear the lie in her voice.
“The first night I met you, he was talking to you, but you didn’t seem to be overly concerned. Then a day later, in my office, you were fearful of him. No one changes their reactions that quickly unless something happened.”
Belle was dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe how perceptive he had been. Or the fact he had watched her so intently the night at the bar.
Like hell I’m going to tell him what I let Gabriel do. Belle looked up to see they were at the 20th floor. Just stall a few more minutes.
Aleks caught her looking up and turned his key in the panel. The elevator came to a slow stop.
“Tell me, Belle, or we don’t move any further.”
Another double meaning? Belle was torn between not wanting him to think less of her and not wanting to care what he thought about her.
“I just, it’s—” Belle couldn’t think of how to respond. “It’s complicated. That’s all. I really don’t want to talk about him.”
He looked at her for a few moments, as if deciding what he wanted to ask next.
“Fine. I’ll give you the choice of three options, otherwise we sit in here all night. One — tell me the truth, the whole truth, about Gabriel. Two — let me take you, right now, in this elevator. I promise it will be the best fuck of your life. Three — whenever we are alone, call me Aleks. Not Mr. Wolfe. Unless, of course, I want you to,” he finished with a sly smile.
Belle was stuck. She didn’t want to give in to any of the choices — although option two weighed heavily on her mind. She believed him when he said he wouldn’t budge the elevator so she did what she thought best in the moment.
“Fine. Aleks, will you please start the elevator?”
“I should warn you, there’s a stipulation.”
Of course there is. “You can’t give a stipulation after a deal has been agreed to. It would become invalid.”
“None of my deals ever become invalid. Considering you seem to be just as … stubborn … as I can be, I need some insurance.”
“What type of insurance?”
He took a step to her, backing her into the corner. He placed one arm above her, leaning in close. His ran his finger down the side of her face, over her cheek, and under her chin, before tilting her head towards his. Her breath caught in her throat as she swore for a moment he would kiss her.
“If you renege on the deal, and refuse to call me Aleks, I will get you alone again in my elevator. I will remind you of the options I gave, and I will choose a remaining option for you.” His pupils dilated as he spoke, his stare sending goosebumps up her arms. “I promise I won’t care about Gabriel when the time comes.”
Belle flopped down on Cynthia’s couch and gave her a recap of the week’s events, to include the elevator ride just hours before.
“And you didn’t take him up on it? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”
“I know, but it just doesn’t feel right. He’s my boss, and I can’t make up my mind if I like him or want to hit him.”
“Probably not a good idea, him being a MMA fighter and all,” Cyn teased. “We should look him up.” She grabbed her laptop and sat down beside Belle.
Belle typed ‘Aleksandr “The Beast” Wolfe’ in the search bar and her screen flooded with a barrage of statistics:
Name: Aleksandr Wolfe
Born: November 8, 1984 (Age 32)
Sochi, Russia
Other names: The Beast
Height: 6’5’’
Weight: 252 lb
Division: Heavyweight
Reach: 79 in
Style: Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing, Muay Thai
Years active: 2009-2014 (inactive)
Record Total: 33
Wins: 33
By knockout: 29
By submission: 4
By decision: 0
Losses: 0
“Wow, Belle. There are very few undefeated fighters. He had no decision wins, either. That’s impressive,” Cynthia whistled, shocking Belle by knowing anything about mixed martial arts.
“What does ‘by decision’ mean?”
“A decision is when both fighters are still standing and the judges decide who won on hits. He didn’t have any, which meant he either knocked his opponent straight out or caused a submission. It basically means none of the fights were even close — he dominated his opponents.”
Still not understanding how impressive his record was, Cynthia suggested pulling up videos of the fights. They found a ten-minute compilation video of all of his fights entitled “Best of the Beast”.
As Belle watched, she couldn’t help but be mesmerized at his body and how it moved. He faced his opponent, away from the camera at first which allowed her to see the perfect V-taper of his rippling back; she could make out striations in the shoulder and arm muscles, the outlines of long, lean lines from his neck to the top of his shorts. She realized he was larger then, yet not by much.
As he and the opponent moved, she was captivated by how his entire body flexed. He reminded her of a gladiator. She took note of his bulging thigh muscles, barely hidden under his short, blue spandex shorts, and his rock-solid calves. As he turned, she saw his perfectly chiseled abdomen, a full eight pack with the deep indents of his hip bones. The “v to the p” as she and Cynthia liked to call it.
His chest, broad and hard, and his arms — oh, his arms — were indescribable. Each muscle group moved together, each punch caused a ripple effect from bicep down through to his wrist. He wore his hair shorter then, and his strong jaw line had been covered with a layer of scruff. Gleaming with sweat, he was nothing short of … animalistic. He looked sexier than ever, blood dotting his face and chest. She wasn’t sure if it was his or his opponent’s and she didn’t care.
The opponent lunged at him, and for a moment she was nervous Aleks would be hurt. He read the opponent well and easily dodged out of the way, the missed strike leaving the other fighter off balance. Aleks took the opportunity and struck — hard. His left hook knocked his opponent sideways. Aleks continued on with a barrage of hits, pushing his opponent back into the wire cage. A final right swing and the fighter went down, unable to get back up. Aleks pranced around the ring, ecstatic at his win. He pounded on his chest in a way that many would call chauvinistic; on him it was pure sex appeal. He was a dominant male in his prime, and he knew it.
“She was right,” Belle whispered to herself.
“Huh?” Cynthia asked, as mesmerized as Belle, watching the glory of The Beast on his stage.
“Sirena. She told me Gabriel would have no chance. She was right. Aleks would murder him.”
“Yeah, he would.” They continued to watch clip after clip of his best hits, kicks, and wins. When she saw him next, it would be hard not to envision him like this — ferocious, carnal, victorious. No wonder he’s so cocky. He deserves to be.
“Belle, you need to do him. Hell, I need to do him but I’m too good of a friend. So you take one for the team and I’ll owe you one.” Cynthia sucked in a breath, eyes not moving from the screen. Belle could tell she was only half joking. She could also tell her fate — she would end up in his bed, or on his desk, possibly even in his elevator; maybe all of the above. No way in hell a man who can fight like that will give up on a challenge. I’m done for.
Chapter Eight
“She chose to call him Aleks! Can you believe it
? I totally would have chosen to screw him in the elevator. It would have been so hot! Don’t you think?” Cynthia recounted the elevator ride to Sirena during happy hour before their girls’ night booze cruise departure.
As Belle predicted, Cynthia and Sirena were getting along great. After only an hour together it was as if the three of them had been friends their whole lives.
“I told you he wanted you in the bar,” Cynthia said, pulling a maraschino cherry from its stem with her teeth. “I knew by the way he looked at you. Then you do some voodoo magic and start working with him, where he tells you he wants you, and you say no. What the actual fuck, Belle? Are you joining a convent you forgot to tell me about?”
Sirena chimed in, sipping a martini. “Do you think you can go three months like this? Flirtations in the elevator, in his office? I know him better than you and I can tell you without a doubt that he’s going to keep at it.”
“He reminds me too much of Gabe,” Belle confessed, trying to remind herself why she needed to refuse him.
“He’s nothing like Gabe, Belle,” Cynthia interjected. “Gabe is slime, plain and simple, yet he pretends he’s a God-send. Aleks — he tells it like it is, isn’t trying to lead you on. All he wants is to give you a night of pleasure. Good, old fashioned, banging into the headboard, screaming wildly, pleasure. Oh, and he’s gorgeous. Remember the videos? I don’t know if you polished your pearl last night, but I sure did thinking about it.”
“Wait, what did I miss?” Sirena looked back and forth at them before Cynthia filled her in on the “Beast-porn” from the night before.
“Ah, so you couldn’t help yourselves and fell prey, huh?” Sirena shook her head. “You should have seen the fights in person. He was amazing.”
“Okay, you have got to fill me in. How do you know him so well?” Cynthia craved details.
“Aleks and I met when I was really young. When Viktor came to America, he mainly bought commercial buildings. He would renovate and sell them off. He met my father who, at the time, was buying out shipyards. They became friends after working with each other on multiple projects. His family came to our house all the time and we always spent holidays and birthdays together.
Stealing Beauty (Fairy Tales After Dark Book 1) Page 7