Please stop. Oh, God, you’re going to kill us all with embarrassment.
Finally, Valentin pushes my hand away. He looks away, and I hear him clearing his throat. He reaches into his back pocket. “You’re weird as fuck, you know that?”
I laugh and clap my hands giddily. “Sure. Yeah!”
He rolls his eyes but I can see a smile on his face. He takes out two five-dollar bills and hands them to me. He nods to the guy. “Okay go. Make the drug dealer’s day.”
I scowl at him. “Shut it, doucheface.”
“I gave you—”
I jog away from him before he has a chance to take it away.
I smile at the man. “Hi…I just wanted to…um…” I put the money in his can. “Sorry that I’m so weird.” I laugh awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. “Yeah, I’m just going to leave now.” I start walking away.
“Pretty lady.”
I turn around. The man raises his head high. He nods with a serious expression and something like gratitude in his eyes. “I won’t forget this.” He looks like, sometime long ago, he might have walked with pride—even honor.
I wonder what happened for him to end up here.
I shake my head. I don’t know how to voice my thoughts. How to tell him I’m sorry that he ended up here, that I didn’t have more money on me, that people are despicable. Sorry that he felt shame. “No, please do forget about me. It’s nothing. I…I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more. Ten dollars isn’t enough for anything. Maybe if I see you another time…” I walk away, feeling down.
My family has more money than they know what to do with, and yet there are so many suffering here. Right outside my doorsteps.
Valentin raises his eyebrows, pushing me to walk by putting his hands on the small of my back. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head and fake a smile. “Nothing.”
“Don’t.”
I look up at him. “Don’t what?”
He gives me a gentle smile as he stops in front of a store. “Don’t try to help everyone.”
He pushes the door open and I follow behind slowly.
Oh, Lord.
There are guns and weapons of all kinds lining the walls. “What are we doing here?” Suddenly, I’m very wary.
Valentin knows what I’m thinking. “Have more faith in me than that, Kitten. If I had wanted to kill you, there are better places to do it.”
Suddenly a huge burly guy comes out behind a curtain in the back of the store. His eyes widen. “It’s been a long time, friend!” he exclaims.
Valentin laughs and walks toward him. “How are you?” They shake hands and hug.
The man looks at me and whispers something foreign to Valentin. Valentin turns to look back at me, and then smiles, answering him. I assume they are speaking in Russian.
I turn away and look out of the window.
I could run, I realize.
I could run right now and never come back. I could get lost in the city. Hitchhike somewhere.
Don’t do it, Caterina.
I take a step toward the door.
“We’re leaving, Kitten,” Valentin says from behind me.
I shake off what I had been about to do a moment ago. What is wrong with me? “All right, let’s—” I back away from him. “Wait a second. What is that?”
Valentin’s lips lift up in a smirk. “It’s a motorcycle, love.”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
I look at the guy he was talking to. He’s behind the counter now watching us with an amused expression. I glare at him and he raises his hand in surrender.
Valentin smiles, opening the door and rolling the huge motorcycle out. He’s carrying two helmets under his arms.
I follow him. “I’m not riding that.”
“You want to ride me instead?”
I roll my eyes. Sometimes what he thinks are jokes don’t even make sense. “Valentin, I am not riding that. That is…unsafe.”
He gets on anyway, taking off his hat in exchange for his helmet. He flips the visor up so his face is still visible. He nods. “Come on, Kitten. Are you really going to pussy out after we came all this way?”
I have to admit that he looks very…very…
My insides twist just thinking it. But he looks good. His black wife beater and jeans and helmet. He looks really handsome. But in a like, wow-he’s-so-smoking-hot-on-that-motorcycle-lets-hope-he-doesn’t-kill-himself-on-that-thing kind of good looking.
I cross my arms and lean against the window of the store. “I’m not doing it. That’s practically asking to die.”
He sighs in frustration. “I’ve been riding this thing since I was ten. It’s safe.”
I laugh. “It’s like someone telling me ‘Jump off a cliff with me. Trust me, it’s safe.’ For some reason, I just can’t get myself to believe it.”
A couple of guys walk past us and one whistles. “Sweet ride, man!”
Valentin watches me with frustration. “Yeah, tell my girl that.”
They turn toward me and their smiles turn leering. I flash them a smile. “Not interested. In you guys or the ride. And no, I’m not his girl.”
They laugh among themselves and walk away.
I look at Valentin on the street. A couple of cars pass by. I nod to them, “You’re going to be riding on the same road as cars. Do you understand that?”
“It is safe.”
I shake my head. “Not doing it.”
He shrugs. “Okay, I tried the nice way. For you, I actually tried asking, can you believe that?” He jumps off the motorcycle and strides toward me.
I narrow my eyes at him. “What are you planning—”
He leans down. Before I can move, he wraps one arm around my legs and lifts me up. My arms instinctively go around his neck. “No, no, no! Please put me down, Valentin, put me down!” I pound on his helmet. “You fudging piece of ugh!”
He’s laughing as he walks toward his ride. “Don’t struggle, love.”
I try my best to wiggle out of his hold, but his grip is strong. And I’ve left my gun at school.
Ugh, you keep talking about the gun like you’re going to use it.
He sets me on the bike. When I refuse to put my legs down, he forces my legs open and has me straddle them around. I growl at him, “You can’t do this!”
“I can, and I will because you are acting like a child.” He looks down at me on the bike and leans toward me. His eyes are dark and strange. His jaw is hard. “If you know what is good for you, you will not move.”
My eyes flash angrily. “Are you going to hurt me if I disobey you?”
“Yes.” His voice is cold.
I look at him, taken aback.
I scoff, “Yea, so much for liking me. You’re still the same as you were in the beginning. A freakin’ monster.”
I can see anger cloud his face at my words.
I don’t care. Nothing about him has changed. He’s still volatile, dangerous, and someone who is willing to cross lines to get anything he wants.
He gets on the bike in front of me and I scootch back as far away as possible. He hands me the helmet without turning to look at me. I grab it and strap it on.
He grips the handle but doesn’t move. I think he’s about to say something, but I don’t want to hear anything from him. “So, are we going or are we going to stay here the whole time?” I snap.
He growls and revs the engine. “Wrap your hands around my waist.”
I do so, trying to touch him as little as possible.
“Hold on tight.”
“Just go, darn it.”
I can feel his body is tense under my hands. I intertwine my fingers in front of him. He looks down, then slowly back up again. “You probably shouldn’t put your hands so close to my cock if you don’t want to feel a hard-on.”
My face twists under the helmet and I want to curse him out. “You’re a fudgin—”
Before I can finish my sentence though, we’re off. I scream bloody murder. “Ahh!”
He zooms down the street, so quickly that I instantly lean forward and bury my head in his neck.
Now I understand why he had told me to hold on. I felt like I was about to fly off.
I wrap my arms tighter and press up against his back. “Oh my God—we are going to die, we are going to die, I’m going to die before I do anything worthwhile.”
He swerves to the left. My stomach jumps to my throat.
“Valentin Nikolaev, curse your soul!”
I feel his body vibrating with a laugh. He yells, “My soul is already cursed, love!”
I look up for a moment. It’s terrifying in an exhilarating way. Buildings pass us by in a whiz and I feel like I’m going to throw up. I bury my head in his neck again, closing my eyes. I yell into Valentin’s ear, “I hate you!”
I think I might actually be crying now.
“Kitten, can you just trust that I will protect you?”
“No!”
“You are screaming in my ear!”
“Good!”
“Do you scream this loudly in bed too, Kitten?”
“Argh!” I want to punch him, but I also need him to survive.
He’s all I can hold onto right now.
Chapter 41
Caterina
Finally, he slows to a stop.
“Kitten, you can open your eyes now.”
I shake my head, still holding on to him tightly. “Nah.” I refuse to raise my head from his neck.
I mumble into his neck, “Are you sure?”
There’s humor in voice. “Yes, Kitten. See, you survived.”
I don’t trust you.
I lift my head only enough to take off the helmet so I can be more comfortable. Then I quickly close my eyes again, holding on tighter. “Can I just…can I have a moment to still my stomach?”
There’s a heartbeat before he says, “Yeah, sure, take your time.”
I feel ashamed that I can’t untangle myself from him.
But fear and panic have overtaken my body. I still feel like we’re flying through the air. And right now, my body is convinced he’s the only thing grounding me right now.
I rock back and forth for some time, pressed up against him. I think I start humming a lullaby too.
Oh, for gosh sake. Get yourself together, girl.
“We should probably get going right now.” He interrupts my lull. His voice seems strained.
I nod, still not lifting my head. “I know, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s just…my heart is pounding right now. I can’t stop it.”
“Take a deep breath, Kitten.”
I do.
“Release it.”
His voice is smooth and low. I obey.
“You good?”
“No.”
“Well, if that doesn’t do it…” His voice is filled with mischievousness. He takes my hand, which is still wrapped around his waist, in his. He presses it against something.
Hm…I feel jean fabric…
And then…
I jump up from the motorcycle seat and stumble back on the ground. “What is that?”
Valentin roars out laughing and leans forward to catch my arm so I don’t fall backward. “What can I say? All that squeezing, squirming…you got me excited, Kitten.”
I rub my hands against my pants, disgusted. My face scrunches up. Then after a moment, I cover my face with my hands. “Oh, my gosh.” The helmet in my hand bangs my forehead a little making me even more frustrated.
I’m so angry that I don’t realize all the panic has left my body. And my heart was still beating fast, but this time, there was another reason for it.
Valentin jumps out with a boyish smile. “Do not blame him please. He could not help it.”
“Who is this he?”
He bites his bottom lip laughing and waves down.
I blink a couple of times. I run a hand through my hair. “I’m begging you to stop talking like that before I do something I regret.”
He smirks, getting on his knees to chain the bike. “Like what? Saying real curse words instead of fooey and fiddlesticks?”
“Like this,” I hiss, and chuck the helmet as hard as I can at his head. “And also, I don’t use those words!”
He ducks to the ground before it can crash into his head. “Fuck!”
I smirk, crossing my arms. “That’s what I thought.”
“You are crazy,” he mutters as he picks up the helmet.
While he does that, I look around where we are.
My eyes widen. “How far did we go?”
There are no city vibes here. It’s silent save for birds twittering and nature noises. The rustle of the trees are the music here, and the animals dominate. I can hear the echo of the birds twittering, their sound bouncing around the area. There’s a distant noise of rushing water.
Valentin jumps up, having finished with the long process of chaining the motorcycle. “Don’t worry, Kitten, you’ll make it back in time for your Chemistry class. We didn’t go that far.”
“Where…are we though?”
There’s a path in front of us which leads to what looks like the woods.
“Have you never been outside of the city?” he asks with raised eyebrows.
“I have. It’s just…I’ve never really been to the woods…alone.”
“You are not alone. I am here.” He nods to the path, “Now come. There’s something you will like.”
I follow closely, going up the rocky, hilly path. Thank God I wore comfortable shoes and clothes. “I don’t think this is a good idea…”
And still you’re walking? Jesus, you’re worse than the girls in the horror movies.
“Did I let anything happen—” he helps me up a big rock, “to you on the way here?”
“Not really, but this seems like a perfect place to murder someone. You know…Like there’s no one to witness anything but the animals. And it’s dark. And you can throw my body in a river and it probably won’t get found for a long, long time.”
Valentin turns with a blank look on his face. “Why do you talk so much?”
“Because I’m nervous.” I look around. My heart starts beating wildly. We are getting further into the woods.
He holds a tree branch up and as I go to duck under it, he lets it go. It hits my head.
“Ow!”
He chuckles behind me. “My bad.”
I shake my head. “You are a douchebag. You know that?”
I rub my forehead. “In fact, I think I’m going to turn back now. This is the exact start to a Dateline episode and everything my mother warned me—” I gasp as my stomach simultaneously clenches.
Valentin lags behind me for a moment. I feel his body heat right at my back. I swallow hard as I take in the scene before me.
He puts both his hands on my waist lightly. His lips skim my ear and he whispers, “Do you like it?”
I don’t respond to him. I can’t respond.
It’s like right out of the Twilight scene when Edward takes Bella to the part in the woods where he sparkles and she gasps.
Shut up.
Except it’s real this time for me. I don’t have to experience it through reading under my covers in the middle of the night because the book was banned to me.
The place I am standing in is a hidden place in the universe, a fold in time, a portal. That’s the only explanation I have.
In front of me, there’s a big oak tree that droops its branches like it’s been here for centuries. Beautiful, bright green lichen cover the wide trunk.
And the trees around us let in streams of sunshine so beautiful that it looks like it is art. It looks simply breathtaking.
There is even a river to our right. I lean forward. It’s several feet away. It’s so clear I can see its black rocks at the bottom. I suddenly have an urge to dip my feet in there.
The only sounds in the whole place are sounds of nature. The birds singing. The water current as it splashes against big rocks. The rustle of the trees.
And yet no part of my body feels scared or alone.
“It’s so serene here,” I say softly.
“Why are you whispering?” Valentin asks, his voice as low as mine.
“Because I feel it would be a disrespect to whatever pureness resides here if I talk too loudly.”
He doesn’t say anything. His hands still lay at my waist, but it’s not forceful. It’s to tell me he’s here and he…he understands.
He understands how I feel right now.
I feel two teardrops streaming slowly down my face. They create their own path as they weave in and above my cheekbones, my cheeks, my neck and settle in my collarbone.
“It’s so beautiful,” I say softly.
“I know,” he says. “This is a rare place I have found to be myself for a little while.”
I inhale a fresh and chilly breath which weaves in and cleanses my lungs and alveoli. “I don’t even know why I’m crying right now.”
“Because you, love, finally feel free.”
***
Valentin Nikolaev steps in front of me and takes my hand. Gently he leads me to a place underneath the big oak tree.
I sit down as gracefully as I can against the tree, using the branches of the tree swooping down as a model. Valentin doesn’t sit down.
I look up at him, and whisper, “Aren’t you going to sit?”
He nods. “Yeah, give me a sec.” He turns and walks away, going toward some bushes.
“He has a really good looking back,” I mumble to myself. After a couple of seconds, he disappears behind the leaves.
While waiting for him to come back, I finger the grass underneath me. It’s moist with condensation and feels fresh against my skin. This whole place looks like it was cleansed with holy water.
And not like a joke. Actual holy water. A new beginning. The start of a new world. It hasn’t been contaminated by us yet.
I hear a rustle in the bushes and my eyes fly up. I brace my arms in a position to hit. Everything in me is ready to fight.
Valentin’s face appears, ducking underneath some leaves. There’s a relaxed smile on his face. “It’s only me, Kitten. No need to fret.”
I want to say something feisty back, but I bite my tongue.
I lay my hands on my crisscrossed lap and breathe a small sigh of relief.
Dynasty Page 79