Tears of Betrayal

This time there’s no amusement on Alexei’s face when he asks, “How do you feel?”

I take a deep breath. “Everything about her drives me insane. I just… want her. It’s fucking exhilarating chasing her.”

Just then, there’s movement by the front door, and Ariana slowly comes back into the house. Her eyes dart between Alexei and me. The awkward expression on her face tells me she overheard some if not all of the conversation.

“How much did you hear?” I ask.

She shrugs and begins to fidget. “Ahhh… not much.” She gives me an apologetic smile, but then it fades, and a blush creeps up her neck. “Okay fine, I heard from where Alexei asked if that’s what you really want.”

So basically everything.

Ariana moves closer to us, and then she locks eyes with me. I can see she’s struggling not to look away as she tries to joke, “At least I now have one thing less to wonder about.”

“But it’s made you uncomfortable,” I state, which has the blush on her cheeks deepening.

She quickly shakes her head then looks at Alexei. “Can I have a moment alone with Demitri?”

He gives her a wide smile. “Of course, gorgeous.”

“Fucker,” I grumble at him as he heads in the direction of the security room.

When we’re alone, I turn my gaze to Ariana, and I have to wait a couple of seconds before she looks up at me.

Her tongue darts out, wetting her lips, and it’s sexy as fuck.

“None of it was news to you,” I say when she stays quiet for too long.

A nervous smile tugs around Ariana’s mouth. “Yeah, but hearing you say all of that kind of put it in a different perspective.” She lowers her eyes to her feet. “Look, it’s been really rough, and I’ll admit I’m attracted to you.” She takes a deep breath and then looks up at me again.

“You don’t have to say anything,” I give her an out.

She shakes her head. “It’s not that I’m not falling for you, it’s just…” her shoulders slump, and the fear returns to her eyes, “I need to get to know you better. I need to see who you really are. You’re the best at what you do, but I don’t know what that entails. I also want to know what makes you smile and what makes you angry.”

“Makes sense,” I murmur. Lifting my hand to Ariana’s face, I let the pads of my fingers trail from her temple to her jaw, and then I take hold of her chin. “You can ask me anything at any time.”

She nods. “Okay.”

I lean down, and with my lips brushing against hers, I say, “But in the meantime, I’m still going to chase you.”

She chuckles, and I feel the sound come from her. “Wouldn’t want to rob you of all that exhilaration.”

I press my mouth to hers, and then I take a deep breath as I wrap my other arm around her lower back, pulling her against my body.

Ariana’s hands frame my jaw, and unlike the times before, the kiss is slow and deep.

“I fucking missed my calling,” Alexei suddenly says. “Master fucking matchmaker.”

Pulling back from Ariana, I mutter, “Fine, you’re the best. Let’s drop the subject now.”

“Get your asses on the boat,” Alexei says as he grabs one of the bags I left by the front door earlier. “We’re behind schedule.”

ARIANA

The flight back to Seattle is a whole different experience than when Demitri kidnapped me.

No blindfold. No being tied up. No drugs.

The private jet is more luxurious than anything I’ve ever been in. The hottest part? Demitri is the pilot.

The man can fly planes. I’m not going to lie, that made my stomach flutter.

I also have time to think because Alexei’s busy on his phone.

My grief took a back seat to the betrayal. I suppose it hurts so much because it came from the last person I expected it would be. It’s still hard to believe Yuri wants me dead.

All of this is hard to believe.

And then there’s Demitri. We went from abductor and captive to having sex to being in some kind of relationship at warp speed.

I feel like I should question my sanity. Who has scorching hot sex with her kidnapper and then begins to fall for him?

Me. That’s who.

Also, why am I so damn calm while we’re heading back to Seattle so the guys can kill an assassin?

Yep, I’ve lost my mind. Pretty sure of it.

“What’s bothering you?” Alexei suddenly asks.

I shake my head quickly, but after a couple of seconds, I let out a sigh and admit, “I feel like I should be panicking, or at the very least be upset that you’re going to kill someone.”

“You’re not?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow at me.

“No. That’s weird, right?”

Alexei lets out a chuckle. “There might be hope for you yet, little one.” He shifts in his chair, and leaning his elbow on the armrest, he swipes over his bottom lip with his thumb.