Dulce

He turns to look at me, his laser-focused attention making my legs wobble.

When I was with Griff and Hunter, things got wild and reckless between us, but I never felt out of control. Aslanov, though, is on a whole new level. His intensity licks at my skin like fire, making me feel like I’m burning up.

I step closer and pause in front of him. His eyes run over me in a slow, seductive way that leaves me feeling naked and exposed. He doesn’t speak, and for that matter, neither do I, and yet a thousand silent words pass between us.

He wants me. That’s never been unclear. We both knew it the second we laid eyes on each other. Right or wrong, it was tangible and real from the start, but attraction can be deadly in the wrong hands. Something that can be twisted and manipulated to make the other capitulate to their needs. A passion like ours skates the line between lust and obsession, which is a lethal combination at the best of times. Throw Dmitri and me into the mix, two people with deadly skills and questionable morals, and it’s set to incinerate us all.

He moves one of his legs, widening the gap between him and the coffee table, giving me space to walk closer. It’s a dare, and I was never the kind of girl to back down from a challenge.

I step closer, moving between his spread thighs as he moves his leg back to where it was before, effectively pinning me in unless I want to climb over the table or him.

I don’t speak or fidget. I wait as he seems to be wrestling with something. I can see the tug of war in his emotions, and right now, it’s something I can relate to. I’ve just been with Hunter and Griff, and even though I told them flat out this could and would happen, I’m worried about the fallout.

I could walk away, and I know instinctually he’d let me. Oh, he’s manipulative and would use every tool in his arsenal to convince me of all the reasons a girl like me would be lucky to have his cock inside me, but he would never force me.

That thought gives me pause.

He would never force me.

Does that make me special? The exception to the rule? Or is Aslanov not the bad guy we thought he might be?

Could a man sell a product without sampling his wares? Of course, that’s true in theory, or all drug traffickers would be high as kites. But we’re not talking about drugs here. We’re talking about young girls. Is Aslanov’s reluctance to fuck me an indicator that he has lines he won’t cross? If that’s true, perhaps he isn’t the kind of man who could stomach selling people either?

“You have something on your mind,” he states. It’s not a question. He’s reading me. If I lie, he’ll shut down and probably punish me again. I’ve noticed that Dmitri can deal with most of my brand of crazy, but he doesn’t like the lies. And he always seems to know when I’m doing it. It’s annoying as fuck when I literally lie for a living.

“Luke said a girl was missing.”

A look flashes over his face but he doesn’t say anything. I wish I could read him as easily as he seems to read me.

“The police have been called, but there is nothing they can do just yet. Teenagers have a habit of wandering off or falling asleep in random bedrooms after a one-night stand, for instance. Right now, the campus is being questioned. All we can do is wait.”

His voice is devoid of emotion, and it makes the hairs on my arms stand on end. He’s not nearly as unaffected as he’s pretending to be. The question is, why pretend at all?

“Did Luke really date girls who have gone missing?”

“I shouldn’t have said anything. It was a dick move.”

“So it’s not true?”

He sighs and looks away for a moment. “He dated a faculty member a year ago. She left without giving notice after breaking up with him over his inability to keep his dick in his pants.”

“And the other one?”

“Someone who worked in a coffee shop nearby. Luke was questioned,” he admits. “But he has an alibi for when she was taken.”

“A good one?”

“One where he was in the same room with me and all the other teachers for a staff meeting.”

“Oh.” Well, that does throw a wrench in the works. Still, I’ll have Reese look into it for me.

“Mr. Aslanov?”

“Dmitri. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Dmitri?”

“It’s a habit.”

“And yet you have no problem calling Luke by his first name?”

“He doesn’t intimidate me,” I admit, swallowing when I let that slip out. It’s not that I don’t think I could kill him, it’s that I’m not sure I want to. It’s the first time I’ve been given a potential target that has left me wavering. Knowing I’ve been emotionally compromised requires me to call Sugar to pull me out. She would send someone else to finish the job, but that’s even worse. My gut churns with the idea of one of my sisters killing Dmitri. I’m not sure I could ever hurt one of them if they attacked him, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t step in front of a blade meant for him.

“I intimidate you?” He leans forward, his hands on his knees only half an inch from me.

“Some. I’m not scared of what you’ll do to me. I’m scared of how I feel around you,” I whisper as his hands lift and slowly drag the material of my robe up my legs.

“What do you feel?” he murmurs, his hands moving to my hips as he tugs me closer.

“Reckless, fearless, invincible.”

I reach forward and pull the belt on my robe and let it fall open, leaving me exposed.

He hisses, taking me in. Each mark, each bite, each bruise. He catalogs them, but he doesn’t ask me any questions. His intense dark eyes look up at me with such yearning, my knees would buckle if he wasn’t supporting me.

“I have no right to touch you.” His accent slips out as he grits his teeth.

“If I give you permission to do whatever you want to me, you’ll have every right in the world to take what you want from me.”

“Is that what you want, Everly?”