He flicked the still lit cigarette at me, but without enough force behind it to reach me, so it fluttered harmlessly between us. "Your whore thinks she's funny."
"Your insults think they're sharp,” I shot back.
"Just remember that we're under attack and this piece is suddenly spreading her legs. Don't be surprised when she is the one stabbing you in the back."
Whoa. He's warning Alek away from me? As though I'm the one that's dangerous?
Rolling my eyes, I decided it was best to keep my mouth shut. This argument was above my paygrade. Considering how little money I made, especially considering my recent change in employment status, most arguments were above my paygrade.
"Come by the office tomorrow, Borya. I want to take these threats seriously, but I can't if you don't tell me everything."
Alek was talking to Borya, but Borya was looking right at me as though thinking of all the most painful ways to kill me.
This would never happen if I were still slinging drinks at Carlito's, still living in blissful ignorance of these two dangerous men.
Then without a word, Borya up and walked away as though that hadn't been the weirdest conversation of my life. And that was saying a lot, because Alek and I had a lot of strange ones over the past few days.
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "Will you take me back to my apartment now?"
His big hand wrapped around the nape of my neck, half threatening and half in a massage. "No, Angel. Now it's time for me to take you to my home."
He opened the door to the SUV and ushered me inside before following me in.
Sergei didn't follow. There was just a driver inside who quickly hit a button to raise a partition to separate his section of the vehicle from ours, leaving Alek and I essentially alone.
"I can't go home with you. I have to open at the coffee shop in the morning."
"Then you'll sleep at my house," he said simply, implying it wasn't up for debate.
I tried to tell if the doors were locked or not, but it didn't matter. If Alek didn't want me getting out of this car, I wasn't getting out.
"Stop worrying."
"Said the spider to the fly."
He took my hand and tugged me to him. I could've put up a fight, but at this point, I didn't want to. I wanted to give in to his influence. His darkness.
Leaning into him wasn't enough. He reached around, grabbing a thigh and pulling me over to straddle him as though I weighed nothing.
I squealed in surprise as I gripped his suit jacket, wondering if he would get upset that I was mishandling the material. As I rubbed my crotch against his, I realized that the shoulder wrinkles were the least of his worries where mess was concerned.
"You're already in my web. It's too late to stress about worries now." He ran a thumb along my cheek, and like the fool I was, I nuzzled into his touch, even though he should be the furthest thing from comforting.
I couldn't let him sweep me away like this. "I can't just sleepover. I don't have any clothes at your place."
"I had clothes delivered for you today." He bent forward, pressing his lips against the side of my neck, and dragging them along the chords of my throat. I let my neck fall back, appreciating the softness of those lips contrasting with the roughness of his beard.
While the kisses were gentle, his fingers bit into my hips, pulling me so tight against him that I could feel his erection pressing against his slacks in great detail.
Which wasn't that hard, considering that my teeny tiny panties weren't offering much protection.
It was almost enough to distract me from what he said. Almost. I yanked myself back far enough to remove his mouth from me. "Hold up. You had clothes. For me. Delivered to your house?"
Rather than looking guilty or feeling any amount of shame at all, he smiled and moved his hands down my legs. He curled his fingers so his nails raked on the bare skin of my thighs hard enough to leave faint pink lines as he brought them back up, raising my skirt as he went.
"If I've been subtle, let me be clear. You're mine. You're going to be living with me. Sleeping with me. Eating with me. Fucking me. Mine. I'm sure you have questions, but you don't need to ask. That's all the answers you need."
"No questions? You crazy son of a-"
Two fingers pushed inside me, and I lost the power of speech. "No questions, Angel. Just you and me." His thumb rubbed my clit as he dove back in and devoured my neck.
I'd always imagined being with a lover would be romantic and gentle, but in Alek's arms, I bucked and thrashed as these foreign sensations shot through me. He played my body like an expert while whispering all the filthy things he was going to do to me.
"Your mind might be telling you to run, but your body is exactly where it wants to be, isn't it? That's right, rub that pussy on my hand. Show me what you want in a way you could never tell me."
At this point, I didn't know if I was rubbing against him, or if he was strumming my clit, because the orgasm hit me so hard that it took over. All I could do was grip him tight as I ruined his expensive pants.
When I finally worked up the courage to open my eyes, the car wasn't moving anymore. Alek was staring up at me as though I was made of solid platinum. "I didn't think it was possible for you to be more beautiful."
How could he go from being so dirty to so romantic like a switch? A girl could get whiplash.
"Now get off my lap. If I don't get you upstairs right now, I'm going to pound your virgin cunt in the back of this car, and I'd have to feel bad about that."
Yep. Whiplash.