Release (Off Balance 3)

If I didn't know the meaning of that word, I'd say his tone led me to believe he was genuine, but that wasn't the case.

"I never want to hear you say that again!" I yelled, pushing on the door with every ounce of force I could muster. I wanted to break his fingers so he could never use them on me again. "You are not prosti, you fucking liar! Prosti, prosti, prosti."

Oh, yes, I totally mocked him.

"I am going to count to three before I force my way inside." He sounded pissed. "Raz. Dvah." I got a little nervous, and right before he said "tree," I jumped back.

Words evaded me as I stood two feet from Kova. He slammed the door shut so hard the painting on the wall rattled. He eyed me with contempt and I ground my teeth, feeling the blood rush through my veins. I was on edge and past the brink of sanity because of this crazy Russian.

"If you don’t leave, I'm going to scream so loud people will think I'm being murdered."

He raised a brow at the same time one corner of his lips tugged up. "You know I love a good challenge, Ria."

My heart pounded viciously against my ribs. "Kova."

"Adrianna."

"I fucking hate you." The look in his eyes screamed guilt, but I didn't let it affect me. "I fucking hate everything about you."

"I could never hate you." He stepped toward me, and the tenor in his voice weakened my knees.

"You'd be surprised of the dark kind of emotions a person can evoke from another when they've been ruined by someone they care about."

He took another step. "Please…"

I shook my head, a cunning smirk slowly drawing at my lips. I wasn't planning on telling him about Hayden, but it was the only leverage I had that was somewhat comparable to the knife he’d put in my back. He wouldn't like it. In fact, he'd hate it. Kova was a real jealous, bitter man, and I wanted to hurt him. I bet he didn't even share his toys when he was a kid.

Taking a deep breath, I felt like I tugged on every uncertain nerve in my body and exhaled boldness in my next words.

"I fucked Hayden." I gave him a moment to let the words to sink in. "More than once."

He didn't react as I’d expected him to. He just stood there like my words hadn’t fazed him. I exploded then, lunging toward him and slapping him as hard as I could across the face. The sweet scent of alcohol burned my nostrils. He smelled like he had bathed in bottles of vodka. I was almost concerned over the fact that he drove here drunk.

"I wish I’d never met you."

I gasped

as he clutched both of my wrists in one hand and wrapped his free arm around my lower back. He lifted me off the floor and carried me into the living room.

I ignored the pain in my ankle and kicked my legs around, fighting him tooth and nail, but he was much stronger than me. All I saw was red and the need to make Kova suffer. My foot connected with his shin, and he grunted, then yelled something in Russian. He moved his head to the side and I saw my opportunity. Throwing myself forward, I clamped my teeth down on his neck, biting down harder when he winced.

"Hurts, doesn’t it, asshole?"

Kova flung me onto the couch, and a gasp of air flew from my lungs as my back connected with the sofa. I glared at him in shock. His eyes were glossy, and he didn't appear as drunk as I knew he was.

"Goddamn it, Adrianna," he said, then shot off another round of Russian when I kicked him in the stomach.

"I hate you. I hate you. I fucking hate you." I clenched my teeth as Kova grabbed both my ankles and roughly yanked me toward him, forcing me to slide halfway down the couch. He climbed over me and pressed his knees to the sides of my hips and dropped his weight on me. He locked me in place, using his tight grip to press my arms into the cushion over my head.

"I deserve all your hate, and more."

"How could you!" I seethed on the inside, my blood boiled to a destructive level. "How could you do this to me, after everything!" I screamed in his face and thrashed against his hold, trying anything I could to get this man, whom I both loved and hated with the same voracity, off me. "You didn’t even have the decency to tell me, you fucking coward."

"It is not what you think."

"It never is. Get the fuck off me and leave me alone. I don't want you here. Go home to your wife, where you belong."

"How can I when all I think about is you? You live in my mind every miserable second of my life. I cannot escape you, no matter how hard I try." I heard him swallow. "When I saw you on the mat, the way your face paled and you nearly collapsed to your knees, it fucking broke me, Ria. You do not know what it did to me. I did not know the definition of pure, raw torture until I saw your face. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I did not know what it felt like to hurt someone I care about until that moment. I would give everything to go back and erase what I did, to not see that look on your face again."