Paying The Bratva’s Debt

Komarov!” I choke. The phone drops from my hands as I yank them up to cover myself.
But Viktor doesn’t look away. He doesn’t blink. He lets his gaze shamelessly and openly slide over me, and I feel that gaze as if it’s his hands, not his eyes. I feel a throb of heat deep in my core. My face burns, and I tremble as the huge, gorgeous Russian stares at me like a meal.
“I—I mean…”
“Good,” Viktor growls quietly as his eyes slide over me. “You found your clothes.”
“I—”
“Get comfortable.” His jaw grinds. “You’ll be here for a while.”
Without another word from him, I watch bewildered as he turns and starts to walk out of the bedroom.
“You can’t just keep me here,” I blurt.
Viktor stops so suddenly that my pulse skips. His shoulders tense, and I watch his hands clench to fists at his sides. He turns slowly, his face tense and his eyes narrowed at me. With a snarl, he suddenly storms over to me. I gasp, backing away until the backs of my legs hit the bed. But then suddenly, his hands are sliding over my hips and pulling me against his rock-hard chest. His perfect lips lower, and I moan when they press hotly to mine.
Quite suddenly, I’m having my very first kiss, in the arms of a ruthless killer.
Viktor kisses me until my toes are curling; until my pulse is roaring in my ears, and my very skin is tingling for him. He slowly pulls away. His eyes hold mine fiercely, his lips wet from our kiss.
“I can do whatever I want, Fiona,” he growls thickly. “Whatever I want.” I tremble as he pulls away from me. “Goodnight.”
He turns and strides out of the room, leaving me speechless with my heart racing.

6 Viktor
Back in my office, the door slams behind me. Lev is gone now, mercifully. So I’m alone while I’m throbbing all over, like I might just fucking explode. I stagger over to the bar cart and pour a drink. But before it touches my lips, I pause. I scowl down into it, and slowly place the glass back on the cart.
I need a drink. But not at the expense of erasing the taste of her lips on mine. I prowl back and forth, pacing the floor. My tongue runs over my lips, and I groan as I replay what just happened with Fiona. I went up there to tell her this ridiculous idea was over—to send her home and then deal with Thomas another way.
That was before I saw her like that, though—clad in nothing but a lacy black, see-through slip. The sight of her gorgeous, tight little ass barely covered in that garment is forever burned into my memory. That soft, whimpered gasp as she whirled to me—the mix of fear and desire in her big blue eyes.
And then there’s her mouth—soft and sweet, with plump lips that were made for me to claim. I feel my pulse thunder inside my veins. My cock thickens, and I run my tongue across my lips once more, chasing the memory.
There’s a knock at the door. For a moment, I indulge the fantasy of Fiona dressed in nothing but that little slip coming down here for more from me. But I know that’s not the case. I stalk over to my desk and sink into the chair facing the door.
“Enter.”
The door opens, and Nina slips in. Lev isn’t wrong about her: Nina is a beautiful girl. But that isn’t an option when it comes to her and I. Lev and anyone else can speculate all they want about my young assistant and I. But they’ll never find what they all think they will, no matter how hard they look.
“Evening, Viktor.”
Though formal with me, Nina is the only other besides Lev who refers to me by my first name. When we’re alone, that is. In public, I’m Mr. Komarov to her, as with everyone.
“She’s settling in okay?”
Nina frowns. I don’t have to ask or prod to understand that she’s not a fan of this arrangement of Fiona staying here.
“Yes,” she answers curtly.
I frown, drumming my fingers on my desk, my thoughts weaving.
“These are the reports from various sectors for the week. And this is the notarized contracts for the Elmwood development.” Nina walks smartly over in her heels, placing a few file folders on the side of my desk.
“I want to use her.”
Nina freezes, and then frowns behind her glasses. “Excuse me?”
“Her legal prowess, I mean.”
Nina’s lips purse. “She’s barely just graduated, Viktor. And as I understand it, her classes were entirely remote. She has no courtroom experience at all. She’s been locked in her father’s little uptown tower her entire life.”
“That may be,” I grunt. “And I’m sure Thomas pulled strings for her. But her accomplishment is still no small feat. Have you seen this?” I push the reporting notes Lev left for me across the desk. Nina glances down at it but doesn’t pick it up.
“You have a dossier on her already?” She purses her lips. “That was fast.”
“Relax, Nina,” I sigh. “She’s not just pampered and rich, she’s very smart. And she’s got a specialty with land trust and zoning law.”
Nina arches one thin brow behind her glasses. “You want her to help you with the Grover Street property?”
I smile, nodding. “Yes.”
“You have lawyers, Viktor.”
“And yet here we are, four months later and still stalled on even acquiring it.”
The Grover Street property is currently an abandoned sneaker factory in the Southside of Chicago. It’s a blight on an already blighted, run-down neighborhood. I have plans, but they’re not moving nearly as quickly as I want them to.
Nina takes her glasses off and rubs the bridge of her nose. “You know why it’s stalled. Because Joey Drucci is an asshole and is enjoying making you dance for him.” She frowns. “It’s beneath you, frankly.”
I chuckle darkly. “Perhaps. But it’s important to me, Nina. You know that.”
“And what makes you think Fiona can help?”
“Can’t hurt