Paying The Bratva’s Debt

his head. “No.”
My mouth thins. That same jealousy of him with other girls simmers inside of me again. “Oh,” I say icily. “Then where do you take—”
“I mean no, I don’t have dates, Fiona.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I say sarcastically.
But Viktor just shrugs. He looks at me impassively. “Ask me whatever you like. I won’t lie to you.”
“And how do I know that isn’t a lie?”
He chuckles. “Perhaps you’ll just have to trust me.”
I run my tongue across my teeth. I eye him for a second before I shrug. “Okay, fine. How many women have you brought here?”
“On a date?”
“Yes.”
Viktor smiles as he sips his vodka. “None.”
“You said you’d tell the truth.”
“I am.”
I swallow, trembling slightly. The room feels even smaller, and a little warmer. Or maybe that’s just the vodka.
“Have you ever killed anyone?” I blurt it out before I can stop myself from saying it. “I mean… besides today, when…” I shiver.
“Yes.”
My eyes flit to his. “How many?” I whisper.
Viktor shakes his head. “That I can’t answer.”
“Because you think it’ll scare me?”
“Because I don’t know.”
I freeze and take a shaky breath.
“Does that frighten you, printsessa?”
“No,” I lie. I look down. “I mean, maybe a little. Were they all bad people?”
Viktor takes a measured breath. “I can’t answer that either.”
“Because you don’t know?”
He nods. He reaches across the table and takes my hand in his much bigger one. I flush at the feeling of the power and heat in his grip.
“You don’t need to be frightened of me, Fiona,” he growls. “I am…” he frowns. “Incapable of hurting you. Or lying to you.”
I wet my lips. “Why?”
“Because you do something to me,” he growls. “Something I’ve never felt before. And something no other woman has ever done to me.”
I blush. “Is that…” I quickly shake my head. “Never mind.”
“No, speak.”
“No, Viktor…”
“Please.”
I swallow. “Is that why you decided to take me, when you caught me eavesdropping at my father’s office?”
“Yes,” he says bluntly.
I frown. “Why does my father owe you?”
Viktor’s face darkens. “Fiona…”
“Please, tell me,”
He sighs. “I did him a favor. A large one. I made sure a political rival wouldn’t hurt his chances of running for Governor.”
I stare at him. A chill teases through me. “How did you make sure?”
“Fiona,” he growls.
“Did you kill him? The rival, I mean?”
Viktor looks right at me, without blinking. “Yes.”
I shiver and take a small gasp. “Oh.”
He looks down. “I told you, I can’t lie to you. About anything.”
I shake my head, trying to clear it of the knowledge that my father had someone killed. A large part of me is horrified. But another part of me isn’t as surprised as I’d have thought I’d be. Deep down, I’ve always known how cutthroat my father is—how his career and his elections come first and foremost, beyond anything else. They came before my mom. They’ve always come before me.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I say quickly.
Viktor looks up, smirking at me. “Changing the subject?”
“Yes.”
He smiles. “No, I don’t.”
“First kiss?”
He laughs. “Really?”
I smile. “What? I’m curious. That is, if you can remember—”
“These hordes of mystery women you seem to think I’ve been entertaining,” he chuckles. “Exactly when do you think I’d have had time for them? My work is constant, Fiona. I have no time for or interest in dalliances or flings.”
I blush.
“And her name was Ekatarina,” he says with a chuckle. “I was thirteen.”
“True love?” I tease.
“She was a prostitute.”
My smile fades into a scowl. But Viktor chuckles and reaches for my hand again. “It was a kiss and nothing more, Fiona. She worked the corner by the group home I was living in. A man came to her and tried to beat her, but I stepped out and beat him instead. She thanked me with a kiss.”
The jealousy is still there, but it’s turning to something much more heated. It’s like the idea of him with someone else—anyone else—makes me jealous but also possessive of him. It makes me want to take him all for myself. It’s an insane thought, especially with who he is. But I can’t deny the fire inside of me. I can’t pretend I don’t feel the tingle in his touch with him holding my hand like this.
“Did you want me?” I whisper, looking up into his eyes. “When you saw me in the office?”
His gaze turns hungry. His jaw clenches tight. “Yes,” he growls thickly.
I tremble and swallow thickly. “Is that why you took me?”
“Yes.”
The heat rises inside of me, simmering in my core and pooling between my thighs.
“Have you ever slept with Nina?”
He shakes his head. “Not at all.”
I swallow again and drag my teeth over my bottom lip. I’m about to jump off the deep end into him. But there’s no turning back now.
“Did you mean what you said earlier?” I whisper.
Viktor leans forward, his eyes burning into mine. “Specifically?”
“When you said you wanted me to remember every single second of you taking me to bed later.”
He growls thickly, his eyes burning into mine. “Yes,” he growls.
I gasp quietly. “Then we’d better leave before I have any more of this vodka.”
Viktor goes still. My heart skips. But then suddenly, his grip on my hand tightens. I gasp as he stands, pulling me from my seat as he drops cash onto the table. Before I know it, my heart is racing as he pulls me from the tiny restaurant and into the waiting car out front.
The door has barely shut when he pushes a button and yanks me into his lap. I whimper as I fall into him. Behind me, I hear a sound, and turn to see a partition going up between us and his driver. Viktor growls, pulling me down on his lap. I turn back and barely have time to breath before his lips crush to mine. My legs spread to either side of his. I can feel his hardness throbbing against me as my dress hikes up around my waist.
He pulls away from my lips, leaving them bruised and aching for more.