Authors: Jenika Snow
Chapter Eight
“What are you going to do?”
Karina had just gotten through
telling her friend all about what happened with Viktor … everything in detail.
She wasn’t going to hide what had happened, because she’d wanted to confide in
someone, and she wanted to get another opinion on it all.
Karina looked at the other woman,
the one person she trusted most of all, Hardy. They’d been friends for the last
year when Karina had found Hardy drunk, left at the bar by her deadbeat boyfriend,
and trying to call someone to pick her up. It wasn’t the ideal way to make a
new friend, but the women had hit it off, well, after Hardy had sobered up.
After that, and for the last year, she was the one person Karina actually spoke
with, the one person she considered a true friend. It was funny how people met,
but it was also a blessing.
Hardy was also the person that had
lent the evening gown to Karina, and she’d come over today to pick it up.
“I don’t know.” Karina grabbed her
cup of coffee and drank from it, mulling over her thoughts. “But honestly, I
know what I’d like. I’m just too afraid of what might happen, I guess.”
Hardy didn’t speak for a second,
but she looked thoughtful. “You want him,” Hardy said without phrasing it like
a question.
Karina nodded, not about to lie.
“But you think he’ll fuck you
over?”
Leave it to Hardy not to mince
words, but that was what Karina needed to hear right now.
“Yeah, or something like that. You
know his reputation. Hell, everyone in the city knows who he is and the women
he’s been with.”
Hardy nodded. “True, but who cares
about them?”
“I guess
I
care. I shouldn’t be thinking about what could happen—”
“Honey, if life has taught me
anything, it’s that you can’t worry about what might happen. Hell, look at how
it ended with Marco and me?” Hardy shook her head. “I thought I was going to
marry him, but then I found out his ass was cheating on me the entire time we
were together.” Hardy shrugged and took a long drink from her coffee cup, which
Karina knew she’d spiked with Irish Cream. “I say live your life the way you
want to. If you feel like it is right with him, fuck everyone else and what
they might say.”
Karin knew her friend was right,
and she wanted to have that mentality, but she supposed never before having the
kind of attention Viktor gave her, had her a little unsure of which way to go.
“Just go with what your heart says.
You’re a smart girl, and it won’t lead you wrong.”
****
It had been days since she’d slept
with Viktor, and spoken with Hardy about the whole situation. To say Karina was
still so confused on how she felt was an understatement, even after speaking
with her friend. Of course she wanted Viktor, thought about him constantly, and
his admission that he wanted to see where things went with them made her happy.
But Karina also didn’t want her heart broken in the process. She knew she could
fall hard for Viktor in no time—hell, she felt like she was already halfway
there. But he didn’t exactly have a reputation for being in committed
relationships, and she worried that he’d get tired of her eventually.
But
do you really think that, after what he said to you?
Honestly, no, she didn’t think
that, because Viktor wasn’t the type of man to make declarations like he had
and not mean them. From what she’d seen, heard, and gathered on her own, she
knew he kept himself at a distance with people. His telling her he wanted her,
that he wanted more than just that one night, had sounded genuine.
He
was real, and you know that. You just don’t want to realize or accept it.
But Karina did want to accept it,
because it’s what she wanted, as well.
“Stop,” she whispered to herself,
grabbed the files she’d been working on, and got back to it. She’d been
immersed in her work for the last few days, trying to stay out of Viktor’s way,
because she was still wrapping her head around it all, even if she knew what
she wanted. He’d been working on a big account, so his head had been in that,
but she also didn’t miss the way their gazes would lock in passing, and the
heat and emotions that bombarded her at every turn.
“Karina, I’m going to go on my
lunch. Would you like to go?”
Karina stopped filing and looked at
Barbara, who stood in the doorway. There were a few other employees with her.
“No thanks. I’d like to get this done.”
“Want me to bring anything back?
We’re going to Renaldo’s.”
“I brought my lunch, but thank
you.” She smiled and watched as they left. Karina went back to filing, her
thoughts on Viktor, as they’d been for the last several days. It also didn’t
help that just until the other day she had still been pleasurably sore between
her thighs, a remembrance of what they’d shared. Fortunately, Viktor wasn’t in
his office, and had left for a meeting a few hours ago. That at least gave her
the silence she needed to think. Or maybe she didn’t need to think anymore?
Maybe she just needed to either tell him this wasn’t what she could do, or say
she wanted to give it a try.
The sound of the office doors
opening and closing had her assuming one of the girls forgot something. She finished
filing the last bit of paperwork, and stepped out of the backroom. “You forget
something…” Her words died in her throat when she saw Viktor standing by the
receptionist’s desk, his jacket midway to being pulled off, and his focus on
her. For a second they didn’t speak, didn’t even move.
Maybe
this is a sign that things need to get resolved right now?
He took a step toward his office,
and even though she could clearly see the strain on his face, he didn’t push
her. She had to appreciate that, because Viktor was a man known to go after
what he wanted, but he was giving her the space and time to decide what she
needed in her life.
“Karina.” The way he said her name
as he walked past her made these butterflies move around in her belly. The
scent of him as the air wafted around her had the hairs on her arms standing on
end. And the look he gave her right before he entered his office had her
resolve solidifying.
You
have thought about this. You know what you want. You know what you need to tell
him.
He shut the door, and she
contemplated just for a second what she should do.
Stop
thinking, and just do it. You won’t know how it’ll be until you talk to him and
give this a chance.
Steeling herself, she smoothed her
hands over her legs and moved toward the door. She could hear him on the phone,
and although she should have knocked, she figured they’d already shared so much
that walking in would be appropriate.
She turned the knob, pushed the
door open, and stepped inside. He had his back to her, and was standing looking
out one of the windows, but she could see how he tensed, and knew he could
sense her right away. They had this undeniable connection, and that was another
reason she was just going to go with it and see how this all went.
“Zachary, let me call you back.”
Viktor turned around and disconnected his Bluetooth. He removed it from his ear
and set it on the table. The silence between them was thick, slightly awkward,
but then again she figured it would be given how they’d parted.
“I figured we should talk,” she
said, trying not to twist her fingers together and show her nerves.
He nodded and came around the
table. “Do you want a drink?” he asked, and went over to the small bar by the
wall.
“I’m on the clock. Probably not the
best thing for me to do.”
He glanced at her. “I’m the boss. I
think it’ll be okay if you want one.”
“Okay then,” she said and tried to
smile, but she was so damn on edge she knew it came out forced.
He poured them both a drink, and
walked up to her, handing her the glass. “Do you want to sit down? I have a
feeling what you want to talk about isn’t in a professional capacity?”
She shook her head, and watching
him go over to the couch, she took a drink. The liquor was a little harsh, but
then again she wasn’t much of a hard alcohol drinker. But she knew she’d need a
little liquid courage to get through this, because no matter what the outcome
was, this was totally new territory for her.
Moving next to him and sitting
down, she focused on her glass, wondering how to proceed.
“You’ve thought about what I said,
and want to talk about it?” Viktor asked, and she looked up, thankful he’d
broken the silence.
She nodded, her throat tight and
slightly burning from the alcohol, and her nerves making talking almost
impossible. But she wouldn’t be a coward. She wanted to be honest with him, to
tell him that she had feelings for him, ones she didn’t want to ignore.
Then
say it.
“I’m afraid, I’ll admit that.” She
held onto her glass tightly. “I don’t know if this is just a phase, like you’ll
get sick of me.” She shrugged, being honest, even though it was humiliating.
“I’m different from what you normally go for, and I guess that’s why I feel
this way, why I think one day I’ll have given you my heart and you’ll just
discard me.”
“Oh, Karina, baby.” He set his
glass down and pulled her closer. She let him, because it felt damn good to
have Viktor hold her. “If this wasn’t what I wanted, wasn’t what I desired
above everything else, I would have never said anything.”
It was strange to hear this softer
side of him, to feel his emotions, his desire for her. It wasn’t just about
sex, not for her, and he’d told her as much. This was about so much more, and
she wanted to explore that.
“But you want me, too?” He spoke
tenderly, and she couldn’t help but absorb that. She was so used to seeing the
strong, and always in control Viktor that having this gentle, sweet man hold
her and tell her everything would work out, was surreal.
“I do want you.”
“Look at me, Karina.”
She pulled back and looked into his
eyes. He still appeared so powerful and strong, like he could crush anything
that came close to
him, that
threatened what he held
dear.
And
he holds you dear.
“If I wasn’t sure, without a
fucking doubt, that you were it for me, I wouldn’t have told you what I had.”
“It’s just happening so fast.”
He smiled and cupped her cheek. “It
is, but doesn’t it feel incredible?”
She nodded. “It does.”
“Then let’s just go with it, and
see where this path takes us.”
Can
it really be this easy?
Chapter Nine
Karina glanced to her side and couldn’t
help the little flutter in her chest. Seeing Viktor in the driver’s seat, his
hand on the gearshift, and his focus on the road, made this arousal rear its
sweet, erotic head up violently in her. They’d just gotten back from dinner,
and although she would have no issues being with him right here and now, he was
taking them back to his place for wine and classical music.
She’d never have taken Viktor for
the classics kind of man, but then again he was surprising her on all avenues.
They drove through the city, the sun already having set, and the night full of
life. The traffic was starting to thicken the later it got, and her anxiousness
and arousal were climbing with each passing second.
“You’re nervous,” Viktor said
without glancing at her, and sounding slightly amused.
“I’m not.”
He did look at her then. “You’re
lying, baby, but I can read you as if I’m looking in the mirror.” He grinned
and focused on the road again, weaving his way in and out of traffic, and
heading closer to his apartment. He descended into an underground garage, the
lights coming on instantly. There were plenty of below ground garages in the
city, but this one only held a few cars … a few very expensive cars. Once he
parked and cut the engine they sat there for a second, her hands in her lap,
her heart not beating nearly as fast as she assumed it would be. Although it
wasn’t like they’d talked about
why
they were coming back to his house, she knew the end result.
They’d fuck, and it would be
incredible.
“Why are you nervous?” he asked,
looking fully at her now. “Is it because of everything, and what you told me,
or…”
She swore the heat in the car went
up ten degrees in just that short amount of time.
She swallowed before answering.
“I’m not so much nervous as I am … anticipating it all,” she said that last
part more on a whisper, her face heating after the fact. Viktor made this low
sound, and she couldn’t help the tingle that moved through her, starting at the
base of her spine and running to the tips of her toes and fingers. Viktor reached
out and tangled his hand in her hair, pulling her head forward, and meeting her
in the middle to kiss her. His lips on hers were soft at first, but as the
seconds moved by he became more demanding and dominant with his mouth and
tongue.
She loved it, and couldn’t help but
moan against him and reach out to wrap her hand around his bicep. Even through
his suit jacket she could feel his muscles and strength, and a fresh gush of
wetness left her.
He swiped his tongue along hers,
eliciting a soft moan from her. If they didn’t stop she could easily give
herself to him right now, and although the car might not be the most
comfortable place to have sex, it would surely be hot as hell.
But he pulled away after a few
seconds, breathing hard, and resting his forehead against hers. “If we don’t
stop I’ll come right in my fucking slacks, and I want to be buried in your cunt
when that happens.”
Her throat tightened and her
nipples beaded at his words.
He pulled back, smoothed his finger
along her jaw line, and was out of the car before she could even inhale. She
watched as he walked around the front of the car, her body frozen in place at
the way he moved, at the fact he looked like a predator, a damn sexy one. He
opened the car door for her, helped her out, and had her in an embrace as soon
as her feet touched the ground. He kissed her again, and she knew she could get
lost in this man, in everything about Viktor Port.
“Let’s get you inside before we
give the security cameras a nice show.”
She chuckled and nodded.
They made their way through the
garage, her heels clicking along the pavement. Once they reached the elevator
he slipped in a key, turning it, and taking them up to the top apartment. It
was the same thing he’d done the first time he’d taken her here, just in
another part of the building. When she’d first come here they’d gone through
the front doors as they’d had a driver. This was the first time she’d seen the
garage, or this elevator, and even if those things might not seem lavish in the
least, in this ritzy part of the city, and in this building, it was impressive.
Once they’d reached the top floor
and were in his apartment, she actually took the time to appreciate his place.
The time before things had been so frantic and arousal-laced, that she hadn’t
really stopped and checked everything out, not much, anyway. The morning after
had given her a little bit of time to look around, but she’d been so nervous of
what lunch would bring, that her mind had been preoccupied.
“Make yourself at home. I’ll get us
some wine.”
She glanced at Viktor and watched
as he went into the kitchen. He turned on the light, and the glow moved its way
into the living room, which was where she was headed. Smoothing her fingers
along the back of the buttery soft leather couch, she heard him approach. He
had a bottle of wine in one hand, and was holding the stems of two glasses in
his other. He set the bottle and glasses on the coffee table and poured them
both wine. She took the offered glass before making her way toward the windows.
“Your view is incredible,” she said
softly, and sipped from her glass.
A moment of silence stretched after
she spoke.
“It’s beautiful,” he said right
behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see he was only a few feet
from her, his focus not on the cityscape, but on her. Karina’s heart jumped a
little, and she curled her fingers around the stem of the glass even more. The
way he was looking at her was the way she’d envisioned a man to look at the
woman he cared about above all others. There was possession, but not the kind
that would frighten her, rather the kind that made her feel like she was truly
wanted.
He smiled and walked over to the
stereo. After turning it on to something classical and soft, he moved back
toward her, his wine glass now on the coffee table. “Dance with me, baby,” he
said in a low, deep voice, one that sent sparks of fire through her.
The view of the city was all around
them, the floor to ceiling windows letting the lights filter through, and
almost giving the illusion they were floating, high above everything else and
in their own little world.
She slipped her hand in his
outstretched one, set her wine glass on the table beside her, and allowed him
to pull her in to the hardness of his body. She rested her head on his chest
and just let him hold her, both of them swaying back and forth, the music all
around them, the atmosphere soft. It was strange, kind of, given the way they’d
had sex, the controlling and powerful persona that came from him, the needs
they both seemed to have. But she liked these dual sides of Viktor, because she
knew not everyone saw them.
He pulled back so she was forced to
look at him, but then leaned down to press his lips to hers. For several
seconds they kissed, still swaying, mouths fused. But as the second ticked by
the more heated it became, the more demanding. She grabbed his biceps and
clenched her nails into his arms, trying to pull him as close as he could get.
Her body was primed for him, so ready to be fucked, controlled … dominated. She
never thought she’d like that in sex, because she’d never had it before Viktor.
But now that she had a taste she wanted more.
“Viktor,” she whispered his name.
“Sir,” she said on another breath, liking the way calling him the title made
her feel, and getting turned on because she knew he liked it as well.
He groaned, ground his erection
into her belly, and placed his hand on her lower back, keeping her pressed
fully to him.
“I’m burning alive.” How she was
even able to form words at this moment was beyond her.
“You want me to help you out with
that, baby?” His voice dropped lower, and she sensed that power come from him,
the one she’d experienced in the office and at the party.
“Yes.”
“You want me to make you feel good,
to make you come?”
She was breathing harder now, and
forced herself to nod. “God, yes.”
“Then say you’re mine, Karina,” he
ordered.
She opened her eyes, not realizing
she’d closed them, and stared into his face, one covered with a hard
expression. It was a no brainer on what she wanted to say, on what she wanted
with Viktor. Now that she allowed herself to be open with him, and accepted her
feelings, not afraid anymore, she wanted nothing more than to be his in every
way imaginable.
“I’m yours, only yours.”