“Alisha, don’t jump on him. He’s hurt.”
“He fucking deserves it!”
“She’s right, I do,” he says.
“You, stay out of it!” she hisses at him, then returns her attention to him. “Why are you defending him? He locked you up like a prisoner.”
“It isn’t like that,” I say.
“Uh, yeah it is! He kept you against your will.”
“I did it to save your ass, okay?”
“And I appreciate that, but—”
“Then let me talk.”
Her lips part but then close again. “Fine.”
“Yes, he kept me here as a prisoner, but I wasn’t treated badly. I wasn’t hurt. I was fed properly, had a bed. And he became nicer.”
“Being nice isn’t my greatest asset, though,” Viktor adds, playfully raising a brow to catch my attention. He knows just how to make me blush. Motherfucker.
“Shut it,” I say to him, and then focus on Alisha again. “Things changed. Between us. We grew closer. And …”
“And what? You love him?”
I open my mouth but then slam my lips together, embarrassed that she says it out loud like that.
Her jaw drops. “No … you’re serious? What?”
“Please understand.”
“You’re in love … with this guy?” She points at him again.
“Hey, I can hear you, you know,” he says.
“I want you to hear me! You don’t deserve my sister.”
“Alisha!” I grab her arms. “He saved me. And you. He saved us both.”
“From what?” she frowns.
“From becoming servants. Remember the tattoo on your neck?”
Her fingers briefly touch it.
“You always knew it was bad.”
“Yeah, but you can’t be serious …”
“I am. They were gonna sell us. Use us. He took us out of that place years ago.”
She glances at him with less hatred than before.
“But … you almost died because of him.”
“I chose to come back here,” I say. “To save him.”
“And I’m very grateful,” he adds, folding his arms behind his head.
She looks at him then at me again, and she does this a few times before sighing out loud. “So I’m just to accept that my sister is sleeping with the enemy?”
“I’m not the enemy, but yeah … she is sleeping with me all right.” He grins when he sees my face.
I growl at him. “What he wants to say is that we like each other too much. This isn’t just a fling. It’s … more than that.”
“And you want … my approval.”
“I just wanted you to know.” I lower my head to look into her eyes better. “And I wanted to introduce you guys properly this time. Under normal circumstances.”
I grab her arm and pull as she digs her feet in, but I persist, even though she’s scowling. She doesn’t back away once she’s in front of him, though.
Viktor holds out his hand. “Viktor Melikov. Pleasure to meet you again.”
She shakes his hand reluctantly. “Right.”
“I’m sorry about what I did to you,” he says. “It wasn’t okay. I didn’t want to hurt you, and I’m sorry if I did.”
“No, I’m fine. I just don’t want you to hurt my sister.”
“I care too much about her to ever be able to hurt her. I promise.”
She sighs again as they let go of each other, and she glances over at me again. “Are you sure about this?”
I nod. “You know me. Have I ever felt anything in my life?”
“Except for raging bitchiness? No, not that I recall.”
I sneer at her. “You know what I mean.”
“So he’s special. He’s the one.”
I sit down on the couch beside him and look at him. “He’s … it.”
Out of nowhere, his arm snakes around me and he pulls me closer. “Just say you love me and wanna have babies with me and get it over with,” he growls.
“Oh God, I’m gonna puke,” Alisha mumbles, making a finger-into-mouth movement.
“Fuck you, Viktor,” I snarl.
“No, fuck you,” he says, muffling a laugh.
So I spin around, grab his nipples, and twist.
He squeals. “Fuck!”
“That’s what you get for embarrassing me in front of my sister!”
“Fuck you! That’s not fair,” he says. “Ow! Let go of my fucking nips!”
“Do I really have to see this?” Alisha says. “You two are fucking awkward.”
“You’ll get used to it,” I murmur, laughing maniacally at the twisted look on his face.
“Peace! Peace! I surrender!” he says.