VLAD (The V Games #1)(35)

“No!”

But her body language and eyes scream yes.

She would never willingly betray her sister.

Good thing I have no such loyalty.

I crush my lips to hers, craving her taste more than any fancy scotch or vodka from my expensive stash. I want to taste every delicious inch of her. Her lips are soft and pliable. I easily urge them open with my tongue and invade her mouth. She does taste sweet, like vanilla essence. Her tiny fists pound at my shoulders, but her lips dance with mine. Desperately. Eagerly. Dangerously. Once she realizes she’s a victim of my kiss and I’m not letting her go, her body softens against me. I nip, suck, and plunder her mouth, taking my fill.

Goddamn, she tastes like perfection.

I pull away, much to my cock’s horror. I could spend hours kissing her sweet, pouty mouth that tastes like sin delivered straight from heaven. An unearthly, divine concoction. She’s a meal fit for a king, and I want to devour her.

Our eyes meet for a moment. Hers are glazed over with lust, but she quickly shakes away her daze before glowering at me and muttering a string of Russian curse words. She’s unsteady on her feet as she pulls away, but finds her equilibrium and darts out of my office like the devil is chasing her.

I’m the devil all right.

And I want to chase her, but if I do, I won’t stop with her lips.

I’ll devour all of her.





Oh my God.

My heart hasn’t stopped racing since this afternoon. Since Vlad held me in his grip and kissed me like our lives depended on it. I was horrified. Horrified and completely turned on.

Guilt claws at me, and I fret as I dig around in my jewelry box looking for something to wear to dinner. I’ve betrayed my sister in the worst way. What kind of person kisses their sister’s fiancé?

Tears threaten, but I blink them away. I’ve already done too much of that this afternoon. I locked myself in my new room on the other side of the estate once Rada showed me to it and cried for hours. It’s not like me to crack and break, but Vlad messes with my head. Some moments I hate him and he disgusts me, then, other moments…I want him so badly, I swear my mouth waters.

I open the bottom drawer of my jewelry box and pull out a dainty tennis bracelet with stones the color of my eyes. It wasn’t here before. All my worries are pushed aside as I contemplate where the bracelet came from. Oddly enough, it matches the dress I’d planned to wear for dinner. I slide it on my wrist and admire the stones as they glisten in the overhead light.

“You look beautiful,” Diana murmurs from the doorway. She’s still dressed in her coat and scarf, her cheeks rosy from the cold.

I can’t meet her gaze. Not without my eyes telling her what I did to her. I chew on my lip and stare at the bracelet. “Thanks.”

She enters the room as she pulls away her scarf. “Why were you moved here?”

I shrug. “I don’t know.” My voice trembles, and I hate the sound of it.

“It’s a nicer room,” she marvels as she sits on the bed. “Shadow, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I squeak. “How did things go at Father’s?”

She lets out a heavy sigh, but doesn’t reply. I lift my gaze to find her wringing her scarf in her hands. Dejected. My powerful and charismatic sister is defeated. Her nose turns pink and she regards me with watery eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she breathes.

I frown and take a step toward her. “Sorry for what?”

She lets out a humorless laugh. “This.” Her hands wave in the air as she sniffles. “Everything.”

“It’s fine. The Volkov women are strong wherever they are. As long as they’re together,” I tell her firmly. Whatever happened between Vlad and I will never happen again. I’ll make sure of it. I need for this to work for Diana’s sake. She’s brilliant and successful. Whatever is happening with Father is trying to ruin that. Her alliance with Vlad will only strengthen her.

A tear rolls over her cheek. “He cut us off.” She hiccups as more tears stream down.

“I don’t have access to any of the accounts.”

I rush to sit beside her. The kiss is already a thing of the past and gets swept under the rug as I take my sister’s hands. “We’ll be fine. You’ll marry Vlad and continue doing what you do best. Just for another family. Father will sink without us. We made that company what it is.”

She hugs me and cries softly against my hair. “I don’t know what our future holds, Shadow. I don’t…I just don’t know. I never wanted it to come to this. Father is forcing my hand.”

“Shhh,” I coo. “Today is just a blip, and tomorrow or the next day, he will remember we’re the ones who have been there making his companies what they are, especially Volkov Spirits. It will be okay. I promise.”

She pulls away and cradles my cheeks in her palms. “I love you, my sweet sister.”

Beaming at her, I open my mouth to tell her the words when I notice a bruise on her throat. Not just any bruise. A hickey. My smile drops. “Diana, what is this?”

Her eyes widen, and she looks over her shoulder before trying to cover it with her hand. I slap it away and inspect it closer.

“Who gave you a hickey?” I demand, my eyes wide with horror.

She purses her lips and darts her gaze to the doorway again before jumping from the bed and rushing over to the mirror.