VLAD (The V Games #1)(51)
“Okay,” I murmur. “I’ll go in first.” All the happiness from moments before drain from my body. I pull away from him and start for the doors.
“Irina,” he calls out, stopping me.
I turn to see him prowling toward me with fierce determination glinting in his amber eyes. He grasps my face with both palms and tugs me to his lips, crushing me beneath his claiming kiss. His hands slide down my throat and then down to my hips. He wraps me up in an embrace, holding me so tight I can barely catch my breath. He kisses me raw and unhurried.
This moment is ours.
His tongue duels with mine and right then, I know we’re going to be together…
I just don’t know how.
I creep inside and make my way to the nearest restroom. My panties are ruined. Vlad’s seed has seeped out of me and soaked them, so I slip them off and stuff them in the trash can.
I wash up and then make my way back to the guests before Diana sends out a search party. I’m just stepping out of the restroom when I hit the steel wall that is Stepan, startling me.
“Hey,” I choke out, surprised to see him loitering outside the bathroom. His eyes bore into me as if reading the guilt written all over my sex-heated skin. I try to move past him, but he blocks my way. “Stepan,” I say sharply, swallowing down the unease he creates now whenever he is near. “What are you doing?”
He stares at me, his gaze dragging along my features and stalling at my lips. “I dreamed about you.” His brows furrow and his eye twitches. I’m a little stunned and don’t know what the appropriate response is to that.
“You were sleeping so peacefully in the dream,” he murmurs. “So perfect.”
My stomach clenches with nerves. “I’m getting a little uncomfortable,” I utter, honesty bleeding from my words.
“No,” he rushes out, closing in around me. My heart begins to stampede in my chest. “I mean, you don’t need to be frightened of me.” His tone is urgent. He grips the wall on either side of me, his breath mingling with mine.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I lie, trying not to shudder.
“It wasn’t a dream though,” he says.
“What?”
“I found myself walking past your bedroom,” he explains. “You keep your door open at night.”
Thud.
“I thought it was a dream,” he murmurs and shakes his head trying to clear it. “My thoughts can get chaotic, so I wasn’t sure, but that guy was in your room.”
Thud.
“What guy?” I’m going to be sick. Is he talking about Vlad? Does he know?
“Your sister’s bodyguard. He was watching you sleep.”
What?
He’s talking about Anton?
“He’s harmless,” I say, perplexed. “He was probably just checking on me.”
He swallows, a look of pure evil passing in his eyes. They’re desolate—like I’m looking into a portal to hell itself.
“He was touching himself.” He grips my arms and shakes me as if to drive home the point.
What?!
No. No. Anton’s like a father to us.
“You’re wrong,” I choke out, hot tears welling in my eyes as I wriggle in an attempt to leave his grasp.
It’s not true.
Stepan is clearly crazy and doesn’t know what he saw.
“I’ll kill him,” he hisses, spittle landing on my face. “For you, I’ll kill him.” He leans forward and inhales my hair.
I think he’s a little insane and confusing weird dreams he’s been having with reality.
“Thank you, but I’ll deal with this myself.”
He releases me, pulling back and pushing into the restroom. I’m left free and completely weirded out. There’s a flaw in his code, that’s for sure. I rush down the hallway, eager to get away from him. I need to process what he’s said to me and far away from him at that.
Vika is in a heated conversation with Ven when I approach a waiter standing close to them. My heart rushes when I see Vlad standing directly behind them. The look on his face turns my blood cold. Violent and furious. It’s the face of the killer lying dormant under his skin. Whatever they’re discussing, he doesn’t like it.
I want to rush over to him and beg him to hold me. Plead for him to tell me everything is fine. That what just happened moments ago was just silly ramblings from a madman. It can’t be the truth. My mind won’t allow it.
Ven grabs Vika’s arm and growls something at her, but Vlad steps back and then takes off. I hurry to follow him and track him to his office. When I reach the doorway, he’s already seated, glaring down at his computer monitor. Disgust is painted in an angry sneer on his handsome face.
“Vlad?” I choke out as I rush into his office. “What’s wrong?”
Her scent is all over me, and it sends my mind racing. I was just inside her, yet I still crave her. She’s like a drug I can’t cope without. I need a hit constantly.
I search the room for her, but she’s nowhere. I made quite a mess of her, so she’s more than likely cleaning up. I take a drink from a server and down the contents. Vas-the-new-Volkov approaches, and I haven’t had enough to drink to deal with him right now.