Damned: Chapter 12) Restricted Infinity
Vitaly blinked at me but just when I was expecting a shocked expression from him, he smiled.
“Go ahead Angel, shoot me.”
Damn him.
“What?”
He chuckled, “That is, if you know how to.”
“Oh shut up!” I snapped, annoyed.
“I can do that once you pull that trigger.”
“Did I not punch you hard enough, Rostov?”
Before he could have said another word, the sudden sound of someone clearing their throat brought us to attention.
“If you two are done here?” Mikhail’s cold voice iced through the air.
Pushing himself up, Vitaly snatched the gun away from me and stuck it back in his pants. Rubbing his chin casually, he walked up to Mikhail while I sat on the ground. They spoke in a soft tone of voice laced with few Russian words within their sentences.
That shit must be important.
Mikhail, with a nod, seemed to agree to something Vitaly had requested and left the room. He looked back at me sitting on the floor and raised both eyebrows. In response, I wiggled mine and winked at him.
“Help me up.” I beamed sticking my hand out to him.
With a tired sigh, he pulled me up to him and glued me to his chest.
“I’m in confliction whether I should be proud or pissed at you, Donovan.”
“That makes sense.” I smiled, “I mean, I was a ninja in my past life, Soft Served. You got to expect those things.”
“What?”
I slipped my hand under his shirt and held the gun when he suddenly placed a hand over mine on it.
“No.” he frowned.
“Aw! Why not?”
“Because I said so, it isn’t a toy.”
“But Vitvit!” I pouted.
The sound of his phone ringing suddenly alerted him and he released me to answer it. After five minutes, I exited the room as he was still on the call. As soon as I was out of his sight, I felt myself swaying by what had just happened. It took a while for the feeling to hit me but it knocked me down like a freaking bulldozer.
Vitaly kissed me.
I’d never been kissed by anyone before. How the hell did I even know what to do? Wait, did I kiss him back? Of course, I did, I mean- I did right? Dear God, did I do it the correct way? And he, I had to admit was insanely skilled at it. He probably had been tying a lot of cherry stems with that tongue of his.
Okay, ew.
Calm down, Donovan.
Don’t go there.
There are better things to think about than what Vitaly’s tongue can do.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to ignore what happened when he left the room, saying not a word. I couldn’t forget what happened. To be honest, I didn’t like how he thought I was weak. I mean, I admit I am a bit physically weak and this was proven that day at the dinner function in the hotel. Walking back into his ‘workout’ room, I looked at all the equipment around. I’ve never been in a gym my entire life but I guess I can figure out what to do here. I ran on the treadmill for quite a while until I finally got tired and stopped. At the side of the room, I noticed a punching bag. Maybe if I was lucky I’d figure out that that’s where he stored a body he murdered. Alright, that wasn’t funny. I needed so much help.
I tried a few times to hit at the bag but it seemed as if I was SpongeBob trying to tackle a dinosaur. With one more powerful punch, I managed to swing the bag away when suddenly it swung back at me- knocking me to the ground. That’s it. That’s enough for now. I needed a cup of tea and some marshmallows right now. I had to take a bath first to get rid of my embarrassing strength and to get rid of Vitaly’s rich cologne that smothered my insides.
Even in the shower, I was thinking about the damn man. This wasn’t right. Then again, was anything even right in my situation? Slipping on a pair of jeans and a loose T-shirt with faded floral print on it, I brushed my fingers through my hair and frowned at the uncertain feeling that laced within me. A sudden knock on the door alerted me back to attention. Swinging it open, I was greeted by an unfriendly-looking Natalia.
“Where’s Vit?”
“What?”
“Are you deaf?”
“Are you stupid?” I retorted.
Her scowl turned nastier as I said that.
“And to answer your first question, I don’t know. I’m not his wife.”
Rolling her eyes, she walked away in utmost bitterness. She was definitely the ‘Queen of Mean’. On another note, I wondered where Vitaly really was. I hadn’t seen him in a while. To be honest, I was getting tired of the lack of knowledge of my brother’s whereabouts. I’m sure Rostov had some other information and, I mean, if we were a team shouldn’t I at least know about it? I had to be informed about my brother. That’s why I’m here. I exited the room in search of him.
Nikolai, who was leaving the kitchen, saw me in a frustrated state.
“What’s wrong?” he flashed that boyish smile towards me.
“Have you seen Vitaly?”
“Yeah. Vit just got back home, he’s in the library. I believe I saw him in there last.”
“Oh, thanks.” I smile gratefully as he nodded in return and walked away.
I took the corner and found myself in front of the large library room. Thank God Nik had shown me around the place at first. Now it wasn’t that hard to find the rooms. I stared into the room where I noted Vitaly’s seated at a luxurious oaky-coloured leathered armchair. He seemed to be deep in thought. With his elbow resting on the arm of the chair, his face was propped up against his knuckles defining how chiseled his features were. The slight stubble seemed to emphasize a roguish yet elegant portrayal of him. A blend of mystery and danger perfumed his ambiance and a dark kind of desire laced through me in the deepest of shades.
Wow, was I hungry?
Okay, I really needed that ice-cream now.
Gently knocking on the door, I entered.
“Vitaly?” I spoke softly and he raised his eyes up to me.
Dear God, his eyes were a toxic shade of blue. A deep, dark, consuming soul gazed towards me and melted me in every possible way.
“Katherine,” he breathed yet his voice held a soft rawness as he stood and walked towards me, “What are you doing here?”
“I was looking for you.”
“Aren’t they all?” he chuckled.
It was weird but something about that chuckle seemed to lose the ‘Vitaly’ effect. It wasn’t wicked. I might sound crazier than I already am but it almost seemed a bit tired and drawn out.
“Rostov, are you alright?” I asked furrowing my eyebrows and for the first time, I was feeling a bit concerned.
My question seemed to surprise him but he brushed the reaction off quickly.
“I’m more than alright, darling.”
Darling?
“I thought it was ‘Angel’?” I playfully teased with a soft smile.
With a subtle smile, he stared at me, “Why did you come here?”
“I wanted to talk to you- about my brother. Vitaly, if there’s more I should know then, please. I’m glad you’re not busy because-”
“You’re mistaken.” A sultry female voice cut me off.
I turned slightly to take in the presence of a woman who was entering the room from another door other than the entry. Her jet black hair glazed perfectly straight at her shoulders. The intensity of her curves seemed to lick to her short burgundy dress as she walked. Natalia had curves, but not like this woman. I mean, holy hell, she made Natty look like a stick in front of her. Much less for me, I probably looked like a strand of hair compared to this woman.
She curved her deep crimson lips upwards in a wicked smiled and walked towards us- towards Vitaly.
“He’s busy,” She stated as she adjusted his tie, sparing me not a glance.
“Excuse me?” I arched an eyebrow.
Vitaly turned towards me with a frown. He didn’t seem like he was frowning at me, it seemed as if he was frowning with himself.
What the hell?
“Go back to the room, Katherine, we’ll talk later.”
Go back to the room?
What the heck. Who the hell did he think he was? Did I look like his child?
I frowned, displeased at his command.
“I’m thirsty,” The woman suddenly scowled and turned to me, “Bring me something to drink on your way out, Sweetheart.”
Before I got a chance to even react, Vitaly interjected with a harsh tone, “She’ll do no such thing.”
“Vitaly,” she knitted her eyebrows and flashed me a harsh look, “Is there something I should know?”
“You’re a guest here, Oksana. I don’t need to explain myself. This girl is none of your concern.” Vitaly replied in an autocratic manner.
“I hope this does not affect our relationship.”
Relationship?
I was about to speak when suddenly another voice interrupted.
“Oksana,” Mikhail smiled and entered the room.
Mikhail smiled?
Hot tamales, this was big.
He walked up to the three of us yet ignored my existence as usual. The atmosphere felt a bit uneasy and Vitaly stared at me for a moment. Well, that just added to the uneasiness.
“I forgot I had to meet Natalia.” I lied and slowly left the room with so many questions bombarding my mind.
Who was that woman?
I was so taken up by my thoughts that I accidentally bumped into Nikolai in the hall.
“They should call you accident prone.” He laughed.
“Oh, sorry.” I awkwardly apologized.
“Hmm, no snarky remarks, or are they all for Vit?” he asked with a wink.
“Nik, I-”
I honestly didn’t know the right question to ask without sounding pushy. I’ve never been a pushy person in my life nor did I ever want to be but sometimes when I have a question I tend to go insane just trying to think about all the possibilities for the answer.
“You okay there?” he asked concerned.
“Hmm?”
“Did you meet him and talk to him about whatever you had wanted to tell him?”
“Who?”
“Vitaly. Katherine, are you feeling well?”
“I’m fine I just… I met him but…”
“But?”
“I never got to speak to him.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate.” He sympathized, “He was probably busy. Be thankful you didn’t meet him when he’s pissed. You probably wouldn’t have come out there alive.”
He was about to walk away with a smile when I decided to just ask.
“Nik,” I called, causing him to turn back around towards me, “There was someone there.”
“Someone?” he arched an eyebrow confused.
“Yes, a woman- she…”
“She-?”
“Well I was just wondering but I- I don’t mean to sound invasive. I just-”
Nikolai sighed and placed both hands on either side of my shoulders, “You can ask me anything, Katherine.”
There was something genuine about the way he looked at me right now. It made me remember my brother. It made me remember the days when Anthony used to look at me like that. Oh God, I missed him.
“Who’s Oksana?” I managed to ask in a soft tone.
Nikolai blinked at me for a moment and I could see a somewhat surprise in his expression yet his lips were stapled in a thin straight firm line.
“Oksana’s here?” another voice interjected from behind me.
Turning slightly around, Natalia stood there with a deep frown and knitted eyebrows.
“Who is she?” I asked, frustrated at the tension that was swelling within me.
Nik’s voice seemed a bit deeper as he spoke, “She’s Vitaly’s fiancée”
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