Page 13 of Kaid's Empire

Aleck raises his brow. “Girl talk… Now I wonder what, or should I say who that was about,” he teases.

“Come now, our guests will be waiting for us.” Allegra diverts the conversation away from me, thank goodness, although Aleck is a smart guy and I'm pretty sure he knows exactly who we were talking about.

Eight

Kaid

I excuse myself from the table and follow where they went, watching Allegra and Theia talking outside on the deck. “So, you’ve taken to skulking in the shadows now?” Aleck states behind me.

I turn around to face him. “What are they talking about?” I ask.

Aleck smirks. “I would say you. She likes you, but why would our powerful Pakhan be concerned with what some woman is talking about?” I glare at him in warning and he holds up his hands, smiling. “Just like your father, he could never take a joke either. If you want her son, take her. You are the Pakhan after all, you take what you want.”

I don’t answer him, my gaze is transfixed on her––her smile, her eyes and her curves. Women in Russia don’t look like her, most women in Russia are petite, and if they have curves, they are normally bought. Theia is different, she's got all natural curves and the way her clothing clings to her voluptuous body, I can’t tear my eyes away from her ass––the way it sways as she walks, its fucking hypnotic.

“Kaid.” Aleck laughs, shaking his head. I look at him. “You are obsessed, son. Either fuck the whore out of your system or fuck something else, you don’t need the distraction.”

I spin around, pining Aleck to the wall, my hand tight around his throat. “Watch what you say, Aleck. You were my father’s best friend, you may be like family, but that does not give you the right to disrespect me. I am the Pakhan of the motherfucking bratva, don’t forget your place,” I seethe. Aleck nods. I let go of him, and stepping back, I look outside to see Theia laughing. “Don’t ever refer to her as a whore again, I'm warning you as a friend and as your Pakhan,” I growl before walking off.

I walk back into the dining room. “Vodka,” I bark to one of the staff, and they move quickly to get my drink. I don’t speak to any of the guests, I stand, looking out of the window. Pulling out my phone, I call Mikhail.

“Boss,” he answers. One of the servers brings my Vodka and I snatch it from the tray and knock it back.

“Another,” I order. “Mikhail, extend my stay,” I order.

He pauses for a moment at my request. “Sure, boss, I will extend our stay for another week.”

“A month,” I correct him.

“A month? But, boss, what about home? No Pakhan has been away from Russia for that long before,” he points out.

“Yes, I am aware of that. I am not like all the previous Pakhan’s, I have decided to stay longer so that is what I am doing. Now put the necessary things in place,” I growl angrily before hanging up.

I turn around, and at that moment, Theia walks back in the room with Allegra. That fucker Ben walks over to her, handing her a glass of champagne. His hand reaches out and strokes her arm affectionately. My blood boils and I want nothing more than to kill him right now. I watch her smile politely in return, but it isn’t a genuine smile. Ben leans in, whispering something in her ear. I grip the back of the chair so hard I could snap it. I don’t miss the way she flinches and leans away from him. I let out a breath and smile––she doesn’t like him.

“Now, please, everyone come on through for evening drinks on the deck, it really is a lovely evening,” Allegra invites us all. Everyone begins to file out of the room, following Allegra and Aleck. I am the last to leave, and as I pass the table, I notice Theia’s purse there. I pick it up and look through it. I take out her passport and slide it inside my suit jacket pocket.

“Oh, you found it, thank you.” Theia’s soft voice has my head snapping up. She stands there, in front of me, staring at my shoulder, avoiding looking at my eyes, fiddling with her hands nervously. I hold out her purse to her, not saying a word. She goes to take it, but before she can, I grip it tighter and yank it towards me. She gasps as I hold her purse above my head and out of her reach. Her eyes land on mine.

“Now you look at me,” I state, low in my throat. Her eyes flare, the normal warm browns that make her eyes shine are now amber flecks as she becomes angry. I smirk.

“Give me back my purse,” she demands. I shake my head. She sighs, frustrated, and it only makes me smile more. “It isn’t funny, give me back my purse,” she snaps.

“Come and get it,” I goad.

Her eyes widen. “Are you serious right now? How old are you? Twelve? We are adults,” she huffs. “Just give me my purse,” she demands, reaching up to try and grab it.

“Not yet.” I smile and step back. She lets out a low growl in frustration and tries reaching up again. I keep stepping back, making her more pissed. I bite my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing. She lets out a deep roar this time and tries jumping up to reach it. I take advantage with her being off guard and with my other arm I wrap it around her waist and spin her around, pinning her to the wall.

Her eyes go wide. “What the he––” She begins to protest, but I am done listening, I am done watching. Aleck was right, I will take what I want, and in this moment in time, I want her mouth. I crash my mouth down on hers. She fights me and pushes feebly at my chest. I drop her purse to the floor and grab both her wrists, pinning them above her head. Breaking the kiss, I look into her eyes. “Get. Off. Me,” she pants.

“Not yet, my Kroschka. I take what I want,” I threaten. I watch as her eyes widen as a mixture of fear and arousal flickers through them. I smile before taking her mouth again. She is rigid at first, not returning my kiss, but as I slide my tongue against hers, she begins to melt against me, kissing me back. I groan. Holding her wrists with one hand, I wrap my other hand around her throat, squeezing slightly. She gasps before taking my bottom lip between her teeth and biting down hard. I growl deep in my throat, squeezing tighter around her neck. She's fighting me for control. I pull back abruptly, letting go of her wrists and throat. I take in her swollen lips and I watch as her chest is heaving for air. Her eyes come to mine; they are alight, like they're on fire. I run my tongue slowly along my bottom lip, tasting blood. “It appears my Kroschka likes to fight back.” I smile.

“I… I…” She pauses and I see as realisation hits at what just happened. I see the fire in her eyes go as the panic sets in. “I have to go,” she blurts quickly, bending down and grabbing her purse off the floor before running out of the room.

I watch her leave; I pull out her passport and look at it, smiling. She can run, but she can’t run far when she has nowhere to hide.

Nine

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