Page 48 of Alik

I point my eyes to the center console, not out of shame or fear, but because I don’t want him to see how dizzy his approval makes me. If he looked into my eyes, I know he’d see a sparkle.

“I know tonight scared you, but I promise, you’re safe with me now. Everything is under control… You did everything I told you to, so even if my life was in danger like you say, it wouldn’t be your fault. But it isn’t, and neither is yours as long as you keep doing everything I say. Understand?”

When I nod, he just stares at me, so I clear my throat. “Yes.”

His lips quirk at the corners, and he lowers his gaze to my mouth. The air shifts, giving away his brewing lust even if his eyes hadn’t. My lips burn under his gaze, and I sit still, waiting.

If he had any idea how badly I wanted him, how often I thought about it… What would he do?

When I squirm, he blinks like he’s coming out of his head and clears his throat. “Good.”

He faces forward and pulls back onto the road, the tension in the car a thick fog.

My head rests against the seat, and although I’m still shaken, I feel better than I did before the men showed up at the hotel. Even knowing they’re out there looking for me, I feel safer with Alik.

13

ALIK

Something strange happens to me as soon as the door closes to my apartment, locking me and Olive away from the world.

My arms surge with energy. My chest expands with power, fueled by lust.

I have her now.

Here, in my apartment, where she can’t leave. No handcuffs needed. No threats needed.

It’s … dizzying. She crosses her arms over her chest while looking around the place as if she didn’t just see it last night. Her feet shuffle by the door, but she follows like a puppy as I go to the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water, my hands buzzing with excitement I don’t understand.

It isn’t as if I haven’t had control over people before. I’ve held more lives in my hand than I could ever count, but … not really. I’m always the one to wield the knife but never the one to make the call. Of course, this isn’t about ending her life. I have no desire to do that.

So what is it, then? What’s causing this rush? How good of a puzzle could she be to make me risk my life, kill one of my own, for some insignificant, possibly insane woman?

Pavel.

A glass cup slips from my hand and shatters on the kitchen floor.

By the time I can react to it, blinking away my thoughts, Olive is there, picking up shards with her bare hands.

“Stop,” I say, but my voice is too soft. I clear my throat, along with the lingering feeling of betrayal from my mind. “Stop.”

Olive flinches at my harsh tone then gasps as she knicks her finger on the broken glass.

With a sigh, I bend to take her arm before hauling her up and leading her to the sink. Red-tinted water swirls down the drain as the tap rushes over the cut. I watch her face, expecting her to cringe, blush with embarrassment, hide herself in her hair, something veryOlive, but she stares at the cut with such an intense, mesmerized gaze, that I follow her stare just to look for what she’s seeing.

It’s just a cut. A little bit of blood.

Her eyes flick to me, and she startles like she just remembered I’m here. She lowers her head so her hair shields her. “Sorry.”

“About what?”

“The glass.” She tilts her head toward the broken shards on the floor.

I squint. “I’m the one who dropped it.”

“I know, I meant…”

What?

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