Page 117 of Doubts & Fears

He groaned and hauled my body against his, wrapping his arms around me tightly. A squeak of protest rumbled up my throat as his hands ran down my back and gripped my ass. I pulled back and went to move off his lap when the front door slammed open.

Sarah screamed, and Josh went to push me behind him, but not before Alek, Nik, Ivan, and Marcus charged forward.

“Get your hands off her. I’ll fucking kill you,” Alek bellowed as he charged at Josh.

How did they find me?

I didn’t have my phone, so we could rule that out. Unless they had a tracker on me some other way. That thought infuriated me.

“How the hell did you find me? I swear to god, I can’t believe you. Where did you put the tracker this time?” I yelled, pushing against Alek.

“Ask your beloved,” he sneered, “although I doubt he’s in the mood to talk right now.”

My gaze flicked to Ivan, and my throat tightened as I swallowed hard, sensing his animalistic desire to completely gut Josh with his blade. His hand hovered over the strap of his sheath, ready to draw. Desperately, my eyes shifted to Nik, hoping he could defuse the escalating tension.

The expression etched on his face dashed any remaining optimism I had. I’d have better luck accomplishing world peace. A bitter laugh escaped my lips.Perfect. This evening couldn’t get any worse. All the confusion and mixed signals flying around threw my brain into overdrive.

“You know what? You have some fucking nerve.” I pushed against Alek’s chest once more.

I thought about how easily he dismissed me to his father. It pissed me off. He was handpicking when I mattered. He shook his head and grabbed a chunk of my hair in his hand, yanking back. He brought his face down to my neck and nuzzled me.

Then his lips found my ear, and he hissed through clenched teeth, “Say it again.”

The wine had me feeling bold, and my eyes flared in anger. “You have somefuckingnerve. Where is your precious, charming date? You know, the one you were telling your father all about. I wonder how disappointed your mother is going to be when she finds out she’s just your whore.”

His cheek twitched as he worked to control his anger.

“Malyshka, you will do well to remember your tone,” Nikolai said, though his eyes were fixed on Josh.

“Or what?”

Nikolai made a move to grab me from Alek.

“No, Brother. Let her talk. She wants to talk about whores. What’s the saying? It takes one to know one?”

Nik chuckled, causing me to flush. Alek reached out his hand and caressed my face. “Seems like you were well on your way to whoring yourself out tonight. Tell me, kitten, were you going to fuck all three of them like a bitch in heat?”

I gasped, then reached up and slapped his face. Every inch of my body shook as my blood boiled. Meanwhile, he smirked, looking amused by my actions while I worked to control my breathing.

“I know we’ve had this conversation before. Do not strikemein anger again.”

“Why are you even here?” I pushed my hair back from my face.

“I’ve come to collect what ismine, and thanks to you, I now get the bonus of killing the fucker who dared to kiss and touch whatbelongs to me. You can rub my head later.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t own me. I’m not a toy you can play with on a whim and then discard when it’s convenient. My name isn’t Alisha or Jenna, for that matter.”

“Oh, you’re going to want to be very careful with the next set of words that come out of your mouth. I’d love nothing more than to show everyone exactly what kind of toy you are.”

I gasped and slapped him again, this time so hard a sharp pain shot through my palm and up my wrist. He stood there stunned for a second before grabbing and squeezing it hard, causing me to yelp from the pain.

He growled, low and deep. “I swear you’re trying my—”

“Fuck you.” I’d never felt this level of anger before. It frightened me.

“I told you the next time you said that word, I would accommodate you, but I won’t fuck you in front of anyone but my brothers. You’ll have to wait, I’m afraid. But I did warn you to choose your words carefully.”

Seizing me by the throat, he squeezed right before his lips descended against mine savagely. The kiss conveyed all the pent-up anger we were both feeling. His tongue probed and swept across mine, claiming me. I moaned in response as he tightened his grip. This only made him kiss me harder.

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