Page 70 of Alexei (Belles & Mobsters 4)

No matter how hard I worked to suppress the memories into the dark recesses of my mind, they always came back. Plagued me in my dreams. Plagued me in the daylight.

Physical scars on my body matched the mental ones. My flesh marred just as much as my mind. Except, I couldn’t hide my mental scars with ink, like I had my body.

ChapterTwenty-One

AURORA

Isensed the strain in the air, the oxygen surrounding Alexei thin and frigid. Tension rolled off him and his shoulders pulled tight. The lighting was dim, but I swore his skin paled slightly under all that ink.

Igor turned around, fully expecting us to follow him, and I glanced at Alexei who remained glued to his spot.

Without thinking, I reached for his hand and slipped my fingers between his then squeezed. Yes, he pissed me off and humiliated me with his behavior, but every cell in my body protested at seeing him suffer. There was clearly something wrong, and I wanted to help him.

“Are you alright?” I whispered under my breath, watching him with worry.

His eyes lowered to where my hand held his and I followed his gaze. An awareness tickled in the back of my mind as I watched our hands connected. An image flashed behind my eyes. His inked hand over a little one.

A feeling overwhelmed me that I’d held hands with him before. It was ridiculous though. Yet I couldn’t shake the conviction. Before I could further ponder on it, Alexei’s answer pushed it temporarily out of my mind.

“I’m fine.” He didn’t look at my face, his voice emotionless. I waited for a heartbeat and then exhaled slowly. It wasn’t as if I could press him further here. Besides, it wasn’t as if we trusted each other. Yes, I had his cum running down my inner thigh, but it didn’t make us intimate.

“Let’s go,” he said, his voice frigid and low.

We walked out of the VIP room; his hand still connected with mine. Honestly, I was surprised he didn’t slice the connection because it almost felt like he disliked the idea of touching me. My heels clacked against the marble floor, our steps in sync and hurried.

And the entire time, our encounter played through my mind. I didn’t expect to get turned on by the sight of what was going on in this club. Voyeurism wasn’t my thing and usually shifted my memories back to Anya. Though something about Alexei, focusing on him and his strength, kept me with him. I knew he wouldn’t let anyone touch me or hurt me. And I knew he’d never force me to do something I didn't like.

Was it the first ounce of trust that I gave him? I didn’t know, but I knew there’d be nobody else that I would have done this with. He made me feel safe and so damn good. Until he said no kissing, but even those two little words didn’t diminish the pleasure I just experienced.

We followed the path through the dark hallway, my heels clacking against the marble, and I noticed Igor was already out of sight.

“Where is he?” I asked in a hushed tone.

“Outside.”

I really wished Alexei didn’t resort back to one word answers. They grated on my nerves. But I kept my mouth and temper under control.

As we walked down the corridor in silence, the initial disappointment flooded me.No kissing.Why did he insist on no kissing? I sensed his rule of no kissing went beyond what happened here. A rush of confusing feelings swirled in my chest.

Maybe it was for the better; otherwise, I might lose my head completely.

Leading us out the door, my stomach clenched with nerves. I didn’t like this. Igor invited us to his place and then disappeared. The humid evening air hit me, and as it had numerous times before, suddenly made me feel as if I were suffocating. The thickness covered us like a damp wool blanket in a heat wave.

“It’s so fucking hot,” I muttered. “My makeup will melt.”

“Ah, there you are, lovebirds.” Igor’s voice had me whipping my head to the right and found the creep lingering in the dark. Every single piece of hair on my body stood up spotting the man lurking in the dark, and I stepped closer to Alexei. Hurt pride or not, I knew I was safer with the iceman than the creepy man.

“Igor.” Alexei’s voice was like a whip.

“My car will take us,” Igor announced, ignoring Alexei’s cold demeanor. He barely tilted his chin behind him where a limo sat.

The meaning of his words sank and I tensed. “Why can’t we follow you in Alexei’s car?” I rasped.

Igor chuckled like I just uttered the funniest joke. “He can’t follow unless he has a batmobile that can fly.”

I threw a side glance at Alexei, but his face was impossible to read. A cold mask. It wasn’t wise to get into the car with him, leaving us vulnerable. I didn’t trust Igor and this felt like going into the trap blindly, without anyone else knowing where I was. I didn’t have my phone on me. Nor my sidearm. Nothing.

Just a stupid snug dress and a pair of heels that made me feel more like a hooker than an undercover agent.

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