Page 53 of Paved in Venom
When we get to the door, I let go of him and stand behind him. He looks over his shoulder at me and lifts a brow.
“I should walk behind you. You should probably act like you’re still pissed at me.”
He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me back up next to him. “Fuck that, baby. I disciplined you, and the discretion is forgotten. I can handle my pet any goddamn way I want.”
I smile and lean in to give his chest a kiss. “Fine, but I’m still going to act super submissive out there.”
“Looking forward to it,” he says with a grin, and I have to bite back my laugh when he opens the door and we walk back into the hallway and down the stairs. It makes me feel lousy to joke around when there’s so much horrific shit going on around us, but if we don’t find something to laugh about, we’ll both go fucking crazy.
We pass a few people on the way back to the main room, but I’m not sure who it is because I keep my head down. Danil’s fingers give my hip a soft squeeze as we walk into the main room. I look up just long enough to see Vitaly and Lev sitting with Tom and a few other men. I have no doubt they were digging for information and keeping Tom from leaving to check on us.
“Looks like someone’s learned her lesson,” Tom says, and I feel Danil’s body stiffen in anger.
Without giving him a response, Danil leads me back to the couch and sits down. Instead of getting into his lap, I keep my head ducked low and kneel between his legs, resting my head on his lap in a submissive I’m so sorry I pissed off my owner kind of way, or at least I hope that’s what it looks like.
When I lift my eyes, Danil’s staring at me, giving me a heated look that sends my heart racing. His fingers run down my cheek before he rests his hand on my head and, there’s really no other way to describe it, pets me. This should be demeaning. I should be thoroughly pissed about having to be in this position, but I’m too busy trying not to arch my back and purr like a goddamn cat for him. It’s ridiculously soothing, and when my eyes drift closed, I hear him give a soft laugh.
After a few minutes, his brothers come back and they start having a conversation in Russian. Danil keeps softly stroking my head until a couple of other men walk over to introduce themselves. I discreetly look up at the two men, making sure I don’t recognize them, and when I meet Danil’s eyes, I give a soft shake of my head to let him know I’ve never seen them before.
“We just wanted to introduce ourselves to the man who set a bidding record,” one of the men says. He holds out a hand to Danil. “I’m Steve, and this is Gary.”
“We were at the auction too,” Gary adds, shaking Danil’s hand after Steve. “Couldn’t swing the price tag you got her for, though.” He lets out a soft laugh and runs his eyes over me like I’m not even human. The lust in his brown eyes has Danil’s fingers stilling in my hair for just a second, just long enough for me to know he’s getting angry.
“Is she worth it?” Steve asks.
“Every fucking penny,” Danil says, and I tilt my head enough to give his thigh a kiss. He strokes my cheek with the back of his other hand.
“Does she understand you?” The amazement in Steve’s voice is mixed with frustration when he adds, “The girl I bought can’t understand a fucking word I say.”
“She understands me,” Danil says. He cups my face and runs his thumb over my swollen lips. “Even if she didn’t know English, she would still understand me.”
I look into his grey eyes and know he’s right. He could switch to Russian right now, and I wouldn’t understand a damn word of it, but I’d still recognize the heat in his eyes, the desire that radiates off his body and flows into mine, the strength in his hands when he grips my neck but also the gentleness in them that lets me know I’m safe with him, no matter what.
“I guess I need to work on my nonverbal skills,” Steve jokes.
I’m guessing Steve needs to work on a lot of skills, but I keep my mouth shut like a good submissive pet and nestle my face against Danil’s strong thigh. He goes back to petting me, and when I meet his eyes again, he gives me a wink that sends a shot of pleasure straight to my pussy.
Part of me feels like I’m going straight to hell for being so happy in the middle of Tom’s fucked-up party, but the other part of me is just so fucking grateful that it’s Danil who I’m kneeling for and that it’s his hands on me and not these sick fucks around me. I’m going to do everything I can to help them and to help find Alina so the men responsible for all this will be taken down, but I can’t shut my heart off, and it very much belongs to the beautiful Russian in front of me.
While his brothers join in the conversation, I listen as they gently probe for information, but it soon becomes very obvious that no one knows who’s actually behind the auctions. I’m pretty sure none of them give a fuck either. They just want the women. They don’t give a rat’s ass how they come to be here, just as long as they show up with a for sale sign and a see-through dress.
I’m so caught up in eavesdropping that it takes me a second to notice the man who’s just come in the door. My hands clutch at Danil’s leg when the doctor who examined me meets my eyes from across the room and gives me a slimy grin.
Chapter 9
Danil
When I feel Simona’s hands grab my leg and see the terror in her eyes, my first instinct is to pick her up and put her in my lap, so that’s exactly what I do. Ignoring the men around me, I wrap my arms around her and cup the back of her head.
“What’s wrong?” I keep my voice low, whispering in her ear so only she can hear me. “Do you recognize someone?”
“Yes.” Her whisper is shaky and soft, just a slight tickle of warmth against the shell of my ear, but it’s enough to turn the blood in my veins to fire. I look around the room, trying to spot anyone new. There were nineteen people in this room less than a minute ago with another twenty-five mingling outside around the pool. I’ve been keeping tabs on everyone, and the only difference is the old fucker who’s standing in the corner with a drink in hand and a creepy smile on his face.
“Who is he?”
“The doctor” is all she says, and it’s enough. I don’t need to know anything else, because I remember every goddamn word she said. Images of Simona being held down while the man in front of me fingers her and jacks off is all I can see. I look at the man who dared to touch what belongs to me. He touched my woman, shot his fucking seed onto her beautiful skin, and he’s going to pay for it with his life.
Kissing Simona’s cheek, I keep her held against me and turn to my brothers. I tell them in Russian who the man is, and when I see their eyes light up at the violence that’s about to take place, I know this is exactly what we all needed. Killing the men who attacked Emily was weeks ago, and we’re all eager to shed some more blood. It’s been too goddamn long since we’ve been able to get our hands dirty.
