It’s my writing blog I suppose. It is literally what it is it, beautiful. Some original work, some pseudo-fanfic. My writing operates on vibes 18+ Please and Thank You
Pairing: Alina Starkov(a) x Grisha!Reader, Past!Darklina, Implied!Unrequited Aleksander Morozov(a) x Alina Starkov(a) x Reader
Summary: After the Darkling’s death, you seek to avenge him, but instead you confront some repress emotions.
Warning: It’s all angsty, baby. Vague-ish Spoilers for Season 2, Me, making shit up because I can.
Taggies: @marvelmusing (Sorry to do this to you.)
“Very convenient of you to leave me out of your plans, Alina.” You appear in the middle of her bedroom as she removes her crown from her head.
She says your name gently, but you swear there’s a hint of malice or perhaps grief.
“You were missing.” She sits down still facing away from you. As you prepare to summon shadows to choke her, she is on her feet in the same stance.
“How?” She gasps, finally looking you in the eye. She hesitates to attack, and you are already close to her, grabbing her by the neck and tossing her against the wall. You are far from surprised that she has his shadows. She was his Sun Summoner, his Alina, his favorite. You were and still are just one of his shadows in the darkness.
“You killed him, and you didn’t even let me say goodbye.” You hiss. “It’s the least you could have done for me.”
“He was a monster.” She wiggle out of your hold, and she attacks you almost knocking you on your feet.
“He was our only hope, and now you’re helping the Royal family.”
“I’m doing the right thing for Grisha.”
“You’re misguided, and you’re helping the enemy.”
“Nikolai is different!”
“Isn’t that great for you? But what about everyone else? The other orphans, the other Grisha who have been tortured for decades under his family rule. You killed their hope! Some of our friends and allies are missing. Or should I say your former friends.”
She grabs you, pinning you on the ground, putting a hidden dagger to your neck. Her hair is disheveled, and you remember the first time she bested you during your training at the Little Palace. You were excited for her finally embracing her powers. Both of you were relatively new to embracing both of your powers, and while you stayed somewhat close and friendly, it was clear you somehow were eclipsed by both the General and Alina.
“You only listen to what you want to believe.” You mumble. “You’re so afraid of being a tool, but you let anyone use you. I shouldn’t have helped you. I wouldn’t have helped.”
You wrap your legs around her, and you roll her over pinning her down. The dagger has left her hand a long time ago, but you’ve just noticed, not to mention she hasn’t screamed for help. She wiggles a hand free and reaches up to touch your cheek.
Your heart flutters remembering the small talks in the library you had and the fruit you shared during the few walks you took together between Alina learning to ride a horse. The General...he...always had made time for her, and the time you tried to take moments for yourself and Alina were interrupted by his need to be the only one in her orbit. Somehow, she did the same when you attempted to seek him out. She was always in need of something from him: approval, touch, comfort. Eventually, you made yourself scarce knowing you would never penetrate that orbit.
Alina leans her head in for a kiss, and you can’t help but kiss her back. You immediately pull away, but she pulls you back for another kiss cupping your cheek. Tears start to stream down your face, but the hunger and grief keeps you close to her lips.
You sit up quickly as does Alina, and she holds the hem of your cloak as if she can sense your desire to flee.
“Please stay.” Alina begs, her plea barely hitting your ears. Before you can respond, she’s pulling you to your feet by your shadows, and you can’t break out of her grip. The look in her eye is almost feral, and it is nothing you have ever seen from her.
You pull on the shadows seeming to yank her towards you, and you can’t help fight back. She tugs you harder with what you can assume is hungry smirk on her face, and you pull her close to you.
“Come with me.” You mirror her plea.
She pulls you back to her, and your lips crash against hers. The both of you hold each other close, the kiss deepening.
Alina lets her hair fall to her shoulder, and you can’t help but play with a few strands. Kill her. Avenge him. Kill her. Kill her. Avenge him. She betrayed your people. You don’t have to live in her shadow anymore. You don’t have to compete with him anymore. You don’t have to…be.
You repress the thoughts and pull away, and Alina looks you up and down.
“I am sorry.” Alina wipes tears from her eyes. “I should have…known you loved him, too.”
“I suppose we were all blinded.” You clench your fist, trying to muster the courage to strike.
Someone knocks on the door, and Alina turns toward it. You flee leaving the same way you came.
When you get to your hideout, you press your back against the wall and slump down to the floor fingers touching your lips. You ignore the pull calling you back to Alina along with the regret of not killing her then and there. Another pull urges you, but you can’t place it as Alina’s pull is only slightly stronger from the other one. You won’t be surprised if she chases you until she finds you just as the General did when you attempted to help her flee.
Damn. You touch your lips again closing your eyes. You swear feel lips on yours again, but they’re different this time, a beard scraping against your cheek. You are up on your feet again, and you sigh, having lost yourself in the grief again.
I doubt anyone follows this account, but I’ve been hella busy with a new job that kills any creativity and free time and finally had some during the Holiday break so expect a little quick Drabble thing coming soon
Summary: Aleksander and Alina return home from a date to find you on their couch, almost completely spaced out as your heat begins. But you’re on suppressants - aren’t you?
Warnings [18+]: a/b/o dynamics, dark!alina & dark!aleksander, manipulation, suppressants tampering, reader is starting her heat, mentions of smut and mating.
My Masterlist
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
“Honey?”
Aleksander takes your chin between his fingers gently, guiding your head up so that he can observe your unfocused gaze. There’s a soft pressure against your temples, as if your brain is being compressed slowly, making your mind hazy around the edges.
The seat of the couch shifts beneath you, dipping as Alina sits down by your side. There’s a prickling sensation running over your skin, like the gentle caress of a flame flickering. A bead of sweat rolls down the length of your thigh and you shiver.
“How you feeling, sweetheart?” she asks softly, stroking your cheek.
They both look as incredible as they did before they left for dinner this evening. Aleksander in a dark grey suit and Alina in a black dress that hugs her every curve. Just one look at them makes your mouth water.
Aching for the cool press of their leather couch against your cheek, you had draped yourself here in their living room for an undeterminable amount of time. How long have you been sitting here? They had only been gone for around an hour when you had finished your shower.
She smells sweet and you swallow hard at the thought of tasting her. The weight of her dark eyes on your body feels like a confident touch over your skin, as she stares at the disheveled state of your clothing. She tilts her head aside, her fingers playing with the loosened drawstrings of your sweatpants.
“Did you touch yourself, sweetheart?”
Her words send your thoughts spiralling down into nothingness, like a whirlpool of water swirling into a drain, as you nod weakly. The pleasure of an orgasm had granted you a limited amount of reprise, leaving you more shaky than satisfied.
“Thought it would make my head feel better… but now it’s all fuzzy.”
She hums knowingly, squishing your cheeks together between her fingers. Such a demeaning action would usually make you bashful, but you’re almost drooling at the casual dominance of her hold on you. Alina and Aleksander share a hungry look.
“Poor little omega,” he coos. “You’re going into heat.”
Shaking your head, you begin to mumble quietly, stumbling over your words as you struggle to focus on speaking through the hazy fog clouding over your mind.
“Can’t be… I’m on… suppressants.”
Alina hums quietly, smoothing her hand gently over your head, tucking you into her body so that your cheek presses against her breasts. Subconsciously, you nuzzle closer to seek more of that wonderful feeling as your skin meets hers.
“Awful things,” she muses in a low voice. “It’s not natural to deny your instincts.”
Thinking is so difficult now.
“What?”
Aleksander grips a fistful of your hair and you melt against Alina’s body, slumping down to kneel on the floor between her thighs. The scent of her cunt sharpens now that you’re at the same level with it and a low moan rips itself from the back of your throat.
Alina grins, her lips spread wide to reveal a dangerous flash of teeth that sends a thrum of need down to your cunt. It’s only now that you notice the mess of slick soaking through the fabric of your sweatpants and you whine at the sticky sensation. Omegas like to be clean. You need to be clean for your alphas.
With shaking fingers, you tug off the little pyjama top you had dressed yourself into after your shower. Now the sudden urge to shave and moisture yourself earlier makes sense.
The disconnect you feel in your mind makes the removal of your sweatpants much less alluring than you’d hoped for, but Alina’s eyes darken and a deep growl of approval rumbles from Aleksander’s chest.
Omegas aren’t taught much about their pleasure or even how to satisfy an alpha in the bedroom. Most people agree that instinct takes over and whilst desperation claws beneath your skin you have no idea what you want from them both. Then again, no one had told you it was possible for two alphas to be mated - let alone want to share an omega like you.
“Alina,” you whine, nudging your way between her thighs to mouth at her cunt, currently shielded by her underwear. More whines catch in your throat, drool smearing over skin as you attempt to lick over her panties.
When Aleksander pulls your head away from her, you cry pathetically, struggling against his firm hold. Alina growls, her eyes narrowed.
“Aleksander,” she says warningly.
“Alina,” he says smoothly, a wicked glimmer dancing in his eyes.
She looks almost feral, her dress pushed up to her hips by your eager nuzzling. Her eyes bright with arousal, a pretty pink flush glowing over her cheeks. She puffs her chest up, shoulders straightening as she eyes Aleksander.
He drags you into his lap, bare cunt pressing against the rough fabric of his dress trousers as he sits on the couch opposite his mate.
“Silly little omega,” he murmurs. His nose nudges at the scent gland beneath your ear and you tremble. “We were expecting you to be nesting when we arrived home.”
“What do you- what have you done to me?”
They both laugh and the sharpness of the sound bites into you, making you blush with embarrassment. Then Alina softens, cupping your cheek in her hand.
“We didn’t do anything,” she insists, her thumb stroking over your cheek. “Living with two alphas is clearly too much for your suppressants to handle.”
There’s something mocking in her words, something you struggle to decipher the meaning behind them. Have they tampered with your suppressants? Aleksander’s chuckle thrums down your spine and slick gathers on the fabric of his trousers.
“And, of course, we had nothing to do with your landlord ending your lease without warning.”
Alina’s smile twists, a dark amusement building between the two of them as they seem to be indulging in some sort of joke you can’t even begin to grasp.
“How could we do something like that?”
She leans closer, caging your body between Aleksander and her. When she presses a gentle kiss to your cheek, you whimper and they both breathe in deeply, groaning at the scent of your arousal and confusion.
They both make animalistic little purrs as their mouths wander over your skin. Occasionally, they will bump heads, foreheads or noses knocking together and they will growl at one another, trying to claim a space of their own on your body.
Simultaneously, they lick over your neck, taking a side each as their own. As they nudge against the mating glands on each side of your throat, you writhe and attempt to escape them. Aleksander wraps his arm around your waist, pining you down, and Alina grasps a fistful of your hair.
“Are you going to be a good little omega for us?” Aleksander purrs lowly in your ear, sucking lightly on your earlobe. “Are you going to let us mate you?”
Another whimper escapes your lips and tears gather in your eyes. Alina curls her hand around your throat, squeezing in warning. The skin under her palm simmers with a warmth that rushes down directly to your cunt.
“You need us, omega,” she tells you. “We both know how much you want us. Aren’t you sick of struggling?”
“We’d take such good care of you, little omega.”
Their words set you on fire, need burning beneath your skin as they continue to mouth over your throat. Aleksander’s hands grasp at your waist, smoothing down your sides as Alina squeezes at your breasts, rubbing eagerly over your nipples.
“Our sweet girl,” Alina coos in agreement. “All you need to do is keep our house tidy like a good omega.”
Aleksander hums, his fingers stroking over your aching entrance that yearns for some attention. Swallowing hard, your mouth feels like it’s filled with cotton, your tongue heavy and unable to speak any protests aloud.
It sounds appealing. Even if you weren’t so desperate with need, it would take very little time for you to relent. You’ve always been weak for the two of them.
“And keep this tight little cunt wet and ready for us to play with whenever we want it,” Aleksander adds, smirking deviously.
A moan wracks through your body and you nod eagerly.
“What was that?” Alina asks, her smile sugar sweet as she teases you.
“Please, alpha.” The words tumble from your lips, moaning and sighing breathlessly as you continue to beg. “Want you. Both of you. Please.”
Summary: As Aleksander’s best friend, you’re an integral part of his wedding to Alina, especially when she decides you’re going to be her wedding present to him.
Warnings [18+]: smut, unprotected sex, threesome, anal play, fingering, use of sex toys (vibrator), thigh grinding, smidge of objectification, former friends with benefits relationship with Aleksander.
A/N: this has barely been proofread so it might not make an awful lot of sense but it’s mostly pwp anyway.
My Masterlist
“What am I doing here?” you ask, looking around the boutique at the scantily clad mannequins wearing expensive garments of silk and lace.
Alina’s gaze feels heavy on you as she smiles.
“You are going to be Aleksander’s wedding present from me.”
She continues to look through some pieces of lingerie nonchalantly, as if a flustered blush isn’t burning through your body as you gape at her. After making sure none of the staff members are close enough to hear, you ask in a whisper,
“What?”
Her smile doesn’t falter.
“You heard me.”
She circles around a clothing stand, curling her arms around your waist and pressing your back against her chest as she ducks her head down to murmur in your ear.
“On my wedding night, I’m going to tie you to our bed with some pretty ribbons, slip a vibrator into your ass and leave you wet and aching for my husband to play with.”
“Lina,” you breathe out in a whine.
“If you’re up for it?” she asks.
“Are you sure?” She nods enthusiastically. “And Aleksander? Are you sure he would want this?”
“Oh,” she laughs softly. “He’ll love it.”
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“Congratulations, Sasha,” you say with a wide smile.
Aleksander takes you into his arms, his own smile as equally wide as he holds you firmly against his chest.
Inhaling his familiar cologne, your stomach flips in anticipation of what’s to come later tonight, even though it remains a surprise for the man currently holding you. His nose brushes affectionately against your cheek before he kisses your temple.
“Thank you so much for all of this,” he says softly.
“Genya helped,” you offer weakly in protest. He hums in passive agreement.
“Today was perfect and I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Tilting your head back to meet his gaze, you shrug lightly.
“Anything for you, Sasha.”
He looks down at you with a dark glimmer in his eyes. The hint of a smirk touches at the corner of his mouth, drawing your attention down to the soft plush of his lips as his tongue darts out to trace over the skin there.
At that moment, Alina slips her hand into yours, pulling on you lightly with a wide smile.
“Come dance with me,” she insists, tugging you away from Aleksander before either of you can give her a response.
The dress she’s wearing for the reception is stunning, white lace adorning her breasts and a short skirt that sits at her mid-thighs, hugging her every curve. Her body slides against yours as the two of you move to the music.
Her hands settle on your waist, pulling you close against her. Elegant blooms have been woven into her dark hair, framing her face perfectly. Her fingers trace over your body, brushing casually against your breasts and hips which sends a shiver down your spine.
There’s a light gloss of sweat shimmering over her chest and the urge to duck your head down to mouth at the hollow of her throat fills your thoughts. She steps closer, her body moulding against yours.
“Let’s head upstairs,” she murmurs lowly into your ear, nibbling on your earlobe.
As her words register in your mind, as well as the implication behind them, your eyes lock onto Aleksander’s dark gaze from across the room. He swallows down a mouthful of his drink, throat bobbing as his gaze lowers to watch how Alina’s hips grind delightfully against yours.
Once you nod in consent, she whisks you away, the two of you fumbling with one another as you head into the elevator and through the corridors towards the honeymoon suite of the hotel. The kisses you trade are messy, smearing lipstick over your mouths and cheeks.
Alina leaves a trail of kisses over your neck and you cling tightly onto her as eager hands wander over your body, slipping under your dress to grasp at your most sensitive areas.
A low groan escapes your lips as you feel your arousal soaking through the delicate lace of your panties - the lace that had been selected and bought by Alina specifically for tonight.
The thought of being caught kissing your best friend’s wife during their wedding reception sends heat thrumming down to your core. Alina seems as equally turned on by the situation, moaning into your mouth as she gropes at your ass. Her nails scrape over your thighs and you bite down on your lower lip.
Despite your enthusiasm, as soon as the door to their room is shut behind you nerves begin to settle in your stomach.
Alina presses a singular kiss to your neck.
“Why don’t you take your dress off, honey?”
Heat spreads through your body as you nod. Hooking your fingers under the straps of your dress, you push it down your shoulders and allow the fabric to slip over your body before it lands on the floor.
Alina hums appreciatively, eyeing the delicate lingerie that clings to the shape of your body as you turn around to face her.
“You’re still sure about this?” she asks.
You nod.
“Yes, Lina.”
“Bend over the end of the bed.”
Settling yourself at the end of the bed, you press your body against the soft sheets and await Alina’s touch.
“That’s it honey, good girl.” Her hands run over the length of your body. She squeezes at all your softest areas, her thumbs circling the skin there soothing. “Just relax for me.”
She massages the back of your thighs, easing the tension from the muscles gained throughout the day. Planning everything for their wedding had been an exhausting affair, but it had been worth it.
Her hands continue to work out the tension skilfully from your body and soon you’re slumped against the mattress with your eyes closed, practically floating as arousal and relaxation weighs down your limbs.
“Let’s get you nice and slick,” she murmurs quietly, careful not to break the soft headspace you’re easing yourself into.
A shudder reverberates through the entirety of your body as the cool gel slides between your ass cheeks. The intimacy has heat burning over your face, your stomach flipping at being so vulnerable.
Alina begins to circle her fingers over your slick covered hole, drawing a low moan from you. Her touch is relaxed and thorough, leaving no part of you without contact from her wet fingers.
In preparation for tonight, you had touched yourself there before, but having someone else explore such an area makes you breathless. When she finally slips her finger inside you, a sharp inhale catches in your throat.
Alina laughs softly as she begins to slide her finger in and out of you in a gentle thrust, working the tender muscle open.
“You’re so tight, baby. Sasha’s going to love this.”
The mention of Aleksander makes you groan quietly as thoughts of being filled completely send a thrum through your aching body. She slips another finger inside you.
“Lina, fuck.”
“You doing okay?”
A low moan rumbles in your chest as pleasure sparkles down your spine. Her fingers spread you open and you bite down on your lip to suppress any more noises.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Oh fuck.”
She hums in acknowledgement.
“Doing so well for me.”
Her praise makes you squirm a little, her hand gripping at your waist as she continues to thrust inside you. Moans fall from your lips unabashedly as you press your forehead against the sheets, practically drooling.
“Ready for the toy?” she asks.
“Hm.”
“Words, honey.”
“Yes, Alina.”
“Okay, remember to breathe, baby.”
Grasping onto the sheets, you breath shakily as she begins to push the toy inside you. A broken moan shudders through you as your body clenches hard around the toy. Panting like an animal in heat, you whine and whimper at the feeling of being stretched in such a new way.
She grins with a mischievous glimmer in her dark eyes and you shiver as a dizzying rush of arousal slips from your cunt.
“Shall we test it out?” she asks.
There’s a low buzz that vibrates directly through your body, tingling up your spine, and sending a furious ache into your empty cunt.
“Lina,” you whine desperately. Swearing through gritted teeth, you writhe over the bed, sweat rolling down your face. “Alina, please.”
She hums lightly, standing above you with a wicked smile tugging at her lips.
“Ready to sit still and be a pretty little toy for my husband?”
Her fingers stroke tenderly against your cheek, thumb brushing at the corner of your eye to collect the tear gathering there.
You nod.
She opens up the drawer of the bedside table, pulling out the white silk ribbon for this special occasion. She sets it down on the vanity table, before she turns the vibrator down to the lowest setting.
Alina smiles as she helps you sit up, breathing out a soft laugh every time a whimper leaves your lips as the sensation of the toy shifting inside you sends a jolt of pleasure up to the back of your head. Bliss is beginning to cloud over your thoughts, driving any worries from your mind as anticipation fills your body.
She cups your face in her hands gently, guiding your hazy eyes up to meet hers.
“I’m going to get Sasha now, okay?”
You nod, whining a little as you grind your hips down over the sheets beneath you. She swats at your thigh.
“Be good. No touching at all.” She takes hold of your face, squishing your cheeks between her fingers. “Pretty toys don’t need to touch themselves, do they?”
She shakes your head for you before you can respond on your own, smiling indulgently with a demeaning glimmer in her eyes.
“No they don’t,” she coos and you can feel your mind melting into mush. The only thing you’re aware of is how hazy and wet you are as the mess of lube leaking from your ass mixes with the slick of arousal dripping from your cunt.
The whole experience has need coursing fiercely through your veins. Sitting on your best friend’s wedding bed, wearing expensive lingerie, a filthy mess of both your cunt and stuffed ass while his new wife tells you that she wants her husband to use you like the toy you are.
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“There’s a present waiting for you upstairs,” Alina murmurs against her husband’s ear as she settles into his lap.
He raises a brow at her.
“A present?”
She nods with a mischievous grin as she plays with his tie, curling the fabric casually around her hand before using it to tug him closer.
“A pretty toy for you to play with.”
His eyes skim over the crowd, searching for you. He saw you disappear with his wife and the corner of his mouth quirks as he realises you haven’t returned.
Aleksander knows you better than anyone else does. All evening, he’s seen how your gaze has wandered over his body, occasionally fixating on his hands and the bulge in his trousers - the places he knows are your favourite parts of him.
He knows when Alina is up to something particularly devious and there’s a dark glimmer in her eyes that has desire pooling into his stomach and his cock stirs at the thought of having the two of you.
“This is our wedding night, Alya,” he reminds her, not wanting her to do this only to please him.
His relationship with you has always been special. Throughout everything in his life, you’ve remained by his side. The two of you have always been honest with one another, sharing your desires and occasionally indulging in them together. He knows how to make you come undone with some teasing touches and a few select words. When he met Alina he was terrified he might lose you both, but you were thrilled for him and Alina adores you.
“I know. I wanted something special for us all.”
His hands cradle the entirety of his wife’s face as he leans forward to kiss her hungrily.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Anticipation prickles over your skin as the door opens. Aleksander’s eyes immediately lock onto yours and the heat blooming in your stomach swoops downwards and your cunt clenches hard around nothing.
Subconsciously, your gaze falls down to where the bulge in his trousers has hardened. He walks towards you smoothly.
He hooks a finger under your chin, keeping your eyes on his as he strokes his knuckles over your cheek.
“You’re sure about this, milaya?”
Alina might be his wife, but you’ll always be his sweet girl.
“I’m sure, Sasha.”
He unclasps your bra, tossing the fabric away.
His gaze darkens as he stares at your breasts. When your eyes drift away self-consciously, he grasps hold of your chin.
“Do I need to remind you of the rules?”
“No, sir.”
“Alina, darling, would you pinch her nipples for me?”
She grins.
“With pleasure.”
A sharp whimper escapes your lips as she tugs on the hardened nub of your nipples. Her touch is warm as she rolls them over her fingertips. Despite the sting of pain, you keep your eyes locked on Aleksander’s. He smiles darkly at your obedience.
“Good girl.”
He releases you, as does Alina.
“Now sit there and be good for us.”
Alina reaches for her phone, dialling up the intensity of the vibrator inside you. Fisting the sheets beneath you, a small moan escapes your lips as you attempt to remain still.
She sits down at the vanity table, removing the flowers from her hair and threading her fingers through the dark locks, humming a quiet tune as she does so. A relaxed, happy expression has softened her features and Aleksander stands at the other side of the room, admiring her after pouring himself a drink.
Once she’s wiped the makeup from her face, Aleksander moves towards her, sliding down the zipper at the back of her dress. She tilts her head back, smiling up at him as he ducks down to press a kiss to her lips. Then Alina taps the screen of her phone, increasing the speed of the vibrations thrumming through your body.
Aleksander and Alina both watch your reflection in the mirror as you squirm at the sensation of being so intimately filled whilst simultaneously feeling achingly empty.
“You do spoil me, Alya.”
“I know how fond you are of her. And your love of fucking a tight little quivering hole.”
“Oh fuck,” you breathe out shakily, squeezing your eyes closed and fighting the urge to tear your panties off and rub frantically against your clit for a release, uncaring of the consequences. No one has ever tested your resolve like this before.
A hand hooks under your chin, guiding your eyes up to meet Aleksander’s searching gaze. Leaning heavily into his touch, you whine pathetically, nails biting into the sheets to stop yourself from throwing your body against his.
He raises a brow at you, encouraging you to tell him that you still want this, that you’re still comfortable with them toying with you - more mentally than physically at the moment.
You nod. But he waits for you to gather your words.
“Please, Sasha.”
“Please do what?”
“I-” His eyes are soft and warm as he strokes your cheek, giving you an incentive to continue being honest with him. “I loved planning your wedding, and I’m so glad it was perfect, but I’ve been so stressed. Please, I just want to stop thinking.”
“Then don’t think. Just feel. Be a good girl and be grateful for whatever we give you. Be a pretty little toy and sit here until we want to use you. Do you think you can do that, milaya?”
His words flick a switch in your brain and you blink heavily at him.
“Yes, sir,” you whisper.
He leans down to kiss you and immediately you do as he says. Don’t think, just feel. Keeping your arms down at your sides, you allow his mouth to devour you, licking over your lips with his tongue as you sit still and let him do whatever he wants. He grins into the kiss at this little show of your obedience.
Then he lets go of you, retreating back to his wife.
From then onwards, a haze settles over your mind, keeping your thoughts fixed only on the present. Mostly the sensation of the vibrator, pleasure running up and down your spine constantly, slowly nudging you closer towards a dizzying climax. The only other thing you can focus on is the two gorgeous people in front of you.
Alina is only wearing a thin white thong, meaning that a tiny scrap of lace is covering her mound. There’s a light smearing of arousal between her thighs and you breathe out a whine.
They kiss one another leisurely, Aleksander’s large hands grasping at Alina’s breasts. His fingers curl momentarily around her throat, keeping her in place as he controls the kiss. The sight of them together sends a violent thrum of need down your body.
Arching your back, you squeeze your knees together tightly. Aleksander has only ever made you climax untouched once and it emptied your head of thoughts for several hours. There’s a knowing glimmer in his eyes now as he looks at you.
“Go on, milaya.”
“Empty that little cunt for us, honey,” Alina coos, breathless from Aleksander’s kiss.
Nails digging hard into your thighs, you cry out their names, heat flickering over your skin, thrumming between your legs as your heart hammers in your chest to the same frantic beat as your desperate cunt.
A whine of frustration escapes your lips, face scrunching tightly as your body scrambles for your climax. Gasping frantically, you rock your hips forward, cunt grinding against the sheets.
“Lina, Sasha, please, oh fuck.”
Tears spill down over your cheeks as you tip over the edge of pleasure. Alina turns the vibrator off as you slump back onto the mattress, reeling from your high. Closing your eyes, bliss settles under your skin as your breath begins to even.
Alina presses a series of kisses over your thighs and you hum quietly, still feeling slightly disconnected from your body. When you finally manage to open your eyes, you find Aleksander standing over you as he loosens his belt. His dark eyes pin you in place, unable to look away.
As Aleksander begins to remove his clothing, Alina slides her hands over your body, smoothing over every inch as you continue coming down from the disorientating high of your orgasm. When her knuckles brush against your inner thigh, you flinch slightly at the shiver of sensation that shoots up your spine.
Alina parts your folds, sinking her finger into you slowly. Throwing your head back, you groan loudly, tears filling your eyes at the sensation of finally being touched exactly where you need it. The slick sound fills the room which makes Aleksander and Alina share a grin as he tugs down his underwear.
“What a good little toy, getting herself wet for your cock, Sasha,” she muses quietly, removing her finger from inside you.
He hums in agreement, taking hold of your hips and dragging you down the bed towards him. His hand curls around your throat, squeezing lightly to ensure your attention is fixed on him as Alina begins to play with your swollen clit.
Aleksander ducks his head down to kiss his wife as his hands wander over your body, squeezing at your breasts and smoothing down your sides. All you can do is lie against the sheets, staring at the two of them whilst they kiss, succumbing to their touches.
They both laugh into the kiss at the sound of your whines. When they turn their equally dark eyes onto you, a burning flush runs over your skin.
“Needy little thing isn’t she?” Alina remarks.
“As if you aren’t exactly the same when I don’t give you what you want,” he teases with a dark smirk.
Alina reaches up to curl her hand around your throat, a tiny amount of pressure there that makes you go still under her hold. Her thumb circles over the spot under your ear where your pulse is thundering with anticipation.
“Not a single thought behind those sweet eyes, is there?” Her voice is honey sweet in your ears and you shake your head mindlessly in agreement.
Aleksander strokes his cock, groaning lowly at the interaction between you and Alina. A loose strand of hair hangs over his forehead as he looks down at himself, settling his body between your open thighs.
“Wait a moment, Sasha.”
His cock slaps against your cunt, pulling a whimper from your lips as Alina stands and reaches for her phone. Then you remember the vibrator still nestled inside you.
Hissing out a curse, you press your head back against the mattress. Then Aleksander pushes inside you, driving the air from your lungs with every inch. Gripping onto the sheets, you moan loudly as Aleksander rolls his hips gently to ease himself further into you.
He thumbs over your clit, lifting his head up to glance at Alina. She taps her phone screen and the vibrator hums to life. Instantly you clench simultaneously around both the toy and Aleksander’s cock, dizzyingly close to another orgasm. Cunt twitching frantically, you gasp in a sharp breath, heart pounding at the intensity.
Aleksander swears in a harsh breath, gripping tightly onto your hips. Tomorrow there will likely be bruises and a thrill runs through you at the thought of such a thing.
Alina mouths over your body, biting at your throat, tongue tracing down the line of your pulse. She kisses over your neck, hands cupping your breasts and playing with your nipples as Aleksander slowly begins to thrust into your cunt.
With the vibrations thrumming through your body, pleasure prickling over your skin, every sensation of Aleksander stretching your cunt open with his cock is intensified. Chanting his name over and over, your pleasure is pounding against your skin, desperate to be released.
Aleksander bites down on your shoulder and your vision goes white with the force of your orgasm as you clench around him. He moans deeply, a gruff sound against your ear as he begins to chase his own climax.
All you can do is lie still and take what he gives you, the overstimulation teetering on the edge of pain as he pushes your through the after waves of your climax. Once again, Alina switches off the vibrator to prevent an uncomfortable level of overstimulation.
He forces his cock deep inside you, ignoring the weak protest from your tight cunt restricting his movements. His hips smack against yours, the sound filling the room as the scent of your combined sweat and arousal coats your senses.
As he nears his peak, he increases his pace, drawing a sharp whine from you as he gets closer to the edge. He breathes in harshly, moaning as he stills his hips, spilling inside you.
He smiles widely, pressing his forehead against yours as he basks in the waves of pleasure running through his body. He kisses down your neck lazily, licking over the marks left by his wife.
Reluctantly, he pulls out, a thick string of his release clinging to the tip of cock connecting it to the sticky mess of your cunt.
Aleksander rolls onto his back and Alina takes his place on top of you, kissing you fiercely as she pushes her husband’s spend back into your sensitive cunt with her fingers, smearing messily over your twitching entrance and hardened clit.
“Saints, that was so fucking hot,” she murmurs in a broken voice as she grinds her hips down against yours.
Despite the sensitivity of your throbbing cunt, you lift your hips in an attempt at bringing her pleasure. She pins your hips down, allowing you some reprieve as she straddles one of your thighs. Her thong had been removed at some point unnoticed by you, her soaked cunt now grinding down on your thigh.
She moans, rocking up and down as she chases her own high now that Aleksander is recovering from his. Unable to move, your limbs are heavy with lingering bliss, it feels so good to just lie against the plush mattress and allow Alina to use your body to bring herself pleasure.
Her fingers dig into your hips, brushing against the tender spots created by her husband. Eyes fluttering closed, you whine weakly at the twinge of pain. A hand stroking gently against your cheek has you opening your eyes, turning your head to meet Aleksander’s dark eyes.
His chest is still heaving as he attempts to catch his breath, staring wide eyed at you and Alina. He touches you gently, fingers brushing over your cheek, down your neck, over your nipples.
“Sasha, I’m close,” Alina gasps, her hips jerking over your thigh.
He reaches down, circling his fingers over her clit. She arches her back, keeping his fingers against her needy clit. Feeling her heated cunt pressed onto your thigh as she climaxes makes you moan softly.
She’s breathless, shoulders heaving as she collapses against you. A small laugh bubbles from her lips and you can feel her smile against your skin as she soaks up the after waves of pleasure thrumming through her body.
When she lifts her head up, her smile dazzles you. For a few seconds you can only stare at one another, eyes wandering over each other’s bodies. Her cheeks are flushed, a beautiful pink has spread over her cheeks, and her lips are darkened and swollen from Aleksander’s kisses.
Lifting your head up, you lean towards her as if drawn in by a magnet. Her lips slot against yours easily and the two of you both moan into the kiss. She cups her hand under your jaw, keeping you in place as her mouth moves eagerly over yours.
Once she pulls away, your chest is burning with the need for air. Gasping, you stare wide eyed at her, admiring every inch of her face. She grins at you, giving you a little wink before she rolls over. Landing on Aleksander’s stomach, she straddles his body with a wide smile.
They both smile at one another, their gaze adoring as they trace their hands over one another.
Suddenly, seeing them together like this has self consciousness settles into your stomach. This is their wedding night after all. Consumed by your thoughts, you begin to edge away with the intention of giving them space.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Aleksander says.
When you turn to look at him, you find them both already watching you. He takes hold of your chin, circling his thumb over your cheek.
“I thought you liked to watch.”
His teasing remark makes you blush.
“Sasha,” you whisper, cheeks burning.
Alina cups your face, her thumb playing with your lower lip.
“Stay,” he insists.
Alina takes hold of his hardened cock, sliding it inside her as smoothly as possible. Aleksander keeps his eyes on you as he hisses through gritted teeth. His gaze slides over you, falling on Alina as she begins to move up and down over his cock.
A thrill runs through you, your eyes fixed on the spot where the two of them meet. The dynamic between them is captivating, the push and pull of their bodies enjoying one another.
His hands settle on her waist, before squeezing at her shaking thighs. A gloss of sweat shimmers over their skin, hips grinding together, seeking to bury themselves deeper into one another.
“Alya, my love.”
Aleksander moans lowly, throwing his head back against the pillows as he grips her hips, thrusting his own upwards to meet every weak jerk from Alina as she begins to lose her momentum.
“Sasha,” she whimpers, her jaw tight as her nails dig into his chest in an attempt at gaining enough leverage to continue.
The muscles in Aleksander’s abdomen flex, and his breathing stutters as he gasps, holding onto Alina tighter than ever. They both moan simultaneously, gripping onto one another as they come to a shaky stop.
Alina’s lips part as she gasps, her brows scrunching together as she climaxes. Aleksander continues to rock his hips forwards until he stills, groaning quietly through gritted teeth as he also reaches his peak once again.
Once they begin to recover from their highs, Alina manages to pull herself from her husband collapsing down over the top of you. She hums contentedly, burying her body into yours. Her skin is flushed and warm, and you loop an arm around her waist.
“You’re staying for breakfast, aren’t you?” she murmurs quietly, fingers wandering curiously over your stomach and ribs.
Aleksander hums in agreement, smoothing his hands down between your breasts, settling against your stomach as he turns on his side to look at you and his wife.
When you nod, he leans over to kiss Alina, then you, before he lifts himself up slightly onto one elbow. The three of you share a look with each other, smiles blooming as the realisation of what had just occurred begins to dawn upon you all.
Alina laughs first, a breathless sound which makes Aleksander’s smile widen into something dazzling while you drop your face down into the pillow under your head.
Aleksander pokes you gently, silently encouraging you to stop hiding from them both. Shaking your head, you shield the growing smile on your face with the soft fabric beneath you, even as Alina begins to tickle your sides.
When Aleksander joins in with her, a laugh escapes your lips, squealing when he pinches at the soft skin at your side. Alina’s fingers wander up to the nape of your neck, ghosting over the sensitive skin.
“You’re not playing fair,” you gasp, lifting your head up from the pillow with flushed cheeks.
Aleksander kisses your cheek in an attempt at pacifying you.
“Thank you for my wedding present, Alya,” he says quietly. “Is this a one-time thing?”
At his question, you look down at the sheets, tracing your finger over the threads there in anticipation of Alina’s response.
“Perhaps on special occasions?” she suggests.
Hope fills your eyes as you look back and forth between them both, and they laugh at your optimistic expression.
“If that’s something you would like?” Aleksander adds, looking at you.
They laugh again at the speed of your nod, but you’re too thrilled by the idea of being in bed with them at another time to be embarrassed by their amusement.
Alina presses a kiss to your cheek.
“Let’s get you cleaned up, honey.”
“Am I staying the night?” you ask with a frown.
They both mirror your frown as Alina nods.
“Of course you are.”
“Do you have any idea what we’ve done to you tonight?” Aleksander asks, breathing out a small laugh as his gaze wanders down your body, eyeing the marks already blossoming over your skin.
Looking down, you laugh quietly.
“Well, I was here for it.”
Alina laughs curtly, moving towards the en-suite and clicking on the bathroom light.
“Were you?”
Warmth spreads over your face, burning at the memory of being so mindlessly desperate for them, rocking your hips to chase a release to obey their command.
Aleksander strokes your cheek gently.
“We’re not going to let you be alone after this.”
He kisses you, a tender press of his lips against yours as the sound of running water filling the large bath tub can be heard from the en-suite. Alina stands in the doorway, watching you and her husband with a fond smile.
If could choose a color to go with the Black of Aleksander’s kefta (for funsies) what would it be (ignoring the grisha orders of course) I’d choose either an iridescent color to a golden olive green-ish or some other shade of green
Oh iridescent would be so pretty - I just had to make an edit of it
I think green, silver, or red would be my favourites to add onto a black kefta
I’ve also realised I’ve never done an edit of the In Another Life kefta (this was as close as I could get to what I was imagining)
"There's something you haven't explained to me." Billy says suddenly.
You pause, from sending your messages, looking across at him from your spot in the passenger seat.
You raise your eyebrows expectantly.
"Why do you think hackers- or people trying to breach security in general- would underestimate the level of sophistication of the system?"
You take a deep breath, lean back.
"Because," You say with a tired sigh, "When they search up the company structure, they'll see me as a consultant."
"You?"
"Female." You clarify.
"You really think that people will make that assumption?"
"Why not? It's been happening for most of my life anyway, I'm just weaponising it now."
He's silent for a long moment.
"I'm sorry that you have to go through that."
"It's fine," You sing, "It means I get to design a system that looks dumb but ruins some fucker's life."
He smiles fondly, glancing over at you.
"Come over to my place next week, I'll do the cooking this time."
You hum, prolonging your response so that it seems like you take some time to decide.
In reality, saying no was never an option.
"Sure, I'd like that."
You don't notice the way his shoulders drop subtly, relaxing, just moments after.
.
It's not as difficult to leave your place alone as it was before.
Sure, for those first few weeks after the robbery, you'd only gone to and from work with Billy and occasionally, one of your friends would accompany you to the supermarket.
Today, when Amy calls to find out of you're still on for later, you pause, and tell her that maybe you're going to try to go by yourself today.
She's quiet for a moment, and you can almost hear her thinking.
"Okay, but please call if you feel even a little bit unsure?" You can hear the worry in her voice, you know that she's thinking about the first time she accompanied you, and you hid in the bathroom for ten minutes cause you thought you were being followed.
"I will, Amy, thank you."
Truthfully, you could never shake the feeling that you were being watched.
It went with you everywhere, like a shadow that just kept coming back no matter how much light you shined on it.
You tried to take deep breaths, and reassure yourself that everything was okay. It was the best you could do.
Billy was the only person that made you feel completely safe, his knowledge and background meant that you could very much trust whenever he said you weren't being followed.
But now? Alone like this, you try not to look over your shoulder too many times when examining apples, or not to freeze up when someone got too close to you.
Overall, at the cashier, you find yourself a little glad that you're able to at least get this far despite anything that may happen later.
It's a step in the right direction for your self-empowerment, a reminder that time can sometimes help repair the damage caused by traumatic events.
You're piling your groceries into the trunk of your car when you hear someone say your name.
Freezing in fear is a normal response for you, but once again, you do your best to breathe through it, and turn.
"Andrew? Hello," you greet.
Your former boss gives you a sharp smile and approaches. You take your time, assessing him as a possible threat.
He looks a bit sallow, the underneath of his eyes are a little grey, possibly with lack of sleep, a shadow of a beard sprouting on the base of his face.
He looks a bit unkempt, his hands in his pockets and you make sure to casually put your trolley between him and you for safety.
"You look like you're doing great." He says, taking in your piles of items, and then carefully looking at you.
You watch his eyes trail down your body and your head lights up with warning signs.
You smile politely, nodding your head.
"I'm fine, I hope you are too." You offer lightly, trying to finish packing your car as quickly as possible.
"Well, when you left, the everyone was counting on Anvil to accept our offer. When he declined, the board decided I wasn't good enough at my job."
You swallow. Is that was this was? A guilt trip?
"I'm sorry to hear that." You state calmly.
He takes a shaky step forward, and you stand your ground looking right at him. You think if he tried something, the shopping cart would come in handy in keeping him away from you.
"It's odd though, I keep playing my last meeting with Russo over and over in my head, and do you know what stood out to me?"
You don't respond.
"What stood out," he continues, "Is that Russo only wanted you."
So this was an accusation.
"Now why would he want someone like you, if you weren't fucking him?"
You press your teeth together angrily.
"Fuck. You." You grit out.
He blinks, having never seen you this angry before. You continue before he has the chance to speak.
"You think I wanted to leave? I left because you kept treating me like shit. Over and over again, and now you think you can come here and accuse me of this? No wonder you got fired when I left, because you couldn't keep taking credit for my work."
"You little bitch." He says taking another step forward until his body is right against the shopping cart. He grips the metal side of it, leaning forward even more in an attempt to get into your space.
"I vouched for you so many times. I'm the reason you got this job in the first place. You were nobody, nothing, until I decided to give you a chance. I've been watching you for a week now, trying to get you alone to talk to you, and you've been hooked to William Russo like dirt under his boot, and you want to tell me you aren't fucking him?"
You feel the fear of realization sink under your skin. Your stomach turns, making you nauseated.
"You've been following me?" You ask, in a much smaller voice than you want to.
He frowns, pushes away from the trolley and turns his back to you for a moment.
"Don't flatter yourself, I only wanted to talk."
He grits out.
You don't say anything, just watching his figure, trying to figure out how to get away from him.
You close your trunk, he watches you return your cart to the little docking station nearby.
"I'm sorry for the way things turned out." You say to him finally, trying to ease the tension.
He studies you for a long moment.
"You can fix this. Bring Russo back to us, they'll take you back, you can vouch for me like I once vouched for you."
"I'm not going to do that."
He grunts angrily, taking steps to approach you.
You back away, but he just keeps coming, he's almost in your personal space when suddenly a hand claps down on his shoulder.
The parking lot security guard looks very stern as he pulls Andrew a safe distance away from you.
"Is this man bothering you?" The security inquires in your direction.
You gulp, thinking that if you said 'yes,' you'd be forced to stand around here for longer.
"A bit, but I just want to leave." You finally say.
The guard nods, standing as a wall between Andrew and you, and you take the out, sliding into your car as fast as you can and reversing out of your park.
You don't look back.
.
'I don't suppose you could spare a moment to come over?' You send in his direction.
You swallow, turning your phone over in your hands, deep in thought.
You phone vibrates, you glance down.
'Be there in 5.'
"It's open." You say, when you hear a knock on the door.
He comes through slowly, no harsh sounds ever present when he's around.
"I know this building is safe, but you really should check before you let people in. What if that wasn't me?"
You don't answer, just staring at him as he locks the door behind him.
You sigh, your feet tucked under you as you lounge on your couch, your third glass of wine cupped securely in your hands.
You look up when he says your name.
You study him the same way he studies you. His hair is wet from a recent shower, but he's dressed comfortably this time, in black sweatpants and a soft green hoodie. He looks so comfortable, and the words 'boyfriend material' spring to mind, your mouth twitches, deep in thought, thinking about what he would say if you said that to him.
"Are you alright?" He asks after studying you.
You nod, taking another long sip of wine. He looks behind you, probably noting the abundance of unpacked groceries on your kitchen counter. You'd brought most of them up, only really worrying about the frozen and refrigerated items before you'd stopped, in favour of the sweet white you were now holding.
"Sometimes, I really hate the field I chose."
Billy looks at you for a moment, trying to read into you, but you know he doesn't have all the information.
"Why?" He asks, stepping forward and dropping into the spot beside you easily.
You rest your cheek on the back of the couch, looking up at him.
"It would be easier. I could have picked the culinary arts instead of this and no one would question if I was sleeping with my boss everytime I did something good."
"Someone accused you of that?" Billy asks evenly, doesn't take his eyes off of you.
You sigh, nodding, swirling your wine around in your little cup- not using a piece of glassware out of fear that you may break it.
"Andrew," You say softly to Billy, despair heavy in the farthes reaches of your mind.
"He followed me, confronted me, accused me, and then tried to bargain with me to come back."
You sigh, sniffling for a brief moment, fighting the pressure behind your eyes as tears pool.
You blink quickly to stop them from falling.
"He told me that I would be nothing without him. And all the way home I kept thinking that if I'd just picked something else, anything else, I might be a little bit happier."
A teardrop splashes into your wine, you wipe at it quickly.
He lets out a slow breath and you glance up at him in surprise, half realising that he's still here, watching you.
His dark eyes are tender, studying you in great detail before lifting a hand and crooking two fingers at you.
"Come here." Is all he says.
You breathe out a rush of air, knocking back the last two moutfuls of wine in your cup before setting the item on the little table in front of you.
You move slowly, giving him a chance to change his mind, leaning into him, and slowly resting your head into the crook of his neck.
His arms wrap around you, pulling you even closer until you're half seated in his lap.
There's just a rightness to being in his arms that finally breaks the dam inside of you. You let out a little sob, and his arms tighten around you as your body begins to shake as you cry.
"Sorry," you hiccup, "I- I'm sorry."
He shushes you softly, his cheek resting on the top of your head.
You feel small in his arms, a fragile thing made to be picked up and cared for and he very sensation makes you cry harder because it feels good, and you find yourself unable to gather the strength to think about pulling away from him. His scent is around you, his body pressed so tightly to yours that there's no gap between you.
There's a small abstract moment in your head, that you're able to identify a wholeness that wasn't there before.
You shiver, looking up at him with tear-stained cheeks, noting the feeling that you'd never realised you were missing something until he took you into his arms.
His thumbs wipe at your fresh tears, pushing them back, forcing them away.
You press your head back against his chest, shudders out a sigh as his arms go right back around you.
"There's so much I want to say," Billy starts, "I don't even know where too begin."
You sniffle.
"You don't have to." You murmur, hoping that he doesn't feel obligated to comfort you with his words.
You feel your head begin to swim as your third glass of wine begins to catch up to you.
"When I started Anvil, I had nothing." He says, his voice smooth and deep in your ear.
"There was me, and an idea, and I made a lot of questionable deals in order to get my company started."
You hear him swallow.
"There was one man, he believed that because he gave me a chance when no one else would, that he owned me. He treated me like his own personal dog, and for a couple of years, all I did was whatever he asked."
You listen intently, melting into him as he begins to rub circles into your lower back.
"It took me a while- longer than I'd care to admit- to understand that just because he helped me, it didn't mean I owed him everything. Sure, his generosity was appreciated, but it was my work that took Anvil off the ground, and seeing how far it's come, how far it has yet to go, and how much good it does makes it worthwhile for me."
He takes a moment to catch his breath.
"What I'm saying is, that you don't owe anyone a damn thing. Your successes are your own, because you did them." He makes a little sound of amusement at the back of his throat before continuing, "You're the secret ingredient."
You sniffle, smiling at his words.
"Andrew thinks he gave you these opportunities out of the goodness of his heart, but that's bullshit. You showed him who you were, and he picked you because he thought you were good at your job."
"And you?" You ask, desperate to hear it, "Why did you pick me?"
He makes a tiny huff of amusement.
"Because I love my company," You feel his face press into your hair, "And I wanted to give it the best chance, which is you."
You sigh, pressing yourself as close to him as possible, breathing in that amazing spiced scent, before relaxing fully, turning to a boneless mass in his arms.
"Thank you." You finally say to him.
He makes a deep sound in the back of his throat, you feel the vibration against your cheek.
He doesn't let go, and you have to motivation to pull away.
You're so at ease that you can't help closing your eyes, falling asleep in his arms without a second thought.
.
He holds you for a long while, a stupid smile on his face as he breathes in your strawberry scent.
When he's sure he won't wake you, he slips a hand under your knees, and stands with you in his arms.
You make a little sound, your arms wrapping tighter around his neck.
Billy takes his time, walking you to your bedroom, pulling the covers back and placing you down.
You don't let go of him, clinging like a koala, his eyes widen as you almost pull all of his body weight on top of yourself, he catches his weight on his arms before he crushes you.
He tries to pull away but you're not having it, maneuvering him in your sleep, until he's on his back, and your body is cradled against his, your head on his chest.
He lets out a breath of amusement, raising the hand that isn't pinned under you to stroke you hair.
He hears you hum in bliss and he smiles.
He wants to worship you so badly, kiss every inch of your skin, and then twice over for good measure.
He can't help it, pressing his thumb over the pout of your lips, his heart flipping when you draw even closer to him.
How can he pull himself away from you now? What kind of strength would that take?
Billy thinks about what would happen if he stayed right here beside you, if you wake up in the morning and find him here, you'd probably be so at ease.
He wanted that, he would probably kiss you at some point.
He can feel his heart racing as he thinks about it, kissing you breathless, giving you rounds of uninhibited pleasure, hearing you beg for him as if he would ever deny you.
But what about after?
He swallows, worried about after.
He wouldn't be able to keep himself away from you. Once, would never be enough.
He'd have to have you, over and over and over, never wanting to hide your relationship.
But that would make rumors true, it would invalidate your successes because you were sleeping with your boss.
The breath that escapes him is so pained that it takes him a second to take another.
He'd never forgive himself if he ruined your reputation that way.
He sighs, tracing the back of his hand over your cheeks and listening to the way you sigh.
He knew what you wanted, your body made it crystal clear everytime he was around you, calling out for him, and if he were a weaker man, he'd oblige.
His relationship with control was strained on a good day. The military had helped him focus his anger, train his rage and his bloodlust, but nothing had trained him to control his desire.
As Billy looked at you, sleeping in his arms, he felt his control grinding down with each breath you took.
It was only a matter of time.
.
Alone.
Again.
You sit up, taking a sad breath.
How did he always manage to slip away from you? Why?
What would it take to wake up next to him?
A question that goes unanswered.
In your kitchen, you're stunned to find that all your groceries have been packed away, only a few items in unfamiliar places. A warm feeling in your chest, you almost want to text him and thank him, except that you remember the last time you did that he left you on read. You decide to tell him in person when he's taking you to work.
You get dressed for work like usual, but when you're halfway ready, you pause, thinking about Dani's words from a few days ago.
In an effort to torment him, you shed your fancy work shirt and grab one of the work appropriate dresses in your closet.
It's sky blue, with half sleeves and matching belt. You're not sure if it will even catch his eye, but you decide to try anyway.
Except that when you step out of your aparment building, it's not Billy waiting for you.
You've seen Sergei around before, but you blink in surprise when he nods his head at you, and pulls open the back door of the car he's standing in front of.
Your heart plummets.
He'd sent someone else to pick you up.
You smile at Sergei, asking him for a moment before you pull your phone from your pocket and dial his number.
"Russo." Is what he says when he answers.
"Hey," You greet lightly, trying to be quick, "Did you send someone else to take me to work?"
He's silent for a moment.
"Yes, I-"
"Okay thank you," you interrupt, not interested in hearing what he had to say, "Just checking to make sure. Bye."
You end the call, staring at your phone for a second before shaking your head.
You turn to Sergei, giving him a smile and a word of thanks as you slide into the back seat of the car.
"Do you have any music preferences?" He asks kindly, and you wonder briefly if that was even in the scope of his job.
"Anything is good with me." You respond, crossing your arms and looking out the window angrily as he begins to drive.
You have many hindsight realisations on your way to work, that you really could have driven yourself. The only reason you were okay with Billy taking you is because he was going in the same direction anyway.
This just seemed like way too much time and effort to get you to work.
You try to make excuses for Billy, like maybe something urgent happened at work, or something personal, you didn't really know every aspect of his life now did you?
But you knew in the back of your head, that this was something he always does. He gets close, gives you blissful peace, and then pulls away, ignores you for a few days.
Frankly, you've hit your boiling point, and by the time you get to work, you're fuming.
You drop your things on your desk, and you give your coworker a big smile when she compliments your dress.
You'd worn it for him. Pathetic.
You make it up to his office, smiling at Katerina, his secretary, asking her if he's available and waiting for a yes before you knock on his door and enter when he says.
He doesn't even look up at you.
Taking notes at his desk, and there's just so much anger inside of you that you're not really thinking straight.
"Is there something you need?" He asks flatly, still not sparing you a single glance.
So he knows it's me, you think, and yet somehow he refuses to look up.
It cuts like betrayal.
"I can drive myself to work from now on, thank you."
He pauses, finally, looking up at you.
You watch him swallow.
"I insist, really, it's safer this way." He says.
"But inefficient," you counter, "To have Sergei go out of his way no doubt, when I have a perfectly good car."
He looks like he wants to argue, but can't form the right words.
He stands, eyebrows drawn, coming to stand in front of you.
It's probably a bad idea on his part, given your warped headspace, your eyes drop to his lips for a brief moment, before going back up to his dark eyes when he speaks.
"Very well, if you insist on driving, it's your choice."
You nod sharply, your throat closing up in despair. Was this the end of your friendship?
"Good." You say, no emotion in your tone, "One more thing."
"Yes?" He asks.
You swallow, grabbing the knot of his tie and pulling him down a little, while simultaneously rising onto your toes.
You don't give it a second thought, pressing your mouth to his.
It's like fireworks going off in your head, sparks spilling over and scattering into the farthest reaches of your mind.
You let out a little sigh of bliss into his mouth before releasing your grip on his tie.
You pull back from his mouth, taking a deep breath to apologise when suddenly his hands are on your hips. You feel the way his fingers twitch, as if he's fighting something bigger than you.
You gasp as he pulls you closer, body pressed tightly to his and you look up into his eyes.
He angles his head down, and his mouth is on yours once more.
He returns the kiss this time, with eager hums and steady pressure. It's greater than any other kiss you've ever experienced.
Your chest feels warm, your stomach flips, sizzling sparks work their way over your skin.
Your hands grip his shoulders, snaking their way up behind his neck.
He groans, hot breath into your parted mouth and you accept the sound greedily, more desperate for him than ever before.
He turns you, presses you up against his desk, braces his arms on either side of you for a moment before his hand cups the back of your neck securely.
It's all consuming, the way his mouth moves this way and that, the friction of his beard on your chin the taste of his mouth threatening to undo you.
His blunted fingers pressing tight into your skin, his hands wander your body, reaching for your knee, raising it to wrap around his hip. Your clothed center just barely brushes a hint of stiffness at the front of his pants and all you're thinking in various levels of enthusiasm is 'yes.'
The loud pitch of his ringing phone startles you. You shove him away quickly in surprise, gasping as you slide from your spot between him and his desk.
Your body is hot, cunt throbbing, skin hypersensitive and aching for his hands.
You suck in a big breath, smoothing your hair over in a panicked frenzy and running your hands down your dress.
Oh God.
Oh God.
Had you really just did that? Kissed him when you'd come in here to tell him off?
You try to take another measured breath but Billy seems to have taken all the air in the room with just one touch of his lips.
.
"Russo." Billy says, leaning over the desk, putting his phone on loudspeaker.
"Apologies for interrupting, but Miss Meachum is here and demanding to meet."
Billy huffs, of course he'd be interrupted by a Meachum. The entire family never understood boundaries.
He looks over at you, facing the windows, taking deep breaths and looking more and more flustered by the second.
"Tell her I'll be with her shortly." He says, hanging up right after.
He studies you, the ripe scent of your arousal filling the air. The panther tears at him, to sit you on his desk and follow through with exactly what he was about to do.
When he resists, the beast plants images of you writhing in pleasure as he licks your strawberry sweet cunt. His cock is half-hard, growing more erect with each second his mind replays what it was like to finally have your soft lips on his.
He swallows, opens his mouth to speak.
You beat him to it.
"I'll drive myself to work from now on." You utter harshly.
He watches in disbelief, mouth parted, as you head to the door, opening it and stepping out without so much as a glance at him.
It's all he needs to realize how much he's fucked up.
For fuck’s sake! They finally kiss but now everyone is all on their dumb angsty bitch brain train! I demand another kiss, please! Also Fuck that old boss!
Summary: In the aftermath of the poisoning incident, you and Aleksander become closer than you ever expected.
Warnings: mentions of canon level violence.
My Masterlist • Series Masterlist
The workshop is empty as you head towards your desk.
Aleksander hovers at the doorway, waiting for you to retrieve your cloak from where it’s draped over your chair. The air is always chilly in this area of Ravka, and you don’t know how long it might take you to track down a deer.
“He’s still alive then.” Baghra’s voice is almost nonchalant, as if the frantic antidote creation she had witnessed this morning hadn’t even gained her interest.
As you sigh in frustration, the anxiety that still thrums under your skin has something akin to a growl warming in your throat and you attempt to soothe the fox as he claws at your thoughts.
“Do try to contain your joy, Baghra,” you remark in a low voice. “He’s only your son.”
“You cannot save him.”
Shrugging on your cloak, black fabric covering the purple of your kefta, you breeze by the bars of her cell without sparing her a glance.
“Watch me.”
Aleksander’s eyes meet yours as you close the door of the workshop behind you, but he doesn’t acknowledge your conversation with his mother. Instead, he offers you his hand,
“Shall we?”
»»---------------------►
At the beginning of your search for a deer, you remain in fox form for the majority of the time, tugging on Aleksander’s cloak or sleeve with your teeth to direct him.
After the events of this morning, trekking through the woodland with a singular goal to focus on helps dispel your worries and fears, to the point in which you feel comfortable shifting back into human form to talk with Aleksander.
Food at the Sanctuary has been dwindling lately and the thought of bringing a deer back for your Grisha fills you with an optimism that chases away the dire feelings of this morning.
Aleksander assures you that you don’t have to hunt the deer yourself, offering to deal the killing blow using the Cut.
“Would you teach me the Cut?” you ask him as you walk by his side.
Only summoners have been known to use the Cut, but he doesn’t dismiss you, although he does look down with a small sigh.
“I’m afraid it isn’t something that can be taught,” Aleksander explains as he steps over a large clump of grass. “It requires great power and concentration, but I cannot describe how.”
Aleksander has used the Cut several times around you when fighting against the First Army. The shadows always flow so easily into his hands, forming a blade of darkness seemingly without any prior thought – like an instinct. Not unlike how you change your form.
“I think I could do it,” you admit.
“I don’t doubt that you could.”
His words are smooth, said with such a casual confidence in your ability that your cheeks flood with a warmth which tempts you into scampering away as a fox to avoid his gaze.
After a small pause he adds,
“Baghra always told me that the ability is already in us, it just takes the correct circumstances to be brought out.”
Tilting your head, you hum thoughtfully.
Somewhere to your right, the sound of a twig breaking slowly catches your attention and you stop to listen. Aleksander waits patiently as your eyes scan over the nearby greenery.
When you turn back to meet his eyes there’s a questioning glimmer there and you nod in response. Without words, the two of you set off silently in the direction of the deer.
»»---------------------►
“But how did you find it?” Fedoyr asks as he helps himself to a second portion of stew. “The last group of scouts used a heartrender and he couldn’t find anything for miles.”
Placing down your knife and fork, you push your plate away and begin to plate up a portion to take to Aleksander as you answer Fedoyr.
“I spent plenty of time in the woods looking for my amplifier. I guess I just know the area pretty well.”
He hums with a shrug, too satisfied with his meal to continue his line of questioning – to your relief. Merging with an amplifier is unheard of in this day and age, and you don’t know how the other Grisha might react if they knew.
Besides, the fox feels like your secret, something that only you and Aleksander know about.
“Vladim?” He turns in his seat, looking over at you. “I can take the General’s tonic to him, if you’re still eating.”
Vladim always gets caught up with conversation during mealtimes, leaving his food untouched until he realises he hasn’t been eating while he listens or talks to someone – usually David.
Knowing that Vladim was hidden by his village, you doubt he has ever had someone to talk to about his experiments, let alone someone like David to suggest new ideas and theories.
He looks rather sheepish as he hands you the small vial.
“I made some adjustments,” he tells you, smoothing down the front of his kefta nervously. Offering him a small smile, you nod.
“I’ll let him know.”
The hallways are quiet as you make your way to Aleksander’s rooms. After two smooth knocks against his door, he calls out,
“Come in.”
His frown is deep as he studies a bundle of pages in his hands, casting them down onto the map which lies over his desk. He stands at the sound of your footsteps approaching, but he doesn’t lift his head.
Setting down the plate beside his papers, you say quietly,
“You should eat something.”
He finally looks at you, dark eyes locking on yours.
“Thank you.”
As his gaze lands on a particular piece of paper, he sighs and sits down heavily. His eyes stay fixed on the paper, even as he picks up the knife and fork you have brought for him.
“Is something the matter?” you ask.
He looks up at you. Then he gestures to the piece of paper that had stolen his attention.
“That was intercepted on route to a property in Caryeva,” he explains.
Picking it up, you examine the quality of the small note which you now realise is actually made of a thick card. The royal seal is embossed into the material and the edge is lined with gold.
Reading over the words written elegantly over the ivory page, your brows furrow.
“An engagement party?”
As you continue to read, your stomach drops at the rest of the information. Once you’re finished you look up at Aleksander.
“The Spinning Wheel. Surely they aren’t foolish enough to advertise their location like this?”
Swallowing down a bite of his food, he shrugs lightly.
“The Lantsovs rarely understand the severity of situations such as these, and from what I’ve heard, the King is in no condition to make any such decisions.”
Aleksander takes the invitation from you, gesturing with it before he sets it down.
“This is the work of Tatiana and Vasily.”
“What about the Second Prince – Nikolai?”
“He is the Second Prince. Whether he is for or against such frivolity is irrelevant. He would be overruled by his mother and brother regardless.”
“Could it be a trap?”
He frowns deeply.
“That is what I have been considering.”
The instinct to thread your hands through his hair, massage his temples where you know the most pain is for him, and to scrape your nails lightly over his scalp to help him relax is almost too strong to resist.
The fox is most definitely supportive of such an idea. He even begins to nudge some of your daydreams into your mind as suggestions. After such a long day, the fox’s meddling in your mind is almost too much to bear.
Especially when he encourages such appealing ideas into your thoughts, like shifting into your other form and curling up in Aleksander’s lap. Or even sitting by his feet with your chin on his knee where he will give you the occasional pat on the head or rub behind your ears.
Squeezing your eyes shut, you rub your hand over your face.
“Are you alright?” Aleksander asks you in a soft voice.
Nodding, you push away the longing feeling in your chest.
“I should leave you to it,” you whisper weakly.
He holds your gaze for a long moment. His lips part slightly, firelight flickering over his features, shadowed scars deep and dark in the low orange light. Then he nods faintly.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Aleksander.”
»»---------------------►
Aleksander’s chest is warm against your back as he wraps his arm around your waist, and you hum quietly with a smile on your face. His own smile widens, and you can feel it against your cheek as he nuzzles his face over your skin to bury himself into the crook of your neck.
A shiver runs down your spine as his facial hair scrapes delightfully over your throat. Then he presses a delicate kiss to the sensitive skin there and you sigh, tilting your head back into the pillow.
A knock startles you out of your dream.
Feeling rather disorientated you look around your room, bathed in early morning sunlight, and you realise that someone had knocked on your door.
“Who is it?” you call out.
There’s a brief moment of hesitation.
“General Kirigan.”
At the sound of Aleksander’s voice, muffled slightly through the door, the fox perks up gleefully and you sigh. Dropping your head into your hands for a moment, you attempt to compose yourself before you reply.
“Come in.”
Aleksander’s eyes fall on you immediately as he closes the door softly behind himself. The two of you survey one another in the silence between you. There is a stark contrast between his appearance and yours.
His hair is loosely styled, and his scars don’t look as dark in the soft morning light as he observes you sitting in your bed, surrounded by tussled sheets, and dressed in simple white sleeping garments.
“Good morning,” he says smoothly.
Rubbing your eyes, you shake the fox away from your thoughts, knowing that he intends to distract you with more thoughts of Aleksander and memories of your dream.
“Good morning.”
He frowns slightly.
“I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
“Yes… but I should be getting up anyway.”
Pushing your covers aside you stand and move towards the faded changing screen that stands in the corner of your room.
“Can I help you with something?” you ask him as you disappear behind the screen to dress.
“I just came to check up on you.”
The sound of his footsteps are light as they move further into your room, and you frown at his words.
“On me?” Pulling at the drawstring on your shirt, you look around for your trousers as you speak, “You’re the one who had been poisoned. How are you feeling?”
There is a small pause between the two of you.
“The usual,” he admits as you buckle up the front of your trousers. “Vladim has already made two alternative tonics this morning and explained their individual benefits in rather extensive detail.”
At that, you breathe out a small laugh and move from behind the screen to sit down and pull on your boots. Aleksander has tidied your sheets and is currently sitting on your bed, so you perch yourself on a rickety chair in front of the changing screen.
“Don’t mind him. He’s still in that phase.”
Aleksander frowns as you begin to tie up your laces.
“Phase? What phase?”
“The phase everyone goes through – where they feel the need to impress you.”
His frown deepens.
“Do you? Feel the need to impress me?”
Keeping your gaze lowered, you fiddle with your laces for longer than necessary to avoid Aleksander’s eyes before you mumble,
“Sometimes.”
He tilts his head slightly.
“Why?”
Lifting your eyes to meet his, there’s a distance that fills your features as you decide to be honest with him.
“My mother died a month before I arrived at the Little Palace. I went to see the Grisha testers because I had nothing left for me in Os Kervo.”
“What about your father?”
“I never met him. He was in the Navy, and he died before I was born.”
Aleksander doesn’t give you the apologetic look you had always received as a child. At school, when the other Grisha talked about their families, you had learnt that telling your story only earned their pity.
“I never knew my father,” Aleksander admits. “Baghra told me was a powerful heartrender, but that he wasn’t like us. That he was nothing, and I should always remember that.”
He appears to pull himself together, straightening his back and hardening the soft sadness that had crept onto his features.
“How old were you when your mother died?” he asks.
“Nine.”
He holds a hand out to you, and you step forwards to take it between both of your hands. His amplification seeks out your power as his fingers curl around yours, filling you with the confidence to stand closer to him.
“Ever since then, the Little Palace was my home. When I found out I was Grisha, it was like I finally had something of my own. It gave me another family.”
“That’s what I always hoped for when I created it. But I hope you don’t feel indebted to me for it.”
Shaking your head, you dismiss his worries.
“Not indebted, but I’ll always be grateful. You protected us.”
The muscle in his jaw tenses as he looks down at your hands.
“It wasn’t enough.”
Instantly, you know what he’s thinking about.
The attack on the Little Palace when he was missing. The Grisha hunting parties that now tear through Ravka. The sham trials held by First Army officers. All the Grisha killed over the last few months.
But you won’t let him forget the good he’s done.
“If the Little Palace didn’t offer compensation to families, Fruzsi would have been sold to slavers. Fedoyr would have stayed in a house where he was hated. I would have grown up on the streets. You might not think it was enough. But it was enough for us.”
He lowers his head to hide his expression, but you see the glossiness in his eyes.
“You all deserve far better,” he insists, his voice strained with emotion.
“You think I don’t know that?”
He lifts his head up at your words and you swallow down the weight in your throat. Time stands still between you both as you look at one another. Slowly, you lift your hand and delicately brush your knuckles over his cheek.
“You deserve better too,” you whisper, and his eyes flutter closed.
He tilts his head, leaning ever so slightly into the palm of your hand. Carefully, you trace a small circle over his cheekbone with your thumb and he exhales shakily.
A knock at the door shatters the silence and you step back as his eyes open.
He crosses his legs at the ankle, raising his chin and directing his attention to the door as you open it.
Genya smiles widely at you, showing off the garment bag that is draped over her arm.
“Special delivery.”
The excitement on her face is infectious, and you smile back despite the confusion that creases at your brows.
Her expression grows a little more serious when she sees Aleksander sitting on your bed and your cheeks warm as they share a look with one another.
“Moi soverenyi.”
“Good morning Genya.”
She glances at you with a sheepish smile.
“Am I interrupting? I just thought I’d bring you your new kefta.”
Blinking at her, your frown returns as she moves into your room, hooking the bag over the top of your changing screen.
“My what?”
“I asked Genya to work on a new kefta for you,” Aleksander says, standing smoothly and walking over to smooth down the front of the garment bag.
“You didn’t need to.”
He turns to you with a raised brow.
“How many times have you mended your old one?”
Avoiding his gaze, you shrug lightly.
“A few.”
He tilts his head at you before his gaze shifts to Genya.
“Thank you, Genya.”
She bows slightly, giving the two of you a nod. There’s a curious sparkle in her eyes as she smiles at you.
“Thank you,” you repeat as she heads towards the door.
Aleksander begins to unbutton the garment bag.
“If I’ve overstepped please tell me, and I will have a new one made for you today.”
He holds your gaze and despite your confusion you give him a small nod. Then you part the unbuttoned fabric at the front of the bag.
Heart hammering at the sight in front of you, the confusion on your face softens into realisation as you admire the piece of clothing. Black wool with dark purple embroidery and soft red fur lining the inside.
Taking the kefta in hand, you open it up and thread your hand through the fur. A familiar tingle runs down your spine and the fox’s happiness fills you at the thought of being a part of something so important to you.
“Is this?” you ask softly.
Aleksander nods.
“The fox’s fur.”
It feels like forever ago since you gave the fox’s body to Aleksander, just after you claimed your amplifier.
“You saved it for me.”
“If you don’t like it-”
Turning to look at him quickly, you see him eyeing you rather nervously.
“I love it. Thank you.”
Closing the kefta, you run your hands down the front of it, tracing the intricate purple details stitched there.
“Black,” you say. He straightens slightly.
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
His gaze softens as he nods.
“If you are?”
You nod.
“You’ve made a decision about the Spinning Wheel. Haven’t you?”
He looks away, moving backwards slightly as he rocks on the balls of his feet. His gaze fixes on something out of your window as he speaks.
“I happen to know that the building has a history of rabbits living in its crypt. If those warrens still exist, a creature the size of a rabbit would be able to get inside the building undetected.”
Breathing out a small laugh, you realise that you must play a vital part of his plan.
“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”
I’m currently out of town but I’ve been catching up on the series in between plane hopping. Loving it! It’s so sweet he made the reader a Kefta from the foxes furs!
I should just forget about him, you think to yourself on the walk home.
It was embarrasing, you hadn't seen him in days since he left you in that elevator, and the absence of him managed to make you feel even worse.
He hadn't been home either, you'd kept the curtains parted so that you could catch any movements in his windows. So far, nothing.
It had made you feel so upset and you couldn't even figure out why. Maybe you were getting too attached to him.
Exposing yourself so intimately, sabotaging your work relationship and there was nothing to be gained from it anyway. He just wasn't interested in you like that.
You were maybe a little glad too, at least you knew you weren't in any trouble for the little show you'd put on.
Or were you?
What if his stoicism towards you was because he was planning to fire you.
No, no, it made no sense, his phone call after he'd seen you had been too intimate. If there was going to be any consequences, it would have happened by now.
Right?
Ugh, you didn't know, and you just wanted to forget this had ever happened.
You sigh, tugging your phone out and absentmindedly trying to book an appointment with your therapist. Maybe she would help you feel better about your new work environment.
Your shoulder bumps harshly into someone, and you raise your head to apologise.
You've made a wrong turn somewhere, too taken in with your phone to notice that you've turned down an isolated alleyway.
"S-sorry." You murmur, backing away, only to bump into another figure.
Holy shit this was bad.
"Give me the bag." The first man says evenly, angling his head toward the pale pink handbag hanging off your elbow.
"Please, I don't want any trouble." You say, pocketing your phone quickly, carefully pressing the power button a couple of times to send a distress signal. You had it set so that Dani and Amy would receive alerts if you needed help.
The first man, pulls a knife out of his pocket, you watch warily as the blade springs out of the handle with a wicked glint. You can feel your phone begin to vibrate endlessly as your friends try to call to figure out if this was accidental or not.
Your heart is racing, but you find that your thinking is razor sharp, only a little bit of panic swimming through you.
If there had been only one man, running would have been a good option, but with the second man at your back, you have no choice but to surrender your bag.
Your work laptop was in there, and your wallet, you really hated to lose either one of those things.
The man takes it from you and then steps closer, his knife still pointed in your direction.
"Now the jewellery and the phone." He prompts.
Your hands shake, you needed to find a way to keep holding onto your phone.
You tug your watch off easily, and your earrings, they were just cheap pieces that were your favourite, but ultimately replaceable.
The panther necklace, was not, and you would not give it up without a fight, however stupid that would be.
You extend your watch and earrings to the man, letting them slip from your hand at the very second and watching it fall.
It's that moment, with one man distracted, you turn to run.
The other man is fast, he reaches for you, pushes you into the nearby wall.
You're stunned for a moment, and you feel the scrape of his nails as he tears your necklace off your neck, and when he gets in close to grab your phone, you bring your knee up to kick him straight between the legs. He bends over in pain, and you take the opportunity to slip away, running as fast as you can out of the lonely alley. You don't stop until you're out in a public place.
You reach for your phone, pulling it out, several missed calls from both Dani and Amy flood your phone.
You update them quickly, and they direct you to the nearest police precinct.
As you head there, you dial Anvil's IT department, explaining the situation so that they can restrict access from your account to the server.
You're sitting in the precinct when Amy makes it to you. She takes you into a hug, pulling back to study your form.
Her eyes catch the two deep scratches on your neck, short red lines where the man's nails had clawed into you while ripping your necklace from your neck.
She hugs you again tighter than before, surprising you with her strength.
"I'm okay." You mumble against her shoulder.
Honestly, you couldn't feel a thing, your emotions had been shocked numb from the minute you'd seen the knife.
What rotten luck, to have experienced what you have, essentially hitting some type of morbid trifecta, a murderer, a stalker and now a thief.
You find yourself laughing into Amy's shoulder, and you can't stop.
She pulls back in shock, looking up at you.
You laugh harder when you see the concerned expression on her face.
"There's too many plot points," You try to explain to her, though you're not sure you're making any sense, "If my life was a book this would be a shitty amount of coincidence."
There's a quiet silence as she takes in your words, observing your laughter, and notes the way your eyes fill with tears.
"Oh love," She murmurs after a moment. "Multiple bad things happen to people all the time."
Your laughter turns sour, something awful fills your throat, your lip trembles for a small moment as you fight the emotion, and then like a dam breaking, it spills from you in little sobs.
"This is too much," You gasp, feeling her arms squeeze you tighter as you cry, "Why do these things keep happening to me?"
You cry harder against her, she soothes you with her embrace.
"They took my necklace." You say sadly against her.
She makes a sympathetic sound. She knew how much it means to you.
"We'll get it back, love, didn't you have a tag in your bag just for this reason?"
"Yeah," you sniffle, "there's one in my wallet, I gave the cops access to find it, and Anvil also has something on the laptop."
"See? Don't lose hope yet."
You sigh, there was a location on your wallet and laptop, but there was no guarantee that the necklace would even be in the same place. You felt so disconnected now, so unsafe. There was no panther coming to protect you here.
"Why don't we go home? If the police find anything, they can call you. Waiting here is too tedious." Amy suggests, and you nod in agreement, sniffling a little and pulling away. She tugs a tissue from her little bag and you accept it gratefully.
You don't live too far from the precinct, and a ten minute drive in a taxi and you're there.
Amy doesn't leave you, and Dani arrives when you're in the shower.
You sit with them, enjoying tea in your living room, and after a long talk about your ordeal, and the endless reassurances from them that you're safe now, they decide to distract you with Studio Ghibli movies.
It sort of works, though your most recent ordeal reminds you of your past ones.
Somehow, you think that your past experience with the murderer, made this one more manageable, it's probably why you had a clear head from the moment the man pulled out the knife. However bad this was, it was nothing compared to being hunted in the woods at night.
A knock at your front door startles you, and you jump at the booming sound.
Dani reaches to pause the movie, and for a moment you're too stunned to move.
"Who is it?" You call, pulling the sheets away from your body and rising to a stand.
"It's Billy." He answers, voice muffled through the wood.
You suck in a breath, trying to ignore the shocked expressions on Amy and Dani's face, making your way to the door and taking a small breath before opening it up.
You don't get much of a word in before you're being pulled right into his arms.
You stand there, shocked beyond reason as his arms encircle you. Your body responds eagerly to his embrace, relaxing against him so easily that it would scare you if you could be anything other than shocked.
Your arms lift, wrapping around him to return his hold, wondering how on earth you ended up in this position.
It feels so right to hold him, to pull him even closer and feel him respond by tightening his embrace, until it feels like a hug between old friends.
His scent wraps around you, and you rise onto your toes, eager to catch more of the jasmine and oak that his body smells of.
How on earth does he make you feel so safe? So protected in a way you haven't felt in such a long time.
"Are you hurt?" He asks after a moment, large hand cupping the back of your neck as you pull away.
"I'm okay." You say simply, watching the way his eyes roam down your face and stop at the scratches on your neck.
He lets out a slow breath, fingers trailing over your neck, his thumb brushing the deep welts.
You gasp when his thumb swipes a little too close, a frown forming on his face.
"I lost my company laptop-"
"-That's alright," he soothes, "It's not the first time, and my consultant helped me put some vigorous security protocols into place."
You find yourself grinning at him, and he smiles back.
"If you need anything, anything at all, please call me."
You take a moment, looking into his eyes, trying to figure out how he could be so cold one moment and so surprisingly warm the next.
"Okay."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
He lets out a shaky breath, before you know it, he's placing a careful kiss to the top of your head and your heart is doing rapid palpitations at the sensation.
You say goodbye to him as you close the door, waiting a moment before snapping the lock shut.
You turn in shock, leaning against the door, eyes wide and breathing rapid.
"Ohmygod." You rush out, turning to look at Dani and Amy in a 'can you believe that just happened?' type of way.
"I thought you said he doesn't like you." Dani says with a tone of confusion in her voice.
"He doesn't." You answer, not fully sounding quite so sure.
Amy huffs.
"I don't know about you, but that man quite clearly and obviously wants you bad." She states.
Oh how you wish it were true.
.
You're barely able to sleep all night, despite the fact that you know both your friends are asleep in other rooms or your apartment. You're less lonely than usual, and arguably a little more safe, and yet still, you can't relax your body for long enough to sleep.
The only thing that really calms you, is the reminder of what it was like to be in his arms.
You roll onto your side, pulling a pillow as close to you as possble, wrapping your arms around it and imagining that it's him.
Your brain refuses to accept the placebo, too focused on what's missing, his scent, his hearbeat, the warmth of his body- you flop around angrily, deciding to watch videos on your phone instead of sleeping.
You don't notice it's morning until you spot the sunlight spilling through the gaps in your curtains.
You let out a long sigh, sitting up and moving to your living room.
Both women are already awake too. Amy takes one look at you and sighs.
"Not a wink, huh?"
"You know me so well." You reply with a teasing smile.
They both have to get to work, and you reassure them that you're actually not doing so bad, you'd been able to get a few days off of work yourself.
"Call us if you need anything," Dani says, kissing the top of your head as she leaves, "Or call that hot boss of yours."
"He doesn't like me like that!" You call out to them as they leave, and you hear their laughter through the door, no doubt disagreeing with your words out of earshot.
You sigh, sipping on your coffee with indignation.
You spend the day lazing around, looking up the application processes for getting new identification and replacing all the additional cards you had in your wallet.
You'd already called the bank and put in a request to freeze your cards, still holding out hope that you might be able to get your wallet back instead of having to go get new cards for everything.
You frown, raising your hand to your neck, feeling for the necklace you lost, hating that you felt like something was missing all throughout the day.
When you get a call from the precinct in the afternoon, telling you that your bag had been recovered, you'd been so happy to hear it.
You'd gotten dressed, grabbed your keys and your phone with the intention of grabbing a taxi on the street, but suddenly found difficulty in actually leaving your apartment.
What was going on with you?
The idea that leaving your place meant you were at risk of being attacked again sent so much fear down your spine that you shut your door and curled up on your couch in distress.
You were scared.
Simply put, the very thought of being out in the open, so vulnerable, filled you with trepidation.
Someone could attack you again, maybe even finish the job this time. The photo of you leaving Amy's apartment comes to mind.
You didn't know if someone was still following you. What if they were? What if they were waiting for you right outside?
How many close calls could you have before you ran out of luck?
Ma’am, you are the Queen of Cliffhangers, and no one will ever top you’re ability to pull an audience in for sure. This chick should just move in with him at this point. Like come on you two idiots be doing the eye freak nasty from across the street! Ugh!!!!
This is werepanther Billy, deadass, cocky and confident and eager to tease his girlfriend.
Makes her sit in his lap and rubs herself on him, loves how needy she looks, coos when she asks to cum.
Slips a hand down to help her, watches her gush all over him, listens to her little sobs
God... Agony of Desire Billy. Takes good press photos to make sure everyone knows he's legit and makes you sit on his cock and look at them while he tells you all the wicked things he got away with while they were being taken.
Oof
Either way I want him to rearrange my insides you know?
Does anyone have a link or happen to snag a photo of the tan jacket from Ben Barnes’ photoshoot in Grumpy Magazine. I specifically wanted to see what was on the back of the tan jacket that seemed to look like it had crayon drawings on it. also the angle he was posed was a bit hot or whatever
I’m sure there’s a better explanation, but what if Aleksander somehow trained his nichevo’ya to put the gold threads on his kefta? Just imagining these giant smoky monsters sitting on the ground like big babies, painstakingly using scraps from wreckage in the Fold to mend their Shadow Daddy’s kefta 😊
Imagine him mentioning to the nichevo’ya that he wants gold in his kefta, and they just tilt their heads at him like: ?? you want gold ?? like the colour the girl who tried to kill you was wearing ?? okay if you say so…
I’m now imagining a smoke version of Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. Except there’s like 9 of them, who like hiding under their Shadow Daddy’s “big” cape—until they run out to bite people!
I think Aleksander needs a pat too 🥺 (I’ll give him 1 if he bends down bc I’m under 5’2”)
Why am I now thinking of him as some kind of dark Santa Claus who only gives presents to Grisha children (yes, the nichevo’ya are his elves)
*me, going with the nichevo’ya to fight Alina*
I want to hear the little purrs & hisses that the shadow babies make
Aleksander has names for each of his babies. Do not fight me on this.
When no one else is around, the babies huddle close to Daddy (they’re secretly scared of the sunlight the way humans are afraid of the dark)
Look at how big his cloak is!! There’s no way his little shadow babies aren’t hiding under there at all times just peeking out to see what’s happening whenever Aleksander gets nervous or upset
I’m just imagining sitting on the floor with them and they’re bumping their heads against you affectionately, tripping over one another as they try to get your attention as you stroke your hand over the shadow creatures and they make happy little noises when they win your affection
If anyone else sees you petting them they are immediately concerned that you’re about to lose a limb
This is so cute! I always head canon the shadow creatures before I saw what they looked like in the show as literally Shadow Clones of Aleksander, and I know I’m probably the only person who thought that
Summary: Aleksander has been struggling to sleep recently, so you decide to give him a treat to lift his spirits.
“What’s this, my love?”
Aleksander observes the tray you’re holding carefully, studying the contents as you step into your shared bedroom. Despite his curiosity, he cannot help but admire the way your nightdress fits perfectly over your body, delicate fabric brushing against the floor as you step closer.
He is already dressed for bed, a black robe hanging loosely over his shoulders as he stands on his side of the room. He pulls the covers back for the two of you, adjusting the black pillows as he awaits your response.
“I know you haven’t been sleeping well.”
He stills for a moment at your words, avoiding your eyes as he brushes his hand over the dark bedsheet to smoothen out some nonexistent creases in the fabric.
“Have I been disturbing you?” he asks slowly, his words heavy with self-accusation at the thought of his restlessness keeping you from your sleep.
“Of course not,” you answer quickly.
He watches as you sit down on your side of the bed, placing the ornate tray down in the centre of the mattress.
“I thought a little treat before bed might take your mind off things - and help you rest easier.”
A soft smile tugs at his lips as he sits down on the bed beside you.
“That’s very thoughtful of you.”
It’s only then that he finally pays full attention to the contents of the tray. He finds two steaming cups accompanied by saucers, topped with whipped cream and a light sprinkle of cocoa power.
The sweet scent of chocolate fills his senses, his mouth watering at the thought of a taste. As you observe his reaction, you smile and pick up a cup, offering it to him.
“Careful, it’s hot,” you warn him with concern in your eyes as he lifts the cup to his lips, saucer settled in his other hand.
Aleksander takes a tentative sip, a hum of delight in his throat as he swallows his first mouthful. The cream is light and sweet as it melts on his tongue and the hot chocolate itself is the best he has ever tasted.
He blinks at the cup in surprise at how good the taste is, and you laugh softly at the look on his face. The smile twitching at the corner of his mouth widens at the sound of you laugh.
With the war going on, luxuries like this are rare, and Aleksander doesn’t typically indulge in such things for himself. Still, he’s curious to know how you pulled off such a wonderful creation.
“How?”
There’s a prideful glimmer in your eyes and he knows you had been hoping he would ask you about this.
“The Queen uses cocoa powder for her nightly face mask - a unique blend from Novyi Zem. Genya managed to get some for me.”
“And the cream?”
“The new chef at the Grand Palace is particularly fond of sweet treats - I might have offered to show her our kitchens in exchange for this.”
He leans forward, pressing an appreciative kiss to your cheek.
“Thank you, my love.”
“You’re welcome.”
The two of you sit in companionable silence, leaning against your headboard, shoulders touching, as you drink from your cups.
Once you’re both finished, Aleksander internally admits that he feels more optimistic about sleeping soundly beside you tonight.
His heart flutters as you trace your thumb over his upper lip before you circle the pad down against his lower lip.
Warmth spreads over your cheeks when you see the look on his dark eyes as you withdraw. While you attempt to explain yourself, the corner of his mouth lifts into a smirk.
“You had some cream on your face.”
He nods, leaning over towards you.
“You have some too.” As you reach for a napkin, he settles his hand over yours. “Allow me.”
Aleksander cradles your face in his hands, ducking his head down for his lips to meet yours. He sucks your lower lip between his, tongue tracing over the sensitive skin there.
“All gone.”
“Are you sure?”
“Now that you mention it, I think there is a little more. Here.” He presses a hurried kiss to the corner of your mouth. “And here.” Another kiss to your cheek. “Here too.”
Soon, he’s settling a flurry of kisses over your face and you’re giggling at his antics, sliding down onto your pillow to escape him. He laughs warmly and you realise you had almost forgotten how wonderful his laugh is.
His halts his attack, his nose brushing gently against yours as he withdraws ever so slightly and you thread a hand affectionately through his hair. He looks down at you fondly, tracing his fingers over your cheek then along your jawline.
Holding your chin between his fingers, he tilts your head gently upwards, bending down to leave a soft kiss against your lips.
Pairing: Alina Starkov(a) x Grisha!Reader, Past!Darklina, Implied!Unrequited Aleksander Morozov(a) x Alina Starkov(a) x Reader
Summary: After the Darkling’s death, you seek to avenge him, but instead you confront some repress emotions.
Warning: It’s all angsty, baby. Vague-ish Spoilers for Season 2, Me, making shit up because I can.
Taggies: @marvelmusing (Sorry to do this to you.)
“Very convenient of you to leave me out of your plans, Alina.” You appear in the middle of her bedroom as she removes her crown from her head.
She says your name gently, but you swear there’s a hint of malice or perhaps grief.
“You were missing.” She sits down still facing away from you. As you prepare to summon shadows to choke her, she is on her feet in the same stance.
“How?” She gasps, finally looking you in the eye. She hesitates to attack, and you are already close to her, grabbing her by the neck and tossing her against the wall. You are far from surprised that she has his shadows. She was his Sun Summoner, his Alina, his favorite. You were and still are just one of his shadows in the darkness.
“You killed him, and you didn’t even let me say goodbye.” You hiss. “It’s the least you could have done for me.”
“He was a monster.” She wiggle out of your hold, and she attacks you almost knocking you on your feet.
“He was our only hope, and now you’re helping the Royal family.”
Of course there’s always hope (a like pencil line of hope). I was going to kill the reader so Alina could suffer and go into her little “darklet” phase realizing she’s inherited Aleksander’s grief as well as his power but I went another way with it. Boop! 😛
Warnings: Anxiety, stalking, job shenanigans, Billy wiling to protect you in every way possible.
A/N: Babes, I am having the worst day possible. I could use some love. Please, please, send something, anything my way if you have any appreciation for me. ❤
'Billy, it's what my friends call me.'
Was that what you were? Friends?
Or was it an accident?
'Right, sorry for bothering. Just curious.'
Okay, that was a good place to end.
You put your phone down, moving to grab a glass of water, but spinning back excitedly when another alert comes in.
'Don't say sorry. Or else.'
Fucking shit, was he flirting?
No way.
'Or else?' you ask.
Your heart pounds.
'Or else, I'll demand your apology in person, preferably over dinner.'
Holy fucking shit he was.
He liked you?
No, no way.
You let out an exasperated sigh.
Dammit, he was still a client.
Shit, you shouldn't.
'Sorry, Mister Russo, but I don't want to-' You begin to type it, but quickly backspace.
'Can we do it as friends?' You erase that too.
Yes, you wanted to say yes, yes sir, take me into your arms and then preferrably your bed.
Damn, you didn't know what to say.
the typing bubbles pop up, and you wait patiently.
'Let's table that conversation though, at least until our work relationship comes to an end. Yes?'
You breathe a sigh of relief.
'Yes, that sounds great.' You answer.
You move toward your window, looking over, hoping to catch sight of him.
He's there, shirtless once more, black joggers wrapped around his legs, wide shoulders and large hands.
He sips at his coffee, holding his phone up.
You look down, typing out a little message to send to him. You watch the corner of his lips pull up into a smile as he reads it.
'Happy Sunday.' Is all you'd said.
.
"Anvil accepted the proposal."
You breathe a sigh of relief.
"Good work." Andrew informs.
"Thanks, I thought I was on thin ice for a second there." You say, taking a sip of water in your relief.
Andrew nods in understanding.
"So we'll pass the project on to someone else so you can focus on other things." He says casually.
Wait, what?
He was giving the project to someone else?
"Wouldn't it be easier if I held on to it? I mean, I did all the grunt work for the assessment, I know the building better than anyone else here."
Andrew shrugs.
"It's just a building. Won't be that hard for someone else to pick up. We really need you focusing your skills elsewhere."
No room for argument.
Your shoulders drop, you nod in compliance.
You'd worked so hard, and that was it, someone else would get the credit for your work.
You were going to quit.
Maybe this was for the better, William wasn't a client to you now, maybe you could finally take him up on dinner.
You shake your head angrily, maybe he was the one who requested you be taken off. Maybe he'd only entertained the thought of you because you were a woman.
What if his only goal had been to seduce you?
You sigh, shoulders dropping as you approach your desk, noticing a couple of work documents come in.
You open them absentmindedly, sorting them into the right area on your desk, still deep in thought about what you should do.
Realistically, you should quit, if they didn't respect you now, they probably never would.
Very infuriating, maybe your place of work could use a little brushing up on ethics too.
You pull the last document from the last envelope and you frown.
This.... was a photo of you.
.
Billy was pissed.
He'd been invited in to sign contracts with your company, and discuss lead times and security protocols, and he'd just discovered that you'd been pulled from the project.
For once, he and the predator were in agreement.
He was going to raise hell.
"Unfortunately gentlemen, we have a problem."
He heard Andrew's heart pick up speed.
"What is it?"
Billy leans back in his seat.
"I'd prefer your old specialist, I've had time to watch and assess her work. She's able to answer almost any question I ask, and where she is unable, I don't have to wait long for an answer."
Andrew swallows.
"All my specialists are very much equipped to handle your questions." He protests.
Billy leans back, nods his head.
"I'm sorry, then I'm not interested in accepting your proposal," He leans forward, rises to a stand, "Pleasure doing business with you." He says, extending a hand to shake.
Andrew is sweating now, the stench of his anxiety permeates the air.
"We can come to some other arrangement, keep her on the project, so that she has time to focus on everything she needs to."
Billy hated that idea. It meant you would have to ask someone else's approval for your ideas, that someone else would be able to take credit for your hard work.
In every aspect, Billy found himself protective of you, and he wanted your complete involvement, or none at all.
"Then we don't really understand each other very much now do we?" He says, dropping his hand and turning away.
"Be reasonable, Mister Russo-"
"-I'm not being reasonable? I want the specialist that assessed the weak points in my company and drafted a plan to take lead on carrying out that plan. How is that unreasonable?"
Andrew hesitates, he swallows, the predator pulls hungrily at Billy, demanding blood, enticed by the scent of fear.
"She- she resigned a few days ago. Doesn't work here anymore."
The news shocks him, a little bit of worry snakes down his spine though he keeps himself calm.
He checks his watch absentmindedly.
"We could have saved a lot of time if you'd just told me that from the start." He nods his head at both men.
"Have fun finding someone half as good as her. Goodbye."
He turns finally, walks out of the office, smiles in satisfaction as he hears Andrew swear angrily.
He pulls his phone out of his pocket, a quick text in your direction.
'We need to talk.'
.
Except you didn't want to talk to him. You'd been hiding in your house for the last few days, ever since you'd quit your job. The photo sitting on your kitchen counter.
It was you, leaving Amy's apartment a couple of weeks ago. It had worried you, that when you'd felt like you were being watched.... you were actually being watched.
You didn't say anything, wondering if it was just a one time thing. One single photo was barely enough to go to the police with, you'd be overlooked for more important things no doubt, and worse yet, what if things got worse because you reported it?
It just wasn't a good enough risk to take, so instead, you'd rushed on quitting your job, and decided to get back into the job market.
You're studying the photo when his text comes in, you wanted to burn it, pretend it didn't happen, and move on with your life. It was just one photo after all.
You reach for your phone, reading his message, the ominous nature of it sinking into you.
You try to be professional in your response.
'Sorry, Mister Russo, but I'm not available today.' Is your response.
'I just heard you quit your job.'
'Yes?'
'Why didn't you tell me?'
You blink, you don't know how to respond to that. You were barely acquaintances, you didn't owe him anything.
'Why would I have told you?' You ask.
You can almost sense his frustration.
'Let's meet. There's a café a block away.' He follows up with a location.
'6 p.m? Yes?'
When you don't respond, his next message is just your name, you find yourself clenching involuntarily, you can almost hear his voice in your head, the casual way he demands compliance.
'Okay.' Is all you say.
You still feel like you're being watched. From the moment you step out into the street, your heart is pounding, your lungs squeeze in your chest.
Was there someone watching you right now?
Would there be another photo?
You look around, and you check your peripherals, and though nothing is amiss, you still feel watched.
It's terrifying, you stop halfway to the café, you almost turn around and run back home.
Despite being afraid of outside, you knew that you were safe inside. You'd done a full assessment of Anvil's security, after all, you knew the weak points, and though there weren't many, you're sure Billy- William would have compensated for most of them by now.
But out here, there were too many places for an assailant to be hiding. It was scary, and you were almost petrified by the thoughts. There was a stalker, or even a new serial killer, just around the corner.
You really needed to book another session with your therapist.
You sit in the back corner of the little café, a very rustic interior decor, filled with stained wood countertops and paintings made out of coffee on the faded red walls.
The sound of the coffee grinder goes off every now and then, the steamed milk foamer next, and you find yourself relaxed by the repetitive sounds. No one looks at you, spares you a glance, and there's even a comfort in that.
But he takes the air out of the room when he walks in.
Your stomach, as knotted as it is, knots even more at the sight of him, heart fluttering, begging for something you've never had before.
Dressed down, grey shirt, black jeans, you want to sit on his firm thighs if only for a moment. He's not wearing a coat, or even a jacket, despite the chill in the evening air. He probably runs hot, and you think about what that would feel like, in bed, beside you, before you come to your senses.
"Would you like something?" He asks, when he comes up to the little booth you're at, palms braced against the table, eyes glancing at the menu in explanation.
"It's on me." He says easily.
The corner of your lip rises.
"Why? Because I left my job you think I can't afford a vanilla latte?"
Something rises in him, amusement perhaps, his eyes move slowly down your body, and then back up to your eyes.
"You think you're funny, but don't worry, I'll get you your vanilla latte."
He straightens, eyes lingering on your burning face. He turns, and walks to the counter.
You gulp.
Jesus Christ.
He comes back, with a cup for you, and one for himself, and you thank him easily.
"Tell me what happened." He starts, and you look up at him, his face composed, no room for argument.
You swallow.
"They pulled me from the project."
He nods.
"And... it made me feel undervalued... overlooked."
He takes a deep breath, you can't tell what's going through his mind.
"I turned the contract down."
You blink in surprise.
"Why?"
"Because I wanted your expertise, not some idiot who would lie to me and think they're getting away with it."
You lean back, sighing.
"They're going to think we're involved."
He shakes his head.
"Because I value your opinion?"
"Do you? Or is this-" You cut yourself off, glancing away.
"Say it."
"Is this... only because you want to be involved with me?"
A long moment of silence, your heart drops. He was going to make fun of you for assuming something like that no doubt.
"It's not that. It's the way you think. It's the way I can see you thinking ten steps ahead. Most people, are too focused on the brushstrokes, when you're looking at the whole painting."
Tears spring to your eyes. You look up, blinking fast to push them away. Your throat tightens.
To be seen like this, shook you to your very core.
"Thank you, I appreciate that." You say softly, voice barely above a whisper.
No one, had ever seen you like this before.
It made you want him. You'd been thinking this entire time that he couldn't give two shits about you, when he'd been appreciating your work ethic from a distance.
Did he like you? Probably not, but that was okay, because this was a good alternative.
"I want to hire you as a consultant." He follows up, smiling at you when your eyes widen.
"Mister Russo-"
"-Billy, please."
"Mister Russo," You emphasize with a shake of your head, "this is too much."
"How is it too much?" He asks, leaning back, "You're experienced with the innerworkings of my company, you know the layout, you know the problems. Name a price, and be there on Monday."
You clap a hand over your mouth, a soft laugh of disbelief bubbling through.
"You're insane." You say, eyebrows raised, daring to speak to him in such an informal manner.
He grins, beautiful and alluring, leaning in, eyes filled with mirth.
"I know I am. It's why I'm good at what I do. Think about it."
You nod, deep in thought.
You had a couple months of rent saved up as is, you would be able to survive for a little while if you turned him down.
On the other hand, Anvil was one of the best security companies in New York. There was no safer place. Any potential stalkers would find difficulty in getting random letters to you.
Plus, he valued you, he saw your worth, had made it extremely clear.
Only a fool would turn down what he could offer- or someone extremely smitten.
"To be very clear," You say, avoiding his eyes, "You're not offering this because you're interested in sleeping with me, are you? Because if you are, then I don't want it."
.
"I'm not interested like that." He lies, feels the predator roar in anger, curling one hand into a fist in his lap to fight it.
Her safety matters most, he tells himself, job safety included.
He would protect her.
Even if it meant he couldn't touch her again.
.
You can't help looking around.
It's dark now, and you're so on edge, looking behind you, studying each alleyway you pass, the paranoia pulling at the seams of your sanity, demanding you panic.
"We're not being followed." William says calmly from beside you.
You swallow, looking over at him.
"How do you know?"
He smiles softly, gazing forward.
"Before Anvil, I served ten years in the Marines. Three tours. I know when I'm being watched."
So you were just paranoid then.
You squeeze your fists tightly, releasing the tension in your body before confessing.
"A couple of months ago, someone tried to kill me." You say to him, eyes glued to the ground.
"I'd been camping in the woods with my friends, we did it every year, this time-" The words die, you can't find the strength to speak.
"I know. Anvil runs background checks. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
You breathe a sigh of relief, you'd figured the company had looked into you. Ensuring you weren't a security threat was very important. If it wasn't being done, you would have suggested it yourself.
"Yeah, thanks. After, it's just hard to relax when I'm outside. It's hard to do anything."
He nods, deep in thought.
"It's a good thing you work for a security company then, no safer place to be."
Later, into the night, when you're fast asleep, the predator visits you in your dreams.
"I'll keep you safe," He whispers into your ear, lays a soft kiss on your cheek.
You hum in bliss, arms curling tighter around the pillow you're holding, yearning for something you could only dream of.
