ChapterEleven
Lev
Nothing makes me cringe more than the thought of taking Alex to homecoming. It’s not that being close to her makes me weak in the knees, that her coconut shampoo stains my thoughts, or that the way her pussy squeezed my fingers made me so hard I thought I would pass out from all the blood rushing to my cock.
No.
It’s the fact that she looked at me while she came. As if I was supposed to do something about it. As if I could have done anything about it.
Right. Like I really care about what she feels.
My left shoulder twitches. It’s like I feel her before I see her, features glimmering with the kind of hope that makes me furious. Why does she look at me like that? I’ve given her every reason to hate me. Which should theoretically keep her from wanting to marry me.
I take a deep breath and turn, meeting her gaze from across the hallway. When I beckon her over, she obeys immediately, making my heart skip a beat. She steps forward, avoiding my eyes while tucking a loose lock of dark hair behind her ear. “Hey, Lev.”
“I can’t take you to Homecoming.” Her eyes lock on mine. “You’ll have to ask Soren.”
“But I—”
I spot Soren in the crowd of students and whistle, catching his attention easily. His blue eyes brighten when he approaches, his gaze hooked on Alex’s ass while he says, “Well, hello, Ms. Alex.”
“Go on,” I tell her in a low voice. “Ask him.”
Soren leans casually against the lockers. “Ask me what?”
“I…” Alex rubs her arm sheepishly. “Will you go to Homecoming with me?”
“Shit, I’d be delighted to go with you.” His grin grows wicked the more Alex shuffles from one foot to the other. “I’ll send you my tux colors. Match me?”
She gazes up at him, brows furrowed slightly with worry. And I don’t blame her. Soren’s mood can flip on a fucking dime. We’re lucky we caught him in a good mood—for this hour, anyway.
“Sure,” she says. “Meet me at the front doors around seven.”
“You got it, sweet stuff.”
I watch her wander away, feeling a pit sink into my gut. If I don’t care, then why the hell am I feeling so much?
***
The bedsheets stick to my sweaty cheek as I bow toward my knees, fisting my aching cock. All I can smell is coconut—that fucking shampoo hasn’t left my nostrils all goddamn afternoon—and it’s been driving me nuts. Just thinking about her makes me hard, and I hate how weak that makes me feel. My eyelids flutter when I recall her face last week, how surrender came unbidden and swept her away as she came on Soren’s fingers.
Fierce disappointment fights sheer desire, the two battling it out in my gut as my hips flick forward in short thrusts. Alex with her mouth wide open, lips glistening with drool, eyes looking up at me while her hand wraps around my… Hot cum splatters my fingers as I fold into a ball, burying my moan into my pillow.
I’m just about to bask in the afterglow of a much-needed nut when a series of knocks shakes me from the mattress. “Hang on!” I shout as I run to the bathroom to clean up. “Just a minute. I said, hang on.”
A few minutes later, I’m sitting on a chaise lounge near the window with my hands planted on my knees as my father paces the carpet in front of me. “It’s simply laziness,” he sighs. “That must be why you don’t want to join the family business.”
“It doesn’t interest me.”
“Doesn’t interest—” He leers at me like I’ve just sprouted two heads. “You must have hit your head while you were overseas with your grandmother. I mean, just look at your brother. Mikhail is a hard worker who is dedicated to this business. He understands that family and honor come above all else.”
That’s what happens when you get indoctrinated. Resignation infects me as my father continues to highlight all of my younger brother’s greatest qualities. It’s clear he won’t give me any other options. I mean, did I ever have any to begin with?
“I’ll marry Alex,” I relent. “You know, as part of the contract.”
His shoulders sag as though a great weight has been lifted from them. “You take her and you make her one of us, Lev.”
“Yes, Dad.”