Are you okay?I ask.
Viktor doesn’t even answer.Instead, he grabs a handful of my hair and tilts my head back.He kisses me hard, opening up my lips and plunging his tongue inside.I melt against him, grasping his shirt in both hands for support.He pulls my head back farther, kissing my throat and then sucking the hollow at the base of my neck.I moan softly, my irritation replaced by desire.
I know every place you need to be kissed,he murmurs.
Yes,I whisper.
No one will ever know this body like I do.His tone is almost mocking, but Viktorisa wonderful lover and I’m lucky to be with him.
Then he releases my hair and steps back.He toes off his shoes and lies on his bed.Automatically, I lie beside him, but he doesn’t put an arm around me or start anything.Instead he crosses his arms and looks up at the ceiling.
I wait, uncertain as to what I’m supposed to do.Are we going to make love?
Viktor eyes me as if he’s never seen me before.
Good news, Evie.I’m going to share something big with you: my shitty history with women.
I shake my head in confusion.You don’t have to do that.
He never mentions ex-girlfriends even though there are many.And he dislikes talking about his romantic past.
I want to.He’s smiling now, but it’s not a genuine smile.Don’t you want to know why I turned out like this?
There’s nothing wrong with the way you are.You’re a highly principled person and a great leader,I state.
He shakes his head and continues talking as if I hadn’t said a word.
Let’s start with Angelica Ford.After we broke up, she told me she was pregnant.
Shocked, I look over, but he’s staring up at the ceiling like he’s far away.
She even showed me one of those test things.She explained that despite condoms and the birth control she was on, these things could happen.She assumed that we’d get back together.His dry chuckle sounds cruel.Even though I dislike Angelica, I would never wish that problem on her.
What happened?I ask.
I told her that I would support her in whatever she chose to do, financially anyway.But we were over and her condition didn’t change that.Then after watching her down tequila shots at a party, I got suspicious.I insisted we go to the student health clinic for an official test.She actually went through with the procedure while I was in the waiting room.But on the walk back, she confessed it was all bullshit.
I don’t say anything.There’s something in Viktor’s tone that sounds like a warning.
I’ve got other stories too.A woman, who was best friends with my billet family mother back in junior hockey, got in bed with me while I was asleep and tried to have sex with me.Sure, I was big physically, but I was still a sixteen-year-old kid, for fuck’s sake.
Oh my gosh, that’s so horrible, Viktor.But now his insistence on consent is explained.Men have the right to refuse sex too.
Anyway, enough of the sob stories.All I wanted to do was set some context.His voice is even colder, and I freeze in place.
Finally, he faces me, his gaze diamond sharp.His expression is pure contempt.But of all the women who have screwed me over, you’re the worst.I told you about my fears, my doubts, my family.I trusted you, Evie.You completely took me in with your sweet and innocent act.Were you even a virgin?Or did you fake that too?
What are you talking about?I didn’t fake anything,I protest.
But you haven’t told me the truth either, my little Revenge Squad member.
A chill clutches my heart.I nod.Yes, I didn’t tell you about that.But I promised them I wouldn’t.
Even as the words leave my mouth, I recognize their feebleness.It’s not about the stupid NDA I signed, which I know was worthless, but I knew how angry Viktor would be with the other women.And I feared that he might get angry with me.I was a coward to imagine that this moment would never happen.
Did you not think that it would matter?That you were programmed to meet all my needs?Where does the real Evie even begin?
Everything that happened between us was real,I insist.Tears begin to stream down my cheeks now, but my unhappiness no longer moves him.Viktor’s coldness is painful to behold.He barely registers my emotions.
