Page 17 of Flames

Smoke rises from the seat Phoenix had been sitting in; the wood of it singed in several places. Tiny shards of sparkling glass litter the floor and table, as if his glass exploded. My eyes flit to the door where a single spark of flame flickers outside before the door closes.

Fucking pyromaniac blowing up my scene.

I shake my head in annoyance at his antics before spinning back on my stool and grabbing the bartender’s attention.

“I’ll take another Penicillin, please,” I tell him just before a dark shadow falls over me.

“Net,” Mikhael declares to the bartender. The poor kid nods quickly and shuffles away. Mikhael’s hand lands possessively on my hip, his thick fingers digging into my flesh as he leans down. The stench of his cologne is so strong I almost choke. “You’ll be coming back home with me for a drink, malen’kiy krolik.”

Something about the demand sends a shiver of unease running through me. As a street-smart woman I know to trust my instincts and they’re telling me to get the fuck away from Mikhael Zmeev. But the bet keeps replaying in my ear. It’s so much money. I could sit on the beach, drinking piña coladas, and flipping through filthy Omegaverse romances on my Kindle for weeks with this type of pay out.

“We’re leaving,” Mikhael barks in my ear before I can even respond.

I’m still warring with myself when something hard presses against my back. I’m hopeful that Mikhael is just really excited about the prospect of me coming home with him, but the unmistakable sound of the gun cocking tells me that it’s not that type of weapon stuck into my side.

“Now.” His voice is slow and deadly as his free hand comes up to grip my hair.

Sharp pain radiates through my scalp and my eyes prick with tears as he pulls me from my stool. The bartender has the decency to give me a pitying look as I’m pushed and pulled through the bar towards the back, trying desperately not to trip in my heels. No one else even so much as bats an eye as I’m manhandled through the posh cocktail lounge with a gun to my back. I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the glittering gold paneling on the walls. I look terrified.

“You’ve made a very foolish mistake, malen’kiy krolik,” Mikhael tells me as he shoves me towards the back, out of the view of the main seating area.

A back access door swings open, the metal hitting the wall with a loud crash. Immediately, the outside air floods in—the humid stench of the city filling my lungs. Maybe if we just get outside I can run and lose him in the chaos of the city…

Yeah right, I’m not running anywhere in these fucking heels.

“Dobryy vecher, Marisa Senka,” a voice coos from the darkness.

My blood turns to ice in my veins at the mention of my real name—my full name. I haven’t used or heard that name in years. I gave up my mother’s surname ages ago, after she abandoned me. Who are these men and how the fuck do they know who I am?

I’m shoved through the doorway and out into the alley beyond. The warm evening air wraps around me. From within the shadows of the dusk steps a man. He’s nearly as tall as Mikhael but leaner with piercing blue eyes and a hooked nose. He smirks and I notice he has a gold tooth.

“So nice of you to join us,” he continues as more men emerge from the shadows, completely surrounding me. All of them are dressed in dark suits and have an air of danger about them.

“Who the fuck are you?” I ask as panic begins to set in. I’m completely and utterly fucked. “And how do you know my name?”

“Oh, Marisa.” Mikhael chuckles from behind me as he approaches. I spin, trying to angle myself to keep my back away from both these dangerous men. “We know all about you.”

TEN

PHOENIX

Idid not mean to go full flamer in the middle of a swanky bar but this girl is utterly maddening. The warm night air is doing nothing to extinguish the burning embers glowing red with heat across my flesh. The blackened skin of my monstrous form is cracked, the flames below like flowing lava beneath the surface of rock. I let sparks shoot from my back, alleviating some of the building pressure within. The golden feathers of my wings glimmer in the moonlight as I glide high through the night sky where no one will notice the flaming ball of fire that is my current state.

I can usually control myself better than this. But watching Mikhael’s hand slip beneath her skirt pushed me over the edge. The monster in me roared to life, demanding I slaughter anyone that dare touch what belongs to me.

Marisa is mine.

A feral cry rumbles up from my chest and tumbles out of my lips. I can’t seem to stop the monstrous side of me from being unleashed. It’s been centuries since I felt this out of control. The problem is that I don’t just want her—I crave her, down to the very marrow of my fucking bones. The urge to completely consume her in the fiery embers of my desire is blinding. My cocks leak at the very thought of her pinned beneath me, fear and pleasure swirling through her icy irises as I slide both my members into her tight little cunt.

Sorry for dropping precum on you people below.

Another roar slips from my lips as I try to control myself. I beat the beast back down, willing him to control his feral urges so we can land somewhere and figure out our next steps. It’s clear I can’t continue with this bet. Letting her flirt with Mikhael in order to get close to him and steal the painting is not an option. Part of me had planned to let her win. But that’s absolutely not going to happen. It’s clear that I will slaughter Mikhael, ripping him into a thousand pieces and scattering his dismembered body across the world before I let him get close to her.

So Plan B it is then.

She will probably protest but the truth is that she won’t need the money. I have absolutely no intention of letting her walk away from this, from me. Soon, she will have access to my immense wealth and won’t have to play conwoman anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I would have no problem with her continuing to con sleazy men as long as they don’t touch her, or talk to her, or look at her really. Fuck, I don’t want anyone else even thinking about her.

I am utterly wrecked for this woman in the worst possible way, huh?