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With the back of his finger, he wipes my upper lip and shows me his blood is still on my mouth. Again, much to my frustration, I don't even think about hitting him for touching me. I simply get rid of the blood on my mouth by using the cold, leather sleeve of my jacket.
“Maksim's joining the party,” he says softly, his blue eyes glued to my face. “We've come to a deal.”
“A deal?” I whisper in mystification. Maksim hasn't told me of any deal. He usually tells me everything. “A deal about what?”
Charlie smiles lazily at me.I glower with confusion. His mood is different than before when we were in the living room. He seems very... I can't be sure. Satisfied, maybe?
“Your hair's longer than I thought it was.” His eyes glance over my appearance and then he reaches out for a strand of my hair; runs his fingers down it, making my scalp tickle. “It looks nice down.”
Ignoring his inane compliment and these weird vibes he's got going on, I ask, “What deal have you come to, Charlie?”
Still fondling with my hair, he stares at my mouth in total silence and my heart is suddenly pounding. I don't like that look on his face, that dark,I won,look.
“Maksim's got a hefty debt with me. He's been trying to pay it back but I don't want money. I've got enough of that.”
“Oh'kay...” I blink at him a few times. “Well, what do you want then?”
Charlie stares up at my eyes now, gazes with wicked intent, while curling that lock of hair around his finger. “You-”
I go cold on the spot.
“-And as he knows better than to refuse me, you're now mine for three months or until I get bored.” He's still speaking, still playing with my hair, but I'm not really listening.
I'm not sure how long I stand there for gawping at him until I yell,“What!?!” I push against Charlie's chest, hard enough to knock him back a step and let go of my hair. “I'm not going anywhere with you. What fucking debt are you talking about?”
I know Maksim can probably hear me shouting but right now, I don't care.
“Charlie, what debt?”
Putting the beer bottle on the side, he leans back against the fridge and crosses his arms. “We did a job together a few years back and unforeseen circumstances meant I wasn't able to collect. While I was away, Maksim spent the money without my permission, so now, I'm collecting.”
Steam blows out of my ears.
“Not through me you're not,” I hiss, my face tense with anger. “I'm going to speak with Maksim. He wouldn't barter me to pay off some debt.”
“You're not allowed to speak to him,” Charlie says in a chilled, unfazed manner. “This is part of our deal.”
“Huh?” My face scrunches up. “You can't decide that.”
Throwing his head back he bursts out laughing.
My eyes widen with insult. “What the hell are you laughing at?”
“Do you know how confusing you are?” he says once he's done laughing, wiping his watery eyes with one hand. “One minute I think you're so deeply conditioned to Maksim that there's no getting through to you, but then you're rebellious with your cocky attitude, and then you're thawing in my arms as I kiss you-”
A hot flush comes over me at the memory.
“-Now you have a chance to come with me, get away from this life for a while—if you can call this a life—” he casts a hand around the place, “but you don't want to leave?”
I don't know what to say right now so I just look at him.
“What ties you to Maksim?” His thinning eyes search my face, glittering in curiosity. “Tell me, I'm dying to know. I'm almost sure it's not just fear.” He sounds like he's taunting me, goading me into losing my cool, and I am. My blood is boiling.
“You can shout your reasons at me if you want, Blaire. No one will stop you, and I don't mind. I like how feisty you are.”
“If my reasons need explaining, you're more dense than I thought.” I twist my lips, struggling to contain the bubbling explosion going off inside me. Why would I want to leave Maksim when he's all I know? Why's that so hard to understand?
“And as forthislife,” I say, unsure of what I'm about to confess, “it's mine, and I like it just the way it is.” I head for the back doors with my hands fisted at my sides, certain he's talking bullshit. Maksim wouldn't barter me. He wouldn't.
