The worst part was I knew she wasn’t lying. The girl was so clearly a virgin from the way she thought sex wasn’t about power to how she recoiled from a simple touch. She’d been on the verge of a nervous breakdown ten seconds ago when Amit reached for her.
As he tore open the plastic and paper around the syringe and prepared the shot, I shifted her in my embrace. Her eyes were vibrant blue, like Lake Michigan on a summer day. She drew in a deep breath through her nose as I felt the bottom of the robe moving. Her hands settled on my chest, softly clutching at my dress shirt.
“Vasilije, can you hold this?” Amit asked, pressing the bunched fabric in my hand that was at the small of her back. He needed me to hold it out of his way so he could slide his needle into the muscle of one of her cheeks. My gaze didn’t waver from hers as I gripped the plush fabric. I could see every action in her expressive eyes. The smell of alcohol filled the room as he wiped the swab over her skin and she flinched, probably at the cold.
“Small pinch,” he said.
Her pupils widened as the needle went in, but the Russian girl was deadly silent.
Plastic snapped, covering the needle, and then a Band-Aid was put in place. “All done.”
I let go of the robe, dropping it to cover her exposed skin. She’d been leaning into me for support, but as she solidified, she didn’t move away. I didn’t either.
When Amit had everything packed up in his bag, he looked at me, expecting me to usher him downstairs so he could get paid. I hesitated. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
He nodded, and left us alone. The second the door clicked shut, the tension between Oksana and me spiked so intensely, I couldn’t move. What was happening? How the hell did this girl have such an effect on me? I stood paralyzed as she inched closer, rising onto her toes. She was so close, I could smell the faint hint of the soap she’d used in the shower. Her fingers slid slowly up until she had them laced together behind my neck.
Oksana was about to kiss me, but I met her halfway and our lips collided. Her kiss was a fist wrapped in velvet. I kept my defenses down and let her deliver one blow after another. Kiss after soft, gentle kiss, lulling me in. I wouldn’t feel the damage until it was too late.
“Thank you,” she whispered against my lips. She was thanking me for stopping him.
It jolted me from my stupor, and I shoved her back. “Don’t.”
She pressed her fingertips to her kiss-swollen mouth, checking to see if my lips were still attached to hers, and when she discovered they weren’t, surprise washed over her. “Don’t kiss you,” she asked, “or don’t thank you?”
“Either.” Fuck, I needed to get out of this room where I’d lost all control. Put some distance between us and figure out how to get my shit together. My face turned to stone. “Get dressed. I don’t care what you wear as long as it’s something I bought.”
Her shoulders drew back at my abrupt change in attitude, and confusion splashed on her face, but I wasn’t going to explain myself. I turned and high-tailed it out of the room, trying to flee the uncomfortable sensation in my chest I hadn’t experienced in years.
It felt a lot like shame.
13
Oksana
I banded my arms across my stomach as my knees gave out, collapsing me to sit on the bed. There was a tinge of pain, reminding me of the injection site, but I was too mixed up to process it.
I’d kissed Vasilije twice now, and been rejected by him the same number of times.
The lunch I’d eaten churned in my belly. I’d come dangerously close to throwing up when I thought the stranger was going to touch me. I believed Vasilije when he said the man was a doctor, but it was horrifying, regardless.
I shuddered, holding myself together. I didn’t have time to sit on the edge of the bed. Aleksandar was likely still in the house, and I had to talk to him. Who knew when I’d get my next chance?
I ripped the tags off a pair of jeans and a black sweater, and yanked the clothes on. Adrenaline was still pumping through my system, along with the terrible throb that could only have come from kissing Vasilije. I hated my stupid body’s response to him. How it wanted him no matter what he said or did.
Vasilije and the doctor were in the office with the glass paneled door closed when I came down the stairs, so instantly I began to search for my reluctant partner.