The waiters bring soup and salad out, and I realize that my appetite has all but disappeared. Brit, on the other hand, looks like she’s having a blast. She reaches for a grape on the cheese board and pops it into her mouth.
She chews slowly, sensually, her eyes never leaving mine. Imagine this is Leo in my mouth, she’s saying.
The moment the thought crystallizes, I see it unfold in my mind’s eye. I picture Brit getting on her knees in front of Leo. I see her unzipping his pants and pulling out his dick. I see his head tilt back as she takes him between those perfectly plump lips and sucks him off with all the confidence and power that I can never seem to muster.
I only snap out of the waking nightmare when Brit cranes her neck towards Leo and bends her lips to his ear. She whispers something to him.
There’s an ease in their body language that makes me feel queasy. Maybe it’s a good thing I haven’t eaten since yesterday.
Leo’s eyes snap to Brit’s. He looks… annoyed? At least, I think he does. But that may just be wishful thinking on my part.
He says something to her. I don’t catch the words, but his tone is harsh and commanding. Brit just laughs, though, and turns back to me.
“Something you probably don’t know about Leo,” she says. “He’s funny. He just doesn’t mean to be.”
I bite down on my tongue and choose to stare at the cheese plate in front of me. I’m desperately craving alcohol. There’s wine on the table, but I already know I’m going to need something stronger.
“Can I feed you something, Mr. Solovev?” Brit murmurs.
She doesn’t wait for him to answer. Instead, she plucks a strawberry from the cheeseboard, takes a bite, and then offers the rest to Leo.
That feeling in my chest is growing. It’s cold at first, but it’s the kind of cold that burns, makes it harder and harder for me to breathe.
A phrase comes floating up from the recesses of my memory.
If someone is in your way, remove them. Anya’s words, spoken to me in the midst of an endless training session, when my muscles burned and all I wanted was to quit.
If someone is in your way, remove them. Anya’s philosophy, shown to me in every single thing she’s done since the day I was born to her. I was in her way back then, so I was removed. That should have given me a new lease on life. But it didn’t. It just meant that one day, she’d come back and claim me. And she’s done exactly that.
If someone is in your way, remove them. Brit is in my way now, and I want her the fuck out of here. I can imagine it so perfectly. The sight of my fist, burying itself in her face. All that red blood on all that blonde hair.
“I’m not hungry,” I mutter, pushing my chair back. “Excuse me.”
“What’s wrong, honey?” Brit asks innocently. “Something the matter?”
“Don’t call me honey,” I say, my tone dripping poison.
She smirks and glances at Leo. “It would seem your precious little wife is jealous.”
Leo looks right at me, his eyes sharp and filled with fire. “No. Not possible. She can’t be jealous. She’d have to care to be jealous. Isn’t that right, Willow?”
This is his payback for what I said in the room this morning. For claiming I don’t love him. For throwing my hatred of him in his face. This is punishment for that.
“Fuck you,” I hiss. “Fuck you both.”
I twist around and head towards the stairs.
“Wait.”
I hate myself for stopping, but his voice sends a current straight through my body. I glance at him—at them, rather.
“My room. Not yours.”
I narrow my eyes and shake my head. The moment I do, I realize my mistake. He snaps his fingers and two guards materialize out of nowhere.
They drag me up the stairs to Leo’s room.
I struggle, but I don’t scream. This is humiliating enough without me adding fuel to the flames. I can feel her eyes on me the entire time.
She’s laughing at me.
And as she does, the thought runs through my head one more time. With all the violence and fire that my mother infused in it.
If someone is in your way…
Remove them.
16
LEO
“Get off.”
With a laugh, Ariel gets off my lap and retakes the chair opposite me. She crosses her legs and reaches for the wine. “You have to admit, that was fun.” She swirls the wine in the deep glass and takes a long sip, then swallows, sighs, and smacks her lips as though she’s finally found the relief she was craving.