Page 95 of Untamed Beast
“This is her?” he asks Vera.
“The one and only Natalia Zhukova.”
“Of course.” He takes my hand and leads me straight behind the bar, which is illuminated with aqua-blue lights. “They said you were a stunner, but I guess they underestimated. No wonder Leks has been keeping you locked up in a tower. Whatever you want, it’s all free for you, baby. A friend of Vera’s is a friend of mine.”
“You work here?”
He shrugs. “Used to. Long story. They still let me behind the bar, though, so it’s more of a free supply of drinks these days.”
Danyl walks me through his best vodkas, pouring meshots and giving me in-depth reviews of the tasting notes. They all taste like vodka to me.
A balding man slides a bright pink cocktail in my direction while Danyl pours me a drink.
Danyl slides the cocktail back across the bar.
“She doesn’t need it, she drinks here for free. And want to know a secret?” The man, still staring at me, leans in. Danyl places his hands on either side of the guy’s face swivels his head so he’s facing Leks and Yuri, who loom at the edge of the bar like a wall of muscle. “That’s her husband.”
His face drains of all color. He slides Danyl a $50 note and hurries away with the pink cocktail still in his hand.
Danyl and Vera burst into laughter. “They’re not going to…? I mean, nothing happened.”
“Oh, no, he didn’t try anything, babe. Some idiot will, though.”
He hands me a glass of the vodka that he insists is best, and then we head onto the dance floor. I feel Leks's gaze on me, watchful and intense, but him and Yuri stay a certain distance away. It’s like they’re our security detail.
I think they’re going to have an uneventful night, hoping that might mean Leks will just have to join me on the dance floor, but the club gets steadily more crowded.
When we go for our next round of drinks, it’s hard to move through the crowds to the bar.
“Can I buy you a drink?” A beefy guy with a pencil mustache stops me with a clammy hand on my waist.
I spin around, confused. He didn’t even say hello.
“No, I’m okay, thanks.” I give him a polite smile and push hishand off me.
“Frigid bitch,” he says before storming away.
Vera and I look at each other, then over at Yuri and Leks, whose faces light up like they’ve just won the fucking lottery. They follow the guy, then walk him outside. When they come back in, they both have massive grins on their faces. The guy does not return.
The next time, it’s a guy grinding behind Vera who keeps making explicit gestures with his hands. Another asshole calls Danyl a slur. It’s like we cannot dance in a group without being surrounded by men who have no manners.
Yet Leks and Yuri operate as a kind of protective force field. They have developed a system that sees the men taken away before they can even touch us. I think they’re taking turns. They’re like wolves hunting in a pack.
At some point, I stop even noticing the men. I’m having too much of a good time with Vera and Danyl.
As the night rolls on, I’m left craving only one thing: Leks. Wordlessly, not caring enough to state my case and pretty sure that him and Yuri have had enough excitement for one night, I take his hand and lead him right into the center of the crowd.
The ink and blood covering his knuckles make my skin whisper with excitement.
It’s silly that some primitive part of my brain likes the fact that he’s been fighting. When I’m sober, I disapprove. Right now I don’t have it in me to be concerned. Not as his hands slide down to my waist and make me forget all my reasonable qualms about violence.
There’s a whoop from someone behind us in the crowd, followed by a catcall. At first, I think Leks will be jealous.Then his hand tighten on me and he pulls me closer, and I realize that as long as we’re together, he doesn’t care.
We’re in the middle of a crowded dance floor, the bass heavy in my ears, but it feels intimate. The pulsing lights don’t bother me; I couldn’t care less about the music. All my attention is on the way Leks's eyes flash in the dark with something that feels like possession.
His lips come down to mine with crushing force and I let out a moan that nobody can hear. This part of clubbing, I like. This moment where it’s just us, surrounded by people, but together.
I can feel his every touch through the lace panels of my bodysuit, the heat of his fingers as he traces patterns on my skin. He drops his mouth to my neck and my head rolls back in pleasure, my eyes fluttering shut. This feels far too intense for where we are, for how many people can see us, but Leks makes it the only possible response as he carves a path from my jaw down to my breasts.
