Morozov

Chapter 9

I got out of the car and rushed toward the front door since I didn't plan on getting completely soaked. However, Jack had other plans.

Before I even made it to the steps, I felt a strong hand gripping my waist and yanking me back. I yelped in shock when his other hand wrapped around my throat, cutting off my air supply. My back was pressed against his chest, his hands wrapped around me, giving me no space to move.

"Tell me, have you been lying to me, Niveen Morozov?" his deep voice reached my ears. My mouth dried, making me swallow but it did nothing to soothe my sore throat. "I-" He tightened his grip, cutting me off. "You'll only make it worse, keep that in mind."

Heavy raindrops collided with my body aggressively and thunder roared in the distance, sounding almost as threatening as Jack's tone. Almost. My clothes stuck to my body like a second skin and my white long sleeve was completely see through, causing my bra to be full on display. I knew Jack saw me like that before. But I was drunk back then. Right now, I was as sober as one could possibly be. And I felt majorly embarrassed.

"Jack the rain-" "Tell me. The. Truth." he demanded again and I knew this was the last time before there would be consequences. "My father did train me," I answered truthfully. "Just not good enough."
Jack nodded, loosening his grip on my throat just slightly so I could breathe properly again. "Then let's find out just how good you really are."

Before I could react, he turned me around and I stumbled against his chest. I didn't have much time to regain my balance before he took a swing, aiming for my face. I ducked just in time to dodge his attempt, followed by a second one I couldn't see quickly enough.

His fist collided with my jaw, landing a perfectly punctured upper cut and making me fall back.
My back collided with the hard cement. Luckily, my head didn't hit the ground. He tried to get on top of me but I landed a kick into his chest and a second one into his stomach.

The water collecting on the ground soaked into my shirt, making it stick to me uncomfortably. I got up quickly just in time for him to catch his steps. A chuckle left his throat. "That wasn't too bad, huh?" Lowering my hands, just as he did, I let out a relieved breath, thinking this was over.

Pathetic.

Jack suddenly charged at me, pushing me so hard that I stumbled and fell again. I mentally prepared for the next flash of pain convulsing through my spine but it never happened. Instead, I felt a strong hand grab the back of my neck mere inches from the floor, stopping me mid-fall.

Jack got on top of me before I could get up, grabbing my wrists and pinning me on the ground. His position forced my legs to part.

"Jack stop it," I yelled through the strong storm ripping through the air. "That was cheating!" "Your opponent won't play fair, either," he countered. "That was more than predictable."

"You have two options," he started, effortlessly making it impossible for me to free myself despite my attempts. "You either try to free yourself and admit that you're not good or you keep on lying to me. If you choose the first one, I'll help you train and improve your skills. We'll play our little game, save your sister and you, and everything will be fine. However, if you choose the latter, I'll cut off all contact and you'll be on your own. Is that clear?"

A slight sting pierced through my heart at his last threat. I stopped fighting him at that point, accepting that it was no use and I had absolutely no chance against him. He was way too big and way too strong.

His blue eyes bored into mine, his body mere inches from mine. I should have been cold but the heat radiating off of him and the fire burning deep in the pit of my stomach made it impossible for me to freeze.
I swallowed again, the sting in my wrists getting worse with every second that passed. I'll be damned of that didn't cause any bruising.

"Choose," he demanded when I just looked him in the eyes, not saying a thing. I licked my lips in an attempt to wet them, even if the rain did that for me already. His eyes flicked down to them before they settled there for a few seconds. Honestly, I was glad that I was lying on the floor already because I was sure I would have been anyways, hadn't Jack already pinned me to the ground because my knees were more jelly than actual jelly.

Everything about me felt like jelly. My face was hot and I didn't know whether it was from my arousal or because I was catching a fever right then and there. Hoping my face wasn't redder than a tomato, I opened my mouth to speak. But then something else came to my mind.

You either try to free yourself and admit that you're not good or you keep lying to yourself. Try to free yourself.

Catching him off guard, I brung my head up and banged it against his nose. He backed off slightly, gasping and holding his nose with one hand. The shock and surprise were written on his face. That was my cue.

I used all my strength to roll him off me and get on top myself. Now, I was the one sitting on him with both legs at his sides, pinning him to the floor.
Blood was dripping from his nose, leaving a trail of red in its sake as it made its way down toward his hairline. The raindrops from above spread it even wider, turning it into a light red instead.
My wet, now slightly wavy, brown hair was hanging down at both sides of my face, tangled into knots at some parts.

"That was more than predictable," I threw his own words back at him with a smug smile, making him smirk. To my surprise, he didn't push me off him. Instead, this turned into a game of 'let me do something unpredictable'. And that was a big mistake.

His hands slid up my outer thighs, ending up just above my hips. They were so large, he was able to grab them and almost reach around to the fingers of his other hand. I looked down at them, panic rising in me as I supported myself on his shoulders. When I looked back into his face, he was wearing that exact same, proud smile he stole from me just a second ago.

One hand went further, until it reached the back of my neck by which he pulled me down. Our faces were gaping by inches. My gaze shifted down to his lips and all I wanted to do was unite them with mine but I knew I couldn't. I knew it would ruin everything we had and everything we didn't. I was way too young now but in a few years, that would be different. A few years from then, our age gap wouldn't completely ruin everything and maybe then, he would see me as a lover instead of whatever this was.

"Then why don't you do the thing that's even more predictable now?" he muttered, staring straight into my soul through hooded eyes. My heart jumped. Was he asking me to kiss him?

Before I could answer, a phone started ringing. I looked down to where it was coming from and we probably wouldn't even have noticed it due to the loud rain if it weren't for the vibrations in Jacks pocket.

We locked eyes for a second again before I got up and he grabbed his phone. "Shit," he said, getting up as well and rushing into the house. I followed him, curious of who that was.

Jack
"What a wonder," I greeted my brother when we were inside. "I thought you deleted my number?" "It's me," a female voice said on the other end of the line. This wasn't Ace, it was Mallory.
My face dropped and I had to wrap my head around it for a second. Why, out of all people, was she the one calling me? And why did she use Ace's phone? Did something happen to him?

"Jack?" "What's wrong?" I asked, a sudden feeling that I couldn't quite define overcoming me. It couldn't be worry. Why would I worry about him?
She asked me whether I dealt with the Ivanov's before, which confused me. Ace obviously didn't tell her about me but you'd think she'd still know that, considering my reputation.

After describing Nadia to her and confirming that she was the woman who attacked her at the lake, Mallory ended the phone call without a word or explanation as to what exactly it was that she discovered and why exactly she needed confirmation of this. I thought Ace had good spies. But apparently, they seemed not good enough.

I offered Niveen dry clothing from me after she took a shower. We talked a little and discussed some parts of our plan that we originally wanted to discuss in the park.
Neither of us talked about the sexual tension between us from the moment I attacked her, but we for sure both fucking felt it.

This girl was going to be the death of me.