Loving You Is Forbidden (Third Book of "Fire and Ice" series)

CH.2 In the beast's den

I lifted weights for fifteen minutes, feeling the sweat rolling down my neck and back. I stopped to move to the other bench and do sit-ups. After a certain number of sit-ups the door of my room opened up and I didn’t need to look at that to see who was standing there. None of us said a word, as I continued in my routine and Anatoly closed the door behind him, simply leaning on it. He had of course heard about the sentence and I knew this moment would come, sooner or later. Mr. Denisov let me deal with it as I judged best and in my opinion keeping everything hidden and sealed would do no good, especially with someone like Anatoly, who was not going to give up that easily.

I felt his eyes on me and I sighed trying to understand why he had to punctually come and talk right in the middle of my exercises, but it probably was the only favorable moment. He moved to my bed and when my eyes quickly glanced at him they caught his stare. It was concentrated on a particular tattoo on my right arm, one particular ink I made when I was in the army. Anatoly shifted his gaze on me and when our eyes crossed, he rolled his and grunted something.

“Are you going to ignore me?” He asked with his usual mocking tone. I answered nothing as I knew it upset him and at the same time made him cool down. He was a contrasting person under some aspects and you had to know how to take some of his sides. “Fine, ignore me, impassive bastard.” I let that word pass, as it was one of his favorite epithets and reacting would only fuel his bratty behavior. He snorted and then pushed himself up, going to walk right beside me. “I know I am annoying you now, but I need to ask you something, but you keep ignoring me.”

I smirked at his annoyed expression and he saw it, because he grumbled something and then planted right in front of me.

“Are you going to fucking talk to me or not?”

He sure had quite the temper. I smirked another time and answered while keeping the same rhythm of the sit-ups.

“You are the one that came to my quarters without saying a word or greeting and without knocking the door. You think you can go in and out as you please?” His eyes widened a moment and then his head snapped away with an unmistakable irritated expression.

“I saw dad was back and I knew you were, too. You said I could come here and use your bench press and sacks.” I simply gave him a hard stare and he finally gave up. “Fine, I know. I should knock the door, happy?”

“It is not necessary and you know it.”

He thought about that and then nodded.

“Yeah, I know. I just want to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Will you stop exercising so we can talk normally?” He paused a moment and shook his head, and then turned around. “Sorry, we can discuss later. Right now I just clearly bother you.”

What a brat he could be sometimes; his childish manners had me almost smile in some occasions, but I wasn’t exactly someone easy at such emotions. He should have just said what he wanted straightforwardly.

“Anatoly.” I said with calm but firm voice and he stopped, knowing he had to listen to me. “Give me a moment that I complete the sequence and then we will talk. You do not bother me.” He looked at me from his shoulder and then without saying a word he sat on the bed.

“Is that the telnyashka of your unit?” He asked meaning the sleeveless undershirt I was wearing, which had horizontal white and light-blue stripes and was indeed the color of the undershirt of the special army elite I used to be in.

“Yes.”

“Dad simply said you were a Spetsnaz, but never said in which unit. Is that a tattoo you got when you were in the army?” He was looking at black bat inked on my right bicep, having the number of my brigade underneath and a parachute above while at the base three Russian letters were tattooed: ВДВ, which stood for VDV, meaning Vozdushno-Desantnye Vojska, the Russian Airborne Troops.