After returning to the building, as I barely opened the door, Lizzie ran towards me giving me a hug.
"Don't ever scare me like that again!" She said taking my hands and her eyes watered.
"Sorry" I said pulling her into a hug. Meanwhile I looked into the room where everyone was. As I crossed eyes with Yelena, she turned around giving me her back and walked away. Instinctively I went after her, leaving the rest of us behind.
As I entered my room, I saw her with one of my tequila bottles in her hand.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you that drinking in the morning is bad for you?"
"Is it forbidden? No, then leave me alone" She spoke in an aggressive tone.
"Why are you talking to me like that?"
Like what the fuck?
"What the fuck did you have in your head to put yourself at risk like that?" She dropped the bottle and addressed me.
"You wanted me to do what?! That I would just let you get shot?!" She can't be serious.
"I already told you that I don't need your protection and on top of that you put your life at risk."
"I am the leader of a mob, Yelena. I take risks every day."
"Yeah, but you are also my friend. And now that I have a friend I don't want to lose her. And if anything worse had happened to you because of me, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."
"If anything worse had happened it wouldn't be your fault, love"
"Of course it would! I would be responsible for being the person you would sacrifice yourself for. So if you want to continue this friendship you'd better watch out for yourself."
"Yelena, love, I'll try to be more careful okay?"
"I don't want to lose you..."
"And you won't okay?"
I pulled her closer giving her a kiss on the forehead and putting my arms around her.
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At lunchtime we both, mine and Keane's mob, talked about what had happened. And what came after that conversation, well, I couldn't believe it.
"From today to tomorrow there is going to be a Russian party here in one of the buildings in New York, I got two tickets to get in, already booked rooms and everything. According to our research, conversations and sources it is likely that you will get to see who the shooter was yesterday, for sure he will be there, meaning his boss too." Keane spoke handing me one of the envelopes with the note. "Now in addition I have here with me this red liquid that you will have to put in his drink, for then we will be able to get his location in full time."
"Perfect, thank you. And who's coming with me?" I asked out of pure curiosity but a voice quickly answered me.
"I will."
Natasha...what the fuck is she doing
"You're not going anywhere" My brother told her seriously.
"Yesterday you told me that I was much better than many of the men in your mafia. So I'm going" She looked at him crossing her arms and speaking to him in a cold tone.
Now I really want to see where this is going.
"I never said that" Atlas said crossing his arms as well.
"Why are you lying?" She asked him.
"I'm not, and end of discussion" He raised his voice.
"Okay, end of relationship" Natasha turned her back on him walking over to me to get the other envelope.
Damn this one I was not expecting.
"Nat-" He came over to her but before he could even touch her I stood in front of her.
"Don't."
"Get out of the way, Alex. Stay out of this."
"You heard what she said. Now leave her alone" That's what I say my brother is a complete idiot.
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"What time do we leave?" I asked Keane after I packed my bag, not a lot of clothes but a lot of guns.
"As soon as you guys are ready"
"Then we can leave now" Natasha said appearing in the room.
"Excellent, a car is waiting for you at the entrance of the building"
Natasha and I went downstairs with our bags and got into the car. Once inside I pulled the window up giving me and her more privacy to talk.
"How are you feeling?" I asked her quietly.
"I'm fine, Grey." From the moment she says Grey it is because something is not right but I am not going to push her either.
"Well, anything you want to talk about I'm here, if only to listen"
The rest of the way was silent until we reached the entrance to the place where we were going to stay and where the party was going to take place. We showed our invitations and they let us in immediately, giving us the keys to our rooms which, coincidentally or not, were next to each other.
We went up to our floor and without saying anything we entered our rooms separately.
Since there was still time before the party started I decided to take a long shower. It's been a long time since I've had one of those.
When I was already without my shirt someone knocked at the door.
"Yes?"
Natasha?
"Sorry to bother you but my shower doesn't work so I wanted to ask you if it would be a problem if I could take a shower in yours" What great timing.
"Well I was just about to take a shower but you can go first"
"We'll have to take it at the same time"
What?
"Why?"
"I heard people, as I was leaving my room to come to yours, saying that the party was going to start an hour earlier. Which means we only have 15 minutes until it starts." Fuck. "And that's no problem at all, we've both been naked around each other before."
I swear I hate my mind, because it picked up certain memories from London...
I agreed nodding my head and we both started to undress until we were completely naked in each other's presence. We walked to the shower, without saying a word, and started to wash ourselves. I just wanted to hurry up and get out of there because otherwise I couldn't stand having her there with me without me being able to do anything. As I finished washing my hair, I was about to turn to get out of the shower when Natasha turned me to her. As if nothing even needed to be said, we both ended the distance that existed between us and kissed fiercely. I grabbed her waist and leaned with one arm on the wet wall, leaving her trapped between me, the wall and our kiss. As we parted I looked at her, trying to gain awareness of what we were doing. She just ended a relationship less than an hour ago...she only kissed me because she is more needy...
"Natasha stop..." I pulled away from her and got out of the shower. I put a towel around myself and walked out of the bathroom.
It didn't even take 5 minutes for her to get out of there, but still naked....
"Tell me you don't want to kiss me, tell me you don't want to touch me, tell me you don't want to go to bed with me and I'll leave"
She's got to be kidding me
"You just got out of a relationship, you're just needy, that's all. And you're the one who said it's better if we just stay friends remember that?"
She was silent and I started to put on my party suit placing some weapons encased in my body along with the liquid. As I sat on the bed to tie my shoes, Natasha came over to me and sat on my lap.
"I can't stay away from you..." She brought her face closer and placed her hand on my face caressing it. "Please let me kiss you..."
Fuck this.
We kissed again for quite a while until I remembered the party we had to go to. Natasha got off my lap and put on her dress, which I went to get from her room because she was still naked, and my God, what a goddess....
"Are you ready yet?" I asked already opening the bedroom door.
"Only one thing left" She said approaching me. "This" Natasha gently placed her hand on my neck and brought her lips to one of the folds of my white shirt.
"Just by chance are you marking me?"
"Yes, so everyone knows that you are not alone at the party"
After that we walked out and before we walked up a few more floors to where the party was going to start going on in seconds, we intertwined our hands. Since this is a party but one where we have to wear masks Natasha and I put ours on and carefully entered.
As I was walking around the space a bit to see if I could identify the man from yesterday, a woman handed me a piece of paper that said: 'You look hot and beautiful, kotenok'.
I looked at Natasha, who had also read the paper, and her facial expression showed that she was not very happy. She turned me completely towards herself and kissed me, taking my breath away. As she moved her lips away from mine, she caressed my jaw, licking my lower lip and biting it as she moved away.
"Jealous?" I asked as she walked away through the crowd.
I headed toward the bar, where I luckily saw the man who had shot me yesterday. He was sitting with an older man next to him, who I identified immediately, it was Ivan's father....
As they talked I could understand that Ivan was not here but that big things were being planned...
Without much delay, when I saw that he had ordered another drink from the barman, I waited for my chance. As the barman turned around to take out a slice of lemon, I took advantage and poured the liquid, without anyone noticing, into the glass, giving it a quick stir so as not to be noticed.
I walked over to one of the windows and stood admiring the view.
"I see you've already made it" Natasha said appearing beside me.
"Yeah, I guess we have the night to ourselves now" I told her stretching out my hand. "Do you dance?"
"Sure" She said placing her hand in mine.
We walked to the center where some people were dancing and when we got into position I had two beautiful green eyes staring at me, our mouths just a few millimeters apart. It felt like time had stopped.
When we finished dancing we walked around the place quietly until a man disturbed us.
"Hello kitties are you alone? Need some company" He said and as soon as he touched Natasha I pulled out one of my guns and shot him in the head.
"That was hot" She said pulling me to her. I leaned her against one of the walls kissing her. Her hands on my neck and one of mine on her waist and the other holding her leg that was at my waist.
"Hey you two!" A man said approaching us.
Natasha didn't even give him time to say anything else. Without stopping kissing me she removed the gun from her thigh, that I was holding, and fired at the man.
"Now that was hot" I said biting her lower lip.
"I know, baby. Well, since we have the night to ourselves we could go to your room..."
Does she think I'm going to give myself to her that easy?
"I assure you that's not how you're going to get me into bed, baby girl. If you need me I'll be in the playroom" I said walking away and making my way to the playroom.
When I got there I started playing pool, however alone as no one else was in there. Which I also appreciate because silence is always good.
"Can I play with you?"
Why did I have to speak and why did Natasha have to use her seductive voice? God damn it.
"Sure..." She's up to something....
She picked up a bat and crouched down, positioning herself in front of me. Her ass rested against me.
"You're playing with fire Natasha"
She turned to face me and pulled me to herself.
"I know and I'm loving it, just like you baby..."
That's enough.
I turned her around again and crouched her to the position she had been in before but now with her whole body against the pool table. I also crouched down pressing my body against hers.
"You want to play? Then let's play, but not here."
We quickly went to the elevator and pressed the number of our floor. We barely got out and started kissing. With some dexterity I opened the door to my room, while kissing Natasha, and it was quickly closed as we barely took a step into the room.
"What do you want, Natasha?" I asked against her mouth.
"I want you, I want you to make me yours."
Her words were enough for me.
Slowly, without taking my eyes off her, I began to remove her dress, her mask and then her underwear.
"You are so beautiful..." I breathed. She lowered her head, aware that I was watching her. I took my hand to her chin and gently pulled it up. Making her meet my gaze with her own. "Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise, because it's a lie. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. With or without clothes, it doesn't matter."
"Tell me...how is it that someone so cold and calculating, can be so loving and caring at the same time?"
"By the right people? It's worth being vulnerable."
Then her hands found my face and calmly pulled me to her lips.
"Can we just lie naked on the bed and sleep?" She asked with her lips still brushing mine.
"Sure" I said removing my suit and underwear.
Both naked we kissed until we fell into bed. We wrapped each other with the blankets and she lay on top of me, automatically making my hands wrap around her.
"Is this how you want me to make you mine?" I asked playfully.
"This is enough...you respected what I wanted without question, that's everything to me. You could want simply sex but I already learned that that's not you. That's not who Alex Grey is. At least not my Alex Grey..." Listening her words I just stroked her face and sighed in reassurance as I realized that she knew as well as I did that I was not and never will be like my brother. "What's going to happen to us, Alex?" Natasha asked caressing my skin.
"Us...? You said there wasn't and never has been any us."
"Right...never mind about that. Let's just go to sleep. Good night, Alex..."
"Good night, Natasha..."