Arranged Mafia Daddy

Chapter 6Sage

6

Sage

I always thought of casinos as being like bowling alleys, with cheap, overpriced food and tons of alcohol to take your mind off the fact that you’re losing. Viktor’s casino, however, is the epitome of luxury and class.

Everything is covered in either velvet, glass, enamel, or polished metal. Instead of a moldy, stale smell like I’m used to from seedy places, there’s a pleasant aroma of rose petals and leather, mixed in with cigar smoke and expensive perfumes.

I sit down on the chair Viktor has pulled out for me, feeling the coolness of the velvet cushion beneath me through my thin dress. Viktor takes the seat across from me, his foot brushing against mine as he settles in. The contact is brief but it’s enough to send a jolt of excitement through me.

My heart beats a little faster now.

A waitress in a small cocktail dress approaches our table only a moment after we’ve sat down, carrying a silver tray with two flutes of champagne on it. She sets them down in front of us, her eyes flicking between me and Viktor with a knowing smile. “Compliments of the house,” she says, pulling her words out like hot taffy before disappearing back into the crowd.

I have to wonder what she’s thinking. Obviously, she knows who Viktor is. Everyone here does, but nobody know who I am. I’m just a woman in a silky green dress with her shoulders drawn in and her eyes on her lap as the man across from her picks up his glass with the utmost confidence.

The juxtaposition suggests that I’m not merely an escort that he’s brought in for a fun night of gambling. I’m clearly not comfortable here, but I don’t know which I’d prefer.

The stress squirming around in my stomach is enough for me to reach for my glass, taking a sip of the champagne, savoring the crisp, light taste.

Viktor watches me, his gaze intense and unwavering. “Do you like it?”

“It’s delicious,” I reply, my voice a bit unsteady.

He reaches over, his fingers lightly brushing against my wrist. “Good. Tonight, I want you to enjoy yourself. Watch the games, get into the moment, and remember that this is your world now. You’re just as much part of the Bratva as I am.”

I watch his lips when he talks, unable to meet him in the eye, but somehow that makes things worse. I can practically taste the champagne on his mouth, the coolness of his lips that would arrive just before the heat of his wicked tongue.

The heat in my belly becomes much warmer, and the sweat between my thighs causes my skin to stick together. I part my legs slightly, trying to cool off, but it’s too hot in here to get cool without taking my clothes off.

A current hums through the air, the sexual tension rising as Viktor’s foot knocks against mine again. He smiles when he does it, a subtle twitch of his lips that drives me crazy. I drink the rest of my champagne without saying a word.

“Careful, the plate is hot.” The waitress is back again, laying down a white plate in front of me.

I lean back, eyeing the mouthwatering steak and roasted vegetables. It’s going to be difficult to eat something this good like a lady, considering how hungry I am.

I grab a fork, thanking the waitress as I dig into the food. Maybe it’s just the hunger, but I swear this is the best steak I’ve had in my life. I normally don’t eat out because I feel like I can make better food at home, but I’ve just been proven wrong.

As I eat, I’m acutely aware of Viktor’s presence across from me, his icy gaze burning into me. He never stops looking at me. I feel like an animal in a cage for his amusement, only he doesn’t smile that often. When he does, there’s no kindness on his face, either.

I’m eager to find a new distraction, finishing up my food quickly and dabbing my lips on the black napkin beside my plate. I look up at Viktor, my eyes moving to his mouth again. “I’m finished.”

“So I see,” he says, his voice deep and calm. “Time for a little game of roulette, perhaps.”

I nod, even though I’ve never played before. “That sounds great.”

Viktor rises, and I follow him, hiding in his large shadow as he drifts through the crowded casino. There’s twice as many people here as when we first arrived, and it only seems to be getting busier.

There aren’t any clocks anywhere, so I don’t have a clue what time it is, but it can’t be very late. If this is what it’s like in the early evening, I can only imagine how it gets later into the night.

I settle into a chair beside Viktor at the roulette table, watching a small ball spin around a circular disk in the middle. It’s marked with red and black alternating colors, and each one has a white number on it. Eventually, the ball lands on a red 32, and everyone at the table lets out a groan except for one man in a pinstripe suit. He just smiles as chips are pushed toward him by the roulette croupier.

“Take some of these and place them on your lucky number,” Viktor whispers to me, reaching into his suit jacket and retrieving a stack of plastic chips. “Any number, or if you have several, put a chip on a few of them. Whatever you like. You can also just put them on red or black. That’s close to a fifty-fifty chance.”

I take the chips from him, feeling their weight in my hand. Several people have already placed chips on the table, different colors than ours, and the croupier appears to be waiting for us.

I have no clue what to do, so I just dump all chips on black and look to Viktor for approval.

“Daring,” he says with a note of amusement.

I reach for the chips to take them off the table, but he catches my arm, pulling it away as the ball rolls loose on the wheel. It jumps over a few numbers, clattering along until it finally lands on a black number 6.

“You won,” Viktor says with a smile, putting his hand on my shoulder and squeezing it.

Sure, I’ve won, but what have I won? I have no clue how this works.

A stack of chips is pushed toward me, and I take them, feeling the weight in my hand. There are nearly twice as many as when I started.

“How much is this?” I ask Viktor.

“Well, you bet a hundred thousand dollars, so that would be double. Two-hundred thousand dollars.”

I blink a few times as I try to figure out if he’s joking. “You’re kidding me.”

“No, I’m not,” he says, taking the chips from my hand and putting them on the table again. “How about double or nothing?”

“That’s crazy!” I exclaim, but the ball is already rolling again. I watch the roulette wheel with wide eyes, taking in every millisecond as it passes by, focusing so hard on the wheel that I nearly fall over onto the table.

The ball bounces in on the number 7.

I look to see where Viktor put his chips.

Number 7.

“How much is that?” I ask, excitement building in my voice. “How much did you win? Was that double?”

“Thirty-five times two-hundred thousand, actually. I guess that’s seven million,” he replies calmly, taking the large pile of chips and moving it toward me. “You can play with these. Have fun.”

I can hardly believe it, but other people are smiling and clapping. He must’ve won a lot of money, but how can he take such an insane risk like that? Doesn’t he know that the odds are stacked against him?

But it is his casino, after all. Does it even matter if he loses?

“Do you play like this often?” I ask, sitting out the next round as the ball rolls again. I’m more interested in learning more about how Viktor functions than gambling. If I really am holding seven-million dollars’ worth of chips in my hands, why bother gambling ever again? This is more money than most people even see in their life.

Viktor’s hand finds its way to my knee, his touch light, but possessive. “I come here every now and again, but the real joy isn’t in making money. I enjoy the thrill, the possibility of losing.” He squeezes my knee, then moves his hand up my dress, touching my thigh much higher than I expected him to.

My entire body stiffens, my heart hammering in my chest so loud I can barely hear myself speak. “Do you ever really lose if you own the place?”

He shrugs, moving his hand an inch higher. His fingers burn hot against my skin, and I feel self-conscious that he’ll discover the moister building near my panties.

I swear I’m not wet for him. It’s sweat. That’s all there is.

His fingers trace slow, deliberate circles on my skin, sending more waves of heat through me.

“Viktor,” I whisper, trying to keep my voice steady. “What are you doing?”

He turns to me, his eyes dark and smoldering. “Just reminding you who you belong to.”

His words send a thrill of both fear and excitement through me. I know I should pull away, should assert my independence, but the truth is, I’m drawn to him. There’s a dangerous allure to Viktor, a magnetism that I can’t resist.

“How about we make a bet?” he suggests, finally pulling his hand away.

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “A bet? What kind of bet?”

I reach for the pile of chips, but he stops me. “Not that kind of bet,” he says. “Let’s do this… You are going to get a chance to free yourself from this mess, to restore everything back to normal. I will give your father his business and his house back. Everything he has lost will be returned to him, and that includes his daughter.”

“My freedom,” I say, knowing it’s too good to be true. “What are the other terms? What’s on the other side of your coin?”

The devil dances in his eyes as he leans forward, champagne tainting his breath. “The other side of the coin is you, darling. Your body, your soul, for eternity. I want you to have my babies, as many as I please. Are you up for the gamble?”

Gambling is what ruined my life in the first place, but I feel like the cards are stacked against me anyway. If I don’t gamble, then I still lose. I have to marry this monster, and eventually, he will claim me. I won’t be able to resist him forever.

On the other hand, my freedom is just a single bet away. Everything could go back to normal. Everything could be good again, and I can forget that Viktor ever even existed.

I take a deep breath, looking into Viktor’s icy eyes and nodding. “I’ll do it. If you want me, you’re going to have to win me.”

“That’s my girl,” he says, and something inside me dies. That little bit of reluctance I had left, that little wall that I had put up when I first met him. It’s coming down, and I already know that he’s won.

It doesn’t matter what the result of the bet is. It doesn’t matter if he loses. My body is already surrendering to him, my legs spreading as he touches me again under the table, this time, with his fingers stuffed into my panties.