Saved by the Alien Crime Boss (Aliens Among Us #4)

Chapter 11

ELEVEN

Answer him? Answer about what?

Mina couldn’t think. Her heart was racing, and her belly was aflutter.

Viktor was thinking about me.

And he’d looked like he’d been about to kiss her.

Kiss me . Please kiss me.

She wanted to feel his mouth on hers again so badly it hurt. Wanted to feel the press of his body against hers, to feel those arms around her, to feel the strength of his hands as he held her tight.

But instead of pulling her close, he’d let her go, breaking that contact and turning the small distance separating them into an insurmountable barrier.

My birthday. Viktor wants to know how to celebrate my birthday. Right.

Mina took another drink of champagne, this one much deeper despite her advice to him. The carbonation tickled her mouth as the sweet, cool liquid ran down her throat.

It did nothing to stave off the desire simmering in her belly.

She clutched the mug more firmly to keep her hands from trembling.

When it came to Viktor, she was too weak to resist.

Birthday, Mina. Focus.

Walking around the table, she set her mug down and opened her tote bag. “I, uh, noticed you didn’t have a TV the last time I was here.” She withdrew her tablet. “The screen isn’t very big, but I thought we could maybe watch a movie together?”

His silver eyes, almost as unsettling as they were alluring, followed her movements intently. “That’s the celebration? Watching a movie?”

“It can be anything. Sometimes parents throw big parties for their kids, with games followed by cake and presents. I never had anything big though. Just a few friends over for sleepovers where we always tried to stay awake all night. But after my dad died…”

Mina carefully laid the tablet on the table. “I…didn’t have many friends after we lost him. So birthdays were just me, my mom, and Randy. Every year, they baked me a cake and cooked my favorite dinner. After we ate, we’d each take a slice of cake into the living room with some popcorn and watch a movie. But now…” She dragged the cardboard box closer and opened it, looking down at the cake and the sad looking, slightly melted candle on top. “Now it’s just me.”

Viktor placed his mug on the table and stepped up beside Mina. His scent enveloped her, and heat radiated from him, beckoning her closer. It was all she could do not to press herself against him.

“Now it’s us.” He leaned forward to study the cake. A long lock of his black hair fell over his shoulder, brushing the tabletop. “Why is there a candle sticking out of it?”

“Another tradition. You light the candles, and the birthday person makes a wish and blows them out.”

He shifted his gaze to Mina. How could his eyes be equally piercing and curious, as though he could see right through her but didn’t understand what he saw?

His eyes narrowed. “You already did so.”

Mina ducked her head, an embarrassed blush creeping over her skin. “I did before I came.”

His attention lingered on her a little longer. Then, wordlessly, he walked to the counter, opened a drawer, and returned with a lighter. He flicked it on. The tiny flame sparked to life, and he touched it to the candle’s wick. When he withdrew the lighter, the candle was burning.

“New celebration,” Viktor said. “New wish.”

Mina looked up at him in surprise as warmth flooded her chest and tears burned her eyes. When she’d shown up at his door earlier, he would’ve had every right to turn her away. She’d come uninvited, had barged into his home, and had thrust her birthday woes onto him.

But Viktor hadn’t turned her away. In his own way, he was comforting her, he was listening to her, he was doing these little things to make her happy. He had no obligation to Mina, yet he’d already done so much for her.

And here he was, doing even more.

Mina curled her fingers into her palms and pressed them against the tabletop as she stared down at the flame.

A new celebration. A new wish.

But Mina didn’t want to make a new wish. What she wanted was still the same. Except now, she yearned even harder, with every part of herself, for it to come true.

I wish Viktor was mine.

Mina blew out the candle.

Please, please, please make him mine.

The wick glowed orange as smoke curled from it.

“You didn’t make a wish,” Viktor said.

Mina smiled at him. “I did.”

His brow furrowed. “What was it?”

“I can’t tell you or it won’t come true.”

Viktor leaned closer, positioning his mouth beside her ear. His breath stirred her hair and tickled her skin as he whispered, “How can I make it come true if you won’t tell me?”

Mina’s heart quickened, and heat flared in her core. The air felt electrified. Viktor was so close, and his presence was overwhelming, dangerous, sensual. He was a predator, and she was his prey. But she’d never once felt as though he were a threat to her; she had no impulse to run.

She turned her face toward him and met his gaze. Their mouths were only a breath away. Softly, she replied, “Maybe I’ll tell you later.”

Viktor smirked. He lifted a hand and, slowly, teasingly, swept back the loose strands of hair from her face. His nails—which she swore still felt like claws—grazed Mina’s sensitive skin as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

Mina shivered, wanting more. She wanted to feel those nails trail down her neck, over her shoulder, wanted them to follow the curve of her breast to the peak of her nipple, wanted them to rake down her belly and up her thighs…

“I look forward to it,” he purred.

Kiss me .

His eyes dipped as though in response to her thought, and his smirk took on a rakish slant. Just as she was about to lean forward, to take the initiative and bridge that gap between them, Viktor withdrew.

Mina swayed on her feet at the abruptness of his departure; he’d moved so quickly that it was like the space he’d left behind almost sucked her in. She blinked as he walked to the cupboards. Heat crept over her face.

Did he know that she was trying to kiss him? Had he purposely pulled away to prevent it? Or had that moment just been in her head, entirely one-sided?

I look forward to it.

No. The way he’d said those words, the way he’d been looking at her… It definitely hadn’t been one-sided. She’d felt his passion when he’d kissed her in the café, so why would he pull away now?

Mina picked up her mug and took another hearty drink of champagne as utensils rattled behind her. Once the cup was drained, she set it down and refilled it.

“We’re supposed to eat the cake, yes?” he asked, drawing her attention to him. He stood beside the counter with plates in one hand and forks and a knife in the other.

But Mina’s gaze moved past those hands, taking in his broad shoulders and bare chest before straying down his chiseled, oh-so-lickable abs to the teasing V of his adonis belt, which disappeared under the waistband of his low-slung gray sweatpants.

Because of course he was wearing nothing but gray sweatpants.

Is that drool Mina?

Maybe.

Viktor stepped toward her with a chuckle, his movements bearing all the effortless grace and power of a stalking tiger. “Mina?”

She snapped her gaze back up to his. There was a knowing, mischievous glint in his eyes, tinged with a spark of hunger.

And she was sure it wasn’t for cake.

“Uh, yes. We’re supposed to eat,” Mina said, quickly facing the table. “The cake, I mean. We’re supposed to eat the cake.”

Well, what else were you going to eat?

No! No. Don’t answer that, Mina. Don’t you dare.

As she lowered the front of the box to better access the cake, she most definitely was not thinking about how much she would’ve preferred a bite of him. She wanted to run her tongue over every delicious, ridged muscle.

Viktor stopped next to her and arranged the plates and utensils on the table. Her skin prickled with awareness. He was so close that she could once more feel his body heat, and her every breath was infused with his spicy scent. Her core clenched, as much in reaction to his nearness as to the path her thoughts had taken.

“So what kind of movies do you like?” she asked, picking up the knife and cutting into the chocolate and raspberry confection, struggling to ignore what his proximity was doing to her.

“I don’t know.”

Mina arched a brow after placing the first slice of cake on a plate. “You don’t know?”

He offered a shallow nod. “Don’t watch many movies.”

Considering how many people were glued to screens all the time, his answer should’ve been surprising. But again, Mina hadn’t seen a television in his house, and now that she thought about it, she’d never seen him with a phone. That was odd. Who didn’t have a cell phone these days?

She glanced around the kitchen. There was a phone jack on the wall near the counter, but nothing was plugged in to it.

Did he really have no phone at all?

Yet another thing that should’ve concerned her, except…it didn’t. Whatever he had been in the past, whatever he had done, she knew in her soul that he wouldn’t hurt her. And that probably should’ve scared her too.

Mina’s brow pinched as she plated a second slice of cake and handed it to Viktor. “Do…you even have Wi-Fi?”

He held the plate on his palm, studying the cake as though he’d never seen anything like it before. “No.”

“Okay then. The movie idea is out.” She slipped onto her chair and picked up her fork. “Maybe we could…play a game?” Mina took a bite of the cake and nearly moaned. The bold, decadent dark chocolate was complimented perfectly by the sweet raspberry filling.

Viktor put down his plate, pulled out his own chair, and sat down, keeping his eyes on her all the while. “A game?”

“It’s called ‘Never Have I Ever'. It’s a fun way to get to know someone. I would say something like, ‘never have I ever built a snowman.’ Each person who’s done that thing takes a drink, and anyone who hasn’t doesn’t drink. So, for the snowman, I’d take a sip. And you would…”

“What’s a snowman?”

Mina gaped at him. “You’ve never built a snowman? It’s when you roll out big balls of snow, stack them on top of each other, and then use sticks and rocks to— You know what, when the storm passes, I’ll just show you.”

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as he studied her. He seemed intrigued, but it was impossible to tell with him. “How do you win?”

“There’s not really a winner.”

“Games have winners and losers. Life has winners and losers.”

“Some games are just for fun. There doesn’t always have to be a winner.” She gave him a droll look. “You do know how to have fun, don’t you?”

The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Never have I ever had fun.”

Without breaking eye contact, he lifted his mug and drank.

Mina laughed and took a sip from her own mug. The champagne went perfectly with the chocolate cake. “You’ll have to show me just how fun you can be.”

“Ah, val’syra ,” Viktor purred, “you have no idea what you’re asking for.”

Those words, combined with the deep rumble in his voice, flooded Mina with heat. She tried to keep her hand steady as she set her cup down, but there was definitely a noticeable tremor in it. She hadn’t realized how easily her words could be twisted, how wickedly he could interpret them, and now she was wondering what sort of fun he intended to have with her.

“What…what does val’syra mean?” she asked.

Viktor picked up his fork and used it to break off a chunk of cake. “It means I like you, Mina. Despite all your questions.”

She could only watch as he brought the fork to his mouth and slipped the bite between his sensual lips. And the whole time, he watched her right back, his silver eyes blazing.

He withdrew the fork and abruptly broke eye contact with her, turning his face down. The muscles of his jaw worked as he slowly chewed, and the cords of his neck briefly stood out.

“Are you okay?” she asked, leaning toward him.

Raising a hand to ward her from moving any closer, Viktor nodded and grated, “Fine.”

With a frown, she eased back, dropping a hand to her lap to grasp the fabric of her skirt. “Do you not like the cake?”

“It’s…” Viktor swallowed thickly and ran his tongue across his teeth, giving his head a shake before raising it again. “Sweet. Very, very sweet.”

“Oh! I’m sorry. You don’t have to?—”

“You like it?”

“Yes.”

“Then don’t apologize,” he said firmly. “My taste is my problem, not yours.”

Mina looked down, absently brushing aside some of the crumbs on her plate with the tines of her fork. “So you’re just…not big on sweet?”

Viktor’s chair creaked, calling her attention to him again. He’d leaned back, and now sat with one arm casually propped on the table, the other resting on his thigh, and his head cocked to the side. His gaze roamed over her slowly. It was so hungry, so intense, that she suddenly felt as though the table didn’t shield her from it at all.

Voice low, raspy, sultry, he said, “I prefer a different kind of sweet, val’syra .”

She pressed her thighs together. Viktor’s words flowed right into her, coiling with that desirous ache at her core.

“Now”—he tapped his fingers on the table—“it’s your turn.”

Her turn? Her turn for…

Oh. Right.

She could already feel the effects of the alcohol; she’d forgotten how quickly champagne usually hit her, especially since she rarely drank.

“Never have I ever…” Mina flicked her gaze to the ceiling before returning it to him. “Stolen something.”

Viktor plucked up his mug and took a slow sip. She couldn’t say she was surprised. Theft was nothing compared to the other things he’d probably done.

Holding his gaze, Mina reached for her own mug and took a drink.

He smirked. “Innocent Mina committed a crime?”

“I was fourteen,” she exclaimed with a laugh. “And it was one time.”

Mina sat back and ran her hand through her hair, wincing when one of her fingers snagged on a curl. She wrinkled her nose as she withdrew her hand. “My mom asked me to pick up a few things from the grocery store after school. We only had so much money, and I knew I couldn’t stray from the list she’d made. I walked by this little rotating stand that had a bunch of CDs. They had Lady Gaga. I loved her music, but it wasn’t something we could afford to get.

“I knew it was wrong. Even as I slipped the CD into my bag, I had this horrible feeling that I was committing the worst crime. I hurried away from the stand and grabbed the rest of the items on the list for my mom, knowing that at any moment, the police were going to show up and arrest me. I felt like everyone was watching me. That they knew what I’d done.

“I didn’t even open it when I got home. I hid it away under my mattress, afraid my mom would see it and ask questions. The guilt was eating me alive. So I…returned it a week later.”

Viktor laughed—not the smug yet seductive snicker she’d heard from him before, but actual laughter that sparked a new light in his eyes. It was deep and rolling, making his lips stretch wide and the corners of his eyes crinkle.

Mina’s heart skipped a beat; he was gorgeous .

“I guess that’s the difference between us, Mina.” He reached out and grasped her chair, dragging it closer to his, just like he’d done at the café that night. “When I take what I want, I don’t let it go.”

Mina stared up at him, her pulse racing at the implication of his words. He…he couldn’t have meant it that way. Couldn’t have meant that she was his.

Right?

But I want to be.

She curled her fingers, grasping her skirt atop her thighs. “It’s your turn.”

His grin faded as he again leaned back in his chair and returned one arm to the table, keeping her legs trapped between his. “Never have I ever had a mate.”

“A…mate? Oh! Do you mean a friend? I know some people in Europe and Australia use mate in reference to a friend.”

“No, Mina. I do not mean a friend.”

Mina’s brow knitted. “A partner then? Like a girlfriend or boyfriend?”

Gaze unwavering, he nodded. Neither of his hands moved toward his mug. Not even the slightest twitch.

Stunned with disbelief, Mina stared at him. How? How could this man never have had a partner before? “Was it because of your…job?”

A thoughtful hum rumbled from his chest.

Mina pursed her lips to the side and cocked her head. “That dangerous, huh?”

Viktor’s fingers curled, and his nails scraped the table’s surface. Mina’s eyes flicked toward them and widened. There were tiny grooves in the wood, following the short path his fingers had just taken.

“More dangerous than you can imagine,” he said.

“Oh.”

Again, Mina wondered what kind of life he’d led, wondered what had brought him to the middle of nowhere in Alaska. No Wi-Fi, no computer, no TV, no phone. What was he running from? Who was he running from?

Mina picked up her mug and looked at him over the rim as she took a long drink.

The physical changes to his face were subtle—a slight angling down of his eyebrows, a tightening of his lips, a bulging of his jaw—but the effect was staggering. She saw the real him in that moment—the darkness, the danger, the threat, the power and fury that he normally hid just beneath the surface.

And he still didn’t frighten her.

He growled, “Who?”

“It was a long time ago, and nothing came of them. It doesn’t matter. They don’t matter.”

“They?”

She heard his nails scrape the table again, but she didn’t look this time. She was too focused on his face.

Something changed. He changed. She saw a flash of something, of someone, like Viktor was only an image projected over another person. It was a glimpse of pale alabaster skin with dark markings at the neck, of long white hair, black horns, and glowing white-on-black eyes. Of sharp features and pointed ears.

Of something utterly inhuman…and utterly entrancing.

Mina blinked, and he was just Viktor again.

She shook her head and glanced at the champagne bottle. How strong was this stuff?

Mina had never experienced anything like this while drinking, and she wasn’t even drunk yet. With her second cup almost empty, she was feeling a little tipsy, but it was way too soon for hallucinations.

“I had two boyfriends,” Mina said, holding her mug on her lap and staring down at it. “One only lasted for three months, but he was pushing for too much too fast. Thankfully, I found out that he had a job he was leaving the state for and realized he was just trying to use me for sex before he left. It was a pretty nasty break up, and he hurled all kinds of vulgar words my way. He’d heard about my mom, and thought I’d be an easy lay.

“My other ex’s name is Lee. We were together for a little more than six months, but I… Nothing felt right with him. I think he felt the distance between us too. So we parted ways, and he ended up moving to Anchorage for college not long after. His mother comes into the café sometimes, and last I heard from her, he’s still in Anchorage, now happily married.”

When Mina looked back at Viktor, he was glowering. His jaw remained clenched, its muscles ticking, and his entire body was tense, like a beast about to pounce.

Was he...jealous?

When I take what I want, I don’t let it go.

Don’t think too deeply into his words, Mina.

But why else would he react this way to Mina talking about her exes? Wouldn’t she behave similarly if she knew he’d been close to someone?

Even just the thought of him being with another person made her chest tighten.

Viktor said he never had a partner.

That didn’t mean he’d never been intimate with anyone. That he’d never had sex.

Her chest constricted further. She’d never done anything more than kiss, had never wanted to do anything more.

Until Viktor.

“I, uh…guess it’s my turn,” Mina said, offering him a nervous smile. Tightening her grip on her mug, she drew in a deep, fortifying breath. “Never have I ever had sex.”

Viktor’s attention lingered on her until he raised his mug. He brought it to his lips, tilted his head back, and drank, and drank, and drank. Given that he’d only sipped champagne during the game so far, she wasn’t quite sure how to interpret this. Was he trying to ease his discomfort and tension?

Mina’s heart twisted. Or was he implying he’d had a lot of sex?

He slammed the now empty mug on the table and drew in a shuddering breath, lips pulling back in a snarl. Strands of his dark hair fell around his face and shoulders. His free hand was curled into a white-knuckled fist, and his muscles were in sharper relief than when she’d arrived. Again, the cords of his neck stood out, and he let out an unhappy grunt.

Then he turned his attention to Mina.

They stared at one another. When his eyes dipped briefly to her mug, a crease formed between his brows, and blossoming confusion did what the alcohol had not—it eased the tension on his face.

Mina placed her mug on the table. “Do you want to know what I wished for?”

“Tell me.”

She felt her face flushing, felt that old embarrassment bubbling up, felt her courage wavering, but she refused to stand in her own way. Before she could think about she was doing, Mina stood up, lifted her skirt, and straddled Viktor’s lap.

His hands immediately grasped her hips.

“Mina?” he rasped.

She reached up to cradle his face. Viktor caught her wrists, halting her arms before they could even get past his shoulders.

He drew in a deep breath through his nose, making his chest swell, and a low, ravenous growl vibrated from him. Those silver eyes, now half-lidded, searched hers.

Lowering her face until their noses nearly touched, Mina whispered, “I wished for you.”

She closed her eyes and pressed her mouth to his.