Page 51 of Dangerous Promises

"Fuck, princess, I'm gonna come," he says, grunting as he pushes up into my mouth.

I feel his cum explode. I am breathless as he empties himself into my mouth. When he finally regains his composure, he looks down at me, eyes going feral again as he sees me sitting there with his cum in my mouth.

"Swallow it," he commands.

So I do, and even as shame sinks over me when I realize what I've done, power still follows in its wake.

Chapter

Twenty

Sage

Ifollow Alexei like a lost puppy when he calmly leaves the basement and walks up the stairs. Everyone else is still outside on the front lawns, doing things that I don't care to notice as I trail pathetically after Alexei.

Anton sees us coming and waves away everyone except Freddie and Isla.

"Well?" Anton says, standing to attention. "Where can we find Chet?"

Alexei stops abruptly in front of them and I'd been following him so closely that I narrowly avoid slamming into his back. Isla gives me an amused look and I grimace, hoping that what just happened is not as obvious as it feels. Because it feels like everyone can see it so clearly that it may as well be written on my forehead.

"Pretty much nothing," Alexei says, not looking my uncle in the eye. "Nothing on where Chet is going to be, anyway." I can't decipher how affected Alexei is by what we just did. Whether heis more angry than usual, or less. Whether he feels the shame that I always do.

"Well we knew that. He's a fucking pussy who is hiding behind his empire until he thinks he has a sure shot," Freddie says.

"That's not new," Isla says, a pep in her step as she bounces from foot to foot like she is struggling to stay still. "He hides behind his empire. Makes other people the pawn in his game."

Anton nods in agreement, a slight frown on his face, and I can tell like me, the pep in her step is unnerving to him. "Even when he had a death promise with Dimitri," Anton says, side-eyeing Isla. "It's why it never came to a conclusion. Couldn't draw him out long enough to get any result."

Alexei's tattooed hand comes out to rub at his chin and I am mesmerized by the movement. The way his hand flexes and his rough fingers running across his skin.

Fuck.

I need to look away.

My reaction is visceral. Fueled by hate of course. That's the reason my heart is beating at twice its usual rate.

"You have blood on your face, Fallon," Alexei says, his tone deep and dark. He turns away, leading us towards the lake to sit down on the surrounding wooden benches. Freddie sits down and wipes the blood away with his sleeve and a smile.

"If nothing has drawn Chet out before then what possibly could," Isla sighs, sitting down next to Freddie and affectionately rolling up his sleeve where blood that isn't his own has left a mark in return.

"He showed himself once before," Alexei says, sitting forward with his hands between his knees. "For you."

Anton blinks, his nose twitching. "Totakeher, you mean."

"He underestimates Sage," Alexei argues. "But it's her that he wants."

Isla rears back like she's been slapped. "And you want to find advantage in that?"

"There is advantage in it," Alexei says, looking up at us from beneath his brows.

"Absolutely not," Anton says.

I have yet to sit down but feel compelled to at this moment. I collapse onto the bench at the same time as Alexei locks eyes with me. In his look, there's a challenge. He now knows things about me that none of them do. With the way Alexei is looking at me right now, it's like he really believes that Chet is underestimating me. Like I actually have something to offer that isn't hiding behind my family.

"Sage using you as bait-" Anton starts.

"We won't need to Anton. We're good at what we do," Freddie says, crossing his arms. "Between us, we can manage it."