𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑥 ✔︎ || 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑑

31

~ ilya ~

Phoenix stared at me expectantly, her eyes glazed.

Contemplating on the right words to say, I was still glaring at the exposed emblem on her hip and the discarded bandage beside it. It was her first tattoo; I figured it would be unbearable if she was conscious. Why had the сука taken the damn plaster off? I grimaced at the raw, angry skin around it. As my gaze travelled up, I realised realised she was shivering.

Silently, I strode over to the balcony, shutting the doors firmly. Before I turned to face her, I felt her hand on my shoulder.

"Please, Ilya?"

I huffed an angry breath. This woman was too impatient. I almost snorted at my predicament; no one had dared to be so persistent with me before.

"They're fine," I said, simply.

Both the Italian and the American were under the protection of my men back in Poland. Whilst the former had already recovered, the latter had gone into coma after losing too much blood. The bullets had torn through another man's body into hers, infecting the wound with foreign blood. For some reason, my mouth couldn't form the truth.

"Where are they?" she questioned almost immediately, but didn't let me answer. "Why did we come here? When can I see them-"

I spun suddenly, catching her out of surprise. Her hand slipped from my shoulder, as she flinched backwards.

Immediately, a frustrating sense of guilt filled me. I scowled, hating the bizarre emotion. When I looked up, her eyes were wide as saucers. "Блядь," I muttered. [Fuck.]

Then, unexpectedly, she began to cry. Her face scrunched up as tears poured from her eyes, still trembling in nothing but my shirt.

Biting back a groan, I warily approached the distraught girl, before shoving her lightly in the direction of the bed.

Phoenix began to struggle.

"Stop," I ordered, through gritted teeth, but to no avail.

Suddenly, her leg came between mine and before I knew it, we were both tumbling backwards. Her body bounced, meeting mine as I fell on top of her. I stopped myself before my full weight crushed her.

Her sobbing was interrupted by a surprised gasp.

I moved so my hands were planted into the bed on either side of her head to support my weight.

Annoyingly, I rather liked this position. I hid a smirk, when I felt her heart begin to race beneath mine. Slowly, I raised a finger to brush away the hair that had fallen across her blue eyes. They stared at me, warily.

I lowered my head an inch, powerless against the magnetism between our bodies. I should stop. I should leave.

I fanned a breath against her cherry lips, pleased at the shudder that raked her body. To my surprise, her back began to arch upwards. Something feral roused within me.

"Phoenix," I growled, lowly, "tell me to stop."

"Stop," she whispered.

I narrowed my eyes infinitesimally. The anticipation in her eyes said something else. Testing my theory, I murmured, "Tell me to not stop."

Immediately, she mumbled, "Don't stop."

This time, feeling satisfied, I complied. Gingerly, I leaned forwards to brush our lips together before pulling back to gauge her reaction.

She inhaled a sharp breath.

I wondered if she felt the same buzz I did. The same heat that evaporated any sensibility from my mind. I leaned down again.

This time, when our lips met, Phoenix hesitantly moved hers against mine. The slow kiss began to unravel my restraint. I felt my groin ache from desire. Bravely, I ventured with my tongue easing her lips apart. A low groan emanated from my throat as she opened her mouth to me.

The second her tongue touched mine, my hands tightened around her hips.

Phoenix recoiled.

I pulled back in confusion before realising my grip was on her new tattoo. I jumped away in alarm.

As if reality was returning to her, she disbelievingly touched her lips, sitting up slowly from the bed.

I stared at her, cautiously. What was I looking for in those startled sapphire gems?

To my dismay, Phoenix didn't meet my eyes. With a shaky breath, she stood and disappeared into the en-suite. The lock clicked behind her.

"Дерьмо!" I cursed, slamming the door as I left the room. [Shit]

I should have fucking stopped.

𝑥𝑜
𝖗𝖔𝖘𝖆𝖛𝖎