Sasha: Chapter 18

Central Africa.

Five months since I saw Sasha in New York City. Five months of frustration simmering inside me. My brother wanted me married. I’d rather not be, but I understood the reasoning. For the hundredth time, I skimmed over the same profile.

Killian Brennan.

He was hot. Dark hair. Blue eyes. Irish. One sister. Decent family. Yet, I couldn’t help but compare him to Satan’s spawn with pale blue eyes. Sasha and Killian couldn’t be more different, but maybe that was the point.

The other candidate was a hard pass for me. Alessio’s right hand man, Ricardo. I’d known him way too long, and while I trusted him, I felt more brotherly affection towards him than anything else.

I shook my head. This was ridiculous. Most girls planned for vacations or dates. Not arranged marriages. Maybe my date tonight would have swept me off my feet. Oh, if only I had gone. But I wasn’t in the mood, and somehow it seemed like a moot point, considering the arranged marriage that loomed over my head.

With a sigh, I typed up a quick message to my brother. *I’m not planning the wedding. Yes to marrying Killian.*

Simple, yet complicated.

It was Friday night and that was usually Autumn’s and my movie night. Regardless of where we were. Right now, we were somewhere in the middle of the African continent. I hoped the generator held up.

I stretched my legs out, waiting for Autumn to finish tucking in Kol. She had been reading him a bedtime story for the past hour. Not sure what kind of story that was but she should really consider skipping a few pages.

My own book sat in my lap. Steamy, erotica romance with a touch of BDSM. Yeah, not a good thing to read when horny and single. I was all out of batteries for my friend and my hand was a poor substitute for it.

I glanced down and read another page, unable to resist. It was getting to a good part. A really good, steamy part. Yes, I was a glutton for punishment. I’d worry about my libido and need for sex afterwards.

“What are you doing here?” Lost in words and the amazing world where a man knew exactly how to bring pleasure, I startled when I heard Autumn’s voice.

Lifting my eyes, I promptly rolled them. “Last I checked, I live here.”

“But you have a date,” she pointed out. “With…” She tried to remember the name. Unsuccessfully. “I’m drawing a blank.”

I shrugged. “I was busy.”

“Doing what?”

I tilted my head. “It’s Friday and our movie night.”

She looked at me like I had three heads. “So you canceled it?”

Lowering my head, I turned the page. “Yep.”

I didn’t have to look up to know there was disapproval on her face. “See, that’s why you’re single.”

“I’m single because we are in the middle of Africa,” I retorted dryly.

“You had a date. Today. In the middle of Africa.”

I shrugged. “Wrong day.” A frustrated breath left my best friend and I looked at her. “Are we watching a movie or not?”

She lowered herself on the seat next to us. We stayed in a little, hut-like home that had one common room, a very basic, dirt floor bathroom, and two bedrooms. Autumn shared hers with Kol and I had the other one.

Lowering herself next to me, she lifted her legs, then propped them on the table with a sigh of relief. She wore khaki cargo pants and a black t-shirt with socks that each had a word on the soles of them – FUCK OFF.

I always gave the best gifts.

“Movie, and I have some editing on my pictures to do,” she said. She looked tired. I should have offered to help her with Kol, but I knew how much she loved the bedtime routine with him. “Any particular movie you’re in the mood for?”

I shook my head. It would seem neither one of us would be giving the movie our full attention.

She pressed play and Die Hard came on. Perfect, it fits my mood. Ever since I saw Sasha with that preppy blonde, I made a point of watching action movies. But I couldn’t give up my romance novels.

A lady needed some pleasure in her life.

A soft light flooded from the lamp and the TV. Autumn opened her laptop and I reached for my phone. She sent me a few edited photos earlier and I hadn’t had a chance to post them on our Instagram.

I picked the one I liked the best, then uploaded it. With the poor satellite signal, it would take only twenty minutes or so for it to load.

“Autumn?” My voice was quiet.

“Yeah?”

“Do you believe in second chances?”

Her body stiffened, and pain flickered in her expression. I wasn’t sure whether I was asking for her or myself.

“Sometimes,” she finally responded with hesitancy.

“Would you give Kol’s father another chance?” She lowered her head, but the glow of her laptop couldn’t hide the anger that rose to her cheeks.

“Why are we talking about me when it’s you who skips a date, then complains about being single?” She turned it around back to me.

I focused on the movie, ignoring her. My chest tightened every time I thought about that day. I didn’t know what to think about the whole thing with Sasha Nikolaev. It wasn’t as if I was in love with him. But I enjoyed his touch. That was a novelty. After what I had endured under my father’s brutality, I didn’t care for men touching me. But with that man I actually craved it.

Not that it mattered anymore. I just sent a text and committed myself to Killian Brennan. I might be the daughter of a sinner, but I wouldn’t be one. Killian was clear about fidelity – he didn’t believe in cheating. It made me like him even more.

Done with thoughts wrapped around Killian or Sasha, I focused on my best friend.

“Have you ever slept with a man twice your age?” I asked her, my lips curving with a mischievous smile.

Her cheeks blushed, but she refused to answer.

“Oh my gosh, you have!” After all, my brother was significantly older than us.

She shook her head.

“No, I haven’t.” If my suspicion was correct, and I believe it was, it was pretty damn close. “You?” she asked me.

Considering I was still a damn virgin, the answer was easy. “No.”

“Fooled around?”

“Hmm.” I pursed my lips. I had looked up Sasha Nikolaev the moment he left me with a promise to wait for him. He was close to my brother’s age. “That would be a yes.”

Autumn’s sparkling gaze came up to me and the next second our laughter filled the room. Slightly bitter. A lot disgruntled.

Then, without warning, thunder rolled through the sky and raindrops hit against the window, making its way down the windowpane.

Somehow it reflected what I felt inside.