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“Not bad, actually.” My attention doesn’t leave Alena. “Successful, really.”
Paper falls to the stone slabs and Alena’s happy, excited face suddenly cracks slightly. The dusting of pink on her cheeks flares to a deep red, and a slight tremble moves down her arms as she stares at my gift.
“Aww,” Melanie coos, precisely as I had expected. “A doll? How cute!”
Alena’s lower lip trembles slightly, then I catch the subtle shift of her throat as she swallows. Her mother’s perfect, polite smile is placed on her plush lips when she lifts her head.
“A doll?”
“Alena,” Aleksander barks sharply. “Say thank you, won’t you? It’s a beautiful gift from your godfather.”
Alena looks up at me with those large doe eyes and nods, forcing a brighter smile. She looks utterly crestfallen, and my mind runs with what she might have expected to find in that box.
“Thank you, Kristof,” she says with a subtly strained voice. “It’s so beautiful. It surely must be a collector’s item.”
“Priceless,” I reply. I hold her gaze. Then, when her father returns to his cigar, I turn to Melanie who offers me a bright, uncertain smile.
I can feel Alena’s eyes boring into me like lasers. Sliding one hand around Melanie’s neck, I caress her jaw with my thumb and then pull her against me. She gasps softly, and I snap my teeth lightly together, then I claim her mouth in a deeply passionate kiss. Melanie melts against me precisely like she did the night before, and I slide my other arm around her waist to hold her close.
Shoving my tongue into her mouth, I kiss her deeper, and yet, in my mind’s eye, it’s not Melanie I have in my arms.
It’s Alena.
I kiss her so deeply that she can’t breathe, and her plush lips part for air that I refuse to give. She tastes of mint and sweetness, and her body struggles slightly against mine, fighting to give in to desire and the urge to breathe. I kiss her until our chests ache and my body sings.
The taste of Melanie’s mouth—old alcohol and cheap minty gum—jerks me back to reality, and we break apart. Out of the corner of my eye, Alena stares at me, unable to look away.
“Go enjoy the party,” I tell Melanie. “I have some things to discuss. I’ll find you later, alright?”
“Sure thing.” Melanie sucks in a deep breath and turns back to Alena and Aleksander. “It was nice to meet you. And Happy Birthday!”
Melanie turns and heads back up the path toward the house, but not before I swat at her ass and send her scampering forward a few steps.
“How long will this one last?” Aleksander snorts around his cigar.
I smirk and angle back toward him. “Who knows? How long do any of them last?”
“Mara won’t be pleased.”
“Oh, I already saw her. I’m sure they’ll hit it off.”
Aleksander laughs suddenly, deep and barking, yet my attention still lingers on Alena. Her cheeks are still bright red as if she’d been slapped, and her eyes can’t seem to settle on where to look. Is she jealous?
“I should, uhm…” Alena’s voice cuts through the night air, and she crouches, scooping up the fallen paper. “I should get back to the party. Bye.”
She rushes off so abruptly that I can’t resist calling after her. “Happy Birthday, Alena.”
Her large, doe-like eyes are filled with big tears when she glances back at me. “Thank you!” she calls quickly, then she continues on.
It had been a slight gamble to satisfy my curiosity, a test to see if Alena’s wandering gaze had any real merit of attention toward me.
Judging by the look on her face, it might have worked too well.
5
ALENA
“I’m so fucking stupid,” I sob softly, shoving another forkful of cake into my mouth. “Of course he only sees me as a child. That’s how he’ll always see me!”
