The night air hit Kaida's bare shoulders like a slap the moment they stepped outside.

Cool. Crisp. Carrying the scent of pine and damp earth from the surrounding forest.

She sucked in a breath, trying to clear her head from the suffocating atmosphere inside—the candles, the sexual tension, Helena's breasts, Mira's knowing smirk, Viktor's cock straining against that towel...

Stop. Stop thinking about it.

"There." Viktor pointed toward a cluster of bushes near the manor's crumbling stone wall. "Behind those. I'll wait here."

Kaida blinked. "You're... actually giving me privacy?"

His tail swished behind him as he turned away, facing the opposite direction. "The chain only stretches so far. Just hurry up."

She stared at his back—at the way moonlight caught on his dark hair, at the breadth of his shoulders that somehow looked broader than they had this morning. Had he lost more weight already?

Her mouth twitched. Then she moved.

The purple chain clinked softly as she walked toward the bushes, keeping tension on the link between them. When she reached the maximum distance, she glanced back.

Viktor stood with his arms crossed, genuinely looking away.

Kaida's jaw clenched. Her hands moved to the waistband of her short jeans—

And stopped.

She wasn't actually going to pee.

She'd just needed an excuse. Any excuse to get away from that dining room before she watched Helena suck Viktor's dick in front of everyone.

Her hands dropped to her sides. She stood there behind the bushes, staring at nothing, feeling like the world's biggest idiot.

What am I even doing?

The question hung in the night air, unanswered.

Behind her, Viktor's voice drifted over. "You done?"

"No!" Kaida shot back automatically. "I'm... still going!"

Silence.

Then: "You know you don't actually have to pee, right?"

Kaida's entire body went rigid.

"What?"

Viktor's voice came out flat, matter-of-fact. "You made an excuse. I'm not stupid, Kaida."

Heat flooded her face again. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as mortification crashed over her in waves.

He knew.

Of course he knew.

"I—" Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat, trying again. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure."

"I don't!"

"Then why aren't you peeing?"

"I AM!"

"Really?" Viktor's tone carried that infuriating amusement she'd come to recognize. "Because I have water spirit abilities. Enhanced hearing when it comes to water. And I don't hear anything."

Kaida wanted to die.

She wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water before she finally gave up. "Fine! I don't have to pee! Are you happy now?!"

Viktor turned around.

Their eyes met across the distance—his dark and unreadable in the moonlight, hers red and blazing with embarrassment and fury.

"Why'd you run?" he asked quietly.

The question hit harder than any physical blow.

Kaida's jaw worked. Her hands trembled at her sides. "I didn't run."

"Bullshit."

"I—" She stopped. Took a breath. "I just needed air."

"From what?"

"From—" Her voice pitched higher. "From watching you about to get your dick sucked at the dinner table, you perverted bastard!"

Viktor blinked. Then his mouth curved into that insufferable smirk. "Jealous?"

"WHAT?! NO!"

"Then why'd it bother you?"

"Because it's—it's disgusting! It's shameless! It's—" Kaida's words tumbled out in a rush, desperate to fill the silence, to avoid the real answer clawing at her chest. "You're all eating together like a family and then suddenly you're just—just whipping it out like some kind of—"

"Like some kind of what?"

"Like some kind of perverted nobleman who doesn't care about decency!"

Viktor's smirk faded. His expression went serious, and somehow that was worse than the teasing.

He started walking toward her.

The chain pulled taut between them, then loosened as he closed the distance. His bare feet made no sound on the damp grass.

Kaida instinctively stepped back—and hit the stone wall behind her.

Trapped.

Viktor stopped an arm's length away. Close enough that she could see the rise and fall of his chest. Close enough to smell herbs and something distinctly him—earthy, warm, male.

"Listen," he said, his voice dropping lower. "I know today was... a lot."

Kaida's jaw clenched. Her red eyes locked on his, refusing to look away even as her heart hammered against her ribs.

"The cave," Viktor continued. "The chain. The..." His mouth twitched. "...passage incident."

Her face burned at the memory.

"And then bringing you back here to that." He gestured vaguely toward the manor. "Mira and Helena waiting in bed. The whole setup."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kaida's voice came out harsher than intended, defensive. "What do you want? An apology for dragging me into your perverted life?"

"No."

The single word hung between them.

Viktor took another step forward.

Now they were close enough that Kaida could feel the heat radiating from his body. The wall pressed cold against her bare shoulders, contrasting sharply with the warmth in front of her.

"I'm telling you this," Viktor said quietly, "because I owe you an apology."

Kaida blinked. "What?"

"In the hallway. Before dinner." His dark eyes held hers. "When I pinned you against the wall and said you weren't my type."

The words hit like a punch to the gut—bringing back that mortifying moment, that arrow through her heart.

"I lied," Viktor said simply.

Kaida's breath caught.

"You..." Her voice came out strangled. "What?"

Viktor's hand moved—slowly, giving her time to pull away—and touched her face. His calloused fingers traced the scarred side, gentle despite their roughness.

"You're just made for me, Kaida."

Her mouth fell open.

"The scars, the way you fight, how you yell at me constantly—" His thumb brushed across her cheekbone. "You're exactly my type."

"You're lying." The words came out automatic, defensive. "You said—"

"I said that to tease you. To see that fire in your eyes." Viktor's smirk returned for a moment before fading. "But I took it too far. And I'm sorry."

Silence.

Kaida stared at him, her mind struggling to process. Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard she thought he might hear it.

"Why..." Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "Why are you saying this now?"

Viktor's hand moved from her face to the stone wall beside her head, caging her in. His other hand—the one chained to hers—rose between them, the purple links glowing faintly in the moonlight.

"Because I realized something today," he said quietly. "Telling you all that which I might never have told anyone..."

His dark eyes searched hers.

"I've fallen for you, Kaida."

The world stopped.

Kaida's entire body went rigid. Her red eyes widened, pupils dilating as the words sank in.

"You..." Her voice barely worked. "You can't just—"

"I know." Viktor's lips curved into a self-deprecating smile. "I know I'm a perverted bastard. I know I have two wives already. I know this is insane."

His forehead lowered until it almost touched hers.

"But I can't help it," he whispered. "You drive me crazy, Kaida. Every time you yell at me. Every time you glare with those red eyes. Every time you click your tongue like I'm the most annoying person alive. I just want to fuck you."

Kaida's hands came up; whether to push him away or pull him closer, she didn't know, except that if anyone else had said that, they would be dead.

"What the hell—"

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