“You look beautiful, babe.” Ryan’s eyes burned with desire, his hands wrapping around my waist. I wore a sleeveless, V-neck red dress that fell down my body, softly hugging my curves. It revealed more skin than I was used to, but it fit this type of party. My hair was up in a fashionable bun that left my neck and shoulders exposed. Combined with red sandals and simple diamond studs, I looked like I belonged at the fancy party. Although, I didn’t feel it.

He looked very handsome too. His tux fit him well, accentuating his slim body and making his light brown hair even lighter.

“You look very handsome.” I placed a soft kiss on his cheek, inhaling his cologne. My body didn’t shiver in lust at his scent nor his body pressed against mine. But he felt comforting and warm.

He nuzzled his cheek against mine. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“Of course,” I murmured. “It is a big night for you. Your first movie role and you are nominated.”

I knew it was important to him, and I was proud of him. His rock band had been on top of all the charts for the past two years. When he was approached over twelve months ago for a movie role, Ryan jumped at it. He was eager to get to the top, and I was happy for him. If only there would be less paparazzi around.

“I know how much you hate the publicity and all eyes on us,” he retorted. “Makes me love you even more.”

I smiled softly at him. He was the first man to actually tell me he loved me. I loved him too; I just wasn’t sure whether it was the same way he loved me.

But he knew me well. He took time to know my likes and dislikes, which made me grow fond of him and slowly fall for his charm. And he was absolutely right. I hated crowds and the publicity, but I knew in order for our relationship to work, it was important that I supported him in his big moments. No matter how much I disliked being in the public eye.

The intercom buzzed and I gave him a peck on the cheek. “Let’s go, my award-winning boyfriend.”

“You don’t know-”

I cut him off quickly. “Have faith.”

Two hours later, we roamed the afterparty. Ryan was taking pictures with his prize, pretty much dazzling with his smile. His acceptance speech was beautiful but made me uncomfortable because everyone’s eyes turned to me. He pointed me out to the entire room, gushing about my support, and it took all I had not to shrink back. Then afterwards, I had to smile through endless photos till I finally snuck away, leaving Ryan to deal with the spotlight on his own.

There were only so many flashes of camera I could handle. To say this wasn’t my scene was putting it mildly. I was an ER physician for Christ’s sake, not celebrity material. I even hated being photographed. I asked myself at least a million times tonight what I was doing here. Crowds and spotlight were my two biggest dislikes. But I ground through it all.

Sipping on my champagne, I enjoyed the fact that nobody was talking to me. Silence and solitude were my best friends sometimes. Leaning against the wall, I observed the scene in front of me. So many fake smiles, fake congratulations, gossiping, laughing, and happy crying. God knew some of the actors had a lot of emotions.

There were faces I recognized from movies but the names escaped me. Every so often, someone would approach me and congratulate me and press a kiss on my cheek. At this point, I felt like I needed a damn shower. I hated familiarity with strangers.

My skin tingled with a familiar sensation that I hadn’t felt in so long. I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to shake it off, but instead of easing, it became stronger. As if on a magnetic pull, I turned my head and that was when I spotted him.

Vasili Nikolaev.

My heartbeat paused, time stilled, and the only thing I was aware of was the towering man across the room with the pale blue eyes of glaciers. The eyes I dreamed about more nights than not. The eyes I have been trying to forget for the past five years.

Pain pierced through me and my pulse resumed, thundering under my ribcage.

It couldn’t be him. I closed my eyes for a brief second and opened them, hoping the image was a figment of my imagination. Or a nightmare.

Praying hard it was just a bad vision, I slowly opened my eyes. But no, it was Vasili. He stood there in the flesh, towering like a dark cloud over everyone else, his strong frame making the crowd part for him without any effort from him. Like a king among his subjects.

But he wasn’t a king. He was the devil disguised in an expensive, black Armani suit. Brutal and ruthless under all that polished exterior. I swallowed hard, my eyes soaking him in. He held a glass of champagne in his hand, but it was untouched. He didn’t drink that shit, he was a more hard core, expensive liquor kind of guy. His strong, inked fingers wrapped about the delicate champagne glass reminded me of what he could do to me. All he had to do was squeeze, and I’d shatter into a million pieces.

And despite it all, my stupid body hummed with electricity and the blood rushed through my veins like liquid lava. My brain couldn’t stand him, warned of his cruelty, but my body refused the message. Instead, my heart raced and the familiar ache spread through my body, reminding me he ripped the heart from my chest.

And I still want him, the piercing thought was not a good revelation. I swallowed hard, hardening myself. I would pretend I didn’t know him.

Too late I realized he was headed this way. No, no, no. I begged silently. Please turn.Anywhere but here. I wasn’t ready to see him nor talk to him. He knew it too; I knew it without a doubt.

He stopped a mere two feet from me, his familiar scent entering my lungs and the entire room was forgotten. I held my breath, my tingles turning into a full-blown blaze. I haven’t seen him in five years. It wasn’t long enough. Five centuries wouldn’t be long enough.

“Hello, Isabella.” His deep, accented voice went through me like electricity, making my insides melt.

I should tear my gaze away from him, walk away, do something. But all I seemed capable of doing was just staring at him, remembering those last words that pierced through me. That broke me!

My grip tightened around my own glass of champagne. This hold Vasili had over me was unhealthy on the most fundamental level; I knew it. And yet, it festered inside me, and at this point, I was sure it would be something that would die only when I took my last breath.

“Hey babe,” Ryan’s voice startled me out of my stupor. He took my mouth into a soft kiss. “You disappeared on me.” I swallowed hard, my whole body stiff, aware of Vasili’s eyes on us. “You made friends?”

His eyes curiously darted to Vasili. Ugh, so much for pretending I didn’t know him.

“No, this isn’t a friend.” It might be a small jab, but it was something nonetheless. “This is Vasili Nikolaev.” His name on my lips felt strange, unusual. I hadn’t spoken it since the night I gave him my virginity. “He’s Tatiana’s oldest brother. Remember her, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course.” Ryan extended his hand, and for a second, I thought Vasili wouldn’t take it. He let it linger in the air a second too long, but then he took it. “Nice to meet you, dude.”

I groaned inwardly. Vasili could be called many things but dude wasn’t one of them. As tense and intimidating as Vasili was, Ryan was the exact opposite. Too laid back and carefree! After my initial experience with the cruel man standing in front of me, it appealed to me more than ever.

Suddenly, I noticed a woman on Vasili’s arm. I had been so captivated by him that I completely missed her by his side, but she was definitely his date. Her hand looped through his arm clearly indicated it so.

“This is Natasha,” Vasili introduced his date. Short and to the point. He never wasted energy on excess words, did he.

“Oh my gosh,” a woman’s squeal startled me. “Ryan Johnson. I am such a fan.” Her voice was high-pitched, and she beamed like a hundred-watt light bulb. She turned her gaze at me, envy in it and a fake smile on her lips. “You are such a lucky lady. To be Ryan Johnson’s girlfriend.”

“Aww, thank you,” Ryan grinned, his hand roaming down my back. Usually it comforted me, but right now it set me on the edge. “This might help in convincing her to move in with me. But truthfully, I am the lucky guy.”

He leaned in again and kissed my neck. It was so wrong to remember how Vasili’s lips felt on my skin while Ryan kissed me, but here I was remembering that fire the ruthless man ignited while my sweet, thoughtful boyfriend worshiped me.

I swallowed hard, a bitter taste on my tongue. I wouldn’t think about Vasili’s lips.

Instead, I focused on the conversation. Ah, yes, moving in with Ryan. He’d been hinting and asking for months now but I kept delaying my decision. Though I knew for sure, this was neither the time nor place for a conversation about us moving together. I smiled tightly, and it probably looked fake as fuck. Unsure how to respond appropriately to either one of their comments, I just decided not to respond.

“I can’t wait to have Bella in my place,” Ryan continued oblivious to my tension. “To see her every morning and every night.”

Vasili’s eyebrow raised ever so slightly, a smirk curving his beautiful lips.

“Ohhhh, you should do it,” Natasha gushed all over herself as she continued. “That would be such a dream.”

The way she spoke, it seemed like it was her dream.

“And you and Vasili,” I snarked softly in my passive aggressive voice, ignoring the comments about me moving in with Ryan. “You found yourself a winner there.”

She turned her eyes to Vasili, and I swore there were stars there. “He’s the best.” My sarcasm was lost on her.

“Yeah, sure,” I muttered. There might have been a tiny bit of bitterness mixed with that sarcasm, but she completely missed it. Good thing Tatiana wasn’t here because she would have picked up my sarcastic tone immediately.

Leaning closer to Ryan, giving him a glimpse of her low-cut dress, Natasha murmured to Ryan. “Would it be pushy to ask for a picture with you?”

Ryan was immediately in idol mode for his fans. “No, not at all. Babe, how about you join in?”

Yeah, that would be a hard pass.

“Ummm, I’ll wait here. You go ahead.”

Ryan turned his gaze at Vasili.

“I’ll pass.” Of course he would. He bowed to nobody, people admired him, not the other way around.

And those two were gone, leaving me standing next to the man that made my body burn with lust. I watched those two walk away from us and suddenly wished I’d went along for the pictures. Enduring photos would have been better than staying alone with Vasili; tension and nervous energy seeped through each pore of me.

God, this man was making me nervous. Even after all those years, he succeeded in rattling me. I was older and wiser now; nobody should impact me like that.

“How’ve you been, Isabella?” His question startled me and I almost spilled my champagne.

“Good, thanks.” I sucked at small talk. With Vasili Nikolaev, I sucked at everything. I wished we weren’t in public, so I could just turn my back at him and walk away. Or flip him a middle finger and tell him to go fuck himself. “You?”

“Not too bad. You are living in L.A., huh?”

After our one-night stand where Tatiana’s oldest brother used me for his revenge, I avoided Vasili like a plague. The secrets I couldn’t have even fathomed came out into the light and changed things forever. He granted me one thing – we wouldn’t tell Tatiana and Sasha what my mother had done to his family, if I kept to myself that I had slept with him. I agreed.

“Yep.”

In order to avoid looking at him, my eyes traveled to Ryan and Natasha. She was giggling like a little school girl, trying to get as many selfies out of him. She was very pretty, with her long blonde hair and her tall frame. Somehow her and Vasili fit well together. Unlike me, I thought wryly. I was barely pushing five foot five, my skin looked pale compared to his permanent tan, and my thick hair was too dark for my complexion.

“I never took you for a big city girl.”

My skin tingled with awareness, his body too close but not close enough. His gaze lazily traveled down my body, melting every inch of me into a wanton puddle. How was it possible that even after everything, my body reacted so strongly to him?

“Well, I’m not a girl anymore,” I retorted. “It’s fun living here.”

“Do you still surf?” I was surprised he remembered I liked surfing. I annoyed Tatiana with it all the time, but when Vasili was around, I tended to listen more than talk.

“Sometimes.” God, I wished Ryan would just come on. I didn’t want to stand here with this man and make small talk. My skin tightened with tension and that familiar tingling sensation that only happened around him. It threatened to burst into fireworks, and I suspected it wasn’t the good kind.

I watched Ryan and Natasha giggling some more and my annoyance grew by the second.

“You look good, Isabella.” My skin flushed at his compliment, and I knew my cheeks blushed crimson red. His flattery flared the anger within me, and the hurt I buried deep inside.

“Don’t make small talk with me, Vasili,” I murmured, meeting his eyes. He was still the most handsome man I had ever seen, but I wouldn’t forget that he considered me his enemy. I was his revenge. For something I had no control over. A Nikolaev always settles the score. “And let’s not pretend we are friends.”

Without a backwards glance, I strode to Ryan and Natasha with my back stiff, painfully aware of Vasili’s eyes on the back of my head. I plastered a fake smile on my face as I approached my boyfriend letting Natasha snap another selfie. Gees, how many selfies does a person need? I wondered.

“Babe.” Ryan wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his body. I couldn’t help but compare my body’s response to Ryan’s touch and Vasili’s proximity. The latter didn’t even have to touch me and I was putty for him. Ryan’s lips met mine and although I regularly hated over-the-top displays of affection, I let him in hopes of erasing the hyperactive awareness of Vasili in the room. It didn’t work.

“Ready to go home?” I murmured low against his lips.

“Yes.” Ryan waved behind me at Vasili and tilted his head at Natasha.

I’d need another five years to recover from seeing Vasili Nikolaev tonight.