Chapter 136: Little puppy

Sienna felt her own smile creeping back despite herself. She could tell, plainly, that he’d caught her earlier the hair, the touching, all of it and instead of shrinking away from it now, burying the moment in embarrassment the way every instinct told her to, she found herself doing the opposite entirely.

She reached out and ran her fingers back through his hair again, deliberate this time, unhurried, feeling the soft texture curl loosely around her fingers.

Viktor’s smile widened, and he went utterly still beneath her hand, clearly in no hurry to interrupt whatever this was.

Sienna laughed softly, using both hands now, scratching lightly along his scalp the way she might with an actual, overgrown puppy. "You’re like a cute little puppy that likes to be pet."

"Little puppy," Viktor repeated, something dangerous and amused flickering behind his eyes.

He moved before she registered the shift at all quick, impossibly quick for a man who’d nearly died less than twenty-four hours earlier flipping their positions in one smooth motion until she was pinned gently beneath him, his weight braced carefully on his good arm above her.

Sienna’s breath caught, shock and something far warmer flooding through her all at once. She stared up at him, startled, momentarily wordless, the sheer, undeniable strength still coiled in his body despite the bandage taped across his shoulder pressing home just how thoroughly she’d underestimated him.

Neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke.

Their eyes locked, the playful teasing of a moment ago dissolving into something far heavier, far more charged, the small space between their faces suddenly feeling like the only thing left in the entire room.

Sienna’s pulse hammered loud enough she was certain he could feel it, her hands still tangled loosely in his hair, neither pulling him closer nor pushing him away, caught entirely in the gravity of him.

Sienna leaned up before she could talk herself out of it, closing the last of the distance between them and pressing her lips to his.

She closed her eyes the instant it happened, half expecting him to freeze, to tease her mercilessly for it the moment it ended. Instead, she felt him smile against her mouth slow, delighted, entirely too pleased with himself for a man currently pinned above her with a bandage taped across his shoulder.

He didn’t move. He simply stayed exactly where he was, braced above her, watching her when she finally pulled back and opened her eyes again.

"I... l..." The words dissolved before she could find them, her earlier boldness draining away all at once, replaced by a hot, creeping embarrassment at what she’d just done, at the silence stretching out afterward with no explanation offered.

Viktor only smiled, soft and a little stunned. "You’re not drugged, are you?"

He still couldn’t quite believe she’d done it, kissed him first, unprompted, bold and sure in a way she rarely let herself be.

"I’m not." Sienna’s shyness returned in full force, heat crawling up her neck as she pressed her palms lightly against his chest, an instinctive, half-hearted attempt to put some distance back between them. "Now move."

He didn’t.

Instead, he leaned down and kissed her again, slower this time, deliberate, achingly gentle at first before deepening into something far more consuming.

Sienna melted into it despite herself, her fingers finding their way fully back into his hair, tugging him closer rather than pushing him away, every rational thought she’d been clinging to dissolving somewhere beneath the warmth spreading through her chest.

The kiss stretched on, growing steadily more intense, until a flare of worry cut sharply through the haze.

"Hey."

Sienna pulled back just enough to catch her breath, one hand flattening gently against his uninjured shoulder.

"You’re hurt. We should stop... we don’t want your wound opening again."

"I’m fine, Sienna." His voice was low and rough, already drifting back toward her lips.

"But,"

The rest of her protest dissolved beneath another slow, lingering kiss. There was nothing rushed about it. He kissed her with quiet patience, as though giving her every chance to pull away. Instead, her thoughts unraveled, and the words she’d been trying to find simply disappeared.

When he finally drew back, it was only enough to meet her eyes. His expression was soft, but there was unmistakable seriousness beneath it.

"I can stop if you want me to."

His thumb brushed lightly across her cheek.

"You look nervous, little bird. Tell me honestly... do you want me to stop?"

He needed to hear her answer. Not silence. Not uncertainty. He needed her to choose, to give him the words before he let himself cross the distance he’d been holding for months.

Sienna slowly shook her head.

"No."

Her voice was quiet, but steady despite the frantic beating of her heart.

A slow smile tugged at the corner of Viktor’s mouth before it quickly faded into something gentler.

"You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to hold you like this, little bird," he murmured.

Sienna swallowed.

She wasn’t afraid of him.

She was afraid of how completely she trusted him.

She licked her lips, her pulse fluttering wildly as she waited, unsure what would come next.

Without taking his eyes off her, Viktor brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before leaning in to press a featherlight kiss against her temple. His lips lingered for a heartbeat before grazing the edge of her ear.

"Don’t be afraid; I’m just using my finger," he whispered.

"I’ll go as slowly as you need."

Even so, Sienna instinctively tensed. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, and a quiet, uncertain breath escaped her lips. Moments ago she’d been certain she wanted this, but now that they had reached the edge of something new, doubt crept in alongside anticipation.

Viktor noticed immediately.

"Easy," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers. "We’re not racing anywhere."

His hand found hers instead, intertwining their fingers.

"If you want me to stop, you only have to say the word."

Sienna looked into his eyes for a long moment before giving the smallest nod.

"I’m okay," she whispered. "It’s just your finger, it won’t hurt."