22 | Navigating Blind

I'D NEVER BEEN IN ALEXEI'S car before. It was unlike anything I'd experienced; sleek leather interior softer than anything I'd ever felt, a touch screen panel, and a thousand buttons the function of which I couldn't even guess at. Alex remained silent as the engine purred to life and we sped off. I made sure my seatbelt was fastened, unnerved by the sheer power of the car and its mighty roar.

"You told Jonah your real name," I observed quietly.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Alex's eyes shifted to me for a second, "perhaps I wanted to scare him."

"Should he recognise it?"

"He doesn't need to. Any hint at Russian links is enough to rattle men like Jonah."

I could detect the underlying bitterness to that comment. I changed the conversation, "should you be driving that fast?"

"Of all the things you could chide me for," he smirked, "you go for my driving?"

We swerved around a corner and I felt the seatbelt dig into my shoulder. A nervous hiss escaped my clenched teeth. "You're crazy."

"Live a little, Grace."

"I'd have a job if we end up mangled around a lamp post or something," I grumbled.

"Stop panicking," Alex instructed, "relax."

I sank back into the soft leather seat and tried to do just that. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't that simple. We were on the way to a family dinner with probably the most terrifying father-figure I'd ever encountered. Viktor screamed pure, unbridled power and control. He screamed danger.

"What are you thinking about?"

I glanced to Alexei whose eyes were dark and intense. "Nothing," I evaded, "just thinking."

"Tell me."

I sighed, "I was thinking about your dad. He seems..."

"I know."

"I didn't even say anything."

"I know how he seems, Grace. I know what he's like. Just stay quiet, only speak when spoken to, and hopefully this shit show will be over quickly," Alex advised.

The car was slowing a little now. We were in South Bank, close to the Tate and St Paul's, which surprised me. I expected the Ivanovs to have a large regal home on the outskirts of London with a acres of land surrounding it. Not an apartment in NEO Bankside.

"Your family lives here?" I asked, "in South Bank?"

We pulled into a private underground garage which a security guard easily waved us through. "No," Alex said, "they don't."

"Then why—?"

"I live here." I looked at him in utter confusion and he cocked a brow. "You didn't think I'd let you go to dinner looking like that, did you?"

"What's wrong with how I look?" I scowled.

"Nothing," he shrugged. "If you're going to a cheap club."

I opened my mouth to make a sharp comment back but Alexei had already climbed out of the car. Cheeks burning red, I flung open the door to follow him. "You know, just because you have money coming out the wazoo doesn't mean the rest of us can afford to spend five hundred pounds on a dress."

We stepped into a sleek silver lift and Alex smirked. "Five hundred pounds? Try five thousand."

Five thousand pounds on a stupid item of clothing?! Anger coursing through me, I took a sudden step forward so I was practically toe-to-toe with Alexei, ready to release my angry rant on him. But I never got the chance. The lift took off suddenly, making my head rush, and the air between us seemed to turn electrified. I stared up at his towering height and tried to remember how to breathe.

"You're so..." I wanted to say ridiculous but I couldn't seem to finish my sentence. Instead my breathy words hung in the air, trembling under the darkness of Alexei's eyes. There was something that seemed to burn behind them as I stood paralysed—something lighter, warmer, softer than usual.

His hand lifted to brush away a strand of hair from my cheek but hesitated. "So...what?" he coaxed.

I couldn't respond. I was too busy thinking about his hand hovering so close to my face, my lips, sending ripples of electricity towards my skin. If either of us moved half an inch we'd be touching. That thought alone raised the hairs on my neck as though they'd been shot through with a current.

"Grace," Alex repeated, his voice low yet urgent, "so what?"

Ding. The lift came to a halt and suddenly it was as though our trance had been broken. I stepped away from Alexei and he dropped his hand.

Alex's apartment was just as large, refined and ostentatious as I'd imagined. It was modern and minimalistic, with lots of artfully crafted empty spaces. The kitchen was beautifully finished and spotlessly clean, with windows looking out across London. The living room was equally breathtaking; a leather sofa with a fur throw draped across the back, a glass coffee table and a sleek, silver-framed electric fire place. The floor-to-ceiling windows displayed St Paul's in the distance as well as the meandering Thames. It must have cost millions.

"It seems very...exposed," I observed. Alex paused beside me and smirked.

"The glass is bullet-proof and my security system is top-of-the-range. The door man is also one of mine."

"Makes sense." I tried to quell the anxiety that rose whenever Alexei mentioned his need for such drastic security measures. "What exactly are we doing here, anyway?"

He set off towards a door which presumably led to his bedroom. "I told you, you need to change."

"But—"

"I had something delivered." As always he'd managed to read my mind.

I folded my arms and leaned against the doorframe. "I'm not wearing anything expensive."

"Then I guess you're wearing nothing at all."

Alexei didn't even flinch as he said those words, his dark eyes fixed on my surprised expression. I felt colour flood my cheeks imagining being so exposed, so intimate, with Alex. He never missed a detail of anything—I couldn't imagine my naked body being explored by his gaze, his hands, his lips...

"Cat got your tongue?" he smirked.

I startled from my haze of wild thoughts and blushed even more. "No," I denied.

"Good. We have a dinner to attend."

The master bedroom was equally as stunning as the rest of the apartment. It too had floor-to-ceiling windows opposite the king sized bed which was clad—fittingly—in black silk sheets. The room was entirely minimalistic, and entirely Alex.

"Here." From on top of the leather chest at the foot of the bed Alex picked up a rectangular black box. It was large but thin and surprisingly light as he handed it to me. I stared vacantly—what had I done to deserve a gift? A cream silk bow had been expertly tied around the package.

"The dress," Alex reminded impatiently. "Put it on, Grace."

I turned away so he couldn't see the colour in my cheeks. "You need to leave."

"Excuse me?"

"The room," I hastily added. "So I can change."

Alexei glared at me for a second as if weighing up the probability that I'd steal something and do a runner while he wasn't looking.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll be just outside the door."

Evidently I didn't look like a character from GTA.

Once Alex had left the room I set the box down on his bed and gently pulled the ribbon. The bow unfastened and I pulled the lid off apprehensively. God knows how he'd be expecting me to dress to meet his parents...

Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised. The dress was navy blue, fitted but with a modest neckline and enough length to be deemed proper. It was simple but classy and elegant, with a thin cream belt around the waist. I picked it up carefully and held it out in front of me. It was the sort of dress I'd never be able to afford myself.

"Are you ready yet?" Alexei called from outside the door.

I rolled my eyes at his impatience. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't have superhuman speed?"

I smiled when I heard him mumble something in Russian like a frustrated child. Trust Alexei to be the most impatient person on the whole planet.

When I pulled the dress on I couldn't believe how perfectly it seemed to fit, or how silky the material felt against my skin. I took note of the Dior label to bring up with Alex later, when we were alone and not in a rush, and as I was wondering what exactly I might say, I discovered the dress' fatal flaw.

The zipper was at the back.

I spent a solid three minutes trying aimlessly to reach it myself, to stretch my arms into ungodly positions in order to fasten the damn thing up. Of course it didn't budge. Of course.

"Grace, I asked you to change into the dress not remake it yourself," Alex called warningly. "What's taking you so long?"

Fumbling one last time to reach the zipper, I finally sighed and dropped my arms. It was hopeless. I'd have to admit defeat.

"I, um, I need some help."

"Tell me about it," I heard him mutter. Then, louder, "what do you mean you need help?"

"With the zip."

"Is it stuck?" I heard an edge of irritation in his voice, probably at the prospect of such an expensive dress being somehow unsatisfactory.

"No."

"Then what?" he sighed.

"I...can't reach it," I said.

There was a pause from the other side of the door. "Well have you tried?"

"Of course I've bloody tried!"

"I don't have time to find another dress..."

I rolled my eyes and fought the urge to rub them, only resisting as I remembered how much time Lena had spent on my makeup. Alex really was hard work. Was it that difficult to be in such close proximity to me? Hell, he didn't even have to touch me! All he had to do was pull up a damn zipper.

"You're going to have to do it for me." I felt my cheeks burning but what other choice did I have? I couldn't stand here half dressed forever.

There was a click as Alexei opened the bedroom door but I quickly called out, "wait!"

He sighed and closed it again. "What now?"

"You need to shut your eyes."

"Shut my eyes?" I nodded though he couldn't see me. "Grace, are you insane? Actually, don't answer that."

"You're wasting time," I reminded.

"So you expect me to navigate my room and find your zip then fasten it up with my eyes closed?" He sighed. "Want me to juggle while I'm at it?"

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."

"My, you're feeling feisty today. And I'm not closing my eyes." The door creaked open again.

"You have to!!"

Another deep sigh came from Alexei's chest. I didn't even know why I was being so difficult; the only exposed skin he'd see other than my legs would be my back. Somehow the thought of him seeing me like that, exposed and vulnerable, was something which both excited and terrified me. Today I wasn't feeling brave.

"Fine," Alex finally acquiesced. "I'll close my eyes."

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart." I couldn't quite tell if he was being serious but it would have to do.

"Okay."

Alexei | Grace

Of course I had my fucking fingers crossed when I made the promise. Half of me marvelled at how naïve Grace really was to think I would miss the opportunity to see any part of her exposed. I'd been with a lot of women in my time, naturally, but never had the the thought of someone's back and shoulders had me so hard. Nobody had irritated me quite so much either so I guess Grace was a first on a few counts.

For the third time I pushed the damn door open and this time she didn't call out for me to stop. A smile flitted briefly across my face in satisfaction.

"Are your eyes closed?" Grace demanded bossily. She was feeling bold today—something which again turned me on and annoyed me. People, women especially, weren't usually so forthright with me.

"Yes," I sighed, "they're closed."

Of course I had my fucking fingers crossed.

Finally Grace was quiet and I could take the time to admire her in peace. As soon as I set eyes on her I felt my jaw clench. This time not out of annoyance but something else.

She was stood in the middle of my room, the navy material of the dress pooled around her waist as she held it up in her small hands. My eyes traced her figure from the bottom up; her smooth, toned calves so pale they could have been made from porcelain, her curvy thighs I could have got lost in. And she was just stood there waiting for me.

The thought was enough to send me wild with need.

I took a step closer and admired her back—the dip in the middle where her spine was, a soft curve I imaged following like a pathway with my palm. Her waist was small, the perfect place to rest my hand, and between the valley of her shoulder blades was the perfect place to kiss, tracing with my tongue the landscape that led up to her delicate neck.

Another step closer and now I could see it when she shivered, a ripple crossing the skin of her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly.

I don't know.

"Alexei?"

Say it again.

"You better have your eyes closed!" She span around and the spell was broken—I snapped my eyes shut instantly.

"I was trying to navigate blind," I said flatly.

It was a lie in the sense she thought it meant but somehow it still felt true. Navigating blind was exactly how it felt being around Grace.

"Hurry up," she teased, "we have a dinner to get to."

I smiled. "Okay, Boss."

A/N I loooooove the ending of this chapter. And it was written in Florence, Italy which makes it even better!

Sorry it's taken me so long to finish this update; I've been travelling for this past week and won't be back till Saturday.

Anyway let me know your thoughts please and don't forget to vote:)

-e