V I K T O R M A K A R O V I C H — T H E B U T C H E R

"Curse this damn weather," Peach grumbled from beside me, wrapping herself tighter into the long warm faux fur coat I'd given her. She was practically hidden in the brown bear skin. "Why did I wear this damn dress?"

I turned my gaze away from her and back to the road, trying hard not to think about what lay beneath the coat. Thick wide hips, a small waist and an ample chest. I knew Peach looked good but I hadn't thought she'd be so tempting. My mind run with sinful thoughts about what I could get her to do for me to truly be my entertainment for the night.

Our little banter after I'd tried to lay down had caused tension to fall between us until we'd gone out of the room and Peach had grumbled about the weather even with her warm coat. I wore the one she had before, a slight feminine scent on it. It wasn't strong but it was different and it affected me.

I liked her wearing my clothes.

"Is the AC on?" Peach asked looking at the dashboard of the car I'd had brought for us to go to the hotel in style and avoid suspicion.

My black Bugatti Chiron would do. I wasn't a fan of the smaller car but Peach had gushed about when she set her sights on the machine and it caused pride to rise in my chest, lifting my mood and my ego.

"Yes, it is," I assured her. "It's not that cold in the car."

"I'm warming up for when I have to get out," she explained and extended her leg, flashing her silver stappy heels. I wondered what they would look like over my lap but I turned my gaze back to the road. I needed to focus.

"Why hasn't it stopped snowing?" she asked angrily. "Don't the skies ever get tired?"

I shook my head, increasing the speed of the vehicle as we closed in on the restaurant. The hum of the vehicle was soft and slightly soothing for my nerves. I really wanted a smoke. It had been too long. The remaining journey was comfortingly silent as Peach stared out the window. I kept glancing at her, my eyes running over her hair and her make-up. She was quite pretty without it but she looked sexier with it on. I'd never realised how long her lashes were and how hooded her gaze could be when she talked to me.

My brain somehow short circuited when I thought of Peach and her well being. I still couldn't believe I'd asked her to be my consigliere but it was a decision I would never regret or take back. I had been deathly serious when I asked her and I'd be honoured to work with her on Bratva affairs. I needed all the help I could get. I didn't even want to think about the fact that I'd let the knowledge that I might not want to be a Don slip.

Peach did that to me. She made me want to open up about all the things I thought and planned. She was the kind of person I'd tell good or bad new to first, just to know what she thought. I glanced at her again and wondered how her opinion had become so important to me. That's why I felt uneasy with bringing her into the Bratva. She'd know the part of me I was trying to keep hidden. The Butcher wasn't a title I was proud of.

When we reached the hotel, I parked and unbuckled my seatbelt easily. Peach didn't have much luck. I got out of the car, shutting the door softly before rounding to Peach's side and opening it up.

"The damn belt is stuck in the coat or something," she reported to me, looking up with her brown eyes soft and angelic. I resisted the urge to rub my hand on her cheek and bent, reaching over her in the seat to help her out.

Her scent drifted into my nose and I secretly took a deep inhale. I don't know what Sunshine had given her but it was good. It smelt slightly masculine, not entirely chocolate and vanilla, suiting Peach. When I released her from the belt, I held my hand out for her to hold as she stepped out. Walking a few steps, she tripped on the ice on the road, letting out a soft yelp as she tried to find support from me. Our bodies were flush together and even under the coat, I could feel Peach's full figure pressed in my skin. Meanwhile, she cursed winter as I threw the valet my keys.

"Scratch it and I'll have my men harvest whatever good organs you have to pay for the repair," I promised in a low voice and the man paled before nodding.

I helped Peach inside the restaurant, telling the stark eyes waitress to take our coats. She did and I led Peach to my booth, a hand on the small of her back, making sure it didn't dip any lower. My fingers brushed her cool skin and resisted the urge to rub my hands over the dark bronze expanse, digging my fingers into her flesh. Damn her dress was short and she had a nice set of long smooth legs. Her stride was confident as it could be and to my surprise, she slipped her hand around my waist, her slender fingers tickling at my side.

Naturally, I kept my head up as I weaved through the room and encouraged Peach to slide into my booth first before I sat next to her. She kept her legs crossed and her arms to herself in her lap, placing her silver clutch on the table. Settling in next to her, I leaned down a bit and slightly spread my legs to get more comfortable.

A few seconds passed as Peach kept distance between us. I placed my hand on her knee and using a little more strength than I should've, I pulled her closer to me so our sides were flush against each other. I proceeded to put my arm around her shoulder and be closer to me. She was so cold, I noted and I rubbed down her hand.

"Um... Viktor?" she whispered, sounding unsure.

"Hmm?" I responded.

"What are you doing?"

"Playing a part. You have to play yours too," I reminded her feeling a little selfish, wanting to feel more of her, be within her touch.

"Oh," she whispered and finally relaxed into me, laying her head on my shoulder. To get more comfortable, she turned her body to my side so we practically cuddled in the booth. She lay her hand on my chest and surprised, I froze a little, feeling my cheeks heating up.

Shit.

The hostess came back again, her name tag reading Cara.

"Would you like anything Mr. Makarovich?" she asked, casting a glance at Peach who wasn't really paying attention to her presence, glancing around the elegant restaurant.

"A cigar," I told her and she nodded, dashing away.

"What you told that guy was mean by the way," Peach suddenly spoke up. When she turned and saw my frown, she rolled her eyes. "The valet. The one you threatened to harvest organs from?"

"It wasn't a threat," I told her. "It was a promise."

"Any scratch would be an accident. You don't have to get him killed," she suggested.

"I know I don't have to. I'm teaching him to be responsible with what's mine."

Peach huffed and rested back on my chest again, making circles on my chest with her finger. The action made my heart race and my blood boil.

"I don't know why I even bother to find reason with you," she sighed.

That's the moment the hostess came back, putting three cigars and a lighter on the table.

"Anything else to satisfy you tonight Mr. Makarovich?" she asked and for some reason, Peach tensed at her tone though I couldn't figure out why.

"No. Leave," I commanded picking up the large cigar and placing it in my lips.

I reached for the lighter when Peach spoke. "Are women always that... direct and suggesting?"

"What do you mean?" I asked over my cigar.

"She was literally asking for you to take her as your hook-up for the night."

"She was?" I echoed, having not picked that up.

Peach groaned. "Unbelievable."

I shrugged and put the lighter to my lips, flicking it on a couple of times until it lit. My cigar caught the smoke it needed and I took a drag, letting it out. That was good. I leaned back and closed my eyes, putting the object back to my lips for another breath of bliss.

Next to me, Peach shifted and I opened my eyes to find her waving the smoke out of her face. Immediately, my blood run cold. You fucking idiot.

"Shit," I cursed and made a move to put out the cigar on the ash tray on the table. "I didn't ask if the smoke would bother you Peach."

She stopped my hand. "It doesn't. You can smoke."

I could tell that her words weren't completely true. "I'm taking it out," I decided. "You don't seem comfortable with this."

"It doesn't bother me Viktor, really," Peach confessed, taking the cigar out of my hands. "It just reminds me of someone and I'm not sure this it's a good thing or a bad one."

I don't know if she wanted to prove that she was ok with it or because she could but Peach McCoy surprised me again by putting the thick cigar between her glossed lips, right over where mine had been, taking in a drag. Her eyes fluttered closed as she held the smoke in then let it out through her nose, a soft stream that showed just how much she'd taken in. I was mesmerized, my blood rushing to my brain at how sexy and effortless she made the action seem.

When her eyes opened, she seemed different, not entirely with me and not because of the high. She handed the object back to me and sighed.

"Not going to lie, there was a time in my life I regret and I did a lot of things my mother would probably kill me for," she reveled with a sad smile. "Drugs, booze... anything that could help me forget. I want to put that all behind me. That's why I don't drink. Alcohol was a real problem for me but I can have a good smoke."

My eyes looked at Peach with a new light. For all the weeks we had been together, we hadn't really talked about our personal lives. Now, I wanted to know all about hers or what she was willing to share.

"A hacker and an addict?" I asked her softly. "Could you get any more surprising?"

Peach laughed and shook her head. "I'm a hell of a thief too. Took money from heavy accounts, used it to buy myself anything I needed to get drunk and high. Before that I might have had an obsession with controlling everything around me. A bit of OCD I guess. That's what my brother said anyway. I'm not so sure."

I knew what it felt like to not need a drug to get high. Some things were a little too addictive.

"How about you Viktor?" she teased. "Do anything illegal?"

My mind immediately went to the work I'd done as the Butcher. She didn't notice how much her question bothered me and I didn't let it show. "This and that."

"Right," she said with a roll of her eyes and a scoff.

The air between us was easy then. I tried not to dwell on the fact that I was taking smoke from the cigar where Peach's lips had been. For such an older man, the excitement flowing through me was that of a teenage boy.

"I haven't seen you in months and you come back with a whore by your side."

Peach immediately stiffened in my grasp and I tightened my hold on her shoulder, warning her to hold her tongue around the only man who'd ever address me as such.

"Uncle," I greeted as the stocky pot bellied man settled in front of me.

It was time to put up a show and really find out Markov's true intentions.