Sasha, a young man with long blond hair and piercing onyx eyes, stood in the shower as steam fogged the sliding glass door. His hands smoothed over his hair, moving the strands away from his androgynous face. Sasha was beautiful like a woman, long slender fingers and a model-like build. Six years ago he had met Vitya in a place called Butterfly Garden and ever since he had become a valuable asset to Vitya, the connections to rich and powerful men and the knowledge of their vulnerabilities allowed Vitya to get ahead faster.

The obstacle remained to be the Triad for all those years, especially since Master Cheung never frequented brothels and he certainly never went to Butterfly Garden in Russia. It made the task of getting inside difficult and at times Vitya took that anger out on Sasha through harsh intimacy and seeking validation of his superiority over Sasha. That is what gave Sasha purpose outside of entertaining international elites at Butterfly Garden, instead he was the prized possession of Vitya and that relationship was complex, transactional, and at times exhausting. Sasha turned the faucet to close, the water stopped pouring and he slid the glass door open and stepped out onto the rug above the marble floor.

He dried himself off with a black towel and pulled a white, fluffy robe over his shoulders and swiped his hand across the foggy mirror to see himself. Sasha had bruises along his collarbone and he winced when touching them. Taking a deep breath, he tugged the collar of the robe closer to his neck to cover the marks of Vitya's affection. While their relationship was something anyone would run away from, Sasha could never let it go and constantly felt the need to prove his value and by doing so he gained his place. It wasn't until that phone call the other night with Lien that made him begin to feel protective over his six year long commitment to Vitya.

Seeds of jealousy blossomed in the pit of his stomach when he opened the bathroom door and his eyes flickered to the closed door of Vitya's study. His boss had been distracted with waiting for the next call and Sasha knew it would come. The short amount of time he became acquainted with Lien's voice, cadence, and attitude. He now knew that the grandson of Master Cheung was impulsive and arrogant, something Vitya would take advantage of. Sasha went around the corner in the hallway and into the kitchen, setting up the crystal liquid decanter set onto a silver plated serving tray. Instead of vodka, the glass contained the strongest whiskey money could buy and two small glasses to pour into. Sasha lifted the tray up, biting his tongue to quell that jealousy building up inside of him as he opened the door to the study, the amber glow coming from the kitchen latching onto the polished red mahogany floors that glimmered like velvet chocolate covered raspberries in the study.

He had the sense he was interrupting something when he stood at the threshold of the door and observed Vitya staring at the cellphone on the desk, then the boss' eyes would go from the cell-phone to the clock on the wall and repeated. Sasha cleared his throat, his hands gripping the silver serving tray and Vitya's eyes snapped towards Sasha without any words coming from him. "Sir, I thought you might like a drink." Sasha broke the silence with his soft voice barely penetrating the thick atmosphere of the study. Vitya hadn't moved at all, his eyes returning to their routine of gazing at the cellphone to the wall clock and Sasha hesitantly approached the desk and set the tray down, the crystal glasses clinking against one another like disturbed wind chimes.

Suddenly, Vitya had grabbed Sasha's collar and pulled him down to his knees. He turned the others face with his large hands and pulled the robe open, a breathy exhale escaping Vitya. "Do you not like the gifts I give you, kotenok?" He said, pressing his thumb into the bruises on Sasha's collarbone. "No, sir." Sasha's breath hitched and he shakily shook his head. "Good, now sit with me. He'll call soon." Vitya ordered and Sasha obeyed like a docile pet, sitting on the armrest of Vitya's upholstered chair. The pair sat in silence that lasted about ten painstaking minutes until the cellphone lit up and began to ring.

Amused, Vitya began to smirk and grabbed the phone that looked like a toy in the massive hands of the Bratva boss. His muscles contorted under his button up shirt, provoking Sasha to gulp as the call was answered. "Miss me?" Lien's voice broke the tension in the room and Sasha returned to his spiteful expression while Vitya savored the voice of Lien. "Hardly, I know now that your lapdog controls your phone habits. What do you want now?" Vitya leaned back in the chair and put the phone down on speaker. "I want to meet in person. You should come to Beijing, escape the cold for awhile. Leave your whore at home, though." Lien quipped, a light laugh coming from the other side and Sasha gripped the part of his robe that laid over his knees, balling it up into his fist.

"No, thank you. Beijing is filthy." Vitya was short and gave nothing away, which seemingly had an affect on Lien on the other side of the call. Vitya and Sasha could both hear how Lien's tone became breathy, as if he was getting a rise out of Vitya's cold responses. Sasha was also getting angry at Lien for calling him a whore, that fist of robe fabric translating into his knuckles turning white when Vitya said something he never thought he'd hear. "If you're inclined to meet. Come to Moscow, I'll send you the location and you can be there at noon. Not a minute later or the meeting is off." Vitya remarked and leaned forward in the chair, preparing to end the call, expecting Lien to chicken out. "Noon? I'll be there, but you still haven't asked me." Lien stated over the call and Sasha had furrowed his brows at what could possibly happen next. "Asked you what?" Vitya huffed and tightened his grip on the cellphone.

"Do you want to see what I'm wearing, Vitya?" Lien asked and his voice was sensual, the slight ruffling of fabric picking up on the call. Vitya's smirk turned into a grin, knowing now that he had the upper hand. Lien was incredibly oblivious to the weight of the situation and blind to the true intentions of Vitya with these calls. However, Vitya decided to leave Lien with something that would keep interest high and ensure their meeting for the following day. "Careful, kotenok." Vitya responded in a deep voice, ending the call after that and Sasha was trembling with jealous rage.

Sasha couldn't believe his Vitya would call that Triad brat the same thing he was called. Kotenok. It rang through his ears like a deafening explosion as he stood up to his feet and whipped himself around to glare at Vitya. "Why waste your time with him? He's just a brat, he's useless to us." Sasha was overcome and forgot his place, Vitya's grinning expression faded and he would stand up from the chair like a looming storm cloud threatening to bring hail and blizzards. Vitya approached Sasha with his eyes down, the younger man beginning to back away while the floorboards creaked under him. Sasha's eyes kept towards Vitya's face, trying to read his emotions and he slowly began regretting what he said as his back met the sturdy wall behind him and he swallowed dryly. The two muscled arms lifted to either side of Sasha's head and Vitya hands would rest on the wall, closing Sasha in.

"I expected more from you, kotenok. What's gotten into you?" Vitya leaned in and whispered into his ear, that calmness was always a terrifying thing. It meant Vitya was angry and nothing good ever came from that. "Nothing, sir. I just don't think it's a smart move. We already have the heir, why play these games with the brat?" Sasha responded, knowing he was out of line and fearing for the consequences. That was until Vitya began planting kisses along Sasha's neck and one of his hands dropped to remove the robe from the others body. "Mm you smell like mint." Vitya said in a hushed tone, the backside of his hand grazing over Sasha's hip and then to his waist. "Tell me, are you jealous, kotenok?" Vitya chuckled and brought his head back to look at those onyx eyes while petting Sasha's long hair.

Sasha shook his head and Vitya growled, wrapping his fingers around Sasha's throat while his eyes glinted like a beast in the night. "Don't lie to me." Vitya demanded and Sasha gave in immediately when the grasp on his throat began to grow tighter. "Yes!- sir. I-I'm sorry. I was getting jealous." Sasha admitted and Vitya backed away, letting Sasha fall onto his hands and knees. "I wont be as forgiving next time, kotenok. Go to bed." Vitya went back to the chair and poured himself a glass of whiskey. Sasha stood up and pulled the robe on hastily, leaving the study and taking an exaggerated inhale.