[DIMITRI]By the time I’m done with my work, it’s already morning. I look at the time and groan, stretching my arms over my head. Last night, after Nadia visited me in my office, I had every intention of finishing my work as soon as possible and heading back to the bedroom so I could join her in bed and sleep while holding her close to my chest. But the endless calls from the dealers kept me busy all night. Now that I’m finally done with all the paperwork and handing out orders for tonight’s shipments, I feel like I’ll be dead as soon as I hit the bed.Shit. I didn’t even know Ivan did so much work. I thought he was all about giving orders and strategizing our next course of action. But I underestimated the kind of role he played in keeping this organization together. Not only that, he took time for almost everything. He took care of his men as if they were his own brothers and never gave them a chance to complain.Me? I don’t even know how to comfort the next person. I don’t even kno
[NADIA]I’m still reeling from the intensity of his touch, his words echoing in my head like a relentless drumbeat. Dmitri’s kisses had been a revelation, each one more consuming than the last. My body still tingles from where he’d touched me, and the heat between us is almost unbearable. He’s so damn possessive, so sure of himself, and it’s driving me wild.I’m on the kitchen counter, trying to regain my composure, but every time I move, I can still feel the imprint of his hands, the burn of his lips.Dmitri’s words, those fierce declarations of love, are a heady mix of vulnerability and raw, unfiltered emotion. I never imagined he could be so… intense, so unapologetically passionate. He’s shaking me to my core, making me question everything I thought I knew about myself. Or him.I slide off the counter, feeling the ache in my thighs from the rough, primal way he’d handled me. Every part of me is buzzing with a craving that I can’t quite articulate, but it’s not just physical. It’s h
[NADIA]He undoes his belt.Slowly. Teasingly.Taking his time with the buckle, knowing that each moment of anticipation is driving me crazy with need.The fabric parts, revealing his cock, already rock-hard and straining at the front of his boxer briefs. I reach up, tugging at his waistband, desperate to feel his hot, heavy length against my tongue.He groans, hissing as I wrap my hand around him and free him from his underwear.“Fuck,” Dimitri hisses, his thick fingers curling in my hair as I lick up the shaft of his cock.Tasting it. Loving it.I swirl my tongue around the sensitive head, lapping at the pre-cum beading at the tip. Dimitri makes all kinds of noises from the back of his throat, his chest and abdomen tight with anticipation.Then, when I think he’s on the brink of losing it, I wrap my lips around him and slide them down the length of his thick shaft until the head is pr
[DIMITRI]When I declared my love for Nadia, I didn’t know what I expected to hear in return. I wasn’t even expecting anything, truth be told.But now that she has returned those words with her own, I feel like I’m over the fucking moon. My damn heart is racing so hard and fast in my chest, I feel like I might pass out from the force.But I don’t. And thank fucking God for that. I lean down to kiss her instead, tangling my fingers into the blonde mess of her hair and kissing her deep, hard, and long.“You mean that, Nadyushka? Tell me you mean that.”If her confession turns out to be something people say in bed because it feels “right in the moment,” I don’t want it. I want a real confession. I need to know what she really fucking feels.
[NADIA]Dimitri steps out of the bathroom, and his dark eyes land directly on me.I’m still lying on the bed, on my side, still feeling drained after the mind-blowing sex marathon we just had.But can you really blame me? This beast of a man knows what he’s doing, and he leaves me not only utterly satisfied but exhausted to my bones. I can still feel his warm seed leaking out from between my legs, and the ache of his bites on my shoulders and back.He’s still dripping wet from the shower, water sliding down those chiseled muscles that have left me wrecked and raw. Every step he takes towards me sends a shiver down my spine. My body’s still humming from everything we just did, and I can’t help but let out a soft moan as I watch him move.“Fuck, Dimitri,” I murmur, my voice hoarse from all the screaming I did earlier. “You’ve ruined me.”He doesn’t say a word, just gives me that dark, possessive look that always gets my pulse racing. His eyes rake over my body, taking in the mess he mad
[NADIA]The mention of Tatiana is enough to give me all the encouragement I need to push myself off the bed.Dimitri laughs—a rare sound that I’m surely looking forward to getting used to—and leaves the room after pulling up his underwear and pants. He grabs his shirt from the closet too, but the next doorbell that arrives forces him to take care of that door right about now.I have no time to find something decent to wear either, so I just grab my last night’s clothes from the floor and put them on.Before I even rush out of the room, the unmistakable sound of Tatiana’s childish voice echoes against the walls.My heart, for some reason, pounds harder against my chest.The last time I saw this little girl she thought we were playing a game. We were not. But from what Dimitri told me after our first lovemaking this morning, she seemed to have taken the game way too seriously. She refused to say anything, playing along as I told her to, and it was only when she feared the game was taking
[NADIA]After getting another round of hot sex out of our system, with both stayed sprawled out on the carpeted floor of his office, with me using his arm as a pillow.I sigh. “I can’t believe the kind of stamina I suddenly have.”Dimitri chuckles, the deep sound vibrating through my entire body. “And I can’t believe I get to make love to a woman without her screaming within five minutes how she can’t handle someone like me.”I turn over my stomach, resting my chin on his chest. “Really?”“Yep!” He says, casually, entwining my fingers with his and kissing the tips of each one. “You’re the only one to never have complained about anything. Not even my ugly face.”“Hey,” I shush him, placing my finger on his lips. “Never say that again.”He quirks up a brow. “Why? You want me to say I’m fucking beautiful instead.” He rolls his eyes.“You ARE beautiful,” I say, more stubbornly because he seems to be in the mood to not take me seriously. I can tell. I sure as hell can. “Sure, you have scar
[DIMITRI]I should’ve known my words would get twisted like that. And of course, it would end up hurting my woman in the worst way possible.But God knows that wasn’t my intention. I just have a crude way of speaking and often forget not everyone can take it. It’s an old habit, one I need to work on changing.I cup Nadia’s face, wiping her tears with my thumb. I should be comforting her after everything she just blurted out, but instead, I can’t help it—I start laughing. I can’t stop until she looks up at me like I’ve completely lost it.Her eyebrows snap and her lips upturn in a deep frown. “You think it’s funny?”“No!” I shake my head, meaning it, but laughter simply bubbles out of me. I turn around to take a breather, and when I think I’m in better control of myself, I turn back around to face her.Only to find her gone.Whatever lingering smile on my face dies right away. “Nadia?”I glance toward the door and see her rushing out of the room.“Shit!” I bolt after her down the hallw
[NIKOLAI]Once we finally get to his office, Konstantin takes his seat behind the desk and raises an eyebrow. He looks kind of pissed, but not enough to end me right here and now.He might have the power to do that and carry on with his day as if nothing happened, but I know in my gut he won’t. He made a promise to our parents that no harm would come to me. And if there’s anyone I know who keeps their word, no matter the circumstances, it’s him. My very own, very infuriating brother.“So,” he drawls, leaning back in his chair and propping his legs up on the desk, crossing them at the ankles. “What do you want to talk about?”I don’t sit in the chair in front of me; instead, I start pacing the room. I glance around and find it exactly how our father designed it. Not a single thing has been changed or moved. It’s like walking into a museum of old memories.“I want to challenge Madam Volkova,” I say, almost expecting him to scoff.But he doesn’t. Instead, he tips his head to the side. “Wh
[NIKOLAI]I hang up the phone and stare hard at the ground.“Fuck you, Dimitri!” I growl, clenching the phone tighter and huffing out a heavy breath.The bastard has the audacity to make me responsible for everything that happened to Ana and Ivan. But is it? Am I really the one to blame?I look away, peeling my back off the car and slipping inside.I put my hand on the steering wheel, unable to shake his words from my mind.Shit. If only I had known the consequences of my actions, maybe this day would have never come. Maybe Ana would still be safe, and Ivan would still be breathing on his own, not with the help of some fucking machine.“Fuck!” I punch the steering wheel, growling louder.I turn the key in the ignition and drive away from the motel. I’m not sure if what I’m about to do next is the right choice, but it seems like the only option I have left. I can’t go back to Madam Volkova after my fallout with her, and Dimitri doesn’t seem interested in having me by his side either.I
[DIMITRI]I storm out of the building and light a cigarette, unable to think of anything else.I breathe in the smoke and then blow it out, hoping it will take away the stress pressing on my chest, making my lungs incapable of doing their job.I don’t know what to do anymore. Ana is finally awake, which is good news, of course.But what the hell do I tell her when she wakes up next time and asks the same questions all over again? How do I give her the answers that are sure to crush her?Maybe I’ve developed a new weakness these days—maybe falling in love makes you a fucking weak asshole—but I can’t seem to bear seeing that woman cry. I just can’t.It fucking stabs me right in the throat to see those tears streaming down her face, to see that fear in her eyes that seems to linger around her whenever she asks about Ivan.I take another big breath of smoke and then drop it, crushing it under the tip of my boot.“Fuck!”My phone rings just then. I thank God for the fucking distraction and
[ANASTASIA]“Mommy!”One word, and my heart shatters into a million pieces.Before I even turn my gaze to the door, warmth floods through me, and tears well up in my eyes.My little girl comes running into the room, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail bouncing with every step. Her eyes are sharp, excited, and filled with so much love. Her face is a canvas of every emotion I’ve ever seen her wear in my entire life.I don’t even realize it, but my arms open on their own, my chest aching to feel her little heart against mine.But just when I think she’s about to jump onto the bed and throw herself into my arms, she stops and stands there with her hands behind her back, her little legs fidgeting as she looks up at the doctor, her small eyes seeking some kind of permission.I suppose the last two months have changed a lot. My daughter, who used to storm in and out of any place she wanted, now suddenly looks afraid of hurting me.Tears race down my face. I wipe them as quickly as I can,
[ANASTASIA]“How long was I out?” I whisper, lips trembling. “How long was I unconscious?”Lena, now standing in front of me, looks like the words are stuck in her throat. She swallows thickly and squeezes my hand, a sad smile playing on her lips.“Two months,” she says, but it feels like she’s talking about someone else. “You’ve been in a coma for two months.”This can’t be true. It can’t be.Tears burn my eyes. My heart feels like it’s on fire. “What the hell do you mean by that? How can I be… how is that even… I can’t… I mean… this can’t be…”I don’t even know what I’m trying to say, but I know I don’t believe her.Frustration grates beneath my skin. “Just call Ivan. If he says the same as what you’re all saying, then I’ll believe you. Just call him, Lena. Where is he anyway? Shouldn’t he be here? Sitting next to me, taking care of me? He promised he’d never leave my side again. He promised, Lena. He fucking promised.”“I know,” she sobs, wiping her face with the back of her hand.
[DIMITRI]A week later, we both sit in the car and stare at the huge gates ahead.“This is it, I guess,” she says softly, for the first time not so eager to talk about leaving.It’s strange how the last few days changed everything. They changed me. Who would have thought an asshole like me could ever fall for an angel like her? Nadia is an angel. She’s the most beautiful, pure-hearted, a little fiery, but the best of the angels out there. In fact, if you ask me, she’s the only angel out there.My angel.I let out a sigh. “Yep. This is it.” I turn to look at her and can’t help grabbing the back of her head, pulling her in for a kiss. A long, deep, and passionate kiss. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her—her lips, her body, everything about her. “I’m going to miss you like hell.”She grins, her pale blue eyes twinkling, her stubborn blonde curls escaping the trap of her knitted cap. “I’ll miss you like hell too. In fact,” she brushes her nose against mine, “I think I’m going to mi
[NADIA]I’m not sure what to say.And if I look like someone who has been slapped across the face with a hand as cold as ice, then maybe I do look like that person, because apparently, I feel like that person.Every word coming out of Dimitri’s mouth is like slap after slap.But not in a bad way, of course. More like a slap of surprise. Or shock. Or whatever I’m feeling right now that has no name.“What did you say?” I can’t help but ask. There’s still a chance I heard that wrong. Never before has Dimitri talked about my Uni of his own free will. So, to think he not only brought it into the conversation but also seems happy about it is a little hard for me to believe.He gives me a look—of course, he does—but doesn’t try to argue. “I said you’re going back next week. They’re expecting you to continue your semester and sit for the final exams.”“But what about my attendance? I’m way behind—”“It’s been taken care of,” he says, but the smug look on his face is scary as hell.I tilt my h
[DIMITRI]I should’ve known my words would get twisted like that. And of course, it would end up hurting my woman in the worst way possible.But God knows that wasn’t my intention. I just have a crude way of speaking and often forget not everyone can take it. It’s an old habit, one I need to work on changing.I cup Nadia’s face, wiping her tears with my thumb. I should be comforting her after everything she just blurted out, but instead, I can’t help it—I start laughing. I can’t stop until she looks up at me like I’ve completely lost it.Her eyebrows snap and her lips upturn in a deep frown. “You think it’s funny?”“No!” I shake my head, meaning it, but laughter simply bubbles out of me. I turn around to take a breather, and when I think I’m in better control of myself, I turn back around to face her.Only to find her gone.Whatever lingering smile on my face dies right away. “Nadia?”I glance toward the door and see her rushing out of the room.“Shit!” I bolt after her down the hallw
[NADIA]After getting another round of hot sex out of our system, with both stayed sprawled out on the carpeted floor of his office, with me using his arm as a pillow.I sigh. “I can’t believe the kind of stamina I suddenly have.”Dimitri chuckles, the deep sound vibrating through my entire body. “And I can’t believe I get to make love to a woman without her screaming within five minutes how she can’t handle someone like me.”I turn over my stomach, resting my chin on his chest. “Really?”“Yep!” He says, casually, entwining my fingers with his and kissing the tips of each one. “You’re the only one to never have complained about anything. Not even my ugly face.”“Hey,” I shush him, placing my finger on his lips. “Never say that again.”He quirks up a brow. “Why? You want me to say I’m fucking beautiful instead.” He rolls his eyes.“You ARE beautiful,” I say, more stubbornly because he seems to be in the mood to not take me seriously. I can tell. I sure as hell can. “Sure, you have scar