[DIMITRI]By the time I enter our hotel room, I’m greeted with absolute silence.The first thing I do is check the time.Half past midnight. Of course, everyone already slept.I sigh, heading for the small bar in one of the many rooms in the suite and making myself a large drink. After the kind of d
“You’re so beautiful,” I say.She’s still sleepy, but not as much as before. Her eyes are bright with confusion and her body is tense. I don’t blame her. I’m a bastard for waking her up like this.“D-Dimitri…”“Shh, kroshka.”“Wait, Dimitri…”“I can’t. Not now.”I unclasp her bra and free her breast
[NADIA]The next morning, I woke up groaning my head off.Fuck, did he have to be so rough? So fucking demanding? Such an asshole?I roll my eyes and sink deeper into the bathtub.The only good thing about this morning is the bathroom that I’m not sharing with that monster and this warm water, doing
[DIMITRI]“All the preparations have been made,” Lex says and continues to smoke his cigar, the white smoke thick around his mouth. “Whenever you say, my men will drop Ivan and his wife to your plane, and I’ll be more than happy to see you all leave.”I hold back the painful urge to roll my eyes. “S
Dimitri nodded.I was still shocked and needed more details. “How? When? Why? And why are you telling me?” I was so unequipped to handle such massive news. I didn’t even know why I was suddenly panicking, why my legs were shaking, and why I couldn’t form a sentence without my brain glitching every f
[NADIA]“Mommy!” Tatiana screams at the top of her lungs and runs in the opposite direction.I scrunch up my face and groan so deeply into my throat that I’m confident I scratched myself.Ugh! Not that it matters right now.It’s been two days since we returned to Moscow, and although Tatiana usually
[DIMITRI]The walk in the park quickly turns into a long and twisted run through the trees. Tatiana’s mood is instantly lifted at the sight of the snow, which is almost everywhere. She runs like a little maniac who doesn’t know what to do with herself. She screams, she squeals, and then she runs bac
[NADIA]Once we get back home, it’s normal once again.Tatiana goes back to chatting and playing and running around the place.I slip into the kitchen to take care of the dinnerDimitri heads into his office and doesn’t come out until midnight.I’m in my room, studying human anatomy in detail.Did y
After our fourth round of pure, wild sex, I have nothing left in me. Every ounce of energy drained, I barely manage to pull the sheets over myself before sleep claims me.When I wake hours later, the room is dim, the soft glow of my bedside lamp casting long shadows on the walls. My body feels heavy
[NADIA]“You’re here?” I say into the phone, clutching my books tightly to my chest as I glance around. “Where?”“Outside. Meet me when you’re done with your classes.”A wide grin spreads across my face, excitement bubbling inside me. “Oh, I’m done. And even if I wasn’t, I’d still run to you.”Dimit
The Ivan I know is strong. Unshakable. Even in the worst situations, he carries himself with a quiet, effortless confidence that makes you believe nothing could ever touch him.But the man lying in this hospital bed, surrounded by beeping machines and the sterile scent of antiseptic, looks nothing l
[ANASTASIA]Ever since I woke up after the incident, I have been dying to see Ivan.But now that I’m standing outside his room—where supposedly he had been admitted—, I can’t muster up the courage to push open the damn door.I’m nervous. Terrified. And most of all, unsure.I don’t know if I’m ready
Lena presses her lips together tightly, the color draining from her face until it looks almost lifeless.For a long moment, she doesn’t speak. The silence stretches between us, thick and suffocating. I can feel my heartbeat in my ears, pounding relentlessly, echoing my fear.Why the hell is she taki
[ANASTASIA]The next time I open my eyes, I’m not alone.Lena sits next to my bed, her hand in mine, her eyes closed, as if she fell asleep while watching over me.For the first time since waking up from my so-called long slumber, I look at her carefully. She looks more tired than I’ve ever seen her
[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 m
[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
[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, w