I grabbed two coffees from a vendor on the street corner and made my way out of the chill and into the sterile smell of the now familiar hospital."Rhea!" His voice was like a dream. Warm and soothing to the nerves. It made everything I worried about melt away and none of it mattered anymore. All those problems were little in comparison to seeing the smile on his face as I walked in."Good morning, Papa. Black coffee, no sugar and a splash of cream." He took the offered cup with a wide smile."You're my angel, Rhea. The sludge they have in here is no good." I sat on the edge of his bed and enjoyed the sound of that aged, gravelly voice.It reminded me of Sunday mornings eating cereals and watching cartoons in a kitchen with faded green walls. The smell of coffee in grandma's french press and their old terrier yapping in the background."I always bring the best." I leaned over and kissed his forehead. His pale eyes were watery, and he squinted back at me. But the smile on his face was
"Tell me about the.....", The words slipped free, and I bit my tongue. I didn't need to look at him, to feel Ricky's eyes widening and staring holes into the side of my face."Oh, miss Rhea, do you have something you want to share?" He purred."God, no," I chuckled out on an exhale."You know, I did think you had a little glow about you. You getting some action off the stage lately?" He waggled his brows suggestively."Shut up, Ricky. You know I don't need anyone when I have my fabulous princely dance partner." I leaned into his side and batted my eyelashes at him."I know, I'm like the best prince NYC has ever seen, but I also know I'm not the reason you have that little I -got-laid twinkle in your eye." He sucked his teeth."Well, I certainly don't have that."Ricky had never said that to me the morning after any of my meetings before.Ricky looked around, watching the other dancers start to clear away the table to leave. "Look, I know some of the other girls are dying for a reason
"okay, well," she huffed and looked around the room, "Do you have any plan this weekend, then? I just hoped that we could_"I cut her off before she could let those thoughts trail any farther and get the best of her. "I'm going to be working through the weekend. With the gala coming up and the new club foundation being set down there's too much to do. And if you're bored enough to come in here and bother me before the day is over then perhaps, I need to look into increasing your workload as well."Harriet stepped back; her eyes widened for a second before she schooled her features. I caught the flare of anger in her eyes before she closed and took a steadying breath. "No, I'm sure there's more to do that I just missed. Forgive me," she bit up.I stayed tense in my chair until Harriet vanished from my office. Even moments after she was gone, I sat unmoving in the leather seat, listening for foot steps outside the door. After a brief span, I exhaled heavily and pushed myself out of my s
"Bringing a respectable woman home, finally?" He chortled."Something like that", The corner of my mouth tugged up into a smirk. My uncle might not recognize Rhes right away when he sees her again, but I had a feeling my aunt would with as much as she loved the ballet.I knew I didn't have to worry about my uncle bringing up the first night I paid for Rhea with his wife around. If he did try to bring it up later, I would deal with it then. The thought of impressing my aunt with the city's Prima on my arm far outweighed anything snarky my uncle could say next week."As long as she can handle Annika, she's welcome", Nikolai shrugged."You think this one will be around long enough to accompany you to the Gala? If the gold diggers in this city see you there alone, they'll be on you like flies. Especially after that damn magazine came out." I will have Rhea for three months. She certainly would be on my arm for the Gala. "I like to think she'll stick with me for that long", l responded to
The traffic outside of the car grew louder as we passed busier streets and the inside the car became quiet. The entire time I felt as if I might start sweating bullets. Just because her STD s were negative didn't mean nothing else could be wrong with her. She specifically asked Antonio to let her walk and then went to the hospital right after the clinic. Rhea didn't seem sick, and I didn't think the ballet would let her dance if something was wrong. Especially not as the prima. As much as my imagination was running away with me, I had to assume it was something personal for Rhea.The closer we got to my home, the more I was dying to find a way to bring the subject up.However, we weren't on that level yet. Just because she was obligated to fuck me whenever I had a hard on didn't mean she owed me the details of her private life.For all intents and purposes, I was barely more than her owner and her my pretty object.I hated myself for even thinking that, but it might help to keep me f
"Rhea," He growled. He moved his hands to grab my arms and yanked me upright. It knocked the wind out of me when I crashed against his hard chest. Before I could say anything, he lifted a hand to pull my hair free of the loose bun I wrapped it in. The hair tie fell to the ground and my eyes closed as Aleksander wrapped his fingers in the back of hair to yank my head to the side.His mouth captured my neck and his teeth bit down on a sensitive spot above my shoulder. He followed the bite with his fiery tongue, soothing the slight pain his teeth left. A moan escaped me, and he groaned in response, pressing his teeth against another spot on my neck."Fucking hell, I need you, baby." His words made my heart skip a beat dangerously. The cloud of desire was already warping my mind, and when Aleksander let go of me, my eyes snapped open. I heard his belt rustling and angled my head back to look at him."Aleksander." I whimpered. He stilled when he heard my voice, but a second later he was mo
Without warning, Aleksander pulled me by hair until my head was back and he was leering down at me. There was a dangerous smirk on his face, and his heavy breathing made me wonder if he was as unhinged as I felt."Such a needy girl. You're going to come from just a finger over your panties, aren't you?" His sensual voice with that obscene question pushed me closer to the edge, and he knew it. That gaze of his never missed any move my body made, even the smallest tremor."Aleksander, please," I begged, nearly in tears, I yanked at the belt on my wrists, shaking as my release hurtled at me like a freight train.He placed a soft kiss on my shoulder before he whispered against my skin. "Please what, Rhea. Tell me what you want." Then another kiss on my shoulder. Before I could answer, his finger pushed harder against my clit and he moved in faster circles as he bit into my skin."Fuck me!" My legs trembled and almost gave out as I came. His hand in my hair and the other between my legs ke
After kicking the end chair away from the table, Aleksander pushed me against the cold, dark wood. My chest was against the table, and I took several deep breaths with my eyes closed, listening as his pants dropped to the floor."I won't last long , Rhea, but I promise you're gonna come again", His promise made me shiver. Then his fingers tore my thong over my ass and down my legs. "Jesus, look at how wet you are. Holy shit." Before I could even think of what words were anymore, Aleksander was spreading my legs with his hands and burying his face into my pussy from behind. "Ah," With my hands still tied, I couldn't do more than squirm on the table as he ate me out.Dipping his tongue into my pussy and savoring the taste as he did. His large hands kept my ass spread as he kept his face buried in me. Every so often his tongue flicked out over my clit and then back into my core."Aleksander, I'm going to......""No, baby." He yanked his face from my pussy, loudly licking his lips for me
EPILOGUE RHEA'S POV Three wonderful years came and went. Each one became a new chapter in my life that I'd never forget. I couldn't when I had otherworldly love pouring through me every day. More than I ever thought I'd experience in my life.Trudging through the grief of losing so much family ate a hole in my heart. Aleksander came along and slowly threaded the chasm together, healing me with each delicate touch and sensual kiss. An unlikely love formed from that illicit contract, and through turmoil and pain, we forged our story.Glowing, floating on top of the world, I swept into the kitchen. A delightful buzz from champagne left a rosy flush across my cheeks. I poured myself a glass of water, listening to precious laughter drifting from upstairs as I did."Rhea!" Annika's excited coo made me whirl around from the sink. I came face to face with her, waving her red nails, gesturing for a hug. I stepped into her arms. Annika shimmied against me. "How did the event go?""It was great
The technician broke the silence first. "Your chart says that you're estimated to be about eighteen weeks along. Is that correct?""Yes," Rhea swiftly answered. Her smile widened. "The size of a bell pepper this week.""That's right," the technician chortled. She glanced between the three Makalovs in the dimly lit room. One hand clicked a button on the ultrasound keyboard and the monitor flickered on. With the probe hovering over Rhea's navel, she asked, "Are you interested in knowing the gender?"Rhea's throat bobbed. Her fingers twitched in mine. Simultaneously, we locked gazes. It was an important question, and one we hadn't discussed nearly enough."I'm going to love them, regardless." Her bottom lip trembled as she studied my face. "As long as they're healthy.""Do you want it to be a surprise?" I whispered in my wife's ears alone. Leaning closer, I nuzzled into the side of her face. "Whatever you want, baby. Just say the word."Despite her nerves, Rhea giggled. She turned her he
ALEKSANDER'S POV A month passed, and we returned home.Keeping my promise to Rhea, I relinquished the reins over to Nikolai to close the loose ends with the Genovese crime family.My aunt and uncle understood and approved of my wish to keep my hands clean for my wife's sake. Nikolai didn't bat an eye when he proclaimed the Genovese would accept a deal and leave our family alone if we did the same.Antonio recovered from his injuries from the car accident. After two weeks in bed, he returned with renewed vigor. The incidents of that day wounded his honor, and he stated he needed to make up for it. As much as I argued, he needed to take time away. He continued showing up in uniform.Rhea had a checkup with her doctor. That was an appointment I wouldn't miss for the world. I held her hand through the follow-up tests, using her as my lifeline through the stress. I'm sure I was the same for her.The thumping sound of a heartbeat lifted a weight off my chest. Rhea cried from the sweet tast
Keeping one hand on his cheek, our lips a hair's breadth apart, I hooked my other arm around his neck. Chest to chest except for his hand on my breast, I breathed my promise into him. "I love you, Aleksander. Forever."A relieved shudder rushed through his body from head to toe. The stuttered sigh past his lips tickled my mouth. I repeated my vow to him, again and again, accompanied by each primal thrust of his hips. "I love you. I love you. I love you."Lush warmth blossomed in the center of my being. It rose from a taut coil in the depths of my core. All at once the carnal pleasure of Aleksander making love to me exploded through my body, rushing in waves from between my thighs to each of my limbs.Quaking against him with searing pleasure wracking my body, Aleksander couldn't hold back. My pulsing cunt forced him into the throes of his climax, following the heels of mine. He painted me from within, claiming me in the salacious way that I enjoyed.He caught my cries on his tongue, s
He seized me in his hands, tenderly stroking them over my fevered flesh. I didn't notice when the gloves came off, but I savored the sensation of his skin on mine. Aleksander explored every dip and curve of my body as if discovering me for the first time.His scruff tickled my throat as his lips tasted me from my chin to my collarbone. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and Aleksander grabbed my hips. In one swift motion, he lifted me off the floor. My legs curled around his waist.The stiffness of his growing erection slipped against the wet center of me. A groan escaped from his mouth into mine. We shared a brief moan at the sweet moment of friction.Aleksander's lips clashed with mine in a passionate frenzy. He moved forward, marching us under the hot spray of the shower. We didn't stop until my back met the tile, crushed between the shower wall and Aleksander's perfectly sculpted frame.I grasped the back of his hair in one hand, tugging slightly as Aleksander's teeth nipped at my
RHEA'S POV Every ounce of my consciousness slipped from my grasp the moment Aleksander freed me. While all the world moved around me, my thoughts stayed still within the pit of darkness consuming my mind. My awareness stayed on my pulsing veins, coursing with cold blood and the rough pounding of my heart throbbing through my limbs.Each breath cleaved through my lungs, strained and burning. Only the heat of Aleksander's hand on my arms kept me on my feet. He was my anchor to reality during a turbulent car ride, and as he swept me through the blinding lights of a semi crowded lobby.A hotel, I thought, somewhere downtown. My eyes couldn't focus on anything, from the onlooking strangers in the shadows to the overly bright glow of opulent lighting. Aleksander and Nikolai's hushed voices brushed against something inside my head. I knew they were with me, but I moved on autopilot.My body floated on a cloud. Up an elevator. Several turns down hallways that felt like a damn never-ending ma
Men screamed. Blood and brains splattered the walls and floors as they went down.A figure popped out around a corner. I fired one shot at his head, and he descended to the ground like an axed tree falling in a forest.Another came behind him. Too close to shoot from afar. My left arm shot out and blocked his. I used the momentum to force his aim up. My opponent shot and missed, bullets lodging in the ceiling. With my left hand, I pointed the gun at his stomach and fired two rounds.The last shot went into the side of his skull as he stumbled to his knees. Then he dropped like a stone on the filthy concrete.An arm emerged at the end of the corridor I passed through. I pulled the trigger, yet nothing left the chamber.Regardless of my unloaded pistol, I grabbed the arm in front of me. One twist of the wrist forced his weapon from his hand. The gun clattered away on the floor.The man grunted. When I jammed the butt of my gun into his face, breaking his nose, he screamed. As he fell, I
ALEKSANDER'S POV Nikolai burst from the front doors of the Makalov mansion. I followed hot on his heels, rushing toward the line of awaiting cars parked around the massive fountain at the end of the driveway.The very last thing Nikolai and I expected was to receive a call from an anonymous contact who worked for the Genovese. Someone in their organization vehemently opposed a potential war. Enough to give away Luca's location.Rhea was the one thing in this world I wanted more desperately than my body needed air. Luca Genovese stole her from me. Now betrayed by his own, I would take his life.The fiery glow of dusk settled itself over the horizon. A brisk wind whipped up the edges of my coat. My fingers twitched, itching for a cigarette to relieve my bristling nerves.Leaving Annika safe at the mansion, I joined my uncle in the backseat of the first car. Personal guards accompanied us. All well-trained and armed with the same pistol I carried.Savage anger writhed like a serpentine
"I'll handle it." The snarky response pulled me from my thoughts. Then the door at my back pushed open with a grating creak of metal on metal. I slammed back into reality, where I sat handcuffed to a chair in some semi-abandoned building.Every breath I took burned my chest. My body tensed with the fear running in my blood. As Luca's shadow rose ominously over the opposite wall, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move a muscle as each sinister thump of his shoes carried him closer.Luca appeared in front of me with an eerie aura. His disturbing grin slashed wider upon finding me alert.I tried maintaining my gaze at first. He lasciviously ogled every inch of me with a malicious sneer, twisting his features. The threatening glint in his eyes forced my gaze down to his expensive leather loafers crunching on bits of broken glass beneath us."You're finally awake," Luca announced, cocking his head to the side. "The accident was unfortunate, but I didn't think your driver knew any defensive ma