ENORANikolai left the room and returned with a pile of neatly folded clothes, all black and white. “Wear these.”Are those his clothes? They smelt just like him. Was I going to wear Nikolai-freaking-Lantsov’s clothes? I was getting more excited than I needed to be—which was probably zero excitement because who gets excited just wearing their captor’s clothes?“Will these do?”“I will manage with them for now,” I replied as I unfolded them, seeing that they were all designer clothes, just the way I liked my clothes to be. Turned out Nikolai and I had something in common other than the New York dark underworld we were both involved in.Nikolai leaned on the wall, watching me as I put on a pair of black baggy shorts and an oversized sleeveless shirt from the pile he brought in. “You didn’t thank me, malysh.”Truth, I hadn’t even had time to address the way he called me “malysh.” I was not a child, especially not his, and I hated how he somehow had fun calling me that. “I suppose you kn
NIKOLAII should have anticipated how wild Enora Patrizio would drive me before I considered holding her captive. The image of her full breasts bouncing up and down as she moved made it hard for me to think straight, and it took me thinking about bloody dead men and chopped body parts to keep myself from spanking her well-rounded ass when she turned around.Fuck, thinking about it again was enough to make my cock hard and needy. With an ass like that, it was not a surprise how Enora was able to seduce some of my men to their deaths. I had a feeling I’d have ended up killing them if Carlos did not beat me to it, the same way I wanted to erase the memory of everyone who was standing in the hallway when she came out of her room.Seeing her on that staircase with a black thong and arms wrapping around her breasts made me want a personal painting of her, a painting only I could see because I’d be damned if anyone else saw my little Enora naked again. God help me, I might have to kill th
NIKOLAIShe brushed past me and all I could think of was how well my shorts and sleeveless tee fitted her. She’d curled her hair into a bob, and I could bet all my ill-gotten money that she naturally smelt like strawberries. I swiveled to steal more glances at her as she walked to Camilla.“Nice to meet you, I’m Enora Patrizio.” She stretched her hand out to shake Camilla’s, but Camilla scoffed and slapped her hand away. Enora smiled psychotically and then withdrew her hands to herself.“I know who you are,” Camilla spat spitefully. “Some call you morte, but I think you are just a whore.”“Am I?” Enora’s psychotic smile widened, making her look crazy as fuck. I really considered calling the psychiatric ward just in case, and maybe I was just as psychotic because I liked that crazy, killer-witch expression on her. “I think I prefer being called morte.”“Well, whore.” Camilla closed the space between her and Enora so that the fabrics of their clothes were rubbing against each other. T
ENORANikolai Lantsov really did live up to his name as a lunatic who toyed with women, and I hated how I’d manage to add myself to the list of women who became weaklings in his presence.I exhaled, trying to blow out the frustration that had built inside of me. I closed my eyes, ashamed of myself for how easily I surrendered to his touch. Fuck. Even now, the feeling of his light touch on my face and his warm breath on my skin still lingered. Weird things were happening between my legs, tugging at my self-control and needing more of his dangerous touch.I’d tried to deceive myself into believing my body was only reacting how it would biologically after the way he tried to seduce me but why was my heart pounding nervously? Why did a tiny part of me feel bad that he did not have any interest in me and was just teasing me?This was not good. Not good at all.Liquid dripped between my legs, alerting me of how hornily helpless I was, and my brain strayed and made me think of his lips on
ENORAI tilted my head to Nikolai who was still busy on his phone. What if it was Camilla he was talking to? I shot up from my seat and dragged his phone from him. He glowered at me with complete shock, and I could see Mikhail and Dimitri stand up cautiously to defend Nikolai from me as if they’d be able to save him if I intended to really kill him.“Don’t you have any manners?” I yelled at Nikolai. “You don’t use your fucking phone at the table! You can’t just keep everyone waiting till you decide you’re ready to eat.”Nikolai did not say anything in response to my correction, which made me even more upset. “Won’t you say something?” I queried.“Something, like what?”I scoffed, he had to be the most annoying person in existence. “You’re really a heartless bastard.”The calm in his eyes turned into a raging storm. For a minute, the dining room was noiseless while Nikolai and I had a cold war on who would look at the other in the cruelest way possible. “Sit down…or I’ll press you t
ENORAMornings were my least favorite part of the day. Sometimes, I wished I died in my sleep, and a few times, I’d even wondered what it would feel like swinging down from my ceiling.Maybe Papa will care. Maybe he will hurt for me and finally look at me with love. Those were my thoughts every morning.But with each morning I woke up and saw the dread on his face. Every single time he treated me as nothing more than a war dog and a killing machine, I learned something. Papa would not cry for me if I died, he would simply toss my body into a river and if I was lucky enough, he would toss me in with me a nice black casket to keep the sharks away from my lifeless body.I woke up one morning and I no longer craved his love or for him to treat me like a father would a daughter.I woke up one morning and I became morte.The sky was still pitch black that morning, but it had been void of stars. I closed my eyes; I could still hear the rough wind whooshing in my window and the footsteps do
ENORAExactly an hour later, I was dressed in a white dress that looked like it had decayed in a trash can. It was ripped all over and I was so pale, I looked like the corpse bride.The damn dress wasn’t even decent enough to cover my shame.Truthfully, I’d thought I’d seen Maria smile mockingly at me when I climbed down the stairs, but I’d been imagining it. I honestly wouldn’t blame her if she laughed though, I looked horrible and this fucking thing on my body was laughable. I would’ve laughed if I wasn’t the one getting married in rags.I hadn’t worn this dress because I was afraid of Nikolai, I’d worn it because, for some reason, I preferred being Nikolai’s hostage rather than Mario’s animal.Nikolai smiled at me when I reached the patio, and I rolled my eyes at him. I wondered if he knew how much I wanted to play Russian roulette with my pistol pointed at his head. The fucker probably knew, but he definitely underestimated me.Ego was a common disease with men in our world. They
NIKOLAI“Didn’t I tell you, malysh?” I moved closer to her, expecting her to pace back, but she didn’t. “You’re mine. Mine to torment, mine to punish, and mine to touch.”Enora sneered at me, her beautiful gray eyes sparking with mischief. “You’re really a nutjob, aren’t you?” She folded her hands over her chest. “I’m not an item, Nikolai. I do not belong to you.”She walked to her bed and sank down on it, looking away from me.Did she know how much her stubbornness turned me on? If she did, she wouldn’t try to argue with me. She would’ve tried to do as I said.It’d been almost two hours since we got married. Two hours since I forced her to say I do.After I leaned closer to her ear and marked her as mine, goosebumps spread across her skin and I heard her little yelp.Enora was scared of me. I could see it despite how hard she tried to hide it, and I was glad she tried really hard to.The last thing I wanted was a little white-haired Italian woman cowering with fear whenever she saw
LyraCarefully, Dad crossed the room and sat against the edge of the bed, offering me my space still. “For making you choose such a difficult decision at your age without asking for the full picture. And for wagering your hand to advance my position in New York. This isn’t an excuse, but I did it for our family.“I know it only drove a wedge between us, and it hurt me every day to know you were out there on your own because of me, just as it was when I married you off to Valentin. You are right. It was all because of me, but I only hope you can see things from my perspective too.”“It hurt when you wanted me to abort my child,” I managed to say through the tears. “I needed your support, and you tore it away from me. I was prepared to never forgive you for it.”Dad nodded, cloaked by his own sadness that surprised me. “You have every reason to be angry with me. You don’t owe me forgiveness, but I hope one day I may earn it again.”The thought of simply letting go of everything that had
LyraI never thought I’d ever see the inside of my childhood bedroom again, but it turned into my makeshift prison.Valentin said he wasn’t my jailor, but he gave that responsibility to my father instead.The driver brought me back to Philly and handed me back to my dad as if I had never been married to Valentin in the first place. Beyond unworthy of even my apparent husband’s presence. They were worried I was still a threat to their empire, keeping me as far away from it as possible, thanks to my apparent betLyral.It made me worry he was working toward getting a divorce.Worst of all, I was kept away from Charlie. No matter how I shouted and screamed, nobody would bring my baby to me.Being separated from my son was the hardest part. It tore me up inside, leaving my cheeks stained and eyes dry from crying so much. Even if my marriage was ruined, I just wanted my boy. I had never been away from him for so long, and it was killing me.If everything else was lost, I at least wanted to
LyraPacing the length of the living room, I debated texting Valentin then and there. I had to warn him before anything happened—before he could be injured or killed. The thought gripped the back of my neck like an icy hand, and regret flooded my chest.Even if I hated him for what he did and for agreeing to the marriage pact, I never would’ve wanted that for him at his worst. He didn’t deserve to be hunted down by someone I didn’t even know.He was the father of my child, and we had gotten so far with our unorthodox relationship. Everything had been perfect, except for my inability to tell him about the unknown number. We had started to trust one another again, and I was sure I had ruined it immediately.Our time together had reignited those old feelings I had for Valentin, and I had to fix things before they got worse.Unable to handle the thought of waiting any longer, my hand shook as I pulled out my cell phone and pressed his contact.Before I could type anything, the door slamme
Valentin More disbelief flooded my system at that, wondering what he could possibly be on about. Things between me and Lyra had been perfect. We found a mutual understanding, and I had been working to fix things between us.Our sex life had been mind-blowing, and it felt like we were taking steps in the right direction.There was no way she had been texting anyone behind my back. I would’ve known. She wouldn’t dare.“That’s impossible,” I grumbled beneath my breath, aware of the dread that loomed above me, waiting to strike. I fished my phone out of my pocket and clicked through my apps.“What are you doing?” Nikolai asked in a hushed tone, glancing at my phone.“Making sure this rat isn’t telling the truth, or else he’ll be wearing a bullet in his head.”“It is the truth,” Enzo added, eyes filling with concern. “I have no reason to say otherwise.”“Shut up,” Dimitri growled, slapping the captive with the butt of his gun.The man yelped in pain, shoulders slumped as he breathed deepl
ValentinTensions were high in the warehouse. Our captive from the ambush was bound to his chair in the middle of the room, blood dripping from his broken nose. His breath shallowed, glancing between us lazily.Nikolai and Dimitri stood before him, with the latter’s knuckles already stained crimson. He flexed his fingers, unbothered by the hits he had already given him.“What’s your name?” Nikolai asked, looking at him with a neutral expression.The man hesitated, then grit through his teeth, “Enzo.”“Well, Enzo, consider yourself lucky that you might just be useful to us,” he murmured, pacing in front of him slowly. “But the moment that stops, we won’t hesitate to send a message.”All it took was a glance in Dimitri’s direction, and he swung, hitting his face with a sickening sound.Enzo recoiled in his chair, taking full force without any other choice. He grunted from the impact, chest heaving. Blood seeped into his mouth, and he spat to the side, breathing hoarsely through the pain
LyraI was surprised by how smoothly life had been ever since Valentin explained himself.The weeks had gone by, and we were doing better than we ever had. We were in a good place, co-parenting Charlie and working on understanding one another better. I was glad, and we were happy.I even noticed a difference in our son since his father came into our lives. He had always been a good kid, but his excitement and joy were contagious. Whenever he had the chance, Valentin spent time with him and took him places, always looking to expose him to new experiences.He seemed to flourish, and I enjoyed watching them interact with one another. Seeing his effort first-hand was everything I had hoped for.Padding down the hall and into the kitchen, I saw it was nine in the morning, and the condo was suspiciously quiet.A sticky note on the counter caught my attention, and I reached for it.It was from Valentin, letting me know that Charlie was with Enora and Liliya for the day. He was at work, and
LyraThe feeling of his lips against mine was enough to make my knees weak, forgetting all the previous grievances I once had with him. While I wasn’t one to forgive so easily, the sincerity in his eyes was enough to convince me of just how sorry he truly had been.The way he melded our mouths together like it was the first time helped too.Pressed against him, he wrapped his strong arms around me and pulled away just enough to murmur against my lips, “You are more than I deserve, and I know that. I will never forget it. But you are my wife, and I mean to work at proving myself to you.”Swallowing against the dryness in my throat, a familiar pulse returned between my legs, dissolving every ounce of resolve I ever had. That resistance was gone, and my body knew exactly what I wanted.His palms glided up and down my back while his minty breath fanned my lips. “It didn’t take me long to fall for you the first time, and those feelings never truly went away. Let me show you just how badly
ValentinI had never been one to take much pride in celebrating holidays beyond drinking my weight in vodka and whiskey, but it was difficult to think about anything other than going trick-or-treating for the first time with my son.Getting him ready for the night out sparked more of that excitement, and seeing him so content about his costume made it all worth it.He was a joy to be around. He became the light of my life in no time at all, and I couldn’t be happier as a father.Charlie’s costume was already on while he ran around the condo, exclaiming about how badly he wanted to go get some candy. I slipped my cape on and put the fake teeth in, ready to go as a vampire.It had been a last-minute idea since I had been more focused on what our son was going as.The two of us waited in the living room with Charlie’s pumpkin-shaped container, waiting on Lyra. A Halloween film played on the tv, half keeping our attention.“How do I look?”Glancing up at her, I was stunned the moment I la
Lyra By the time I finished breakfast, Valentin left to take care of business, and he dropped Charlie off at Enora and Nikolai’s house for their playdate.Surprisingly, it was refreshing to be out in the city on my own—aside from the bodyguard that trailed me the entire time—and left alone to browse as I wanted.Having one of Valentin’s men with me the entire time started to get on my nerves, but I didn’t say anything about it since it had been one of the few things Valentin asked of me. It was the least I could do.Perusing a cute boutique with an endless supply of dresses, I got lost in the music and the peace of having time for myself. It was a much-needed time away from everything that had happened in the last while.Just as I draped a black dress over my arm that looked perfect for what I had in mind, my phone dinged from inside my clutch—one that Valentin chose with his endless knowledge of high fashion.Digging my cell out, a chill moved down my spine the moment the screen lit