AsherFacing my reflection in the mirror, I pull at the bags under my eyes.I look like shit.It’s not just sleep that eludes me. It’s that when I do go under, my dreams are shifting, torturous things that assault me. I’ve always been plagued by demons. For a little while, with Camila at my side, they retreated. But since Mila came by with more useless intel, nothing soothes me.My most talented assassin has no idea what Yannick is doing. She doesn’t know where he is, what he wants, or when he’ll act. Fuck, or if he even will act. The bastard has gone underground without any indication of resurfacing.Scratching at my hair, I shut my eyes with a shaky sigh. My world is falling apart. It’s dramatic, yes, but it’s how it feels. I’m nothing without my plans. All I’ve focused on for the last ten years is how to eradicate Yannick with my own two hands.How do you kill a ghost?Shambling into my bathroom, I run the hot water in my shower until the room is covered in steam. It’s so thick it
Slipping my hand between us, I slide her tights down her thighs. She moans in my ear. I cling to that sound like it’s a buoy in the rocky ocean. Camila has been taking me apart bit by bit, day by day. This newest revelation that she’s pregnant is detaching me from the world.“I love you,” I tell her, kissing her before she can answer in kind. Her little gasp tickles my tongue. My cock stirs, hardening to the point of pain.Running my fingers through her luxurious hair, I go further, caressing her ribs, pushing my thumb pads along the line that leads to her navel. Hooking her dress up, I lightly pet the front of her panties; they’re soaked through. My cock flexes eagerly. Then I trace her pussy lips through the silk, discovering how engorged they are, and my entire body tenses.She’s turned on as much, or maybe more, as I am.“I love you too.”With my breath quickening, I move aside the elastic band. Camila acts instantly; gripping my wrist, she works to get my fingers inside of her. H
Camila“Thank you for having lunch with me,” I say. My mother and I are sitting in a small nook split off from the main floor. I had two of the staff set up a small table with finger sandwiches, glossy eclairs, and my mother’s favorite, pirozhkis stuffed with potatoes and onions.Mom, who has taken to dressing like the house is as cold as a cellar, is wearing a fluffy blue sweater over a pair of sleek white pants. I’ve chosen something loose—a bishop’s sleeve dress the same color as the chocolate on the eclairs.“You say that like I wouldn’t agree,” she chides. “What mother doesn’t make time for her daughter?”One who knows her daughter is trying to pry info from her … Putting on a big grin, I pick up a cucumber sandwich, taking a nibble. My stomach isn’t loving any kind of food with intense flavors just yet.My mother plucks up a pirozhki. “Hm,” she muses, judging it critically. “Who made these?”“Chef Danil did.”“Chef?” she mocks. “Asher has a private chef? Well of course he does.”
AsherIs it too reckless to burn a whole city to the ground?That’s what I’m wondering as I flip through my piles of paperwork in the library. My eyes scrape over the notes I’ve kept for the last few months. Plans upon plans exist in my esoteric scribbles. Some are in code, others meaningless drivel to the untrained eye.But for people like me—a man neck-deep in a bloody war—it’s an instruction manual. Except it didn’t work, I remind myself furiously. Meticulous planning, yet nothing has come to fucking fruition! None of my men have reported movement by Yannick in the last week. Other than sending someone to shoot up the studio, he seems to have vanished from the face of this earth.I have to dig him out of his hole. My fingertips crimp the edges of my notes. I imagine the paper is his throat and start crushing it into a ball. It’s not like I need these documents anymore. They haven’t done me any good.There’s a light knock on the frame of the library door. My head jerks up. Camila is
CamilaI’ve never been so furious.How dare he? How fucking dare he!Asher had no right to raise his voice to me. No, you’re mad about the wrong thing. The issue is he’s still controlling what you do! For him to deny me the right to walk out the front door, to feel the sun on my skin, and to smell the fresh air simply because I desire it—he’s being a damn bastard.I’m not paying attention to where I’m going. Looking up, I find I’m in the main room by the front door. Lately, my subconscious continues to lead me here. Locking my legs, I gaze at the exit longingly. I could do it. Just open it, run outside, and ignore the men who would try to stop me. If I go fast enough, they won’t catch me.Imagining Kostya’s face when I dart past him brings me a flash of perverse delight. He hates me. I know it. Making him panic would be so satisfying.My hand inches toward the brass knob. From the corner of my eye, I sense movement through the window. Jolting backward, I lean closer, recognizing my mo
AsherThe sound of laughter rolls through the partially open door of the small building. Beyond the crack, I can see multiple men loitering around a table. Their attitude is relaxed—for the most part. My brigadiers know that when I call them for a meeting, something important is happening.“Everyone is in there, pakhan,” Nikolai speaks beside me.He’s wearing a navy-blue jacket over his taupe slacks. He was the one I instructed to gather the other brigadiers here. Ever since I caught him gossiping with Kostya, he’s intentionally kept the two of them separate. I suspect, on some level, that his goal is selfish. Men are quick to do whatever it takes for their own success. Nikolai wants to climb the ladder and be seen as worthy, which means he thinks I consider Kostya to be pathetic.He’s wrong.While I might have relegated Kostya to less glorifying work like guard duty far below what his rank deserves and I kept him from attending the wedding, it’s not because I don’t respect him. In tr
CamilaSneaking around the mansion, I feel like the eyes of every staff member are on me. They’re not who I’m avoiding though.I do my best to leave my room only for a quick meal and nothing else. It’s the only option I have until I figure out what to do. Mom gave me what I asked for—information—but the weight of it is crushing me.What do I do with the knowledge that my loving father isn’t really my father? This knowledge is a brutal beast hiding in the shadows, hunting me for some unknown purpose. Pandora’s Box must have been simpler than this.I haven’t processed the news. Not truly. It sits in my stomach like a boulder, and I have no tools to chip it apart. It’s lodged so firmly I barely have any appetite. I have to make myself eat. I rub my belly tenderly. It’s not just me I have to take care of.I’m nearly down the stairs to the first level when I see him.Asher is on his way up the steps, and he spots me before I can retreat from view. I’ve been avoiding him since our tense enc
AsherA walk under the stars doesn’t bring me clarity. It’s a spontaneous decision, one made from a desperate need to recalibrate my emotions. I don’t have a jacket on, and the night air scrapes over my skin, worming into my bones. It’s awful, but it’s still not enough to distract me from the chaos in my soul.I should have apologized sooner. Or more enthusiastically. Regrets are useless. I can’t escape them. The memory of her face, the way she shrank on the stairs, sends shame coursing through my soul. I kick the gravel on the path aimlessly as I wander through the grounds. I don’t watch where I’m going because it doesn’t matter.The only place I want to be is at her side.A sound reaches me. Looking up, I see that I’ve made it to the separate room on the other side of the mansion grounds. There’s light emanating from the window, and wind carries the sound of multiple voices to me.When I get closer, I recognize a few of my men through the glass. Nikolai, Iosif, and Mikhail are insid
CamilaThree years laterI'm going to be late!It's the one thing I was dead set on avoiding. I'd looked Asher in the eye this morning, kissing him as I climbed into my car, and assured him I would definitely be on time for our date.How arrogant of me.It's not my fault, the Nutcracker performance is in just two weeks. It's our biggest show and it has to be perfect. It's baffling that in just a few years my studio has blown up to be recognized as the top ballet studio in the state. Maybe the entire coast, though I try not to let my ego get wind of that.But none of that matters. Today is about celebrating my three-year anniversary with Asher.Which is why I should NOT be late. Ugh.Driving through downtown, I take a familiar road that I'd be able to navigate in the dark. Street lamps being out because someone busted the glass with a rock for fun wouldn't be strange—in the past, that is.Big globe lights propped on black poles dot the entire sidewalk, glowing like a row of tiny moons
CamilaHe leaps across the room, his reflection copying him in the floor to ceiling mirrors. One spin, a second and a third, before he bends forward, arms stretching long enough they give him the illusion of being taller than he is.When he finishes his last pirouette, Roman faces me with his eyes ablaze. Some of his dark hair is stuck to his forehead.I clap enthusiastically. "That was wonderful, Roman!"His smile deepens his dimples. There's pride on his face, but his voice still has the fragility of an unsure child. "Thanks. But I keep messing up on the pivot.""You'll get it, just keeping trying."Cocking his head, he frowns to himself. Looking in the mirror he does a few quick half-bends, like he's testing my theory. "You're sure that's enough?"Putting my hands on his shoulders from behind, I study our reflections. Roman has changed in a short amount of time. It began the night he was forced to witness his father's death. The kindness that was always in his heart has crawled ful
AsherI've been lucky enough to see many beautiful things in my lifetime. Expert oil paintings, hand crafted statues, flowers that took years to cultivate into a special shade of maroon.Camila outshines all of them.I'm knuckle deep inside of her, my other hand cupping her left breast and teasing her hard nipple. She's mewling beneath me, the sound of it making me wild. My cock is hard enough that it hurts. A moment ago, she was jerking me off through my trunks, but she's too busy coming to do anything but quiver.Turning her brain and body into mush is addicting. She's the strongest, most intelligent woman I've ever known, but in my touch she falls apart. The power of that... it thrills a dark part of my soul, a hungry, primal piece of me that wants to conquer.Camila tries to look at me—her sunglasses are gone, and her face is scrunched up in the sunlight. I lift an arm over her head to create shade, lowering my face to hers in a passionate kiss. This works even better because she
Asher spins me in a circle, and to my personal horror, I stumble. Catching myself, I narrow my eyes, my competitive nature roaring to life. I haven't made a mistake on a dance floor since I was a child. "You're alright," I tell him lightly.His chuckle is razor sharp. "Just alright?""Were you trained?" I ask, my feet tapping around his, matching his pace. His palm smooths over my hip, grazing my thigh as he lifts my leg to hook onto his middle. It's not fair that he can throw me off balance with sexy moves like this. I try to maintain a cold expression, but it's impossible when he dips me low, his face inches from mine.His teeth glint in the fairy lights strung above. "I taught myself.""Bullshit," I scoff.The smugness in his laugh creates hot swirls in my heart. "So you are impressed.""Fine, maybe a little."That time, his laugh is warmer—kinder. It coaxes a smile out of me. Hoisting me up to my feet, he holds me close, our bodies swaying in unison. "It should come as no shock th
"After," he says, kissing the top of my breasts. "When we're done."A single finger rolls down my spine; he unclips the bra, yanking it off my arms by the straps. I don't know where it ends up after that.His hands palm over my naked breasts, covering them fully. He pushes inward, my soft skin pressing through the gaps of his fingers as my chest overflows from the pressure. Gasping, I toss my head back, enduring the hard jolt of delicious pleasure. My nipples firm and dig into his palms; he loosens his hold, making light circles over my nipples, playing with me until I see stars."Oh!” I moan. “Yes.”I rub myself against his pelvis, ramping the speed, the force, until I expect smoke to start forming. The friction is perfect on my clit. If I keep at it, I'll come just from this. He hikes my skirt up, rolling my panties downward. I'm not satisfied by this; the texture of my skirt is too much for my sensitive skin. I rip it up, over my chest, until it comes over my head.Asher stops movi
CamilaI've never seen so many shades of blue and green. The ocean is like a stained-glass painting, stretching for endless miles until the border merges with the cerulean sky, making it impossible to tell them apart. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen.But I can't enjoy it, not with my heart wedged in my throat."Are we almost there?" I yell over the buzz of the sea-plane's engine.The white and red plane looked sturdy when I first laid my eyes on it. Now, though, with the air yanking at the wings, jolting the plane from side to side, I feel like it’s about to split in two. I wish it was as big as the one we took to the main airport. The flight to the Maldives was long, but thanks to Asher splurging for first class, quite comfortable.This is anything but that."Excuse me?" I yell louder, trying to get the pilot's attention. "I asked how much longer until we're at the Reethi Rah resort?""It's okay, Camila." Asher gives my hand a squeeze, pulling me closer to him in our seats
Asher"It's taken months, but I think we’re finally about to root out all of the corrupt cops on Yannick's payroll," Jonah says as he paces in front of his window. It's a new office, one that's on a higher floor and bigger than the last.Whatever his complaints about me, our connection has helped lift him up in his career.I nod as he finishes talking."Thank you for working so hard at this.""Please, it's my pleasure," he chuckles, spreading his arms. "With the new police commissioner's help, this city will be scraped clean. This is a day that’s been decades in the making."Camila casts me a sly look from where she's sitting across the room. She sits everywhere now, her stomach jutting out as the baby threatens to come each new day. Her eyebrows wiggle; she's trying to tell me that Jonah is a piece of work. I agree."What happens now?" I ask him."All the paperwork is being organized, the records of the Grachev Bratva should be corrected in time. But you need to keep a close lid on t
CamilaMy toes are perfectly pointed as I strut across the stage. A simple ankle-turn and I'm pivoting, another and another and I'm a flurry of motion, my white tutu fluffing like a dandelion on the breeze. I was born to dance. I know this in my soul.Curtains flutter around me, brushing me as if they want to hold me close. The only person I want a hug from is the man sitting in the audience.Dad beams proudly, never taking his eyes off of me.I'm so glad I decided to do this performance! I'd been terrified when Mom suggested it, the moves were advanced for a ten-year-old like me, but she would always click her tongue and insist that she did ballet like this when she was my age.But Dad?He caught me fretting in the studio, staring at myself awkwardly in the tall mirrors. He'd come to me, knelt, and told me not to be afraid of the stage. Even if you make a mistake, it won't matter to me. If you get nervous, just look for me in the audience, malyshka.Lunging forward, I hold my breath,
AsherNight has become day from the fires of the chattering rifles. Each time a muzzle flashes I can see the face of the man firing it. Whether an enemy or one of my own boeviki, they all have the same feral expression.Everyone is fighting for their life.Including me."This way," I urge Camila, holding her by her wrist. We wasted enough time hovering inside the front door of Yannick's hideaway. I had to get my bearings, but I know we can't linger. As helpful as this chaos is, someone is bound to come and check on Yannick.Not every one of his men is a corrupt cop, some are as loyal to him as my own brigadiers.Camila tugs backwards. "Wait!""No time," I argue, stopping on the front step. She's gawking at the fighting behind me. Her eyes shine with flashes of guns going off, the sound loud in my skull. Katinka and Roman crouch behind her. They're just as afraid. "If we stay here, we'll be found, and then?—"The wood of the door-frame explodes next to my ear. Splinters stab into my te