AvaBy the time we reach the mansion, I'm shaking through my skin and can barely keep the trembling in my bones at bay.He's back.My father, the man who'd sold me not once but twice and ran away, was back. And he’d been at the hospital, watching me.A violent shudder rocked through me, nausea churning in the pit of my stomach.Did he know I was going to be there? How long has he been back? How long has he been following me? And why hadn’t I noticed until now? How long..."Your hands are shaking" The words drag me from my spiralling thoughts, and I blink, realizing the car is no longer moving."Huh?""Your hands," She nods towards the fist still clenched around my sweater in a death vice, "They're shaking"Her brows pinch together, "Are you cold?"Cold? No. Shocked? Definitely. But with everything that's going on with Kat, I can't tell her what's really happening. At least not until I'm sure myself. So I lie."Yes," I nod, then tug the sleeve of my sweater down to add to my dramatics,
Nikolai. "Fuck" I curse when the pan slips from my fingers, landing on the tiles with a loud clang. My daughter's head snaps towards me instantly, fixing me with a look I know all too well. "You said a bad word" I sigh, running my fingers through my hair as I bend over to retrieve the now dented frying pan. When I straighten, her tiny arms are crossed over her chest, her bottom lip jutted out and she's pinning me with a stern look. "That's three swear words today", she announces, looking every bit excited at my slip-ups. I always try my best to avoid using 'bad words' as my daughter likes to call them around her, but making breakfast at the ass crack of dawn isn't exactly something I'm built for, and it shows. "Are you keeping count now printsessa?" She nods, grinning ear to ear, "Mhm. And you owe the swear jar three dollars." Ah yes, how could I possibly have forgotten about the swear jar? No wonder she looked so excited. Kat introduced the swear jar shortly after I beca
AvaWhen I was a little girl, Aaron and I were playing in my mother's garden and he accidentally knocked over one of her paintings. It wasn't just any painting, it was her favourite piece. She'd spent weeks creating it and propped it up against an easel near the rose bushes, where she left it to dry.I still remember the exact moment it happened. We had spent the entire afternoon chasing each other, laughing our little hearts out at a game our mother had warned us to be careful while playing. Aaron had tripped, and while he tried to stop himself from crashing into the grass, he swung his arms out for balance, which unfortunately caused him to knock over our mother's paintings.Time seemed to stop as we both lifted the painting out of the rose bush and even as we straightened it, we both knew that the damage had already been done.“She’s going to kill me,” Aaron muttered when we took in the smeared painting. I'd never seen him look as scared as he did at that moment.He begged me to ke
AvaI need to pee.Nikolai's sound asleep by my side, his heavy arm draped over my waist pinning me to the mattress. If I weren't so fully cautious of the warmth of his body against mine, I'd think I was trapped in a cage or better yet, that I still had a fever.But my fever broke a while ago, leaving my husband as the only cause of the inexplicable burning sensation shimmering just beneath the surface of my skin.I try sitting up, but my bones feel like they've been crushed by a bag of cement, and my muscles are fatigued. Nikolai's weight wasn't making it any easier for me to wiggle into a sitting position.Ugh, why is he so heavy?He's solid, unmoving, like a big boulder in the middle of the wilderness, completely unaware of my predicament.The room was still dark but the curtains had been drawn sometime earlier, so I guess it didn't count. I wonder what time it is.I try to move out of his grasp again, but every time I think I might've made some level of progress, Nikolai manages
Ava"You need to move around a little," the doctor says, adjusting his glasses as he scribbles something on his notepad. "Your body is healing well, but staying in bed too long will only make you weaker."I nod, relieved to hear that I no longer have to spend my days confined in this space. The last few days have been nothing but a blur of rest, food I barely tasted and a hovering husband who's spent every waking moment stitched to my side.Not that I was complaining. It was nice having someone fret over me, but I sometimes wished that said someone wasn't a six-foot-four, green-eyed, Russian mafia boss."So, does this mean I can finally go outside?" I ask, failing miserably at hiding my eagerness for my soon-to-be freedom. Who am I kidding? I sounded so damn eager even the doctor noticed. "Yes, Mrs. Volkov, that means you can finally go outside." The doctor says, glancing up from his notepad, lips twitching in amusement.I don’t even try to hide my relief. “Thank God,” I say, pushin
AvaParks, they say, are the one place on earth where even the most caged souls can taste a little bit of freedom.Granted, I have no idea who they are, but surely they must be right because the look I see on Kira's face as she runs through the park—one of the less crowded, more private ones, of course—is one filled with pure excitement.Black curls bounce with the wind as she waves at me, her lips stretched thin and smile wide as she spins around right there in the middle of it all.I wave back at her, my heart full.Getting Nikolai's approval was surprisingly easy.Too easy.I'd expected resistance or, at the very least, his disapproval. But he'd been, surprisingly, willing.I watch Kira chase a butterfly, her giggles mixing with the sound of the other kids in the park and I can't help the warmth that spreads through me at the sight.She looks so happy. Free. The complete opposite of the girl who'd wandered into my studio yesterday.Settling onto the bench, I pull my coat tighter ar
Marcus Blackwood stood in front of the Volkov estate for what might’ve been the third time this week. Fourth, if he counted the time, he barely made it halfway to the gate before turning back.He had stood in front of this gate countless times before, all for business, but now he had come to beg for his life and that of his daughters.The guard at the watch post was the first to notice his presence. This one differed from the last, Marcus noted to himself. While the other guard who’d been here, the last time he mustered up the courage to stand in front of the gate, was tall, this one was short and scruffy. A real rough around the edges sort of guy.“State your name and business.”Marcus cleared his throat. “Blackwood. Marcus Blackwood. I… uh, I’m here to see the boss”The guard narrowed his eyes as if the name left a bitter taste on his tongue, and he was sure it had. In this line of work, nothing was as important as a name. A name commanded respect. It caused uproar and goosebumps in
Marcus felt the weight of those words punch him square in the chest. Guilt gnawed at the edges of his conscience, a cruel reminder of the lives lost in the tangled web of his creation."I didn’t—" he started, but Sergei held up a hand."Spare me your excuses, Marcus" Sergei's voice dropped an octave, cold and cutting. “You know how I despise lies.”He lifted from his seat, using the table as leverage as he straightened to his full height.“Three of my men died because of you.” "I didn’t know—""But you should have." Sergei’s voice was a low growl now. "You had one job — bring me guns. Good guns. And yet you sent my men into battle with weapons you swore would work. Faulty guns, Marcus. You armed my men with death."If this were any other conversation and not one that determined his life or the life of his daughter, Marcus would’ve pointed out how dramatic Sergai was being. He hadn’t known that the guns he’d delivered to the Volkovs would be faulty. He hadn’t anticipated that any of
Hi everyone it has come to my attention that I have never really posted an updating schedule for this book. Now when I first started this book, I used to update everyday. That was because my schedule was more free back then as compared to now. I have a full time job and a part time job in addition to writing and I also attend classes most days during the week. I love writing and because this book has a special place in my heart since it is my first book chapters have been limited to 4 times a week. This will help me give you quality chapters and at the same time keep me from burning out. Of course there will be times where my week will be free and I'll be able to update five or even six times in a week. Thank you for understanding and I'm always available to answer any of your questions ❤️
AvaI don't know what I expect Nikolai's reaction to be after I drop that little piece of information. Anger perhaps. Maybe disappointment. Maybe even both.My hands are still looped around his neck. I'm still touching him, so I guess maybe that's a good sign that he doesn't feel either of the emotions I previously thought he might.Realising I'd spoken too soon, he reaches up and unloops my arms from around his neck, slowly sliding them down until they are by my side and the illusion of touching him is no longer within reach, replaced now by his strong hold around my wrists.“Nikolai…” I start to say. To apologise for not telling him but he stops the words from completely spilling from my lips with a simple squeeze of my wrists.“How long have you known?”It's impossible for me to guess what's going on in his mind at this point. His tone doesn't hold any malice or a trace of anger, just an irrefutable calm laced with a bit of surprise and curiosity.“A while,”He doesn't look convinc
NikolaiMy wife steps out of the shower as soon as I shut the door. She's wet but not in the way I'd like. Not in the way I've thought about for the last nine hours. Tiny droplets glisten her skin, drawing me to the way they fall to the floor despite the towel she currently has wrapped around her body like a fucking armour."Solnyshko..."She gasps before the name is fully out of my lips, spinning around. She sucks in a ragged breath when she sees me. Those big, beautiful brown eyes of hers are wide open, scanning me from head to toe like she can't believe I'm standing in front of her while her fingers clutch tightly to the edge of the plush fabric.“You're back," She breathes, surprised.It's only three o'clock, and considering I stated in my note that I'd be back later in the evening, I can guess why she hadn't expected me to be back so soon.Truth be told, I'm not supposed to be back so early but there's only so long a man can go without seeing his wife, and not want to put a bulle
TRIGGER WARNING: MENTION OF SEXUAL ABUSE APPEARS IN THIS CHAPTER. TREAD CAUTIOUSLY OR SKIP THIS CHAPTER ALTOGETHER ❤️ YOUR MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS.
Ava“So let me get this straight,” Kat says for the second time in the last fifteen minutes. We were currently sprawled out on the floor of the new nursery she and Ivan were still in the process of setting up, taking a break before we started arranging the things we got from the store.Two cups of caramel latte res between us, along with one blueberry muffin and a bag of chocolate chip cookies Kat swore she'd been craving since she woke up and would literally die if she didn't have.“You saw your father yesterday, did not tell Nikolai about it even though you knew that going to meet him alone was a stupid idea, but then Nikolai shows up, shoots your father, takes you home, and you both confess your undying love for one another and then you have mind-blowing sex.” Nodding, I take about of my muffin and let out an approving sound at the taste, “That seems about right." I say, "Except for the part where we confessed our undying love for each other.”"You should have. You care about him.
Ava I was sore. So fucking sore. But in a good way. In the best way. In the I just got my world rocked by my husband multiple times in one night, and it was the best feeling kind of way. Here's something no one tells you about sex. It's good the first time you try it but even better the second and the third and the fourth but maybe not so much the fifth. By the fifth, I wasn’t sure if I was still breathing or just floating somewhere between reality and oblivion. I somehow managed to remain tethered to this world by the sound of my husband's voice and the way his fingers traced every inch of my skin like his hands were made for the act alone. By the time I woke up, though, I realised that although my upper body hummed with pleasure, my lower region begged for mercy. Now, you might be thinking, why the hell would I go five times in one night, especially since I just lost my virginity said night? The answer was quite simple really. Nikolai. Freaking Nikolai and his stu
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NikolaiI don't sleep.I can't sleep.My fingers trace lines slowly down her shoulders, to her back and then back up again. She looks so peaceful. So devastatingly beautiful that I almost can't believe it.She'd been so beautiful when she called my name as her release swept through her and even now, wrapped in nothing but the sheets and moonlight, she looked like something straight out of a dream. My dream.She didn't back out. No matter how many outs I'd give her she didn't back out. She wanted me. Touched me like I was the only thing that could save her. Looked at me like she was already falling in love with me, like I was with her.And how I was falling. Desperately and without the faintest bit of certainty for a landing.Squeezing my eyes shut, I stop my absent-minded movements and reopen them.Her hair splays out on her pillow and I toy with the ends softly, twirling a strand around my finger before letting it go. How can a person be so perfect?It doesn’t make sense.Not with e
Ava. “Try me.” A second passes, and a shaky breath escapes my lips. Nikolai’s breathing comes out in steady pants above me as my body hums with the aftershock of what could have been my orgasm. When he doesn’t move, I roll my hips once more against his erection, and his gaze grows wild with need. And then he snaps. He cursed in Russian, his grip tightening in my hair before he was on top of me. Kissing me. Devouring me. I gasp when he rips his mouth away, but it soon turns into a moan when he starts to suck and nibble on my neck. My hips roll, and hot pressure starts to build inside me when I feel his erection. My body goes still, and He lets out an amused sound when I feel the head of his erection nudge against my entrance. “Not so mouthy now, huh?” I want to hit him for teasing me, but I can’t move. He’s big. Really big and a part of me, no, scratch that; all of me is pretty sure he’s not going to fit. Nikolai must sense my hesitation because his teasing expressi