GavrilI looked out over the twinkling lights of LA, a task that usually soothed me, but this time it only pissed me off.How could I have screwed this plan up so fucking badly?Taking a long draw of my vodka, I let the fiery liquid burn a path to my stomach, not caring that I had consumed far too much alcohol tonight. Normally I didn’t like to. I was a man who liked to keep his head clear and his thoughts direct. I hated men who got drunk, knowing that they could make a mistake that could cost them their lives.Tonight, though, I drank for the sheer fact that I had accomplished all that I had set out to do, as well as to quench some of my need for my wife. All it had done was get me to a place that her scent, her looks had driven me nearly insane, and by the time I had gotten her into my room, all I wanted to do was sink myself into her virginal canal.A short laugh escaped me. Well, the fucking joke was on me. There was nothing virginal about Sveta.No, that wasn’t Sveta. All the co
Word was going to get out that I had married Sveta as it was already being circulated through our channels. That had been part of my plan, to put the rest of the Bratvas on notice that I was making a claim to the defunct Krasnaya Bratva.Now there was a concern that once Marchetti found out, he would know that the claim was false. But if I could trap Naomi into marriage with a kid, then I wouldn’t have anything to worry about. Withholding a child from his or her mother was enough to keep a woman in line. “I’m not worried,” I told her. “But I will take your suggestions under advisement.”Vera dipped her head. “Thank you, master. That is all I ask.”I didn’t respond as she walked away and disappeared back into the house. One thing that Vera did state truthfully was that Naomi could be used against me as a weapon. She could be taken by my enemies and held so that I would comply with whatever demand came about. Any boss that decided to marry and carry on his bloodline ran that risk. When
NaomiI woke to the sunlight streaming through the balcony doors, my head fuzzy and my body sore in places that hadn’t been that way in a long time. Wincing, I pulled myself up to a seated position, rubbing my head lightly. My eyes felt gritty from the tears I had shed until I fell asleep, disbelieving of what I had gotten myself into.I really should have tried to stop it when I had the chance. It was one thing for me to marry Gavril and become his wife.It was completely another situation for me to marry him and give him a child that was meant to carry Sveta’s bloodline. That was something I couldn’t do, no matter what anyone thought.Sighing, I threw back the covers and took care of my bathroom needs before staring at myself in the mirror.I saw a familiar broken woman who barely knew herself years ago staring back, before Ilsa saved me and pulled me back together.Well, that and a lot of therapy. A bubble of laughter escaped me as I thought about my therapist. Not even she could h
Ilsa“Ugh. Who would have ever thought it would be this hard to get out of bed?”My husband Roman slid his arm around my expanding waist and pulled me flush to his hard body, pressing his lips against my shoulder. “Who said you had to get out of this bed?”I sighed happily, interlacing our fingers together. “I mean, I have to get out of the bed. The designer is coming for the baby’s room in like an hour.”His chuckle stirred the hair around my ear. “You can always tell him to fuck off.”I turned in his arms, gazing at his handsome face. “No! Do you not realize how hard it was to get an appointment with him? He’s the premier designer on the island.”Roman’s eyes sparkled with laughter as he pressed his lips to my forehead. “Fine, but you could just stay in bed with your obscenely gorgeous husband instead of some stuffy designer. Just think of the things I could do to you.”My toes curled, my entire body flushing at the thought of what Roman did to me, and against my better judgment I r
NaomiThree weeks later.I clung to Gavril’s muscular back—not daring to look up at his face—as he drilled into me. I knew what I would find if I did: a man whose expression remained stone cold, with jaw clenched and eyes fixed on the painting above the bed as he silently used me.For the last three weeks, this had been our routine.Sometimes, he took me against the wall or bent over the chair in the corner. I think the only place he hadn’t fucked me was in the shower. But it was probably only a matter of time before he did.I felt a slight tremor go through his body and knew he was close. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Gavril groaned and I felt a familiar wet warmth flood inside me. I squeezed my eyes shut as he emptied himself to the last drop. Soon he would leave, having accomplished what he had come into my room to do.It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it. Gavril was a skilled lover, probably one of the best I had ever had. He knew how to hit the right spots. He knew how to make my
My words seemed to surprise him, and I was glad. I wanted to find common ground with him to not make this miserable and for him not to look at me like a piece of meat.Did he have any softness in him? I didn’t know, and honestly, I doubted it. But he was my husband, whether I wanted him to be or not. So it wasn’t like I had a choice.If I displeased him, he would teach me a lesson.If I ran, he would hunt me down.If I defied him…Well, what was the use of thinking about things that wouldn’t happen?Finally, Gavril moved toward me and held out his hand. “Come, Sveta,” he said softly, his eyes betraying no emotion. “I’m going to take you out to dinner tonight.”If the pool had been any deeper, I would have drowned, my knees weakening in the water. “What?”“Dinner,” he continued, a tease to his voice. “At a restaurant.”Who was this man, and what had he done with my husband? “You want us to go out in public?”A flash of emotion slid across his face and then disappeared. “Of course I do.
GavrilMoments Before“We are very pleased that you and your lovely companion decided to join us tonight. It’s an honor to have you in my restaurant.”I listened to the rambling of the restaurant owner in my ear as he walked me down to his personal wine cellar below the restaurant. As we descended, the chatter of the restaurant was slowly drowned out and replaced by the hum of the dim lights overhead.When I had decided to take Naomi out, there was only one place I was going to bring her to, a place that would give her maximal benefit to be seen by the elite of LA. The waitlist usually took years to clear out. But I was on another list. I’d done the owner quite a number of favors over the years—both legal and illegal. And seeing as how I supplied most of the rarer bottles in the cellar, he knew better than to deny me entry.We reached a heavy wooden door, and he pushed it open, the automatic lights flickering on and revealing row upon row of dusty bottles in the dim light. He led me t
Gavril“Mr. Kirilenko,” the restaurant manager said, sweat dotting his forehead. “Please forgive me. That man will be barred from the restaurant. For life.”“Good,” I said, an easy smile gracing my lips now. My blood was still drumming through my veins, and I wanted to fuck Naomi so hard that she saw stars, but I had promised her a dinner, and that was what she was going to get.So I turned back to my wife, finding her watching me with wide eyes. Some color had come back to her cheeks, and she didn’t look thoroughly disgusted by what had happened.Interesting. “Are you okay?” I asked, straightening the cuffs of my jacket.“I am,” she replied softly.The staff scurried around me, righting the things on our table, including a new tablecloth, and I sat down across from her, waiting until they had poured the wine before handing her a glass. “Try this,” I offered, holding it out to her.She took the glass, her fingers brushing over mine and sending my mind in the same direction it had been