Lia grabs on to me with her delicate fingers as I carry her to the bedroom.
I, on the other hand? I’m thinking of ways to punish and fuck her after she’s kept me waiting all night long.
There’s no way in hell I’m letting my guards near her in the future. This one time was enough. In fact, it’s more than I would have preferred.
If it were up to me, she’d have no contact with them at all. A certain dark obsession takes hold of me whenever she talks, let alone smiles, at other men—even if they’re my own guards. It provokes the beast inside me who’s ready to come out and slaughter any man in her vicinity so that I’m the only one she ever gives her attention to.
I kick the wooden door shut behind me and Lia digs her tiny hands into my shirt, giggling as she squirms. Her cheeks are rosy and her eyelids have drooped from drinking. Another side of her that I don’t want anyone else to witness.
She looks so beautiful, flushed and with the blue of her eyes softening. There’s no trace of the sadness that seems to have haunted her life.
If anything, she appears a bit…mischievous. A trait that she rarely shows, if ever.
Lia has always been the soft, elegant type who keeps her emotions to herself. She said she hates my silent treatment, but she doesn’t realize that she often uses the same tactic herself. In fact, she was the one who pulled away first and refused to let me in no matter how much I coaxed her.
She always used to see the worst in me, and as a response, I resorted to forceful methods in order to keep her. To some extent, it was because that’s all I know, but I also did it because the thought of her leaving me turned me into a fucking beast.
But she hasn’t seemed to have those thoughts about escaping since the day I found her at the park. Actually, she feels closer, especially since we came to Russia.
She was right. I brought her here as a twisted pay of homage to the trip I never got the chance to take with Aunt Annika. However, it turned out to be so much more for our family. Even if, deep down, I’m still torn apart about her infidelity.
Despite being naturally distrustful, a strong part of me believes she didn’t cheat on me; however, there’s also the wary part.
The part that was cut in half when she confirmed having a lover.
The part that believes this is all a sham and that, sooner or later, she’ll go back to trying to escape.
That if given the choice, she won’t look twice before she leaves.
I thought I’d gotten used to people leaving when I was a child. First Aunt Annika, then Mom, then my father. But the idea of Lia joining them strikes a completely different chord.
One that keeps me awake at night, racking my brain to find a solution.
“Let me down,” she slurs.
“Why?”
“Stop asking questions for once. Trust me.”
I raise a brow even as I put her to her feet. She stumbles and I grab her elbow to steady her.
Lia wraps both of her hands around mine and sighs deeply as she sways on her feet. “I love your hands. They’re so strong and masculine. You even have veins in them.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmm-hmm. But do you know what I love the most about them?”
“What?”
“How rough they are while still being caring.” She flattens my palm on her beating heart. “See how much I love it?”
A deep groan escapes my chest as I feel her erratic heartbeat and watch how her cheeks redden to a bright crimson. Lia isn’t the type who lowers her guard or touches me freely. It’s probably the alcohol, but I revel in every moment of her losing her inhibitions.
The night wasn’t a complete waste after all.
Not only do I get to witness this side of her, but I also get to hear her honesty. She’s never allowed herself to get drunk around me after that first time in the restaurant. It’s like she’s scared about letting go in my company.
Because she didn’t trust me even when she wanted me. Even when she sought my affection.
And I didn’t permit her to get drunk when she thought she was Winter, because she wasn’t herself and wouldn’t have been choosing to do it freely.
She did tonight, though.
My wife willingly chose to show me this part of her.
Lia releases my hand, but I keep it against her breastbone, basking in the feel of her erratic breathing.
She unbuttons my shirt, her touch unsteady but determined until she reveals my chest. Her palms flatten on my pectoral muscles and they flex beneath her tender touch. Her throat works with a swallow as she slides her hands down my abdomen, her dainty fingers pausing on my skin every so often until she finds my belt and undoes it.
Her movements are shaky and awkward at best, but I don’t try to help her, curious where she’s taking this.
My wife lowers herself to her knees in front of me as her trembling hands slide down my pants and boxer briefs.
A growl spills from my lips and a carnal sense of lust hardens my dick.
The only time Lia has ever sucked me was in that alley, and that was only because she initiated it. While I have constantly thought about making her take my dick at the back of her pretty throat, I’ve never acted on it, because I needed her to want it. I wished her to get on her knees for me, not because she had to, but because she wanted to.
Like now.
She frees my cock, her tiny hands wrapping around it and her tongue darts out to lick her lips.
My fingers dig into her dark hair as I groan deep in my throat. “Fuck, Lenochka.”
“You like this?” She stares up at me with her huge eyes, still stroking me up and down.
“What do you think?”
“I think you do.” She swirls her tongue around the crown, lapping at the droplets of precum. “Mmm. I love your taste.”
Holy fuck.
It’s the first time she’s talked dirty and it’s a strange turn-on.
“Why haven’t you fucked my mouth before, Adrian?”
“For the same reason that you’ve never gotten on your knees before, Lenochka.”
“And that is?”
“You didn’t want it.”
She shakes her head with a frown etched deep between her brows. “Of course I did. I just didn’t express it. There hasn’t been a day when I didn’t want you. Not even when I thought I hated you.”
I’m on the verge of coming then and there, even before she opens her mouth and takes me to the back of her throat.
Her words are the strongest aphrodisiac that’s ever hit me. The knowledge that she’s had me on her mind, probably as much as I’ve had her on mine, swells a dark corner of my heart with strange warmth.
Lia tries to suck me hard, even with her half-drooping eyelids and wobbly knees. My hand fists in her hair and when I thrust to the back of her throat, she loosens her grip, allowing me to use her mouth, to drive in and out of her wet heat.
My wife gags, tears welling in her eyes and drool rolling down her chin. I love this sight of her, the submission in her gaze and in her posture, even while she’s choking on my dick. She doesn’t fight me, doesn’t try to push me away as I confiscate her air.
This is why Lia has always been special to me. She takes the lash of my punishments and comes back for more. It’s like she trusts I’d never hurt her beyond repair and that I’ll only satisfy her.
My roughness matches her softness.
I pull out of her wet heat, allowing her to breathe. She sucks in audibly, her cheeks streaking with fresh tears, but immediately opens her lips, sticking her tongue out slightly.
Fuck me.
Gripping her hair tighter, I pound inside, my rhythm increasing. “You can’t get enough, Lenochka?”
“Mmm,” she sputters around my hard dick.
“You like having your mouth fucked by me?”
She nods frantically and reaches a hand beneath her dress, touching herself as if to show me just how she likes it.
“Are you wet because I’m using your mouth this roughly?”
“Mmm.” Her movements quicken underneath her dress and so do my thrusts.
I pull out of her with an animalistic groan, even though my dick is so hard, it’s fucking painful.
Lia licks her lips, her fingers pausing as disappointment etches across her delicate features. “Why did you stop?”
I grab her, lift her up, and throw her on the bed. She lands on her back with a delighted squeal as I yank her skirt to her waist.
She bites her lower lip, lust and something similar to adoration shining in her eyes. “Is it time for my punishment?”
“I have something else in mind.” I don’t bother with removing her panties and, instead, rip them against her swollen pussy. She makes this startled, seductive sound whenever I do that and I had made it my mission to hear it whenever possible.
Lia opens her legs and I slide inside her with an ease I’ve never experienced before. She arches off the bed, the soles of her feet digging into the backs of my thighs.
My pace remains slow, unhurried, as I drive into her tight heat. She’s always felt like home, the one I think about going back to whenever I’m away from it.
“Oh, Adrian…” Her lips remain parted with no more words coming out, only moans, while I take my time powering into her body with deep, long thrusts. I roll my hips, letting her feel every stroke, every touch.
Every sliver of connection.
My hands are all over her, squeezing, grabbing. My lips find her tender ones, kissing her with the same rhythm of my thrusts, then I’m sucking on her neck, finding my way to her shirt and removing it with one hand so I can feast on her tight nipples.
“Adrian…oh, God…” She pants, holding on to me while she throbs around me, then cries out, her muscles milking me as she comes undone.
Her soft moans and sexy, throaty sounds echo in the air, luring my own orgasm. The rush is hard and potent and it takes everything I have to make it last.
I come inside her the longest I ever have, my blood rushing to where we’re connected. My groans reverberate around us as spurts of my cum fill her and drip all over her cunt.
My wife is the only woman who’s ever made me feel out of my mind with an animalistic sense of pleasure. One so carnal, I don’t ever want it to end.
But it’s not only pleasure that beats under my skin whenever I’m inside her.
It’s something deeper, darker, and would freak her out if I ever found the words to voice it.
Lia wraps her arms around my neck and smashes her lips to mine, kissing me with a desperation that flows in my blood and reaches into my fucking bones.
“I love you,” she whispers against my mouth, her breath stuttering. “I love you so much, Adrian.”
I groan, her words hardening my dick all over again as if I didn’t just empty myself inside her.
Before I can act on that or sort out my own words, she smiles a little, her breathing evening out and her lids closing. Then a tear escapes one as she falls asleep. I kiss it away, tasting the salt and her unsaid words.
I pull her to me and she snuggles into my hold, sighing when I cover us both.
We sleep wrapped around one another so tight, she’s the only thing I breathe. She smells of roses and sex and belonging.
Lia is the only person I’ve ever wanted to belong to me, no matter how illogical and impossible that is.
A tap on the door pulls me from sleep’s clutches.
I check the clock on the nightstand to find it’s only six in the morning. Lia is sprawled all over my chest, breathing against my skin.
Another knock comes before Kolya’s voice surges through. “Emergency, Boss.”
Sleep immediately leaves my brain as I slowly ease my wife to her back and cover her. Kolya isn’t the type who would call a situation an emergency unless things are indeed getting out of control.
I pull on a pair of pants and a shirt, which I don’t bother buttoning as I step out of the room, closing the door behind me.
My second-in-command stands in the hallway, his eyes bloodshot and a frown etched between his brows. He’s in barely put together army fatigues, which means he was also urged out of sleep.
“What is it, Kolya?”
“Sergei is demanding your immediate return.”
“What for?”
“Vladimir.” Kolya runs an agitated hand through his blond hair. “He brought forward evidence that you’re behind Richard’s death.”
“What type of evidence?”
“I don’t know, but it’s strong enough that Sergei and the others are livid. They’ve been calling me non-stop the past hour since they couldn’t get a hold of you.”
If they’re putting their weight into this, it’s definitely serious.
“Prepare to leave.”
“Boss, no. You have to stall until you find something to counter their accusations. Staying here for a bit longer will placate their anger.”
“Or make it worse. Sergei will think I’m guilty.”
“You are guilty, Boss. You shouldn’t have killed Richard.”
“He touched Lia. I would kill him a thousand times over if I got the chance to repeat it.”
He runs his hand through his hair again. “There’s something else.”
“What now?”
“Mrs. Volkov might not be what we’ve thought all along.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Since Yan was drunk last night, I managed to make him talk.”
“About?”
“The night she was kidnapped. Boss…Yan heard it all. She knew the man, and from the information we gathered, he was indeed Luca Brown.”
“I suspected as much. But why would that make Lia not who we thought she might be?”
“According to Yan, Luca told her she had one mission.”
“What mission?”
“He didn’t mention that, but here’s the thing, Boss. If my speculations are correct, it has something to do with your assassination attempt at Mikhail’s party last year. Since Luca hired that Spetsnaz he killed and threw off the cliff a few weeks ago, all evidence points to the likelihood that he also hired the mercenary we found dead at the party.”
Kolya’s words strike me like a lightning bolt and I have to take a moment to steady my breathing. “What does Lia have to do with any of that?”
“Mrs. Volkov was the one who pulled you down right before the gun went off. I didn’t think about it much at the time, just figured she had a quick reflex. However, the facts are that she saw something before you or I or even Damien and Kirill did, and she couldn’t actually have quicker reflexes than the four of us or Kirill and Damien’s guards. I believe that the only way she could’ve managed to pull you down that fast is because she knew about the hit beforehand.”
Even though I’m hearing him and I’ve somehow come to the same conclusion myself, I don’t want to believe it. “Yan could’ve lied.”
“Not when he’s drunk. He begged me not to say a word, said he believes she didn’t mean to and must have had her reasons. But what reasons could those be?”
“Kolya…” I grind out. “You’re saying that my fucking wife had a hand in my attempted assassination.”
“And that’s why it’s the only attempted assassination we haven’t been able to solve. You’re too blinded by her to see it.”
“Shut up.”
“She betrayed you, Boss. All evidence points at her.”
“I said, shut the fuck up.” I raise my fist and punch him in the face. He staggers backward, blood exploding from his lip.
My senior guard straightens in front of me again and for the first time since we were growing up, he grabs me by the collar of my shirt, his voice rising. “Wake up, Adrian. You’re a traitor to the Bratva because of her and if you don’t use your brain, you’ll be executed by Sergei. I don’t give a fuck if you kill me, but I will not allow you to die now after how far you’ve come.”
I breathe so harshly, my pulse roars in my ears. My chest aches to the point that it’s about to explode, because I know, deep down, that Kolya is right.
And this might as well be the end.
