I hear Jade crying too as she hugs me close. She murmurs to me, but I can’t hear what she says with the sound of my own tears drowning out everything except my sorrow. If Dimitri lets me go, that means Jade will be gone from my life too. This life that I have started to love, to look forward to every day, will also be gone. I will have nothing more to look forward to, no friends, no Dimitri, and never any children I can call my own.
“It’s okay, Ruby. It’s okay,” I hear her say after what feels like an eternity of crying.
“Thank you,” I say brokenly, and feel her arms squeeze me gently.
“You have nothing to thank me for, sweetheart. You are my friend, and that’s what friends are for. I will always be here for you no matter what.” I hug her back tightly. Just then, the door to the room bangs open, which has both of us jumping in fright.
“What the hell, Vlad? Just kill me of fright already,” Jade says as she glares at him, but he doesn’t seem to listen as he looks around and then moves towards the floor-to-ceiling window that leads outside to the veranda. I had closed the curtains earlier, as I didn’t want anyone to see me. With all the men patrolling the property, they would have seen me lying in bed. He cracks the curtain open a little and seems to look around outside, and then steps back and makes sure to close it tightly again before he turns towards us.
“Sorry about that,” he says, and then frowns when he sees the two of us. “What the hell is going on?” We must both look a mess, but to be honest, I am feeling slightly better and more composed after my breakdown.
“Nothing that concerns you,” Jade says as she raises her chin at him, which surprises me, as no one in their right mind would talk to Vlad like that.
“Is Alexei being an ass?”
I gasp, never thinking that anyone would dare talk about the boss of the Bratva Fury like that.
Jade simply huffs in annoyance and waves her hand at him. “Alexei is being overbearing as always, but no, he’s being sweet, so leave him alone.”
Vlad’s eyes turn towards me, and then he frowns. “Does that mean that it’s Dimitri being an ass? If he made you cry, just tell me and I promise you I will knock some sense into him.” He places his hands low on his waist and looks at me questioningly.
“What!” I gasp in surprise. “No, no, he’s been wonderful.”
“Women.” He shakes his head and looks up to the ceiling in annoyance. “Well, if nothing is wrong,” he says sarcastically, “then make sure to keep away from the windows and keep the curtains closed. We believe the assassin is out there, and he has a sniper.” We both gasp in surprise.
“Do you know who he’s after yet?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer as he turns and leaves. “Well, that was rude.”
Jade smiles in amusement. “But he’s sweet. You have to agree on that. He was willing to go kick our husbands’ asses for upsetting us, if need be,” Jade quips, which has me cracking a little smile.
“Thank you, Jade.”
“I think you’re making a bigger thing than it is. Dimitri will be fine. He didn’t even think of marrying before he met you. That means if he didn’t think of marrying, he wasn’t thinking of ever having children either. This won’t be a deal-breaker, sweetie, trust me.” I’m surprised at her outlook on things, but that calms my fears a little. Is she right? Could it be that Dimitri won’t be as heartbroken as I am about not being able to have children? “Now, what I suggest is that you get up, go have a nice shower, get dressed, and then come join us in the dining room later for dinner.”
“That sounds nice,” I say just to appease her. The last thing I feel like doing is being around people, but maybe it will be good to get my mind off reality.
“Okay, then, I’m going to go before my husband comes looking for me. See you later.” She leans forward and gives me a kiss on the forehead as a mother would do and then leaves. Maybe she’s right; maybe I am overreacting.
Getting up, I move toward the bathroom and proceed to do as Jade suggested. I am nearly finished with my shower when I see Dimitri entering the bathroom. “Is there space for one more?” he asks as he pulls his shirt off. The breadth of his chest has my heart racing. He has a sculptured body that could easily belong to a sex god.
“You’re back,” I say lamely when I realize that my time has run out. His slacks come off next, with his boxers, his shoes, and then his socks. When he enters the shower and stands before me in his splendour, I lose all words, as all I can think about is being in his arms, having him hold me close so that I can feel like everything will be okay. Instead of waiting for him, I step forward and place my hands around his hips as I lay my head against his warm chest.
His arms come around me, and he holds me close. He doesn’t say anything but just stays like that until I finally lift my head and take a step back. “There is nothing better than coming home to you,” he says as he lifts his hand and strokes his finger over my cheek. I can see the concern on his face when he sees my puffy eyes, but he doesn’t say anything, which I appreciate.
“Vlad said we must keep out of sight, as the assassin might be watching,” I say, and he tenses, his smile disappearing, and instead a frown substitutes it.
“We now know where he is. It’s just a matter of time until we catch him. Don’t worry, it will be fine,” he says, and then he pumps some shower gel into his hands and rubs it over his body. It feels like he’s hiding something, but I just can’t tell what it is. I pull his hands away and start stroking my hands over his body, feeling the soap through my fingers. When my hands move over his chest, I smile as I feel the wet chest hair there. I love this man’s chest. Who am I lying to? I love everything about him.
I love him. When that thought enters my mind, I feel a ripple move over my body as if an electric shock rippled through my blood.
“If you carry on doing that, we’re never going to leave this shower,” he murmurs, which makes me smile when I feel his hardness against my leg.
“Promises, promises,” I tease, and he grunts.
“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” And with those words, he has his hands under my ass and is lifting me up against the wall, which has me gasping in surprise at the coldness on my back, but before I can say anything, his lips are over mine and he is kissing the breath right out of me. My arms move around his neck, and I give myself completely to him, not worrying about the conversation that I still need to have with him or that there is a madman out there looking to kill one of us in this house.
He moves my pelvis slightly forward and then plunges into my heat. We both gasp in pleasure as he starts moving slowly in and out. His lips leave mine and travel down my neck as he leans me further back, his strong arms holding me up. His thrusts become faster, which has me whimpering in pleasure as I feel my orgasm building. He squeezes my ass just as he bites down on my shoulder.
The slight pain and pleasure combined has me careening over the edge. My orgasm hits me so hard that I swear I lose all reality and just float in this perfect moment. I hear him grunt his pleasure, but I don’t open my eyes as I live in the moment. I finally just open my eyes when he kisses my lips gently and slowly lowers me to my shaking legs.
“Maybe instead of going into the dining room like I was going to do, I think I’ll just go lie down and sleep, as someone has exhausted me,” I tease.
“Are you complaining, woman?” he says gruffly, a twinkle in his eyes.
“No, Dimitri, I’m not complaining. That was perfect.” And no matter what happens, whatever the future has in store for us, at least I had this perfect moment with him.
“Okay, then, let me get you out of here before you turn into a prune,” he quips, and proceeds to wash my body and his before he switches off the shower and carries me out to dry me off. We don’t speak throughout all of this, but there is no need to say anything, as just being in each other’s arms is perfect. When he finally sits me down on the bed wrapped up in the fluffy white towel, I can just lie back and sleep. That’s how relaxed I am.
DIMITRI 17
As soon as I tell her we need to talk, she jumps up and starts to dress as if the grim reaper is after her. After our time together, I really don’t want to do this, but rather sooner than later. I approach her as she pulls on a pair of jeans, and place my hands on her shoulders until she stands still and looks at me. “The person the assassin is after is you,” I say, and nearly a sense of relief fills her expression before realization dawns.
“How do you know this?” she asks, her expression now calm, which makes me wonder what she was so agitated about just a minute ago. After giving her a brief explanation of what we found in the hotel room, she shrugs.
“I had a feeling it might be me,” she says.
“I just want to know how they knew where to find you,” I mutter, my anger rising once again when I think there is a motherfucker out there who wants to kill her. “I don’t want you to worry, though. Nik is at the hotel room, and this place is shut down tight.”
“I just wish I knew why they are so desperate to kill me,” she says with a perplexed expression. “To send someone after me after I left the country means that whoever is after me didn’t just want me gone; it means they definitely want me dead.”
I place my arms around her naked midriff and pull her against me. “Well, you don’t need to worry. After we get hold of this asshole, he will tell us everything we need to know, and then whoever sent him will pay.” She leans her head against my chest, and I gently stroke her hair to assure her that I am here for her and no one will hurt her when I’m around.
“What did you think I was going to talk to you about?” I ask, and immediately feel her body tense, which tells me that whatever it is, she is dreading the topic.
“Nothing,” she says, but her voice is muffled against my chest and her body is vibrating with her tension.
“Ruby, look at me.” She takes a while to comply but then slowly lifts her head. Her eyes clash with mine, which affords me to see the world of pain swimming in them. Something is driving that pain. I am going to have to make her talk to me, because only like that will she be able to start letting go of all the pain. I thought I already knew everything there was to know. It looks like there is more, and I brace myself. All I want is to be able to go back and strangle that son of a bitch who thought it was okay to hurt her, but that isn’t possible, as he was made to pay at the time for what he did to her.
“Talk to me, Ruby. What’s wrong?” Her eyes fill with tears, which has my heart constricting in pain. I hate seeing her upset. I will do anything to make this woman happy again. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Whatever it is, you can talk to me.”
“You don’t know everything.” I strain to hear her whisper. “I should have told you right from the beginning.” She takes a step back to distance herself, but I don’t let her and pull her back to me.
“You can tell me now,” I say.
“I’m sorry.” A tear rolls down her cheek, and my heart breaks a little at her pain.
“Everything will be okay, sweetheart, I promise. Just tell me.”
“Nothing can make this better,” she whispers, and now the tears are falling freely. “I can’t have children because of what happened.”
I feel my heart lurch at the pain I can hear in her voice, and then I realize what she is saying. My stomach tightens in pain. I never thought about having children until I met Ruby. The idea of any children in this world of the Bratva always had me sceptical about raising a kid in it, but then I met Ruby, and I started to think of a little girl just like her running around and calling me papa.
I can see that she wants children. Even this that motherfucker stole from her. “Don’t cry, it’s okay,” I say, but deep down, I know this must be a huge void for her, a void that I don’t know if I will ever be able to fill. “Ruby, I know that nearly every woman wants children, and I’m so sorry this happened to you.” I can feel my own emotions clogging my throat.
“I can’t give you children,” she says through her sorrow.
“I have you. That is all I need.”
She shakes her head. “You spoke earlier about our children, but you can never have that with me. I told you I was broken; you should have let me go.” At this, she breaks down. Her sobs are wrenching to hear.
“I will never let you go. Ruby, you have changed my life since the day you walked into it. I look forward to every day just because I know you are in it. You and I is what is important. You make me happy. You fill my life with a light I never had before.” I place my thumbs under her eyes and wipe the tears away as she looks at me with her big, beautiful sad eyes. “Ruby, I’m in love with you, and nothing is going to change that.”
Lowering my head, I take her lips in a gentle kiss, pouring all my feelings into it, opening myself to her scrutiny. I want her to know and feel that this isn’t something that will affect our relationship.
“I wanted to be able to give you children,” she says brokenly.
“You gave me yourself, which is the greatest gift you could ever give me.” I place my arms around her waist and hug her close, feeling her warmth against me. I place a kiss on the top of her head as she burrows into me. This is home. Her in my arms is all I need to feel complete, and I will endeavour to make her feel that every day of my life. “Ruby, believe me when I say that children have never been a priority in my life. Yes, if I had children with you, it would be great, but if I don’t, it’s also fine, as I never expected to father any before I met you.” I feel her body shaking and know that she’s crying. I wish I could do something to lessen her pain, but I know that in this, there is very little I can do.
I hope the motherfucker responsible for this is rotting in hell. This beautiful, kind, caring woman that I am so lucky to have as my wife didn’t deserve this lot in life. I don’t know how long we stand just holding each other until Ruby finally looks up, her beautiful sad eyes mesmerizing me. “I love you.” Her words are whispered, but they pierce right through my heart. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to hear her say these words.
“Not as much as I love you,” I murmur before I lower my head and kiss her wet lips, feeling her arms rise and circle my neck as she submits to our kiss. Just as I break the kiss and am about to talk, there is a commotion outside the bedroom door, and then a knock.
“Dimitri,” Vlad calls, a tone of urgency in his voice, which has me stepping away from Ruby.
“Get dressed,” I mutter as I make my way to the bedroom door. Opening the door, I see Vlad pacing outside. He stops when he sees me and then inclines his head for me to step outside. Closing the bedroom door behind me, I take a step towards him.
“He’s on the property,” he states.
My body tightens with anger. “How?”
“Two of our men are down by the rear wall.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, turning around to go to Ruby. “I’ll bring her into the dining room. She knows it’s her he’s after.” I hear Vlad mutter something to himself, but I’m more worried about getting to my wife than what he’s mumbling about. Entering the room again, I stop just inside the bedroom door when I see Ruby standing before the mirror in the far corner. Some of my anxiety dissipates. No matter what happens, this son of a bitch will not get close to her.
“Are you ready?” I ask as I move towards the other side of the bed and proceed to finish dressing.
“Yes, I’m just trying to hide the blotchiness,” she murmurs.
When I’m done, I approach her, seeing her eyes rise and look at me through the mirror. “What’s wrong?” I place my hands around her waist and lean forward until my face is next to hers in the mirror before I reply.
“The assassin has
managed to breach security and is on the property.” I feel her tense, and her eyes widen in surprise. “I want to take you to the dining room where the others are. There will be more security there until we catch him.”
“Maybe I should stay here, Dimitri.” She frowns as she replies.
“No, we are going to the dining room.” I won’t have her isolated from everyone where it is easier to get to her.
“But, Dimitri, we are placing everyone in danger if I’m around them,” she states as she turns around to look at me. I want to smile when I see her fierce expression, her arms crossing over her chest.
“You do realize we’re part of the mafia, don’t you, Ruby? Everyone is always in danger,” I reply as I shrug nonchalantly.
“Be serious. If I’m around anyone, they have more of a probability of getting hurt than if I’m alone.”
“You worry too much, Ruby. Having all of you in one room will help us protect all of you better than if we’re separated. Trust me.” I place my hand on her cheek and see the battle she is fighting within herself. This woman is a fierce warrior when it comes to protecting those she cares for; I don’t think she realizes what a fighter she is and how much courage she has.
“I do trust you,” she murmurs as she turns her head and kisses my hand, “but I don’t want anyone hurt because of me.”
“No one is going to get hurt because of you. Now come, let’s go.” I don’t give her a chance to fight me any longer on this as I take her hand and make my way towards the dining room. When we enter, I see Alexei standing behind Jade, his arms around her waist as he speaks to Raven, who is standing before them.
When Jade spots us, she smiles and waves us towards them. “I thought you two weren’t coming,” she says, and takes Ruby’s free hand in hers.
“Where are the children?” Ruby asks, a concerned tone to her voice.
“They are in my room. We put two of Alexei’s men to good use,” Raven says with a twinkle in her eye. I see Alexei shake his head in amusement.
Mayhem: Bratva Fury (book 3) Page 13