by Cole, Jagger
With a final nod from both of us, he turns to make his way back to Semyon’s mansion. He’s taken a huge risk with all of this. But he’s done it all as he does everything—with absolute dedication and grim resolve.
“How…” River turns to look up into my eyes. Since we crashed into each other outside, she’s mostly just been holding me tightly, and burying her face in my chest. But now that she’s realized I’m real, and not a dream, I can see the questions in her eyes.
“It was a matter of time before Semyon tried something drastic,” I growl quietly. “I know him, and I knew pushing him and the fragile truce we had by taking you would take him past his control. It is why I allowed him to think he had an ace in the hole with me.”
She frowns.
“Maksim.”
My top captain was never happy with this arrangement. Even when we planned it out for all of the most likely scenarios. I’ve known Maksim since he was eleven. I practically raised him as a son or nephew. Telling him his new orders were to defect to my enemy was not easy for him.
“For the last few months, Maksim has been a ‘double agent’ with Semyon. That stupid little troll has thought he’s had a spy in my upper ranks. When in truth, it’s the opposite. When I took you…” I lean my lips down to kiss her shoulder again. “I knew it would bring Semyon to the edge. But since ‘his’ man was actually my man, it allowed me to know what was coming.”
She stares at me. I can see anger start to simmer beneath the surface. “You knew that was going to happen?” She hisses quietly.
“No,” I growl. “Not exactly how it did. Semyon moved much faster than I expected. And Maksim only had a few minutes notice about what was happening.”
River trembles, looking into my eyes. “I-I watched him shoot—”
“Blanks,” I say softly as I hold her tightly. “Semyon’s plan was always to have Maksim assassinate me on my boat. If he trusted Maksim to do it himself, we were simply going to lie about the events. And if his men were going to be present, we’d use the blanks to sell the story.”
She stares at me. “Why would you let Semyon try and kill you?”
“Because with him thinking I was out of the picture, his guard would be down,” I mutter. “He’d be reckless and unguarded, which would allow me to strike without him being ready.” I frown. “The yacht getting blown to hell wasn’t exactly part of the plan, though.”
Her face pales, and I know she’s thinking about all of my people from the boat.
“Everyone got off, kiska,” I say gently, stroking her cheek. “The second Semyon messaged Maksim what was about to happen, he had our people on the escape pods and launching. He was never told that they were going to torch the whole damn boat. But he had everyone off of it to avoid unnecessary loss, and because Semyon expected him to have my protection dealt with.”
She hugs me tightly.
“But all of them are safe. And you are safe,” I growl quietly as my arms tighten around her.
“And where’s Maksim off to now?”
“Back to Semyon’s mansion.”
Her mouth opens in horror as she states at me. “He can’t go back there! They’ll know he helped me—”
“Oh, you didn’t escape.” I smile thinly. “You died.”
River goes still. She stares at me. “I’m sorry, what?”
I frown. It’s a grisly detail to the plan I don’t relish. But I did what I had to.
“In a few hours time, Semyon’s guard patrol will discover your body on the ground beneath the bedroom where you were being kept.”
River looks horrified.
“You couldn’t see last night since it was dark, but Semyon’s mansion sits on a cliff. It’s a two-hundred foot drop from that bedroom window to the rocks below.”
Her face pales. “Who…”
“In your country, they call it a ‘Jane Doe.’” I say gently with a frown. “It doesn’t bring me any joy, but she was an unknown. An addict most likely. The morgue director I am friends with pinned her death on an overdose.”
River shakes her head. “No…”
“She has similar hair to yours. Everything else doesn’t really matter though, not from two-hundred feet up. The lock on your window will appear to have been broken, and Semyon will have lost the prize he broke our loose treaty for.”
Her hands tighten on my shirt. “That’s awful,” she says quietly.
“It is not a pretty business that I am in, River,” I growl gently as I hold her. “But in the meantime, he will think we are both dead. He will be irrational, and unguarded. And that’s how I will destroy him.”
She nods as she pulls tight to me. My arms circle her, keeping her as close to me as I can get her. We sit in silence for a little while, just watching the fire. It’s been a grueling, long twelve hours. I can only thank the fates that I picked the swim team over the running team when I was a boy. Being as strong a swimmer as I am is the only thing that saved me when the whole goddamn boat went up.
The fire crackles, glowing through the dark room. And slowly, I realize she’s asleep against me. I smile as I press my face to her hair, drowning myself in the scent of her. Letting the warmth of her softness fill me.
I want to lie to myself that this is a flawless plan. But it isn’t. Semyon is an idiot, but not a complete one. Soon enough, he’ll understand that he’s been had, and his fury will be enormous.
I smile grimly. But mine is already greater than he can imagine. It’s tempered right now because the woman I love—my heart—is curled in my arms once again. But like I said once, I did not bring us to the brink of this war. But it’s a war we’re going to have. Petya can pick sides or sit it out and wait for the dust to settle. But either way, I’m going to crush Semyon and the entire Belsky Bratva under my heel.
He was a nuisance before when I took what I knew he wanted. Then I realized she was never his to have, because she’s always been mine. Now that he’s tried to take her from me, the line has been crossed.
Semyon’s poked the bear. And he has no idea the fury he’s awoken.
But that’s later. For now, all I know and all I want to know is her—in my arms, in my bed, close to me. She barely stirs as I stand and carry her up the sweeping staircase of the old royal hunting lodge to the master bedroom. She’s still fast asleep as I lay her in the bed and peel away the pajamas she arrived in. I pull my own clothes off too and slide into bed next to her.
I’m tempted to kiss my way between her legs and have my fill of her. But she needs to rest. She’s been through hell: thinking I was dead, being taken by Semyon, and all the mind-fuck’s she’s had to swallow over the last hour or so.
For now, we will sleep.
I pull close to her, kiss her neck, and close my eyes. The last thing I know is the feel of her heart beating against mine.
20
Yuri
“Yuri,” Petya sighs with relief. “I am glad you called. I’ve been so worried.”
I arch my brows with a small grin. I like Petya, and we go way back. But I know he’s mostly “relieved” and glad I called because he’s got enough eyes and ears out there to know that world war three is about break out between the Volkov and Belsky Bratva families. And that would not be good for Petya’s biggest concern: his money.
Petya might have more money than God. But he makes a fortune doing business with both Belsky and Volkov. And a war would severely impact that.
“Back from the dead,” I grunt, groggily.
It’s six at night, but I’m just waking up. It was earlier this morning, maybe twelve hours ago, that River was brought back to me. And we’ve been in bed ever since. Currently, I’m back in the big, wood-paneled, bookcase-lined study, in a huge chair gazing into the roaring, enormous fireplace.
I’m nursing a black coffee, my bare feet warmed by the flames and the soft bearskin rug beneath me. River is still asleep in the master bedroom upstairs, and I plan on letting her sleep for as long as she wants. We’ve both been through hell.
But I’m used to hell. I’m used to the violence and destruction of this life and this world.
She is not. And I hate that she’s been exposed to this part of my world. I hate that she’s been dragged into the maelstrom, when she should be apart from all of this. Part of that blame is with me, of course. She’s been pulled into this bullshit because of me. But then, Semyon has crossed a line.
Perhaps I did “take her from him.” But this was no arranged marriage or anything like that. He simply desired her. And I simply took her before he could lay hands on her. As barbaric as it may sound, as such, she is mine. More importantly though, she isn’t Bratva. And that is where Semyon has severely crossed a line that is never crossed.
You don’t go after families. As ruthless and bloody as the bratva life is, that is the one rule that keeps things from exploding. No families. You may have the most bitter rivalry in the world with another bratva organization. Your men and their’s might be going at each other with kitchen knives in the goddamn streets. But you do not touch those men’s wives, or children, or loved ones. You just don’t.
“Shot and your boat blown to pieces in the middle of the ocean,” Petya wheezes out a laugh. “Yuri, if this were ancient Greece, there would be a story written about you.”
I smile thinly. “The Epic Poem of Yuri Volkov.”
“Swallowed by the sea and spit back out,” Petya chuckles. “Too ill-tempered.”
I grin. “To pissed-off for being tossed in to begin with, perhaps.”
“Too lucrative,” Petya grunts.
I sip the coffee, nodding into the fire. “This will effect business, Petya. I hope you understand that it is unavoidable.”
“Da, da, I know,” he mutters. “Fucking Semyon.”
“It will be war, Petya.”
He sighs slowly. “Let me…” he grunts. “Let me speak to him.”
“Petya—“
“I know, I know! Yuri, I understand what you must do, and that is your business—”
“Correct.”
He sighs. “But you are both my business—”
“This is not a discussion, Petya,” I growl. “It’s a decision.”
“Da, okay,” he sighs again. “Okay. Let me speak to him first, at least. Yes?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Good.” He clicks his teeth. “You are okay though?”
“I am,” I grunt. “Thanks.”
“And your Helen of Troy?”
I smile. “Resting, but she’s fine.”
“I am sorry about your boat, by the way. I was very jealous of it.”
I wince. “I did love that boat.”
“Well, there is always more money to be made. More boats to buy, da?”
I smile.
“So you are back in Moscow?”
“Nyet,” I shake my head. “The hunting lodge.”
“Ahhh yes, I remember that place! Your father and I…” he chuckles. “We did some damage to the wine cellar there once.”
I smile. “I don’t doubt it.”
“Anyways, you are safe. Your girl is safe. That is what is important, da? All this talk about money… eh.”
I roll my eyes. He’s the one that keeps dragging this back to business. But it doesn’t matter. He’s right. River is safe and sound. And so am I. That is what matters.
“Listen, why don’t we meet? This business with Semyon…” he clicks his teeth. “It does not sit well with me. Maybe it’s time to… renegotiate my business arrangements.”
I arch a brow. “Meaning?”
“Meaning maybe Semyon has passed his usefulness as a business associate. And maybe it is time to move all of my business to you alone.”
I grin. “I think that would be a meeting I could be interested in having.”
He chuckles. “Good. Good. Just like your father, Yuri. How is tomorrow? I know you are laying low with this Belsky bullshit. But I can come to you, da?”
I nod into the fireplace. “Da, that would be good.”
“Excellent. I’ll see you tomorrow, Yuri. Be well.”
When I hang up, I drop the phone onto the side table, next to the gun full of blanks that Maksim left. I smile thinly, remembering the shot. Blank or not, watching a gun explode at you from two feet away is… jarring.
I pick up my scotch and drink deeply as I stare into the flames. But suddenly, I’m aware of a presence. I glance to the doorway to the large study, and I grin.
“Good morning,” River murmurs sheepishly. She steps into the dim, fireplace-lit room towards me. I feel a savage growl inside of me. She’s just in a short terrycloth bathrobe; her hair still damp from a shower or bath.
“I was out for a long time.”
I smile. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“I know.”
She blushes as she moves towards me. She sits on the arm of the chair, leaning into me with her head on my shoulder. My arm slips around her waist as she turns to kiss me softly. The kiss deepens before we break. River grins, her eyes glinting in the firelight.
“How do you feel?”
“Sleepy,” she giggles. “Which is ridiculous because I just slept for like thirteen hours straight.”
“You need it,” I growl. My mouth thins. “River, what happened…”
“It’s behind us.”
“I knew Semyon would make a move, I just never thought it would involve you—”
“Yuri,” she says gently, smiling as she kisses me again. “I’m okay. I’m fine. Really.”
She reaches for my glass and pulls it from my fingers. She drinks, her face brightening at the strong liquor before she sets it on the table beside us. We sit like that, my arm around her, as we both gaze into the flames.
“I thought I’d lost you.”
Her voice is small, fragile. I frown, hating that she had that experience.
“Kiska…”
“I thought I’d lost you, and the only thing I could think of was that I never said it back.”
My pulse thuds. She turns to me, her eyes wide as they search mine. “On the boat, right before…” she shudders. “You mouthed words at me. And… I thought you said—”
“I said that I love you,” I murmur gently. Her face glows, her eyes widening as they bore into mine.
“I didn’t get to say it back.”
I smile, taking her hand. “River—”
“I love you,” she whispers. My heart thuds heavily, ringing in my ears.
Slowly, she stands from the arm of the chair and steps in front of me. Firelight flickers behind her, making her skin glow. Her hands drop, and suddenly, she’s tugging the tie of her robe. It opens, and the robe falls to the sides before she shrugs it off her shoulders.
It slips to a pool at her feet, and I groan as my eyes drink her in. River trembles as she slips into my lap. She sinks against me and drops her mouth to mine. She kisses me slowly and deeply before she pulls back just an inch.
“I want you,” she whispers heavily.
My cock thickens instantly. My pulse thuds. I can feel my jaw clench as my hands tighten on her.
“River…”
“I want you,” she whispers huskily again. Her mouth slips across my jaw to my ear as she leans close. “I want you to have all of me.”
There’s no second-guessing; no asking if she’s sure.
She’s sure. So am I.
My hand cups her face, and I crush my mouth to hers. She moans, gasping at the intensity of my kiss. My fingers slip back, threading into her long hair as I growl into her mouth. Her thighs clamp around me, and she whimpers as I stand. My hand cups her ass as I step from the chair and then lower us to the big bearskin rug.
River moans eagerly as I lay her out across it. My body covers hers, pinning her to the floor as I kiss her fiercely. My hands slide up her arms, pushing them up above her head. Her body undulates, arching against me as a leg curls around my hip.
I kiss her mouth until it’s bruised and swollen. Then I lower my lips to her jaw, her ne
ck, and then her collarbone. I kiss gently down one of her full breasts until my lips slip over her pink, rock-hard nipple.
“Yuri,” she whines in pleasure as I suck the little bud. I move to the other nipple, then back. Then I move lower. I shrug my shirt off, tossing it aside as I sink between her pretty thighs. She whimpers as I kiss up the inside of one of them, nearing her glistening wet pussy. Until finally, I can’t hold back any longer.
“Oh God…” she cries out when my mouth hums over her pussy. My tongue parts her slick lips, dragging up until it bumps over her throbbing clit. She shudders, moaning deeply as I suck the little nub between my lips. My tongue swirls around it as I add suction. River starts to thrash on the rug, begging for more.
My hand drops to work my belt open. I shove my pants down as I devour her pretty little cunt. When I’m naked along with her, my hand wraps around my throbbing hard cock. I stroke, groaning into her little pussy as she floods my tongue with her arousal.
I groan into her, pushing my tongue deep. Her hips buck against my face, her hands dropping to slip into my hair. I tease her clit again, dancing my tongue over it as she chokes out a cry of ecstasy.
My lips wrap around her clit again. I tease her with my fingers before I sink one deep into her. She moans deeply when I stoke her g-spot and swirl my tongue around her clit. River starts to shake and thrash, pushing her pussy hard against my mouth.
I groan as I push her harder, demanding the orgasm from her. I ease a second finger deep in her slick, tight pussy, and I feel her start to tremble.
“I—oh fuck, Yuri!”
I groan deeply and suck her clit. My fingers stroke her g-spot as my tongue relentlessly dances on her clit. Until suddenly, with a sharp cry, she’s coming for me. She wails out her climax, her hands gripping my hair tight. But she’s still gasping and trembling when I move up between her legs.
She’s still moaning when I drape my heavy cock over her slick pink pussy. River looks up into my eyes. Her face is flushed and her eyes are glistening. And slowly, she nods.