by Raven Scott
Reaching between us to poise at my quivering entrance, Sascha clasped his fingers on my crown in preparation. My breath quickened, and I whimpered with unbridled need. Whispering my name with his deep, rough timbre, he pressed his cheek against mine as he eased into my channel. The bulbous head of his cock sent shocks down my legs to curl my toes. Just this act was enough to roll my eyes back.
He gasped harshly above the blood roaring in my ears.
“A—ah…” Locking my ankles against the small of Sascha’s back, I tangled my fingers in his hair to draw us even closer. “Sascha…”
“Ophelia…”
His cock stretched my walls, reaching deep as his hips grated my own. I writhed in pleasure, the mist in my mind spreading down as it flooded my veins. Goosebumps blanketed my skin, sweat pooling between my breasts trickling back down to my neck. Undulating around his length, I reveled in the feeling of his hairs sticking to my body.
The emotion of him and me, of us together— clogged my throat. Sascha pulled back to set a deep, easy pace. Friction burned my core, the pressure building in my abdomen. Trembling from the force of it, I clenched hard, as Sascha grunted and strained. Biting my bottom lip, I struggled not to release the energy building in my belly.
Pushing himself onto his arms, Sascha ground his teeth as his lip curled in excitement.
Through cracked eyelids, I was overcome with how gorgeous he was in this suspended moment.
Sascha panted harshly as he tilted his hips, sitting back on his knees to grip my waist. Short, sharp nails dug into my flesh, as I pulled my knees back to grapple my thighs. Grunting with the effort of his thrusts, Sascha tossed his head back to breath harshly. The slap of skin on skin echoed in my ears, rhythmic and hard and I clamped down on him tightly.
“That’s my woman…” Growling roughly, Sascha jerked his hips sharply.
I yelped loudly. His beard bristled as he smirked wickedly. Squeezing his cock as I lost myself in him, I grabbed his wrists tightly. Arching sharply, my heels dragged against the couch cushion— the only thing keeping me in place was his hands. Wave after wave of euphoria slammed into me, sloshing through my chest and up behind my eyes. “Fuck— fuck. I’m—“ Air caught in my throat, and my lips parted in a silent cry. Shivers gripped my spine in a vice, prickles strafing my sternum; the sensations of our togetherness reaching all the way to my toenails.
“Yesss— Ophelia!” Sascha’s groan caressed my brain as he thrust slow and shallow while he strained. Fingers flexed against my grip as he emptied himself inside me with a strangled gasp. Panting furiously, he pulled out of my quivering channel.
I struggled to wade through the thick pleasure dulling my mind. “T-that w-was great.” My murmur wasn’t more than a wheeze, my sigh satisfied. Letting his wrists go, I could barely uncurl my fingers. “I love you, Sascha.”
Sascha practically threw himself onto the sofa as he gathered me up to his front. “I love you, too, Ophelia. How long you figure we have of peace?”
Licking my dry lips, I inhaled sharply through my nose. Shuffling my legs over Sascha’s, my knees bent as he tucked his thighs against my ass. This peace, specifically… we had about four minutes. Then I’d have to pee. That’s not what he’s asking about, though. “Three weeks minimum… 6 max. Why?” Sascha’s beard tickled my shoulder as he nuzzled my cheek. Security, happiness, and satisfaction thickened my blood, as I flexed my toes lazily.
“That’s about as long as I think it’ll take for you to think about having this every day. Even if you don’t keep this house, I’m sure as shit keeping this couch.”
Oh, yes…Sascha had mentioned a few times how much he liked this sofa. Which was ironic considering it had never been used when my family was around.
21
Sascha
“I can’t hear you singing in the shower— it’s unsettling.”
Twisting as Ophelia sauntered into the bathroom, I arched a brow quizzically.
“If you sing louder, though, it won’t be as beautiful.” She grinned at me.
“Well, it’s not like my students will appreciate my talent.”
She kept smiling simply because we both knew I had a shit voice.
I couldn’t actually stop myself from it, though. All my life, I’d sung in the shower. My mother encouraged it, and she never told me I was terrible.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay here all day?” she asked.
“Yeah. You’re gonna work, so I might as well work, too. I’m gonna uncover a huge conspiracy, remember? It’s not gonna uncover itself. What if Malda’s right, and Erik’s up to something? I have to find out what that is.”
Honestly, I didn’t have a reply to this, so I busied myself with combing my beard. Ophelia would now start talking to herself, that’s how these things usually went.
“I have a few theories. Number one: if he got rid of everyone else, Aleksander would have less people to choose from. While he doesn’t need traditional advisors, having them around is useful. Number two: Erik’s trying to pin everything on Aleksi without seeming obvious about it, which means he has a reason to and I have to figure that out. Number three—”
“What if it’s the other way around?” Throwing out my own question, I turned back to the mirror to run my hand through my hair. “You know Erik’s capable of this, but what do you really know about Aleksi? What if he’s just pretending to be a sniveling bitch?”
She paused for a second. “… I guess I’ll have to find out. According to his social media, emails, all that stuff, Aleksi isn’t really the definition of a spoiled teenager, but he’s got his quirks. I’d like to talk to him, but that will never happen, not while it counted. Would be nice, but you know how much people lie to wriggle out of situations they’re uncomfortable with… like bad grades they can’t hide from their parents and stuff.”
“You should totally do that, Oppie— after I leave. I’m gonna be late.” My admission earned me a soft swat on the arm, and I frowned lightly. “What?”
“Don’t you scientists believe in the concept of time?” She shook her head with a faint tsk, leaning on the counter next to me but opposite the mirror.
Adjusting my tie clip to my shirt, I didn’t answer as I pursed my lips thinly. I always cared about how I looked; rarely did I ever go to work without putting a little more than the medium into my appearance. “We acknowledge the concept of time, just think it’s utter horse shit and time itself isn’t real. Concepts are ideas. Hence, they’re realistic or feasible in some form.”
Rolling her eyes at me, Ophelia didn’t get a chance to open her mouth when I kissed her cheek. Checking my watch, I headed out of the bathroom only to pause and glance back at her. “Where’s the kitchen from here? I left my briefcase in there.”
“Down the stairs and directly left, back…then right. Want a map of the important places?”
Shaking my head at her snark, I gazed around Ophelia’s childhood room on my way out. The sound of water pounding against tile followed me, but it became a drone in my ears. I’d suggested keeping this house because I simply didn’t realize how big it was. For her parents, brother, and two sisters, the family home had twice as many rooms, and at least half of them had their own bathrooms.
It seemed like when planning this house, the architect wanted each room to be a home in itself. Well, when you hate your spouse and your kids, not wanting to see each other is par for the course.
I hadn’t been inside Ophelia’s parents’ former room, but if she was to be believed, they were more like apartments. Her parents had separate rooms on either side of the mansion—this was how much they hated each other. Rumor had it, the only time they acted even friendly towards each other was when on official business. Once all their children were old enough, there was no reason to keep up the act.
Which was fucking, infuriatingly pathetic.
Entering the kitchen to snatch my briefcase off the large island, I opened the flap to check the contents, but my mind was elsewhere. It
amazed me how Ophelia had turned out so stable when it was obvious everyone in her life hated each other. Her younger sisters were particularly bitchy while her elder brother had been enabled to hell and back.
Yet, Ophelia was wonderful and kind and yes, she could be a hard ass at times, but she felt remorse for it, despite knowing it was necessary. She was so damn smart, too. I mean, she theorized that Aleksander Makovich was essentially trying to resurrect the USSR because his father was the victim of a bad assassination attempt. Ophelia wasn’t the type to overreach, either. Even if she was off the mark, it wasn’t by much.
“Here…“
Snapping my briefcase shut again, I shouldered the strap before Ophelia tossed something at me from the archway. The keys were cold against my palm.
She crossed her arms as she leaned on the wide frame. “Don’t crash…it’s my favorite car.”
“And why am I using your car? Can you even drive?” Ophelia usually took a car driven by a professional wherever she wanted to go if she couldn’t walk.
Shrugging lightly, she shook her head.
I glanced down at the keys. “Thanks. I promise not to crash.”
“I’m calling my family’s lawyer today, too. I’m liquidating all the cars, so if you want one, just let me know.”
My brows rose at the offer, and the mention of a lawyer. Shuffling out of the kitchen, I wrapped my arm around her waist as she led me down a hallway I hadn’t been through, yet.
“My sisters are minors and Makovich’s lawyers are already appraised of the situation. No doubt they’ve been busy since the day of the attempted assassination. Also…” Trailing off, she pushed open a door to reveal a huge garage. Despite all the crap the maids supposedly stole, the cars were all untouched. Two rows of perfectly parked, sparkling vehicles lined either side of a wide aisle. The faintest layer of dust sat on everything, probably gathering before the roundup.
A deep, forest green two door caught my eye, so I sauntered over to it to peek through the windows. Obviously, the vehicle was foreign, but the interior was really nice. It wasn’t too flashy, but still a little flashy and obviously expensive. The top went down, too, which would be nice during the summer. “I like this one.”
“They all use the same key… my parents weren’t very smart.”
A bark of laughter burst from me to echo through the garage; it was exactly what I expected of those people.
She smiled slightly. “When you get back, the rest may not be here. Do you wanna take a look?”
“No, I’m not gonna take advantage of the windfalls of your parents’ deaths any more than I have already. I consider myself more than blessed that they’re not hanging over our relationship.”
Soft palms caressed my sides and up my chest and Ophelia rested her cheek against my back.
Covering her hands with mine, I couldn’t hold in my sigh of utter contentment. Things were going back to normal faster than I had anticipated.
Almost… too fast, not to be suspicious.
“I want you to take advantage it. I want to share everything with you and I have the means. I’m never going to drive any of these, so the obvious is to give you one. And we’ll… we renovate the house. Rebuild it, even— maybe. If everything goes okay, I was going to fall off my apartment lease.”
Smiling at her tentativeness, I squeezed her hands in agreement, as warmth flooded my chest. “You have plenty of time to make a concrete decision, Oppie. I’ll support whatever you want to do. It’s your house, your money, your cars. I’m just riding your perky ass and all the benefits.” She grabbed my ass in response, and I turned to cup her chin and draw her lips to mine. “Make me proud with that beautiful mind.”
“You better get going before you miss the whole lecture, Sascha.”
The sultry lilt in her tone skittered up my spine. Ophelia just knew how to get me going. Twirling my keys, I shook my head slightly as her arm fell from around me. “I’ll see you later.”
22
Sascha
“You look happy. What happened in Saint Petersburg?”
Malda’s wasn’t a face I’d seen in a while… at least, it seemed like more than two days. “Ophelia fucked Aleksander in the ass,”
Slender brows rose high at this statement.
I grinned almost stupidly wide. “He made a mistake, not bothering with her.”
“I know and so does the Patriarch. Control is a fickle thing, isn’t it? I’ve been sent to ask you what you plan to do with what you know.” Sitting on the edge of the pew, Malda watched me with narrowed, intent eyes. “It’s true…he initiated the assassination on himself. The old man didn’t think she’d get it so fast. He wants to meet you.”
My eyes turned to slits. “What? When? I’m not dressed to meet royalty. I didn’t even comb my beard.” I stroked my beard as Malda giggled lightly, but I was anything but happy. The silence was deafening, my gazed drifting from her to discover the only other body in the room.
Seated all the way in the back, right next to the door, was a frail, gaunt body draped in a grey suit. His gaze took in everything, it seemed.
I had to physically stop myself from gulping in dread like some bad cartoon character. Shit— shit— I wasn’t prepared for this shit when I dismissed my class. Worse— I had an entire hour and a half until my next lecture. I’m not going to be able to go over my notes on the principle of atomic particle acceleration.
“You’re a very easy man to find, Sascha Matheson.” His voice crackled slightly from age. “I’ve been meaning to find the time to speak with you, but considering how intently I’ve had to manage my son…”
I inhaled a stabilizing breath. Taking the stairs slowly, I willed my heart to stop racing.
“Listen, uh— your… Patriarchship sir… I know you didn’t attempt to assassinate yourself just to have an excuse to talk to me without Aleksander knowing about it. He’s not you and it seems, he sees a lot less than he thinks.” I sat across the aisle from him to claps my hands together. “If you want to know about Oppie, you should ask her.”
A ghost of a smile tilted his thin lips. “You’ve met my daughter, Kiri.”
Blinking hard, I frowned in confusion.
The old man arched a brow. “Obviously, she didn’t make that good an impression on you. She’s at that age, I suppose Ophelia is the same age as my eldest daughter, Ana, when she married Zetski for power.”
“There’s too many problems with that to bother putting into words, but I’ll narrow it to three. Ophelia refuses to marry me…” Holding up a hand, I touched my fingertips together as I leaned back against the pew. “I’d be the one marrying up if she did. Thirdly, I don’t care about your daughters or Aleksander, or you. You’re Ophelia’s problem. Kiri Makovich’s bad attempt to flirt with me ‒ or whatever the hell she was doing ‒ is that what this is about?”
“… My wife would’ve liked you, Sascha. You’re realistic and patient. Nothing was a problem that couldn’t be solved. Knowledge is power, blah, blah, blah…” Twirling his wrist dismissively, Vyachaslav rolled his eyes with a disgusted expression. “I’ve known for a long time that Ophelia has been cleaning up her family’s… issues. The others, as well. I don’t approve of the way my son handled this, but it served his purpose and got the job done.”
“If you’re not satisfied, tell him, not me.”
He tilted his head curiously, his wrinkles deepening in thought.
“Honestly, sir, I still don’t understand why you’re here.”
“I’m here because I want you to convince Ophelia to abandon Aleksander.”
I choked on my own spit, the sound echoed in the empty, small lecture hall. Covering my mouth with both my hands, I stared at the old man through boggled eyes as I coughed again.
The lines around his mouth showed his graveness. “As you’ve said, Ophelia makes Aleksander look incapable. This is not true at all, as I’m sure you’ve already realized. He’s extremely capable. She’s just a deeper thinker. Ophelia doesn’t nee
d to be both brains and brawn. Aleksander does.”
“What the fuck!” I squeaked like a fucking prepubescent boy, and
Vyachaslav even had the audacity to wince.
“W-why the fuck— what? Do you honestly think he’ll allow that?”
“Ophelia is a capable woman, Sascha. You more than anyone else understands exactly how perceptive and intuitive she is. She outclasses all my children combined, especially my daughters. Kiri attempting to seduce you is a perfect example of how far her perception delves. Ana has ambition but no drive. Julie, Izzy and Mila…they’ve got the collective mental acuity of a hamster, unable to see outside their cages at the entire room.”
If I wasn’t so damn shocked, I would’ve been impressed with the disdain in Vyachaslav’s voice.
He went on, “If I thought that I had a better chance for Ophelia to work for us, I would suggest that instead. However, I’m more than sympathetic to her situation.”
“No.” I stood. “You can ask her yourself, but that’ll be your answer. Ophelia isn’t going to stop. She’ll never admit it, but she likes her job. Or… you know, she likes the potential of the job. Considering all the power Aleksander handed her that she can dangle in front of him, I’d suggest waiting until that gets boring before making your proposal. You’ve got it backwards. Your best chance is to ask her to work for you, not let her go.
Casting me a curious glance, Vyachaslav frowned darkly.” “You’re going to just ignore the danger of having that power?”
I took a few steps down as I thought about this prospect. Ophelia being in danger made me sick to my stomach. But she, more than me, knew exactly how dangerous that was. Shrugging lightly, I shook my head with a sigh. “It’s not my issue to ignore, Vyachaslav. I will support what Ophelia wants, but I’m not going to convince her to do anything. If you’d like me to present the option…I’ll do that. Only Ophelia knows what’s best for her. I know what’s best for me. Together, we’ll know what’s best for us. We do talk to each other, unlike you and your son.” Heading back down to my podium, my brain worked so fast that I worried smoke would pour out of my ears. The ache behind my eyes intensified as I clenched my jaw hard.