by Ruff, K. S.
His lips hovered over mine. “You still owe me a kiss. Shall I claim it now or when I bring Oni to Virginia?”
I was certain Rafael would lose his mind if he saw Maxim kissing me again. “When you bring Oni,” I replied.
He smiled. “Something to look forward to then.” He escorted me back to the table.
“I’d like the bride to report to the dance floor so the groom can retrieve the garter,” the DJ announced.
We laughed when the DJ played music that suggested Cenia might be offering a strip tease instead. She sank into the chair Roger had dragged onto the dance floor. She had strictly forbidden him from removing the garter with his teeth. Still, he had a mischievous look on his face. He reached his hand under her dress.
Maxim leaned forward in his seat. “Is this typical for American weddings?”
Shae laughed. “I’m afraid so.”
Cenia’s eyes widened when Roger’s hand drifted a little further up her leg. She gasped when he flung a lace thong in the air. “That is not mine!” she screamed.
Konstantin laughed. “I think I like this custom.”
Cenia looked as if she might lift her dress to prove her panties were still in place, but Roger talked her down from the ledge. He was on his best behavior when he removed the garter. He pulled a slingshot out of his pocket, wadded the garter into a small ball, and shot it out over the audience. One of Cenia’s male cousins caught it.
“I’d like all of the single women to gather at the far end of the dance floor,” the DJ announced. “We’ll be auctioning them off shortly.” He laughed at his own joke.
Cenia stood near the DJ so she could throw the bouquet. Shae and I joined the other women at the opposite end of the dance floor. Everyone cheered when Shae caught the bouquet.
I patted her on the back. “Looks like you’ll be getting married next.”
She laughed. “Maybe I should tell Konstantin.”
My eyes flitted over Rafael, Kadyn, Maxim, and Konstantin when Shae and I returned to the table. “We have got to be the most random collection of friends.”
“I don’t know if I’d use the word ‘friends,’” Rafael grumbled under his breath. He was still sore about Maxim cutting in on our dance.
My eyebrows furrowed. “If we’re not friends, then what exactly are we?”
“Family,” Shae opined. “Isn’t that what Alejandro said?” She handed Konstantin the flowers as he pulled her onto his lap.
I frowned. “That would be incestuous.”
“Comrades,” Konstantin suggested. He kissed Shae before smelling the bouquet.
Maxim laughed. “Business associates?”
“Reluctant allies,” Kadyn surmised.
The four men exchanged glances. “Reluctant allies,” they echoed unanimously.
I just shook my head. “A friend is someone who’s got your back, who fights for you, and picks you up when you’re down,” I scolded. “Seems to me every single one of you fits that bill.”
Shae lifted her wine glass. “Kri’s right. I’d like to propose a toast to this amazing circle of friends. Thanks, guys, for having our backs.”
Maxim and Konstantin grew boisterous as they raised their glasses. Rafael’s mood lightened, and Kadyn cracked a smile as we tapped our glasses together and drank to Shae’s toast.
Konstantin lifted Shae as he rose from the table. He settled her back onto his seat. “I’m going to find some vodka.”
“You really should try the tequila,” she called after him.
“Speaking of having your back,” Maxim segued. His eyes locked on Kadyn. “Did Kristine tell you what she offered up in exchange for my assistance in securing your release?”
All eyes fell on me.
“It wasn’t sex,” I blurted hastily.
“Actually,” Maxim drawled, clearly stirring the pot, “she said I could demand anything but sex.”
“Anything?” Rafael repeated incredulously. He gave me a defeated look.
I fidgeted nervously. “What? I thought you’d be happy I refused to have sex. He was making demands, and I needed him to find Kadyn. Besides, if I’ve ruled out sex, how bad could it be?”
Kadyn shook his head. “Kri, he could choose a lot worse things than sex.”
“Like what?” I demanded. I had been pretty damn proud of myself for dodging that bullet, which had been no small task given Maxim’s interest in me.
“He could take you to an S & M club,” Shae murmured a bit too dreamily.
I stared at her in shock.
“He could demand you join him for a week at a nudist colony,” Kadyn added. A mischievous look danced in his eyes.
I glared at Kadyn and Shae. “You two better zip it. Maxim’s over there taking notes, and you’re feeding him ideas!”
“Marriage,” Rafael noted quietly.
My jaw bounced off the table. “What?”
Rafael’s eyes met mine. “If you agreed to anything but sex, he could demand that you marry him.”
Maxim linked his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his seat. He smiled at Rafael. “I like the way you think.”
Kadyn frowned. “I pay my own debts.”
Maxim nodded. “You’ll be one of the first people my men call if I ever turn up missing, but that has no bearing on the agreement Kristine and I negotiated.”
Konstantin returned to the table with a bottle of vodka and a handful of shot glasses. “What’d I miss?”
Shae shook her head. “Oh, baby. You don’t want to know.”
“He can’t demand marriage. Marriage involves sex,” I argued irritably.
“I don’t know about that,” Konstantin replied. “There are a lot of sexless marriages.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “I’m not entering into a sexless marriage!”
“I could demand marriage without any presumption of sex,” Maxim mused. “If you decided you couldn’t live without sex, I’d be willing to modify the agreement, especially since we’d be bound together for all eternity. I wonder how long you could resist me.”
“What’s wrong with you people?” I sputtered. “I’m unfriending the whole lot of you.” I folded my arms over my chest and huffed out a breath. I caught a glimpse of Roger and Cenia talking to some of their guests. “Why can’t I just have a normal relationship?”
“You could,” Kadyn noted pointedly.
I rolled my eyes at him.
“He’s right,” Rafael admonished. “If you were married to me, Maxim couldn’t force you to marry him.”
“I know you’re not asking me to marry you at my friend’s wedding,” I stated flippantly.
Maxim raised an eyebrow at me.
“What makes you think you’re the best man for her?” Kadyn demanded.
“The only man placing a ring on Kristine’s finger is me,” Rafael growled.
Maxim laughed. “Whose ring is on her finger now?”
All eyes shot to the alexandrite ring Maxim had given me.
“Oh, for crying out loud!” I objected.
Rafael’s muscles coiled. “You’re not marrying Kristine,” he gritted. His eyes were locked on Maxim.
Konstantin shoved two shot glasses in front of Maxim and Rafael. He splashed vodka inside of them. “I’d like to propose a toast…”
“Like you could stop me.” Maxim laughed.
“I’d like to propose a toast,” Konstantin repeated. “To beautiful women, besotted men, and… well, you know the rest.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
Rafael and Maxim slammed back their shots without batting an eye.
Kadyn’s eyes met mine as the two men continued arguing. He gave a barely perceptible nod toward the dance floor.
I smiled and nodded.
No one noticed when we rose from our chairs. Kadyn reached for my hand as we walked toward the dance floor. “I’m the only one who can give you normal,” he noted as he pulled me into his arms.
The DJ picked up the tempo.
Kadyn rende
red me speechless as he began spinning me across the dance floor. Taylor Swift was singing “You Belong With Me.” Kadyn sang the chorus. He curled me into his chest, then unraveled his arm until only our fingertips touched. He reeled me in again and again, never fully releasing me.
The room spun as laughter bubbled up from my lungs. The fog of uncertainty and the deep depression that had consumed me for months suddenly lifted. I felt happy, gloriously happy, dancing in Kadyn’s arms. Somewhere in the midst of the song I heard the Chippewa beating their drums, the jingling of bells, and their soulful cries. I knew it was time. I gathered each and every one of my broken dreams while Kadyn twirled me one last time. I bid a soft farewell. Then, just as Kadyn dipped me, I released them into the ground and sky.
# # #
About the Author
I live in Northern Virginia with my football-crazed husband, two beautiful daughters, and two psychotic Shih Tzus. I teach courses in international relations, foreign policy, peacekeeping, and human security at the American Military University. I also work as a reading tutor at my daughters’ elementary school. What can I say? I still love school. Reading has long been my passion, so I belong to not one but two book clubs, which I fondly refer to as my “good girl bookclub” and my “bad girl bookclub.” Suffice it to say the “bad girl bookclub” is the one that decided to read Fifty Shades of Gray.
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. In my childhood, I loved writing poetry, song lyrics, and short stories. Somehow, this morphed into Supreme Court briefs, government reports, congressional bills, journal articles, and op ed pieces as I grew older. And now? I’m writing romantic suspense novels. God knows why.
Thanks for reading the fourth book in the broken series. Keep reading for more information on book five in the series. Book five is slated to be the final book in the series, unless my readers start demanding a spin off series. I love hearing from my readers, so please stop by ksruff.com, drop me a note, and let me know what you think about the book!
Additional books by K.S. Ruff
broken together
book five in the broken series
Rafael whisks Kristine off to Portugal, where an old colleague presents a job opportunity that proves impossible to resist. Rafael decides to move to Portugal so he can end an international pedophile ring he’s longed to destroy since he first worked the case for the Portuguese Police Special Operations Group. Kristine’s certain their relationship is strong enough to endure the six month separation so she returns to Virginia to finish her degree. Oni moves to Virginia, Maxim calls in his favor, and Kristine willingly returns to Ukraine. Kristine’s life is threatened when she returns to the United States. Instead of eliminating the threat, she decides to sacrifice her life for someone she’s never even met. Kristine takes every single one of her friends on this courageous journey of faith, hope and love.
and just in case you missed them…
the broken road
book one in the broken series
Montana girl Kristine Stone was strong enough to break out of an abusive marriage, but is she strong enough for the road that lies ahead? For the first time in her life, Kristine finds she is able to control the direction her life takes. Haunted by her ex-husband and a newly acquired stalker, she decides to leave Montana to work in the US Senate. Kristine issues a moratorium on dating the moment she decides to move to DC. This does little to deter Kadyn Rand, the Air Force Captain, who threatens to tear down every wall she’s ever built. Still, someone from her dark past refuses to be ignored, and Kristine finds herself in yet another fight for her life.
Air Force Captain Kadyn Rand is too stoic to be swept away by much of anything, but a vulnerable woman from Montana manages to do just that when she finds herself alone and in danger in DC. Kadyn tries to earn Kristine’s love and her trust, but he soon learns it will take much more than that to save her from her past.
beautifully broken
book two in the broken series
How many times can one woman be abducted? That’s the question burning Kristine Stone when she finds herself staring down a dark and dangerous man from her past. When she refuses to leave with him, he forces her hand by threatening to kill the man she loves, along with thousands of others. Kristine fears his terrorist connections will enable him to make good on this threat, so she complies. She thinks she has it all figured out. If she takes the path of least resistance and does everything this man asks, he will eventually tire of her and let her go. Despite this well intentioned plan, Kristine discovers just how seductive this man can be. She is forced to choose between the love of two men and stands to lose everything in the end.
broken wings
book three in the broken series
Just when she thinks she’s gotten her life pieced back together, Kristine Stone wakes to a searing kiss from someone unexpected. This dark angel is determined to win her heart, and he refuses to play fair. This doesn’t sit well with her former lover, Kadyn Rand, who yanks the rug out from under her when he confesses he wants to be more than just friends. She refuses to choose and gets roped into an impossible dating agreement, that she is quite certain will land her a one way ticket to hell. Amidst all this insanity, a new friend presents an exciting opportunity to work for an international organization devoted to peace-building. When Kristine joins her friend in Sevastopol to train university students in conflict resolution, she finds herself accused of being a spy by a security agency deeply entrenched in the former KGB. A chance run-in with the Russian Mafia proves beneficial as three men from her past are forced to work together in an effort to save her life.