“Never planned on it, brother,” Aidan grins.
One of her brothers is gone, as is one of her sisters, but there are still five brothers that are now mine. I never planned on her family and mine being close. In our world, when the girl is married into a totally different organization, she doesn’t see much of her family again, immersing herself into her husband’s life and his family. But this situation is different; we’re now melting our families together in a way that was never planned.
I open my mouth to say something, though I’m not sure what, when he picks up the office phone and begins dialing numbers. It only takes a moment for me to realize he’s contacting the Italian boss, and Yakov gains my attention.
“Seems like the transitions will be fairly smooth.”
“Aidan is extremely capable. He should have been boss long ago, then maybe none of this shit would have happened.”
“Ah, but you wouldn’t have had your Devyn, and you wouldn’t be boss now, either. It all happens for a reason, Timofei, even if you don’t know what it is until it slaps you in the fucking face,” he chuckles.
I nod in agreement. “Thanks for being my backup on this shit. I feel like a fish out of water,” I admit.
Yakov grins before giving me a wink. “You’re doing better than I ever expected or anticipated of you. The father you had, not the man he turned into, but the one he was years ago, he would be proud as fuck. I know Sergei is.”
“Meet, tomorrow at nine in the evening. The Oleandr, if that’s acceptable?” Aidan asks.
I blink in surprise. Mainly because I didn’t think that the Italians would come into our territory.
“How’d you get them to come to Brighton Beach?” Dominik asks, taking the words out of my mouth.
“Didn’t give them an option,” Aidan grins.
Yakov, Dominik, and I laugh as we make ourselves comfortable. We have some serious shit to discuss with Aidan, contracts to draw up, and alliances to confirm. Aidan looks at me and smirks. The relief on his face is almost palpable. I know the feeling. Not long ago, I felt the exact same way.
Power can be fucking evil. It can consume a man in a way that makes him unrecognizable to the rest of the world. It can cause him to make decisions that are not beneficial to his organization. It can cause him to hurt the people that love him—without feeling one ounce of remorse.
It’s a fragile thing, being a man who holds so much power at his fingertips. It is why I never wanted any real power. Why I was content to party and do as I pleased. But when you see a man doing so many things that cause nothing but turmoil, to the people he’s supposed to take care of and protect—what kind of man does that make you if you sit back and do nothing?
Whatever it makes you, I didn’t want to be that. My life in Denver was much less complicated, but people were suffering here. Now, I have a chance to fix that, to make a dramatic change, and I endeavor to do just fucking that.
I wake to the sound of what must be drills downstairs. I grab the house phone from the floor and hurry into the bathroom to lock the door. Apparently, Timofei not only had beds delivered, but he set up a landline as well. I pinch my eyes closed and try to calm down so that I can remember Fei’s number. When it pops into my head, I dial it quickly.
“They’re installing the security system, devochka,” he says as his form of greeting. I let out a sigh of relief. “Konstantin is downstairs and waiting for you when you’re ready. There’s a small packed bag in the closet with all you should need to get dressed for the day,” he explains.
“Fei?” He hums, waiting for me to continue. “Good afternoon. I love you,” I whisper.
“Me too, Devvy,” he mutters. I can tell he’s speaking low so that nobody else hears him. “I’m in a meeting with your brother. If you need me, just call, yeah?”
“Tell Aidan hello for me, and yeah,” I nod as though he can see me somehow.
It doesn’t take me long to get ready. I shower and use the clean towel that’s miraculously appeared, along with all of my makeup and everything I need to get ready. Then I make my way to the closet, where there’s an outfit for me inside of a small bag.
I slip on the pair of dark washed, skinny jeans and the V-neck, burgundy, loose fitting t-shirt. I tuck the front of the shirt into the waist of my jeans and let the rest hang loose before slipping my feet into the soft brown booties that wait for me next to my bag.
“You’re up,” Konstantin announces as I make my way down the wrought iron staircase. He’s standing in the entryway, watching a man who is punching buttons onto a new keypad. “Hungry? I brought donuts and coffee, though the coffee is probably cold now.”
I nod as I walk over to the countertop and take a glazed old fashioned out of the box. I look around, taking in the men who all seem to be busy doing stuff around the house. It doesn’t feel like my home yet, just a big empty house that’s like a castle.
“I’d like to go to church,” I murmur, taking a bite of the donut.
Konstantin doesn’t say anything, and I lift my eyes to meet his after a few seconds of deafening silence. “I’m sure you would, Devyn. But you’ll have to go another day. Timofei would like you to get a few furnishings today. Your clothes will be delivered before this evening, and you have an entire household to set up now,” he informs me.
I look around again, seeing the big beautiful empty space in a whole new light. I have to fill it; I have to make it a home, and it feels daunting, to say the least. Turning back to Konstantin, he must notice the wild look in my eyes. He tips his lips in a slight smile. “Ashley and Inessa are ready and waiting.”
Konstantin barks out a few orders to the men in the room. I’m focused on nothing, except the fact that I have no idea all of the little details of what a house needs to make a home. I’ve never done anything like this before, let alone started from complete scratch.
I slide into the back of the car as he makes his way to the driver’s side and starts the engine, pointing our car in the direction he’s decided we’re headed.
“How am I going to pay for all of this?” I ask from the backseat.
He laughs and shakes his head once. “I have a card designated for your purchases.”
“Why don’t I have my own?” I ask on a frown.
Konstantin shrugs before he speaks. “You’re never to be without your Byki, especially in public. Some men find it easy to make that happen if their women don’t have access to their funds,” he explains. Then he takes a breath. “I don’t think this is the way Timofei is, Devyn. I just think since you’ve been married, with everything that has happened, that it just hasn’t come up yet.”
I nod, understanding exactly what he’s saying, but also wondering if maybe Timofei is being controlling all at the same time. I don’t doubt that he’s a man who desires control. Just being intimate with him proves that to be true. Me being completely beholden to him and whatever Byki he’s assigned to me assures him of my every single waking move. I don’t doubt that it is something he would purposely do.
“Devyn?” Konstantin asks. I realize that he’s pulled the car into the driveway of a beautiful home. It looks like a fancy French château. “We’re at Inessa’s. She’ll have the baby and her Byki will likely wish to follow us,” he explains.
It only takes a few minutes for Inessa, her Byki, and baby, Devora, to load into her SUV, and then we’re off toward Ashley’s.
Konstantin states the same warning, that she’ll likely follow us because of her baby. I nod in silence and just stare out the window.
The scenery is lovely, and I find that I start to think about my father. The look in his eyes, the cockiness when he didn’t think I would kill him, and then the complete shock when he realized that I would and was going to.
I also think about the fact that I don’t feel the slightest bit of guilt about the whole thing. I took a man’s life, my own father’s, my flesh and blood, and I don’t feel even an ounce of guilt.
It doesn’t take long for my thoughts t
o shift toward Brenna, Callum, and Shannon. Three people that I thought I loved, and who I thought loved me. They were virtual strangers. I didn’t know them, so how could I have loved them?
“We’re here,” Konstantin announces as he turns the car’s engine off.
I look around and see that we’re in an outdoor shopping center, and it seems that every single store surrounding us is a furniture store. I inhale a deep breath to try and tamp down my anxiousness. “They will help you, Devyn,” he murmurs opening my door as he holds his hand out for me.
“Okay,” I whisper shakily. I slip my hand in his as he helps me out of the back of the car.
Releasing his hold, I take a step toward Ashley and Inessa, both women have strollers and bright happy faces aimed right at me. I feel a little more at ease, instantly. Then I slowly make my way toward them.
“I know it’s a lot. We’ve had to furnish our homes, too. It seems like an impossible task, but we’ll only tackle the most important rooms today. The Master bedroom, living room, and dining room,” Inessa says with a smile.
“That doesn’t seem too bad,” I murmur.
“Just wait until we have to go shopping for all of the kitchenware, towels, and things like that. But three heads are better than one, so don’t stress. We got you, Devyn,” Ashley winks and turns to walk toward one of the stores.
I follow the two women, and their babies. I feel the three large Byki at my back, as we make our way toward the first store. I wonder if we look like as big of a spectacle as I think we do.
Immediately, I decide that I don’t care if we do. These women are taking time out of their day to help me, and I think I’m going to need all the help that I can get.
I LET OUT A long breath as I make my way to the front door of my new home. This day has been the second longest day I’ve had in years. The first being just yesterday, when everything went down with Devyn’s family. I don’t know what I’ll be walking into, but I do know that Konstantin swiped my credit card often during the day.
Stepping into the foyer, I put the code into the keypad for the alarm and lock the door behind me. Then my eyes widen when I see that there is a new sectional sofa in the living room, along with a huge flat screen television mounted on the wall. It’s hooked up and there is something playing on it, but I’m too focused on the woman curled up asleep in the corner of the new sofa to even notice what it is.
Walking over to her, I notice that she’s still in her clothes for the day, and I bend down, picking her up in one swift movement. Her body jolts and her eyes open wide. She looks scared, until she realizes that it’s just me, then she wraps her arms around my neck.
“Hey,” she whispers on a sigh.
“You were busy today,” I mutter as I begin to climb the staircase.
“Ashley and Inessa are power shoppers,” she yawns.
“How’d you get it all in today?” I ask. I remember my mother and her interior design business, sometimes pieces would take months to arrive.
She bites her bottom lip then turns to me. “I bought the floor models so that we would have it immediately.”
“You do realize we can afford to order furniture that a million fucking people haven’t touched, don’t you?” I asks in a gruff voice.
“They were high end stores, Timofei. I doubt even five people touched them, let alone a million.”
I laugh, shaking my head as I take her to our room and stumble, almost dropping her as soon as I see the space. Devyn wiggles out of my arms, and I’m so shocked by what I see, that I allow it. There’s a bed, a huge black sleigh bed.
The comforter is a stark white, and there are pillows decorating it in different shades of greys and whites. My eyes drift to the sides of the bed, and I see that there are matching nightstands. Then I turn my head to the side and directly across from the bed is a full, tall dresser and another television mounted on the wall.
“Devochka,” I rasp.
“Do you like it?”
I shift my gaze back to her and press my lips together as I look into her blue eyes. Her dark hair is messy around her shoulders. My fingers itch to be buried inside of the long locks. My cock presses against my trousers in search of being buried inside of her tight cunt, and she’s asking me if I like the room?
I don’t like it.
I fucking love it.
“Devochka,” I rasp again, unable to say anything else until I clear my throat. “It’s perfect,” I admit as I close the distance between us.
Cupping her cheeks with my hands, I lean down and press my lips against hers, taking her in a gentle kiss. Her hands immediately wrap around my wrists as she moans against my lips, then gasps.
I take that opportunity to slip my tongue into her warm, waiting mouth and taste her. I didn’t think I could miss the taste of my wife after being away from her just a few short hours, but I do, tremendously.
“Fei,” she pants as she pulls back slightly from my mouth, her eyes connected to mine.
She must know by the look on my face what I need, reading me in a way that no woman has ever done before. Devyn drops to her knees and unbuckles my belt, tugging my pants open and down my legs, along with my boxers.
Devyn takes me as far as she can down her throat. I gasp as I reach for her, threading my fingers in the side of her messy hair. I tighten my grip in the strands, and she lifts her eyes to look at me, doing exactly what I hoped. I want to see into her beautiful eyes while I fuck her gorgeous mouth.
I tighten my fingers a little more, until she stops moving. “Hold still, I’m going to fuck you,” I murmur.
I pull out of her until just the head of my cock is between her lips, and I shiver when she swirls her tongue around me, her eyes gleaming, knowing what she does to me—it’s sexy as fuck.
Biting my bottom lip, I fuck her mouth. I do it slowly and with purpose, watching the blush on her cheeks and chest form. I know she’s getting turned on, and when her eyes flutter shut, I decide to stop fucking around. Pulling completely out of her, I toe off my shoes and rid myself of my pants, and then my shirt and guns.
“Take off your…” My words are stolen from me as I turn to see my wife standing in front of me, completely naked. “Clothes.”
“Please, Fei, please,” she whimpers as she backs up against the bed, stopping when she hits the side of it with the backs of her knees.
Slowly, I make my way to her and stop short of our bodies touching. Wrapping my hand around the front of her throat, I squeeze once before I let the palm of my hand gently trail down the center of her body. I stop just above her mound, right at the bottom of her stomach.
I furrow my brow, thinking about the fact that all this time she’s been protected by birth control. I should be pissed off at her father for that, and I am, but not because she couldn’t get pregnant, but because I wanted to keep her and her having a baby was the only way I could. Now, shit is different.
“I thought I wanted one, but I don’t think that I really want a baby right away,” I blurt out, lifting my eyes to hers.
Devyn tilts her head to the side as her lips tip into a half smile. “You don’t?”
I shake my head as I look at my hand still on her stomach and then again into her eyes. “You’re eighteen years old, devochka, and I’m not yet thirty. I don’t want a baby yet,” I state.
Reaching up with one of her hands, she wraps her fingers around the side of my neck before she leans forward and presses her lips to mine, “Me either,” she whispers against my mouth.
“I want so much more of this, of us, before we go there.” Her lips touch mine before she moves back slightly. “I spent all day long with Ashley, Inessa, and their babies. It honestly was a little scary,” she laughs lightly.
“Misha is terrifying. I understand,” I chuckle. “But Aidan has children, and I assume some of your other brothers do as well?” I ask as I push her gently so that she’s lying down on her back as her legs dangle onto the floor.
“We have a big family, but my fath
er wasn’t ever very… fatherly. Most of my brothers avoided our house like the plague,” she says, her last word ending on a moan as I lift and spread her legs before I slide inside of her wet pussy.
“No babies for a while, then?” I ask as I pull out of her, noticing my glistening cock, and then slide back inside.
“No, no babies,” she whispers.
I press my thumb against her clit as I continue to slowly fuck her. I have no desire to make her come right this minute, but I want her on fucking edge for as long as possible. “Fei,” she moans as her fingers wrap around my forearms. Tipping my head, I continue to watch the way my wet dick slides in and out of her warm cunt.
“Take my cock, Devvy,” I grind out as I speed up and thrust harder inside of her.
I circle my thumb, adding more pressure to her clit with each movement until her thighs shake. I lift my eyes from her pussy, wanting to look at her face as she comes, knowing she’s right on the fucking edge.
Her back arches, and she lets out a mewling noise just as her hips buck and jerk in an involuntary way. I know she’s there. Her pussy squeezes me, and my balls tighten, on the cusp of emptying inside of her.
“Fuck,” I groan as I pound inside of her, relentlessly searching for my own pleasure. Devyn’s nails score my forearms, and I let my head fall back as I come, my release filling her body as my hips continue to move inside of her. “Devochka,” I murmur before I rest my heavy body against hers, my hips still moving as my cock goes from hard to half-mast.
“I love you, Fei,” she whispers against my ear. “Thank you for giving me this beautiful life,” she whispers.
Lifting my face from her neck, I look into her blue eyes and I shake my head. “Nothing I do is beautiful. But, Devvy, everything about you amazes me. You’re absolutely fucking stunning.”
She doesn’t respond, but the wetness in her eyes is all I need to see to know that she feels the same fucking way.
My devochka.
My Devvy.
My wife.
Betrothed to the Badman (Russian Bratva Book 8) Page 23