by Bella Rose
“Perhaps,” he allowed. “But not to my wife. Not to Maria’s mother. I was faithful to my Sofia. She was a bride I did not want, but that did not stop her from completely turning my life upside down.”
Sasha could not hold the words back. “That’s one way to describe it.”
Emil burst into laughter. “My Maria is a very tenacious woman, but she has a good heart.”
“She’s a pain in the ass,” Sasha said irritably. “She has my whole household in an uproar.”
“Because she is no doubt trying to take it in hand,” Emil guessed. The man took another long drag of his cigarette and seemed to be thinking things through very deeply. “She is like her mother that way. The women are born nesters.”
“What is a nester?” Sasha could not imagine that the term was even real, much less applicable to the woman he had married.
“Nesters want their home to be just so. They want things in order, and respect is very important. Someday Maria will make a wonderful mother to your children.” Emil pointed at Sasha. “No matter what, she will keep house for you and make you comfortable and raise your children. But if you give her your love and your loyalty, she will make your life better than you ever could have imagined.”
Sasha could not think of anything to say that would not involve a heaping dose of ridicule aimed at the old man. “Do you have anything else on Grigori?” He switched the topic back to something less…intrusive.
“My men claim that he was meeting someone down at the harbor. He was very hush-hush about it, which suggests to me that he was doing something the rest of his Sokolov family would not agree with.”
“Meaning he was meeting with Tarasovs,” Sasha muttered. That much was true. What was becoming increasingly difficult to prove was that Grigori had gotten through his meeting with the Tarasovs alive.
***
Maria heard the door leading from the garage to the house slam shut. Of course, she only heard it because she was sitting in her chair, reading, and waiting for that very thing. She glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was only midnight.
Perhaps his night with the ladies hadn’t gone as well as anticipated. The thought was rather pleasing. She read the same sentence over and over again while her brain spun off possible scenarios. The woman had rejected Sasha—except no woman in her right mind would ever reject such a man. Sasha couldn’t get it up—except she could never imagine a man more virile than Sasha.
Ugh! She was driving herself insane trying to simultaneously picture and not picture these events. Did he love someone else? She doubted he loved her. In fact, she didn’t even know if she loved him.
She sprang out of her chair and flung her book at the fire. The romance novel hissed when it hit the crackling flames. The cover blackened. The pulpy mass began to smoke, the hazy stuff pouring from the fireplace in a foul-smelling cloud. Then the pages finally blackened and curled as they burned to ashes.
Romance novels were stupid. They did not portray real life at all! They were fiction! If life were really like a novel, then Sasha would never have gone out. He would have stayed here with her. The two of them would have snuggled beneath the covers and whispered secrets to each other before professing their undying love for one another.
Yeah. Because that’s going to happen.
She had only just turned around to get in bed when her door burst open. It swung in so hard that it bounced off the wall. Sasha entered the room with an expression of such lust on his face that she felt a sense of fascinated horror. He was an utter beast, and she should tell him to go.
“You shouldn’t be here.” It was all she could manage under the circumstances.
“Fuck that.”
He grabbed her by the waist and spun her around. Pressing his front to her back, he exhaled against her neck and made her shiver. Then he reached around her body and grabbed her neck with one big hand. His touch was shockingly gentle for the circumstances. He seemed so careful not to hurt her. It somehow made this seduction more exciting and far more arousing.
Then he turned her head and took her mouth in a bruising kiss. He ravaged her lips again and again, until she could not catch a breath. His hard erection pressed against her back. She could feel him through her thin gown, and it made her want to be naked.
“This has to go.”
As if he had read her mind, he grabbed her nightgown and pulled it over her head. She was naked in the middle of her bedroom. The door was still open, yet she could not bring herself to care about it. She was too focused on Sasha.
He bit her lower lip and then pushed her forward toward her bed. She had no time to question or protest. He bent her harshly over the side of the bed and spread her legs apart. She gasped a little in excitement. Her pussy was aching and wet. His kiss had already turned her on. Would he touch her? Would he make her come first? He always had before.
But he did not. She heard the jingle of his belt and then felt the blunt tip of his cock spreading her tender flesh apart. He pushed into her with one hard thrust that made her cry out in amazement. It did not hurt, but it was abrupt and rough. She squirmed back against him, and he wrapped one arm around her belly and forced her to be still. She was powerless in his grasp, and it made her feel deliciously naughty.
Sasha began to thrust. He grunted and growled and pushed so hard and fast that she could not hold back her first orgasm. The undulating contractions shook her entire body. She trembled and whimpered, and still he fucked her as though he could not get enough of her body. He held her down and stroked in and out of her so quickly that she could hardly prepare herself for the second climax that rushed through her veins like wildfire.
Maria screamed his name over and over again and begged him to keep going. It felt so good! The friction left her breathless, and the heat scorched her. She curled her toes into the carpet and held onto the sheets with her fingers. It was all she could do to keep her knees from buckling. Only his arm kept her on her feet. Her legs were jelly, and she was sucking in air trying to get enough.
Then Sasha grunted and thrust hard. She felt his balls slap her as he pushed as deeply into her body as he could. Her pussy stung with the depth of his penetration, and she groaned. The heat of Sasha’s seed spilled throughout her body. She felt him withdraw and felt the thick ejaculate spill from her pussy to coat the insides of her thighs.
She was still trying to catch her breath when Sasha swept her into his arms and deposited her on the bed. Seconds later, he crawled in beside her and pulled her into the circle of his arms. In this moment it didn’t matter if he’d been with someone else. He was here with her right now, and that’s what counted.
Chapter Thirteen
“Are you awake?”
Sasha opened his eyes. He had been so relaxed that he hadn’t even noticed that he’d closed them. His breathing was deep and regular, and he felt on the edge of sleep. But when a woman asked if a man was awake, it meant she needed to talk about something. So he yawned and forced his brain into action. “I’m awake.”
“I have to ask you something,” Maria whispered.
She snuggled in a little closer. He wondered what could possibly be on her mind that would cause such anxiety. “Then go ahead and ask.”
“You might get mad.”
Sasha snorted and rolled onto his back. He tugged her with him, liking the way she curled into his side with her cheek on his chest. Something about this woman appealed to what little protective nature he had. Didn’t she understand that? “Just ask,” he told her finally. “When have I ever really gotten mad?”
She paused, and he wondered if she was actually trying to remember a time when he’d gotten angry. Then she finally spoke. “My cousin Grigori went missing. I just wondered if you knew anything about it.”
“Why would you ask?” She had his full attention now.
He could actually feel her throat move as she swallowed. “You’ll get really mad.”
“No. I won’t.”
“When I was first here I a
ccidentally got lost in the house. I went in through that outside door.”
Ah. That explained a few things, but not why she would ask about Grigori. Sasha had a feeling he wasn’t going to like this explanation. “Go on,” he urged. “You might as well just say it all.”
“I saw them cut his throat. Dmitri and Kirill.”
The whispered words had a devastating effect on his self-control. At first his mind wanted to reject her sentence out of hand. How could she even suggest that his men—Dimitri and Kirill—had lied to their pakhan? It was sacrilege to suggest such a thing! And yet he could not deny that Maria had no reason to lie to him. There was no purpose in it. She had nothing to gain by throwing suspicion on his men. They had been horrible to her, but concocting a story about murder to get back at them would be preposterous.
“When was this?”
“What?”
He tried to rein in his frustration. It wasn’t Maria’s fault that Dimitri and Kirill had gotten themselves into something even shadier than usual. “When did you see this?”
“I don’t know. The first day I was here? Or maybe the second.” She raised her head off his chest, trying to look into his face. “You’re not angry with me?”
“No. Why would I be angry?” He didn’t actually want to talk about all the reasons why he would be angry about this. Most of them didn’t concern her.
She rolled to her belly and propped her chin on her hand. In the light of the dying fire, he could see that her hair was tousled. She was every bit as beautiful as ever. It was almost distracting. Then her brow knit in confusion, and she gave a little sigh.
“I didn’t mean to spy. I just heard a familiar voice. Then I saw…” She seemed to choke up, and it occurred to him that she had seen her cousin murdered. She was actually doing remarkably well holding it together. “I mean Grigori has always been a bit of a loose cannon. And we were not particularly close. But when I saw him die, I was so confused!”
He wondered where she was going with this. “What was confusing?”
“The Sokolovs and the Tarasovs are supposed to be allies now.”
It was such a childish way to view something. He almost admired her simple viewpoint as much as he found it completely irrational. He loved her innocence. “An order from the council rarely changes the way men think,” he pointed out. “The Tarasovs and the Sokolovs have been enemies for decades. Do you really think that one marriage is going to wipe all of that away? I’ll look into it. Stop thinking about it.”
“Okay.” She paused again, and Sasha had a bad feeling there was more. “I fired Olga tonight.”
“What?” His brain stopped for a moment, not prepared for the sudden topic change. She had fired Olga? Why would Maria do something like that? What gave her the right…? Sasha took a deep breath and sighed. “What happened?”
“I went up to the third floor. I was mad because there was just”—she made a frustrated sound—“they refuse to do anything in my rooms, you know?”
No, he hadn’t known. Sasha bit his tongue and waited for Maria to finish.
“So I went upstairs and found Olga, Ana, and Oksana having a drink with Tatiyana. The dinner that Oksana had fixed for you was up there, and they were pretty much dishing it out.”
“Because I wasn’t home to eat,” he mused.
She made a bitter sound of annoyance. “It wouldn’t have mattered. They do that anyway. Oksana always cooks extra, and it gets taken home by the staff.”
It was an interesting observation on her part. “That must be expensive.”
“It’s your money.” She actually shrugged.
Her words bothered him. She spoke them with a listless sense of detachment. Didn’t she realize that she was part of the household too? Except she really wasn’t. It was a strange thing to consider. His wife was an outsider in what should have been her home.
Why was there such a long, uncomfortable pause going on? Maria drummed her fingers on Sasha’s chest. Surely, he would get mad about the whole Olga thing and then be done with it. Grigori’s murder should be been a far more important topic.
“Sasha?” she said hesitantly. “Don’t you need to talk about Grigori’s murder? Shouldn’t you tell someone or something?”
He made a noise she could not interpret. His fingers kept idly tracing circles on her back. She wondered if he even realized he was touching her. Somehow she didn’t think so.
“Did I hurt you just now?” he asked suddenly.
She started in surprise. “I’m sorry, I’m not exactly sure what you’re referring to,” she told him nervously.
“The sex,” Sasha said tersely. “I was rough. Did I hurt you?”
“No.” If the man apologized for the amazing experience they’d just shared, she was going to kick him out of her room. “I thought it was wonderful. I thought you enjoyed it, too. Am I wrong?” She immediately felt a wave of insecurity. Asking if she was wrong had been a stupid impulse. If he said yes, she was going to start bawling.
“No. You’re not wrong.” He still sounded angry. Why? Then he growled and rolled her onto her back. “I want you again. That’s why I was asking.”
“You do?” Ugh! Why did she sound so insecure? It was pathetic!
He nudged his way between her legs. Maria sucked in a quick breath of surprise as she felt the hard ridge of his erection nestle against her cleft. She was still wet from before. Her pussy was tender, but she wanted him too much to care. He wanted her. It felt so good to be wanted.
But wait. There was something Tatiyana had said—something she needed to know. Maria plowed through the erotic haze in her mind and tried to find her words. “Tatiyana said…”
“You want to talk about Tatiyana now?” Sasha asked. He sounded almost amused, but then he pushed his thick cock deep into her pussy, and Maria could not think.
“Yes!” she moaned. Wait. Tatiyana. That thing she had said.
“Yes, you want to talk about Tatiyana?” He thrust again, harder this time. “Or yes, you want me to keep doing this?”
“Yes!” She couldn’t even think past the haze of lust clouding her mind.
Every cell in her body was on fire. Her brain was going like a fire alarm, and she felt as though she were a rocket about to go off. It was as if she could not remain still. She undulated against him. She ground her pussy against his cock. She arched her back and dropped her hips into the mattress to create more friction. She was fucking him just like she wanted him to fuck her.
He groaned. Wrapping his arms around her body, he held her tight as he surged into her pussy. She was so wet that she could feel her juices soaking the both of them. The sound of sex filled the room, and she could smell the two of them mixed together. It was erotic and wanton, and she never wanted it to stop.
The wave crested, and she knew she was about to come. Her heart pounded faster and faster, and she felt as though she would die from lack of air. Then he angled his hips and drove in deeper, and Maria was gone. She cried out as her orgasm hit fast and hard. Digging her nails into his biceps, she held tight and rode out each wave of release as it launched her so very high. It felt as though she could touch the stars overhead.
Sasha shouted and pushed his cock so deeply into Maria’s body that she thought she could take no more. He held her tightly as he poured his semen into her. She loved that sensation. She loved feeling as though she got more of him than anyone else. She was his wife. Someday he would see her as his partner. She just had to be patient.
Sasha rolled to the side and lay on his back. He was breathing hard. Maria curled up beside him and gently touched his belly with her fingertips.
“I love it when you touch me,” he murmured. “But I do not love it when you want to talk about Tatiyana during sex.”
“She said that you told her I would only be here for a little while and that she could come back when I was gone.” The words tumbled out, and Maria wasn’t even sure she wanted to say them. “Forget I said anything. Tatiyana doesn’t matter.”
“I did say that.”
His voice was so soft that for a moment she thought she might have heard wrong. Then she realized that she had heard right and that he sounded very strange about it. There was a sense of something almost ambivalent in his voice. Did he really not care?
“I never expected you to stay here in my home for very long.” Sasha rolled to his side and faced her. He gently traced her cheek. “It’s true that I told her that. I assumed that this relationship would be like all of the others. I would get bored, and then I’d find a penthouse somewhere for you to live.”
It was like being thrown in cold water. Her whole body felt the shock. That was what he had assumed? But he had been sweet to her. He had been almost loving. She had even believed…now she didn’t know what she believed.
“Stop.” He snapped the word. “You’re doing that thing where you make a bunch of assumptions. Why would I have any other expectations for our relationship? It’s not like it was a love match or anything.”
So many things made sense. So many other things did not. All Maria wanted was to be left alone. She should have known, and maybe she did. But she had come into this marriage determined to make it work. Apparently, she’d been the only one.
She rolled away from him and tried to soothe her heart.
Chapter Fourteen
Maria could sense the morning light, but she kept her eyes squeezed tightly closed and willed herself to remain still. Beside her, Sasha was getting out of bed. She heard him pause. The mattress moved as he leaned over to peer at her. At least she thought that was what he was doing, but she didn’t dare open her eyes to check. She needed him to believe she was asleep. She willed herself to look dead to the world. Dead. Like her cousin Grigori Sokolov after the Tarasov soldiers had finished with him.
She expected Sasha to just turn and leave. Instead she felt the feather light brush of his lips against her forehead. The touch was so tender it made her heart clench with sorrow. She’d had such high hopes! But Sasha wasn’t what she needed. He was exactly what he seemed. The very fact that he had told her to just stop thinking about Grigori’s murder was proof enough of that.