Empress of Poisons ARC

by Bree Porter

  “I’m not apologising so get that out of your head,” she said sharply. “I have nothing to be sorry for. You can’t punish me for…running off.”

  “You’re right, I cannot. That is unfair.” My smile was low. “But I can punish you for lying.”

  Elena rolled her eyes. “You lie all the time.”

  “Name once.”

  “Uh…when…” She struggled to find the words. “You…you told Nikolai…he could use the stove when he was as tall as you. He’ll be able to use it when he’s thirteen. He won’t be 6’3 and thirteen.” Elena held her chin up like she had made a mic-dropping point.

  “Lyubimaya,” I purred. “That is my lie? Lying to calm a toddler? I think you can do better than that.”

  “Fine. My point is null. You win.” Elena said the words through gritted teeth, even if they were far from honest. She didn’t actually believe that, she was just trying to make me more complacent. “Are we fine or not? I can’t take another awkward dinner. I think Danika might cry if she has to sit through another one.”

  “We’re fine.”

  Elena’s shoulders dropped in relief.

  “As soon as you tell me what Tatiana meant.”

  She tensed once again. “You’re worse than a dog with a bone.”

  “I know you told Artyom. Why was he any different?”

  “Is that jealously I hear?”

  “What else would it be?” I reached out and caught a strand of her hair. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as I ran the silk through my fingers, admiring the straight mahogany style. “What did Tatiana mean, my Elena? Them or you?”

  Elena’s expression tightened in a flash of pain. I could see her mind stretching and shrinking as it tried to form an answer.

  She looked up at me, bright green eyes wide.

  Elena moved so quick that I didn’t know she was on me until I felt her lips press against mine. Soft at first, a kiss of reunion, of distraction.

  I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her body to me. She flushed up against my chest, breath moving rapidly.

  Our lips moved together in time, our sync returning immediately.

  Her arms came around my neck, twining in my hair.

  The kiss deepened as our hands on each other tightened. Each movement grew in heat and heaviness. I could feel her entirely up against me, this body of hers fitting perfectly wrapped up in mine.

  We stumbled back into my room, door slamming behind us. I shoved her up against the door, dragging my hands under her shirt where warm naked skin greeted me.

  Elena gasped in my mouth as she felt my touch.

  “You feel perfect,” I groaned as my hands stretched over the plane of her stomach.

  In response, her hands dropped from my hair and ripped at my shirt. “Too many clothes,” she hissed. The buttons flew in a million different directions from her strength and I didn’t protest as she slid it down my arms, throwing the useless fabric away.

  Her hands felt like sin as they ran down my bare back, her nails dancing over my tattoos.

  I yanked up her shirt, our kiss breaking only for seconds as I tore it over her head. It wasn’t even untangled from her wrists before we were back on each other, lips clashing in such a moment of heat they could’ve bruised.

  I gripped her breasts beneath her bra, running my thumbs over the hardened nipples. She groaned as I pressed down on them, testing their sensitivity.

  “Kon,” Elena’s head fell back against the door, my name leaving her lips in a breathless moan of pleasure.

  I grinned and dropped my mouth down to her neck. Her skin swelled beneath my tongue and teeth, inspiring loud moans from Elena. I pressed my lips down from her neck to her collarbone, worshipping each piece of skin I encountered.

  Elena’s hands dug into my biceps. “Kon…”

  I slid my hands beneath her ass and hiked her up, bringing her breasts to mouth-level. At the first lick of her, Elena let out a indignant cry, like she couldn’t believe I was being so selfish with my worshipping.

  I took her nipple in my mouth, rolling it between my teeth and tongue.

  Elena’s arms came around my head, holding me to her with admirable strength. I felt her cries in her chest before they left her lips, moans of pleasure and disbelief and desire.

  “Fuck, lyubimaya, you taste so good.” I murmured around her.

  Elena responded with an ineligible groan.

  I blew my breath over the pebbled nipple, grinning against her breast when she let out another long moan. My cock had hardened in my pants like a band of iron and I knew if I slipped my hands into her pants, I would feel her wet wantonness.

  I dropped a hand and pressed a thumb beneath her legs, separated from her pussy by the fabric of her leggings.

  Elena hissed. She responded by dropping her hand and slipping it beneath my pants. Her fingers came around my cock in a smooth movement.

  My brain stalled for a second as I felt her skin against me, felt her nails and digits wrapped around my cock. But then she squeezed slightly, and I came back to life, bringing my hand to the waistband of her pants and dragging them down.

  Elena kicked them off her ankles and wrapped her legs around my chest. I could feel her wetness through her panties, the fabric sliding up and down my chest.

  “Fuck, Elena,” I growled. I tore us away from the door and carried her over to the bed.

  We didn’t separate for even a second as I dragged her up the mattress, pinning her down into the soft covers.

  Elena released my cock and went for my belt buckle. She undid it with expert hands, using her feet to shove it down my thighs.

  Our bodies pressed against each other, her breasts flushed against my chest and her bare legs wrapped tightly around my hips. I could feel every inch of her, every tantalizing piece of her warm skin pressing against mine. Each breath, each gasp, added to the music of our passion.

  I took her mouth in mine, our teeth clashing.

  “Kon,” she arched up into me and rubbed herself against my cock. “Kon...”

  I moved my hips, the position perfect to enter her if we hadn’t been separated by thin pieces of underwear. “Be greedy, my Elena. Take what you want.”

  Her thumbs hooked around my briefs, yanking them down. She ran her fingers over my ass before curling them around to my front. My cock twitched as she danced her digits down the length, memorizing the lines and curvature.

  “My turn to take,” I growled.

  I grabbed the side of her panties and ripped, throwing the fabric over my shoulder. Elena cried out at the movement, almost furious I had wasted a good clean pair of underwear, but I swallowed the noise, kissing her deeply.

  Elena moaned into my mouth. My love was a wanton creature beneath me, eager for touch and pleasure. She was entirely under my command beneath my hands, entirely mine to play with and tease and taunt.

  I shoved her hips up, pressing against her entrance.

  Elena moved her hips forward, but I caught them in my grip.

  “Uh, uh, not yet, lyubimaya.” I leaned over her, rubbing my nose down her cheek. She shuddered beneath me. “It has been nearly three years since I last had you beneath me. I don’t intend to rush this–it has been a long time coming.”

  “Kon!” She narrowed her eyes on me. “Don’t be cruel.”

  I grinned at her eagerness, leaned back and grabbed my cock. Her eyes watched me intensely as I slid it up and down her slit, coating it with juices. Each breath she took was hurried and sharp, like she was fighting to suck air down into her lungs.

  “Do you know, lyubimaya?” I cooed. “There is a noise you make when you’re in the midst of an orgasm. It’s the mix between a hiccup and a gasp, always in between your cries of agonizing pleasure. It comes out when your hips buck and when your knees bend.”

  Elena bit her lip, the movement almost sending me back into a statement of madness.

  I leaned over her, continuing to tease h
er with my cock. “I play this noise on repeat in my mind. I wake up with it sounding in my ears and pleasure myself with it playing in my mind.” I rested an arm over her head, caging her beneath me. “You’re going to make this noise for me, my Elena. Not once, not twice, but until you are speechless, until your voice box is worn to death.”

  “Quite the promise.” Her words didn’t have the bravado she had been trying to show but I grinned at the sarcastic response.

  “Promise? No, my Elena, an order. A command.” I ran a hand down her arm, pulling it away from me. “Be good,” I said when she protested. “Or else–”

  I fell silent as I took in the length of her arms. I hadn’t noticed before, too wrapped up in Elena, but her olive-skin was covered with words. They entwined together with her choppy yet calligraphic handwriting.

  ...you are the most beautiful creature that has ever walked the earth...

  ...all the languages in the world could never find a term to do you justice...

  ...describing you commands one’s entire mouth and an essay of idioms...

  ...you have been a creature of love your entire life...

  My words caressed her skin, stretching over her elbows and wrists and biceps. They were shoved together, not all the sentences in order, but the hurriedness told me the rush she had been to get them down, to ink her skin with my declaration.

  Elena went bright red, squirming beneath me.

  I pinned her to the bed, too enamoured to let her go free. I trailed my fingers down the words, outlining the loops and lines.

  “Lyubimaya...” I murmured. “My little liar, my smart girl.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath.

  I found the word love. It was darker than the others, traced over a few times. “Why did you leave, lyubimaya?”

  There was no demand to my tone, no anger or insanity. I sounded like a man asking the woman he loved why she had left, quiet and sad, curious and heartbroken.

  Elena stared at me. Then she said, “I had to keep you safe.”

  “It is my job to keep you safe. I am the Pakhan.”

  She slid one hand out of my grip, palm caressing my cheek. “No. That’s not true. I had to keep you safe, Kon. I had to keep you all safe. Even if it meant...”

  “Keeping my child away from me?”

  “Even if it meant that,” Elena agreed softly.

  “Tatiana has threatened you, then. Them or you–that is her little threat. Your family or yourself.”

  She nodded.

  I worked my jaw, absorbing the information. Then, I released her and pulled myself away from her. It felt like I was tearing the skin off my bones, but I stood up.

  Elena scrambled to sit up, naked body still stretched out over my blanket.

  “You should’ve said something.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, offering herself some modesty. “I knew what you would say. You wouldn’t let me leave, you would’ve threatened everyone’s safety just so you could have me near you.”

  Elena was right. I would’ve sacrificed myself and those I loved to keep her safe and with me.

  “We are not without strength, Elena. Tatiana would have to go through thousands of men because she came near this family.”

  “No, she didn’t. She didn’t go through anyone.” Elena got up off the bed. “She had a gun to Roksana and Danika’s head. I loved them enough to destroy myself for them. It hurt like hell, but we all survived. We all lived. And now the moment I have returned, she has also. Thousands of men? Please. She rang Danika at the fucking breakfast table.”

  I worked my jaw. “So, your solution was to live on the run, in near poverty and raise a child by yourself? Elena, that never should’ve happened.”

  “I did what I had to do to protect the ones I love. I won’t apologise for that.”

  “You tore this family down the middle,” I murmured. “You ripped me in half.”

  Elena spread her arms. “But you had air in your lungs. You woke up and went back to sleep every day. You were alive, Konstantin.”

  “Some things are worse than death.”

  “I would’ve torn my heart out of my chest myself and cracked it open like a nut to keep you safe. Hell, I would’ve let Tatiana choose which pieces to eat if it meant letting you stay alive. If it meant letting Artyom, Roksana, Danika, Roman and Dmitri have another day. If it meant Anton and Evva having another day.” She pointed to the tattoo on my arm, the list of names of people I loved. “Wouldn’t you have done the same?”

  I would’ve. I would’ve done horrible things to keep my loved ones safe–I had done horrible things to keep them safe. There was no greater devotion in my life than the one I had for my family.

  I had not considered Elena felt the same.

  “Your time of sacrificing has come to an end.” I told her. “You’re no longer alone, Elena. You have people who love you and care for you, people who have your back. The next time someone threatens you, you come let us know.”

  “And what?”

  “We’ll unleashed Babushka on them.”

  Her lips twitched at the attempt at humor.

  “No.” I lowered my voice. “They will be dealt with. There will be no more secrets, no more lies.”

  Elena laughed sadly. “My priorities have shifted from three years ago...I have Nikolai now. I need to keep him safe and happy.”

  “I can keep him safe, as well.”

  “You don’t understand what it’s like,” she said. “Being a mother.”

  My eyes dropped to my lower stomach, spotting the caesarean scar that lined her skin. Her body had changed in motherhood, no less beautiful or breathtaking, just different.

  “Explain it to me.”

  Elena met my eyes.

  I expanded, “I want to know what it’s like.”

  “I built Nikolai from nothing.” Her voice broke, emotion clouding her features. She laid a hand on her heart, clutching her chest like she was trying to stop the feelings from escaping. “There was nothing passive about his creation. I broke and ached as I formed his heart and lungs, my hair fell out and my nails cracked under the stress. Every cell inside of me answered the call and worked tediously to create my son."

  I stared at her. Her words had reached into my chest and wrenched out my heart.

  In that moment, there wasn’t a single part of me that wasn’t desperately in love with the woman who stood before me. She was a warrior, stronger than anyone I had ever met. No one else could compare, no one else was worthy to stand at my side.

  “My Elena,” I breathed. “Don’t leave me again.”

  She met my eyes, tears lining her own. The green in them shimmered like jade. Nikolai’s eyes, some faraway part of my brain noted. My son has his mother eyes.

  Then she said the words I had dreamed of her saying.

  “I won’t,” she whispered. “I won’t ever leave again.”

  21

  Konstantin Tarkhanov

  The crowd shouted as the colts went past the finish line, their jockeys either stretching from their saddles to shout in joy or curl themselves inwards to hide their shame. Money exchanged hands as bets were lost and won, large ostentatious hats were judged, and liquor flowed. Our private box was suddenly filled with greedy owners, all whose eyes went to Elena.

  Elena stood off to the side, champagne in hand and expression warning everyone off.

  I had trouble tearing my gaze off her as well.

  She wore an emerald green cocktail dress that stopped above the knee, revealing the long expanse of torturous leg. An arrogant hat was pinned into her hair, the feathers and artificial leaves curling upwards. She had kept the hat on in exchange for one compromise; she got to remove her shoes.

  The heels were beside her feet, ready to be toed back on at a moment’s notice. Or at gun point.

  I had been surprised when she had said she wanted to join me at the races. Our relationship had entered a tender pu
rgatory, neither of us acknowledging the fact that now Elena’s secrets had been revealed, all the obstacles that had kept us apart were know null and void.

  My hands came up to my suit, summoning the memory to the forefront of my mind.

  Boris's hands had shaken as he fitted me for my suit. Once upon a time he had felt comfortable enough to engage me in a conversation and accidentally prick me with a needle, but now he stayed hauntingly quiet, too afraid to utter a single word.

  I assessed him as he fitted me for a new suit. Sweat beaded on his forehead when he noticed my attention.

  I went to say something when the door opened, and my son came darting into the room. His grin was wild and eyes alight with mischief as he spotted Boris.

  "Boris, this is my son, Nikolai. Nikolai, this is Boris."

  Boris's lips parted in shock.

  "I told you to wait for me," came Elena's voice. She followed her son into the room, irritation warping her features. "I told you Konstantin was busy. Why would you do something I told you not to?"

  Niko shrugged. "Wanted to."

  I smothered my laugh with a cough. He looked to me, face brightening when he realised I was amused by his antics.

  Elena turned to me, probably to snap at me for encouraging the toddler, but her eyes fell onto my half-clothed form. She went pink in the cheeks.

  This time I made no effort to smother my amusement.

  "Why are you getting a new suit?" She asked, missing nothing.

  "For the upcoming race. Hilarion is being introduced as a stud." I adjusted the loose cuffs. "Meaning I am in need of a new colt."

  Elena's eyes flickered. "What do I wear?"

  "What do you wear? You're not coming."

  Her lips pressed together in tight line. "Why ever not?"

  "It's not safe."

  Both Boris and Niko suddenly found the floor very interesting.

  "I'm not staying locked away forever, Kon." She reminded me sharply. "I'll borrow one of Roksana's hats."

  I sent her a meaningful look. She knew I wouldn't argue about my security worries in front of Boris–or Nikolai.

  Elena shrugged. "I'm curious–put that down now!–" Niko hastily put down the vase he had been holding "–and want to leave." She finished her sentence like there had been no interruption.