Still, the stiffness of his body and the way he touched her carefully, as though afraid to break her, told Shaun he had more to say about the incident.
It was around midnight that the last of the guests left the mansion. Jozef’s men went back to their barracks or into the city where they lived with their families. Cooper and Terek had offered to take Fatima home.
With a hand on her back, Jozef escorted Shaun up to their bedroom.
Her heart hammered with each step and she had to remind herself that Jozef would never hurt her, that he loved her and wanted to make her happy.
Still, he was acting stiffly formal as they entered the bedroom.
She turned to find him already unbuttoning his shirt, his strong veined hands flashing as he pushed each button through the hole.
“Can we talk first,” Shaun said, holding up a hand. They’d been intimate many times, but the coolness coming from him made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t ready to be intimate until they sorted through his anger.
He dropped his hands so he could sign, it’s time for me to show you what loyalty means.
“You think this is the way to get my loyalty?” she asked incredulously, backing away from him as he removed his shirt, tossing it aside.
His expression was blank, refusing to give her a hint of his intentions.
She bumped into the side table next to the bed. There was nowhere else for her to retreat.
She shouldn’t have to run from him anyway. This was her bedroom, in her house, with her husband. She shouldn’t have to feel afraid. She opened her mouth to tell him so, to tell him to back off until they’d sorted a few things out, but he grabbed her hand and lifted it.
“Jozef…”
He placed her hand over his shoulder.
She frowned, then realized she felt something. There were ridges of raised flesh on his shoulder, surrounding a new tattoo. Forgetting her fear of a moment earlier, she stepped closer to him, fingering the fresh ink of an eight-pointed star.
Shaun knew exactly what it meant. Karl, her former bodyguard, had taught her the ins and outs of the Bratva. Jozef was branded with the mark of the Vor. He had a matching tattoo over his opposite shoulder.
“What does it mean?” she whispered, looking up into his eyes. “Why now? What’s changed?”
It had been six weeks since the attack on Jozef’s club. As far as she knew, he’d claimed the title of Vor even before that, while he was still in prison. Why get the tattoos now?
You have changed me, he signed, then reached for his belt buckle.
She was no longer afraid he might try to have sex with her when she wasn’t ready. Now she was curious.
He dropped his pants, stepping out of them and kicking them away.
Shaun saw the new tattoos immediately. Two eight-pointed stars, one on each knee. Other than a serpent tattoo snaking across his hip and disappearing into his pubic hair, he’d had no tattoos on the bottom half of his body until now.
“You’ve pledged your loyalty to the Bratva, haven’t you? That’s what the stars mean.” She frowned. “What does this have to do with us?”
He shook his head. I haven’t pledged my loyalty to them. They are a means to an end. These stars are for you alone. My entry into their world ensures your safety. The higher I climb, the safer you are. You are my only motivation.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Shaun looked up at him wonderingly as he placed an enormous responsibility at her feet. She was his motivation for taking on a mafia empire. She was his captive, she was his love, and she was his reason for being. It was heady. It was exhilarating.
And he wasn’t done.
He dropped to his knees on the floor, surprising her.
He looked powerful, godly, and completely at her mercy. His expression had shifted from the cold mob boss to passionate lover.
I am loyal to you alone.
Tears leapt to her eyes. “I know.”
He took her hand and held it over his heart before signing, you are the only thing is this world that can break me. You can destroy everything I’ve built. One bad decision, no matter how small, can bring down this empire. I must have your loyalty.
A tear trickled down her cheek and she felt worse than ever for keeping a secret from him.
“What do you want me to do?” she whispered.
Trust me.
She was about to say ‘I do’ but she hesitated. He’d told her that actions spoke louder than words and her actions had shown him he couldn’t trust her. She had to show him she meant what she said and that would take time.
She dropped to her knees in front of him and lifted his hand to her heart before signing, I will never give you reason to doubt me again.
His eyes pierced hers as he searched for truth, finally nodding.
As an adult, Shaun had never felt the need to explain herself to a partner before, but Jozef was changing her. She wanted his approval, his loyalty and trust. She wanted the things that had never mattered before and she wanted them because he loved her. He trusted her to make the right choices. She didn’t want to break that trust again.
He pulled her onto his lap, kissing her hard, sealing their pledge of trust. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on, kissing him back, showing him that she was ready to take the journey into their future together.
He stood with her, easily lifting her in his arms without breaking their kiss.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, feeling the press of his cock against her dress.
Jozef dropped her on the bed, coming down on top of her. He framed her face with his hands and searched, his eyes glowing with wonder.
My wife, he mouthed to her because there was no room between them to sign.
“My husband,” she whispered back.
The moment was powerful. It was the beginning of a new chapter for them. One that they’d entered willingly, rather than being forced together through circumstance and family ties.
Shaun wrapped her arms and legs around Jozef, pulling him into the private bubble where she pretended no one else existed. It was just them and the way they felt about each other.
“I love you,” she told him.
His gaze became grave, and he nodded, telling her he took her love seriously.
“I want you.”
He needed no more encouragement.
Shaun was ready to celebrate her wedding night properly. She wanted to explore Jozef’s body with the knowledge that he was her husband now. He belonged to her and it was official.
She’d never much cared about tradition, but it suddenly meant so much more to her. She was glad that there was a certificate tucked away in Jozef’s safe that announced them a couple in the eyes of the law.
Jozef tried to pull the straps of her dress down her arms, but the bodice was too tight. He frowned and flipped her over, making Shaun laugh as her face was pushed into the bedding.
She felt him tugging at the zipper and, when it didn’t immediately give, he gripped the sides of the dress and tore. It fell apart like paper in his hands.
When he’d finished dragging the dress from her body, he flipped her back over. His eyes lit with a new appreciation as they travelled down.
She loved the way he worshipped her with a single expression. He didn’t hide what he was thinking; he loved every inch of her. He followed his gaze with his hand, caressing her in sweeping motions.
She lay beneath him, one leg bent, while he explored. It was different. There was none of the frantic energy that always snapped in the air between them. Instead, it was replaced by a new kind of awe.
“Jozef,” she whispered, catching his attention. “I want you… now.”
His eyes darkened with lust and his breathing grew heavier. He reached between her thighs, touching her, stroking, then pushing his fingers inside. She was more than ready for him.
She opened her legs to him and beckoned him to her.
He lay across her body, holding himself up on an elbow and reachi
ng down with the other to stroke his cock, using the wetness from her body to lubricate himself.
She thought there was nothing sexier in the world than watching Jozef pleasure himself while using her body for inspiration.
“Fuck me,” she whispered.
He groaned in response, then leaned into her, lining himself up. He pushed himself home slowly, making her feel every inch as he filled her.
He was big enough that it always took some adjustment, but she was used to the feeling and gave him the anticipated gasp of pleasure that always erupted from her throat when he bottomed out.
When he was there, he pulled back and thrust again, harder this time, forcing another gasp from her. He paused, watching her face.
She grabbed his head and dragged him down for a kiss, thrusting her tongue against his, begging him to move, to fuck her, to give her the orgasm that always hovered on the horizon when he was inside her.
They moved together in unison, their bodies locked, their eyes locked. Jozef placed a hand on her head, touching her face gently, then tangling his fingers in her hair. Anchoring her.
The small bite of pain shot her pleasure higher, and she lifted her hips, loving the way he fit her perfectly. The slap of their flesh, the sweat beading on his brow as he used his strength to hold himself from crushing her while loving her body.
She’d never felt more connected to anyone. It was engulfing, completely overwhelming. Like being wrapped in a blanket and held so tight she could never escape.
“Jozef…” she whispered his name as he drove her higher and higher. She saw the spark of pleasure in his eyes as she said his name, so she said it again, louder. Repeating herself over and over.
“Jozef, Jozef, Jozef.”
Like a mantra, or a promise. She was his and he was hers.
She didn’t know how long they stayed entwined, making love, each thrust slow and measured, but eventually her climax built to the point that she could no longer hang on.
She cried his name one last time, digging her nails into the flesh of his shoulders as she hurtled through space and time on the wings of her orgasm.
He finally broke eye contact, dipping his head into her shoulder and biting down as his hips slammed into hers, faster and with more purpose than before. He reached his orgasm, flying high in her arms as he grunted his pleasure in her ear.
She held him tight as his movements slowed and he relaxed on top of her. He still held his weight up, but she could feel the softening of his muscles. She smiled. His back was to the door and he didn’t twist his head around to keep an eye on it.
He trusted her.
And she needed to trust him.
“I love you,” she whispered in his ear, blinking back emotional tears of joy. “So much.”
He rolled off her and onto his side, then he signed, I will love you until the end of time.
His eyes were dark and serious as they met hers. He gripped her chin and held her face as he leaned over to seal his promise with a kiss.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Six Months Later
Shaun flung the door of her car open and climbed out. She handed her keys to Cooper who gave her a grim look. He’d pulled up behind her with the rest of her bodyguards.
“I know!” she said desperately, clutching her purse and racing up the stairs to the mansion.
She cringed when she saw Jozef standing at the top waiting for her. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes were narrowed on her. She tried to concentrate but he was wearing faded blue jeans with a black T-shirt stretched taut over his chest, a thick leather belt and work boots. She wanted to lick him all over, but if his frown was anything to go by, she was more likely in for a spanking and not the fun kind.
“I know, I know,” she mumbled as he opened the door for her, and she slid past. “I can be ready in ten minutes. Promise!”
She raced up the stairs to her suite.
“Where have you been?” Saskia appeared at the top of the stairs. “You’re supposed to be halfway to Russia by now.”
“I know!” Shaun shot past Saskia who fell in step behind her. “I got held up at the hospital. The surgery was more complicated than I expected, then I had to wait for the patient to come out of anaesthesia.”
“I don’t think the Russians will care much about your bedside manner when they ask Jozef why they were kept waiting.”
Saskia followed Shaun into her room and flopped down on the bed as Shaun rifled through the walk-in closet, throwing an empty suitcase out, followed by handfuls of clothes, which landed all over the floor.
“What do you think I should pack?” Shaun’s voice was muffled. “Casual, formal, beachwear?”
“Formal, definitely formal. The Bratva aren’t known for their casual attitude toward anything, let alone the foreign wife of one of their newest members. Maybe if you look hot enough, they’ll forget about your tardiness.”
Seconds later a series of evening dresses, cocktail dresses and business suits were thrown from the closet. Shaun leapt over them and reached down to pick the pile up, tossing everything haphazardly into the suitcase.
Shaun glanced around the bedroom, wondering what she was missing.
“Hair products, makeup, shoes, tampons.” Saskia listed off the things Shaun hadn’t thrown in the suitcase yet.
Shaun snapped her fingers and lunged back into the closet, tossing out a couple pairs of heels and a pair of running shoes. She ransacked the washroom, tossing her makeup bag through the door and hoping it would land on the bed. She looked over her hair products and selected the ones she would need.
They were going to Russia for five days to meet with some of the higher ups in the Bratva. Jozef was confident, Shaun was nervous. It didn’t help that Havel had spent the past few days following her around the mansion, giving her advice. Only his advice made her even more worried.
“Don’t speak when you haven’t been spoken to. Don’t give your opinions. In fact, don’t have any opinions. In fact, don’t speak at all, to anyone. You must remember that you’re a representative of the Koba organization. You can’t have any slipups with these people.”
Jozef had wanted to take Havel with him, but ultimately decided to leave him behind. Jozef had spent the past several months reorganizing and reestablishing the Koba organization, and he didn’t want to risk a single problem while he was away. He trusted Havel to keep things in order while they were gone.
Shaun had learned a new respect for Havel over the past few months, while watching him work as hard as Jozef to create a solid foundation for their empire. He was loyal and he took his job seriously. On more than one occasion, Jozef had commented that the other man was invaluable, and he didn’t know what he’d do without Havel.
The door to the suite banged open just as Shaun was zipping her suitcase.
“I’m ready!” she called out, then turned to Saskia. “Distract him while I change.”
Saskia gave her a mischievous grin. “Of course!”
She slid off the bed and launched herself out the door, using a singsong voice as she called out, “Jozef, will you bring me back a souvenir? I want one of those little dolls you and Shaun have.”
Shaun peeled off her top as she headed for her closet, grabbing for a shirt at random.
She pulled it over her head and reached for her scrub bottoms, shoving them down her thighs as Jozef opened the closet door wider and stared in at her. His eyes immediately went to her panties and she flashed him a teasing grin before deliberately turning and bending over to grab the pair of jeans she’d chosen for their trip north.
Jozef growled and slammed the closet door shut, reaching for her. She giggled as he filled his hands with her ass and kissed the side of her neck. He reached around her and cupped her breast through her shirt.
“We’re going to be late,” she said, her voice husky as he kissed a path from her neck down to her shoulder, shoving her shirt aside so he could get at the bare skin.
He turned her arou
nd and gave her an accusing look.
“Okay, yes, my fault,” she admitted. “But you knew that I would have the occasional late shift. I warned you, I won’t leave the hospital until my patient wakes up.”
He swooped in for a kiss, telling her with his tongue and mouth his feelings on her working late.
Jozef gave her hell every time she worked late at the hospital. To his credit, he hadn’t once threatened to terminate her job. In fact, since she’d started working at the Prague hospital, Jozef had been surprisingly supportive. He enjoyed listening to her talk about work and bragged to anyone who would listen that he was married to one of the world’s preeminent neurosurgeons.
Though he was proud of her, he was also jealous of her time and paced like a caged tiger when she was even a minute late getting home, let alone the hours of overtime she’d put in today. They were taking Jozef’s private jet to Russia, so she didn’t feel too guilty about making them late.
Still…
“Jozef…” she whispered, then repeated herself louder when he refused to stop kissing her neck and ear. “We have to go.”
Jozef sighed deeply and backed up enough to give her a look that promised a good fucking later when they settled at the Bratva palace.
Shaun grinned back and signed, that better be a promise. You said this would be like a vacation and people get to have sex on vacations. I feel like it’s been days…
Jozef growled and shoved the closet door open, escorting her into the bedroom.
It had been a sore point to both of them that their busy schedules made it difficult for them to get any alone time. When Jozef had first announced this trip, Shaun had been leery. She wasn’t sure she wanted to get any deeper in with the Russian mafia. It was a ridiculous concern though, since she was married to the underworld boss of the Czech Republic. The Russian mafia knew exactly who she was and how she got there.
Goodnight, Sinners (Sinner's Empire Book 3) Page 24