Second Best (Volkov Bratva Book 1) Read online

  “You’re going to cry.”

  Tears had already flooded my eyes. “Get out of my way.”

  “No.”

  “This is not doing your job.”

  “Like you said. You’re alive. You’re safe.” He reached out and touched my face.

  I jerked back. “No.”

  “Aurora, come on, I know you feel it too.”

  I frowned. This was so very different. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  I continued to take a step back, and he followed. I kept on walking until the wall stopped me from moving. I tensed up as his hands came out and were placed on either side of my head.

  “You think I don’t see the way you look at me? Slavik doesn’t deserve you. No one does. I see it. I notice your pain.”

  “Sergei, you’ve got to stop.” I didn’t have any feelings for him. He was my guard and it mattered to me that my actions didn’t get him hurt or killed, but that was all.

  “No, I don’t think I need to stop. I see how they all treat you. They all ignore you. I can’t stand that.” He pressed his body against mine and the hurt I’d been feeling morphed into something else. Fear.

  Before I knew what was happening, Sergei had grabbed my face and started to kiss me. His tongue traced across my mouth, and I instantly tried to push him away. This was not a kiss I wanted.

  I’d only ever kissed Slavik, and right now, this made me feel like I betrayed him. I didn’t ask for Sergei’s kiss, but because I hadn’t reported his inappropriate behavior to Slavik, did he think this gave him a right to me?

  I tried to cry out, but Sergei was strong. I was no match for him.

  I kept trying to hit him, to force him to get away.

  All of a sudden, he was off me, and I panted for breath until I saw what was going on. Slavik had come home and now he pounded his fist against Sergei’s face.

  Within the few seconds it had taken me to gain my composure, the sheer violence Slavik displayed shocked me.

  Over and over, he slammed his fist against his face.

  Blood spilled, splattering on the floor and the wall.

  “Slavik, stop it.”

  I couldn’t get through. Over and over, the pounding went. I reacted, grabbing Slavik’s arms, trying to get him to stop, but he shoved me away and I fell hard, my ass hitting the floor.

  There was nothing else for me to do.

  Right there, in front of me, Slavik drew his gun and shot Sergei in the head.

  My mouth fell open. No sounds came out.

  Sergei, my bodyguard, was dead.

  Slavik spat on him and got to his feet. His hands were covered in blood, Sergei’s blood.

  He turned toward me, and as he advanced, with all the blood, I scrambled away. I was no match for Slavik either. He grabbed my arm and dragged me up, slamming my back against the wall.

  I cried out. Tears ran down my cheeks as he pressed the gun against my temple. I whimpered as the heat seemed to burn right through my head.

  “How long?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “How long have you been fucking him?”

  “I would never do that. Never.”

  “You expect me to believe that after what I just saw?”

  “If you saw correctly, you’d have seen that I was fighting him off.” My entire body shook.

  I’d seen people killed before. Dead bodies were not new to me, but right now, I was in shock. I had to be.

  The sheer violence, that was new to me.

  He didn’t stop to ask Sergei any questions. He just killed him. Now he had the same gun pointed at me and thought I would betray him. Seconds passed as Slavik looked into my eyes.

  “I saw,” he said. “Now tell me what the fuck happened.”

  I nodded my head. The action felt jerky to me, but I stood there and told him everything. About coming home and Sergei pressing me against the wall. The kiss. I even told him about him wanting to be friends and getting close. I didn’t have any secrets.

  All the while, Slavik looked at me.

  What did he see?

  Was he debating how to get rid of me?

  “Go to your room,” he said. “Stay there until I come to you.”

  “Slavik?”

  “Now!” He yelled the word, and I didn’t stick around. I ran as fast as I could, tripping over my feet. Once inside the bedroom, I flicked the lock closed and ran toward the bathroom. Staring at my reflection, I saw the blood. Sergei’s blood.

  This was all my fault. I tore my clothes off my body, scrambling to get myself clean.

  I stepped beneath the water and cried out as the cold hit my skin. I didn’t move for a short time, trying to process everything that had happened. Grabbing the soap, I started to scrub my hands and my body.

  Sergei had died because of me.

  I should have told him no. Told Slavik.

  I felt sick.

  Getting someone killed had never been my intention.

  I felt so cold. So alone. This wasn’t fair.

  Tilting my head up to the shower, I couldn’t believe what had happened today. I’d lost a friend, and another who had wanted to be mine had been killed. What the hell was wrong with me?

  ****

  Slavik

  The cleaning crew knew not to ask any questions.

  Sergei’s body would be removed. His apartment was already being cleared out along with any personal effects. There was no family for me to call. No one to shame with his behavior.

  I waited as they cleaned my apartment. All that was left was my blood-soaked clothing. I stripped out of it, handing them the clothes, and they left my apartment. Everything had a price, even covering your tracks.

  Seeing Sergei on my wife, I’d snapped. I’d never been possessive about any woman in my life and yet, seeing him kissing her was more than I could stand.

  Deep down, I knew she’d been trying to fight him. Aurora hadn’t asked for the kiss, and still, I’d been hyped up on rage and the need to kill.

  Sergei got an easy death, and for me, that didn’t sit well. I hated it.

  With my hands on my hips, I stared around my now pristine apartment. The last five, no, nearly six months, Aurora had lived in my place and still, she hadn’t done a single thing to make her mark.

  There was nothing here that stood out.

  No trinket to tell anyone who visited—not that anyone did—that she lived here. This apartment wasn’t even mine in the true sense. I owned the building and I’d taken residence here, but there weren’t any personal effects of mine either.

  Laying down roots was hard for me to do. It wasn’t something I could just do with the snap of my fingers.

  “What the fuck am I doing?” I ran a hand down my face and headed toward the bedroom. The door was locked. I tried the handle, realizing she’d tried to keep me out. Not happening.

  Aurora needed to learn there was no easy way to keep me away. With a simple snap of the handle and my body weight shoved against it, the door came open.

  I expected to see her on the bed.

  At least hear a scream.

  Nothing.

  The bathroom door was also closed.

  Like the main bedroom door, this one was also locked.

  “Aurora, open the fucking door,” I said.

  My patience was at an all-time low. If I had any sanity left, I’d try to talk to her, but right now, I needed a shower.

  “Go away,” she said.

  Gritting my teeth, I clenched my hands into tight fists. “You think this door is going to keep me out?”

  “No, but you need to calm down. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I’m not angry.”

  “You just killed Sergei.”

  “And I’ll kill any fucking man who thinks they can put their hands on you and get away with it. You’re mine, Aurora.”

  “I’m what you had to have. I’m not yours.”

  I slammed my fist against the door. Her anger actually aroused me. S
he wasn’t simpering in a corner. I liked the fact she talked back to me.

  This felt good. Really good.

  “Stop banging!” She screamed the last part, and I put my palm against the door, gritting my teeth once again.

  I had two choices. Wait for her to open the door, or break it down.

  I chose the latter.

  The moment I broke the lock and entered the room, Aurora let out a little cry.

  She stood with a towel wrapped around her, and I smelled bleach. I saw her clothes were in the sink and she’d poured bleach all over them.

  Her hair was still damp from the shower.

  My hands were covered in dried blood.

  Aurora nibbled on her lip. “I … I didn’t know what to do with these.”

  “I’ll handle it,” I said. I turned on the shower, waiting for the water to warm up.

  I stepped into the stall, and Aurora tried to make her escape, only I wouldn’t let her. I grabbed her arm and dragged her into the stall right along with me. Pinning her up against the wall, I flicked the towel, allowing it to fall on the floor, and I simply looked my fill.

  “You’re not going anywhere.”

  “You’re angry.”

  I grabbed the soap and rinsed my hands. The blood fell away down the drain as if nothing happened. “I’m not angry.”

  “You didn’t have to kill him.”

  “You think he was only going to be satisfied with kissing you? He didn’t even have the sense to listen to you tell him no. Sergei would have raped you to get what he wanted.”

  She released a gasp. “You believe me.”

  “Yes. I saw it.”

  “But why did you blame me?”

  “I was angry, Aurora. No man wants to come home to find his wife kissing another man. At first, it didn’t register that you were fighting against him. Sergei’s dead now and I’ve handled everything.”

  “Oh. Will his death cause you trouble?”

  “No. Sergei was alone in this world. No one will care that he’s dead.”

  I watched her swallow a lump in her throat. “You care?” I asked.

  “Yes. He … for the past few months, he’d been really nice to me.”

  “He wanted to fuck you. Any man would be nice to you.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, right. Can I go now?”

  “No.” I handed her the soap. “Wash me.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “No.” I took hold of her wrist and forced her to touch my chest. Staring at her, I waited. What Aurora didn’t seem to know was how patient I’d been with her. It never happened for a man in my position to give their wife time to adapt. I hadn’t forced my will onto her. Demanded she spread her legs for me so I can put a baby inside her. I’d given her time.

  What was my reward? To find another man kissing her and have blue balls for the pleasure of it—not happening.

  Staring at her now, I noticed her movements were kind of jerky, but I wasn’t going to give her an out she clearly sought.

  The soap ran over my skin, but that wasn’t the touch I wanted.

  “Lather your hands up.”

  She followed the instruction, and I took the soap from her. “Now, clean me.”

  She shook a little as her hands went from my neck down to my chest. I was sure she hesitated at my neck as she’d been tempted to throttle me. I smiled. It wouldn’t be the first time a woman wanted to kill me.

  Aurora was a good woman, though. She’d been trained well and so she worked her hands down, being careful not to touch my cock, which had swelled the moment she started to touch me.

  When Ivan first told me I’d be marrying the Fredo daughter, there had been no attraction. No desire to marry this woman. I’d known her family had tried to insult us by giving us what he considered his second best, but something was happening to me.

  I wasn’t entirely sure what.

  I craved her touch on me, but more than that, I wanted Aurora to want me, to beg for my touch. Our wedding night had been a disaster.

  The whole tradition of bloody sheets had fucking infuriated me. The way the men looked at the evidence of her broken virginity, that was mine. All mine. I should have put a stop to it, but I played along, as was the rules.

  I was a powerful man.

  I’d been with a lot of women in my time. Fucked them and forgot them. I’d never known what it was like to have a virgin. Not just any virgin, my wife. Untouched by all other men. No one else would know how tight her cunt was, how sweet her mouth tasted, and how soft her body was next to mine. So very addictive. I couldn’t wait to feel her once again.

  She continued to ignore my arousal until I finally snapped and placed her fingers around my dick. She froze, and I paused, staring into her eyes.

  “You know what I want.”

  Aurora shook her head.

  With my hand covering hers, I made her work up and down my length. She nibbled on her lip as if this was the strangest thing she’d ever encountered but she didn’t stop and I liked that. I liked that she kept on going. The tip already leaked pre-cum, and I groaned. I closed my eyes for a split second, basking in the pleasure she evoked within me.

  My balls were so fucking tight.

  Letting go of her hand, I pressed mine against the wall, caging her in.

  “Faster,” I said.

  I was so close.

  She worked my dick faster, and I stared into her eyes.

  Her brown ones stared back at me with wonder as well as hunger. That’s right, baby. This is what you’re doing to me.

  I couldn’t hold back my release, and as she continued to stroke me, my release spilled out, coating her stomach.

  Even before my orgasm ebbed away, I gripped the back of her neck, slamming my lips down on hers as I finished my orgasm.

  I wanted to be inside her, but this was second best.

  Any anger I had slowly fell away.

  I wouldn’t hurt Aurora.

  She was my wife, and regardless of what she thought, I was going to protect her.

  Chapter Eight

  Aurora

  In a matter of days, I’d gone from spending my time being bored, reading one book after another, to being escorted around by Slavik.

  He’d killed my guard, and rather than hire another one, he kept me to himself.

  I had no choice in the matter.

  He had so many businesses. When we arrived at some, he kept me in the car. The doors locked. He even kept the windows down when it was really warm as if I was some kind of dog.

  Each day, the anger kept on simmering inside me, waiting to explode.

  The work never stopped. He was everywhere and nowhere. We ended up taking a private jet to travel to different cities. All of them under his rule. He kept watch over it all. He worked during the day and at night; there was no space.

  After three weeks, taking our marriage over the seven-month mark, I stood in one of his nightclubs. This time, he’d allowed me to change. The first time I came to this nightclub, which was simply called The Club, so very cute, I’d been in sweatpants and a shirt. This time, I wore a tight dress.

  It was the only one he’d allow me to wear. It was tight against my body, and I couldn’t stop wriggling in it. I was worried I looked fat and frumpy.

  The women on the dance floor were goddesses.

  Each one looked so happy and free. Like they held all the power within their lives and I had nothing. My husband controlled me. I wasn’t given a single reprieve.

  Even when some men, business associates, dared to comment on my presence, Slavik told them to mind their own business or they’d see his very bad side.

  How many other men like Slavik escorted their wives around to everything?

  With my palm on the private window overlooking the dance floor, envy flooded me. It was an emotion I didn’t like.

  The music vibrated the room, but I couldn’t hear it.

  Slavik spoke on the phone. He spoke in Russian, which was so hard to think abou
t as his accent rarely came through.

  I kept on glancing back at him, and each time I did, I found his gaze was already on me.

  We hadn’t done anything else since he made me work his penis in the shower. Who am I kidding? I knew it was a cock. Thinking about it, I got aroused. He’d been so hard and as I played with him, I’d worked him into a fever where he had no choice but to come. I’d never felt that kind of power over a man, and the truth was I wanted it again.

  Slavik put the phone down. “I’ve got to go and handle something downstairs. Stay here.”

  I wanted to argue with him, but he was already out the door.

  We were back to him treating me like I didn’t exist. Actually, scrap that, he treated me like a dog. I was surprised he hadn’t put a little bed in the corner and didn’t have treats in his pocket.

  I hated him.

  Folding my arms beneath my breasts, I spun back to the window and glared out at the dance floor. Anger rushed through me with no place to go.

  I’d seen how violent he’d gotten with Sergei.

  I pushed some hair back from my face, breathing in and out, hoping to calm my nerves, but nothing seemed to want to stick.

  I felt angry at him.

  Thinking back to that day, I recalled Bethany’s words. She’d tried to call, to set up another dinner date, but I declined. Slavik even tried to arrange for me to go and see her, but I refused.

  There was no way I was going to force my company on others.

  With my arms wrapped around myself, I stared onto the dance floor, finding Slavik.

  He spoke to a couple of men who nodded and fanned out.

  Slavik headed toward the bar, and I hated that he was so handsome. He wasn’t the boy next door. He was far more dangerous and with it, potent.

  Women turned to look at him. Yearning swirled within their gaze. He showed no sign of noticing them as he talked to the man working behind the bar.

  I smiled at how he acted. I knew he saw their gazes. Did he know I watched?

  Licking my lips, the happiness died instantly as a cute redhead launched herself at him. She wore a shorter dress than the one I wore and as I stood in his office, I watched this other woman rub herself all over Slavik.

  He didn’t push her away.

  Anger, pain, and hurt, it all melded in my gut.