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The truth isn’t what you see. It’s what you make of it. There’s no such thing as a wholesome truth or a perfect reality. There are people and agendas. There is peace and war. There is losing and winning.
It’s not that I wanted to, but Dedushka entrusted me with the family name. My mission in life is to protect my family’s honor. Just because I was born a woman, doesn’t mean I’ll let anyone stomp all over me.
While I don’t like being left out, this war of testosterone always gets on my nerves, mainly because nothing useful comes out of it.
Her eyes widen when they meet mine, though. It’s the only reaction she shows in her mute state, and it’s the only one I need. There’s always been something mystical about Rai’s eyes. They’re blue, but not quite. There are situations where they darken like the sea in the middle of the storm, and there are times where they lighten to a clear summer sky. Then, there are instances like now where they’re caught in the middle, not sure if they want to wreak havoc or simply let it go.
I smile as the door closes behind her. The second part of the plan is done. Time to move to the third. I grin at Sergei. “If you’ll excuse me, I need a word with my fiancée.”
He’s wearing a white shirt but no tie. He never wore those, not even at official occasions or banquets organized by the brotherhood. It’s like he was born to be a rebel and takes great pride in it.
There has always been something special about his hands. His fingers appear long and masculine, like a gentleman’s, but in reality, they’re the same fingers that’ve pulled countless triggers without hesitation.
“I will take good care of you, Princess.” The joke’s on him. I’ll forget about whatever foolishness I felt for him in the past, because that? It was a big fat lie. Instead, I’m going to get under Kyle Hunter’s skin so deep, exploit his power, and then use it against him. When the hurricane hits him out of nowhere, he’ll understand why storms are named after women.
And yes, only Rai would specifically choose a woman as one of her closest guards. She always did things differently while flipping the world her middle finger. I’ll be the exception in that world.
My dick strains against my trousers as I recall the feel of her pulse beneath my hand when I held her throat. Rai might act like she’s all that, but in that very moment, her breathing hitched and I saw a hint of her muted desires. Desires I would be more than happy to explore.
“Ready?” he asks. No, but I don’t say that, because I have to be ready. Pain, whether physical or emotional, is only a phase. That’s what Mom used to tell Reina and me. “Ready.”
“If they think you’re strong, no one will dare to attack you.” His words are my mantra and the reason why I’m able to do this. After all, no one can win if the war hasn’t started.
That woman is more tenacious than most of the men I’ve met. And because of that, she’s dangerous to my mission. It would be so easy to pull the trigger and erase her from my path. What is she anyway, aside from an insignificant pawn who will cause more trouble than it’s worth? My finger won’t move. It can’t. I don’t know when this state began, whether it was after I saw her again or if it were there seven years ago. All I know is that I can’t pull the fucking trigger on Rai Sokolov, even though she’s my worst enemy.
Damien, the fucker who needs a bullet in his skull, glares at me, obviously displeased that I showed up. He must’ve been waiting, biding his time, planning to take Rai away, but he doesn’t know who he’s up against. He has no idea that I’ll be his worst nightmare.
brewing in the distance. I lean over to whisper in her ear, “What’s made my beautiful wife mad?” She elbows me with the strength of a warrior. Fuck, it’s hard enough that she nearly knocks the air out of my lungs. “Your existence.” “You wound me, Princess,” I joke. “You deserve more than a wound.”
Then, I see her free spirit—the one that refuses to be tied down by anyone or anything. Fuck. She’s going to run. “Rai?” the priest calls. Her expression closes again, and I expect her to bolt right then and there, like in some runaway bride film. Unlike those sappy things, though, I’m ready to follow her to the ends of the earth and kidnap the fuck out of her if need be.
Kyle is the one who taught me to count my bullets, especially when I have no ammunition left. He said there’s nothing more stupid than dying by your own mistake. It’s ironic how his words stayed with me, particularly during dire situations.
“Congratulations on the wedding.” He reaches a hand out, probably to shake mine, but Kyle steps between us, blocking my vision of Kai. “You don’t get to touch her after you threatened to kill her. Piss off.”
“Quit worrying about everyone else on your wedding day.” “This is not a real wedding.” I meant for my voice to be hard, but it’s almost a whisper. “Yes, it is. You said ‘I do’ in front of God and all his holy subjects.” “You don’t believe in holy things.” He smirks. “You remember. Were you that obsessed with me?” I huff, turning away from him, but his hold on my neck keeps me pinned in place. “Don’t flatter yourself. I only remember things that will be of use.” “You remember my teachings, too.”
“Our life together started with blood,” he says in a calm tone. “How do you expect it to end?” I swallow the clog that lodges in my throat without warning. “Didn’t you tell me we choose our own destiny?” “I lied. It’s always decided beforehand. Every action we take only throws us back to the path we were always meant to follow.”
I wipe a finger under her eyes, taking her tears for my own. Everything that’s hers will be mine now, whether it’s her tears or her anger, or even her hotheaded stubbornness.
My lips find her forehead and she whimpers softly, her leg wrapping over mine. “I’ll take a raincheck on punishing and owning you, Princess.” Because when that happens, there’ll be no going back.
“I made no such promise.” “Drunk Rai did, and I take her word for granted.” “You’re lying. I would never ever make such a promise.” Right? “Your exact words were…” His voice lowers, mimicking mine. “Are you going to punish me, Kyle? Now?” “Shut up. I didn’t say that.” I couldn’t have. But on the other hand, considering all the things I keep bottled inside, I could have let go of my inhibitions after the shitload of Jack Daniels. Note to self: never drink again, especially when with Kyle.
Drunk me and sober me are not friends anymore.
A hot body appears at my back and a hand wraps around my throat from behind. I gasp on water, eyes shooting open, but I don’t attempt to move. I can’t. It’s like my muscles are locked together and I’m unable to take a single step. “I’ll barge through any door you lock, so you might as well save your energy next time.”
I try not to focus on him and busy myself by picking my dress up off the floor. He turns around that instant, and I freeze as if I’m a kid caught stealing from a jar. “Don’t put that back on. It’s dirty and bloodied.” “Do you suggest I go out in a towel, genius?” “My wife wouldn’t go anywhere in a fucking towel.” I want to curse him for the possessive way he speaks, but my insides liquefy at the way he said ‘my wife’.
Dedushka used to tell me there’s nothing more frightening than a man who has nothing to lose. And now, I’m staring right at the soul of one.
Stop it, I mouth, gripping the edge of the table for balance. His smirk widens before he masks it and pretends like he’s not torturing me in a room full of men.
“Why the fuck would you look at my wife?” All Kyle’s nonchalance vanishes. “She’s not the Rai you had free access to. She’s now bound to me, married to me, and took vows to be with me so keep your fucking eyes and hands off her.” There’s a grunt from Vlad, but he steps aside. No one gets between a husband and his wife in the brotherhood. No one, not even the Pakhan himself. The relationship is even more sacred than the one we have among each other. That’s why even Vlad doesn’t push it.
“Speaking of the princess,” Adrian says, and my first knee-jerk reaction is to punch him in the throat. Only I am allowed to call her Princess.
My blood boils at the thought of her doing this with another man before me. These lips belong to me. Rai belongs to me, and anyone who dares to challenge that fact will be shot dead in his fucking sleep. It’d be the easiest kill I would ever have to make.
“I was only protecting my honor. Disrespect me again and I will disrespect you in return.” “And how, pray tell, will you do that?” “Eye for an eye, Kyle. You know I believe in that. So next time you let a woman throw her arms around you, know I’ll find another man to throw my arms around. Fuck a woman and I’ll fuck two men—and a woman, if I’m in the mood.” He grabs me by the throat. The motion is so quick I gasp, eyes widening. He backs me up until my behind hits a car. His usually nonchalant eyes rage with a storm so deep I feel it straight against my throat. “Don’t ever, and I mean ever,
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“I’ll count to three and you join her, okay?” Kyle says so close to my ear, drawing shivers down my spine. “Take backup,” I say. “Worried about me, Princess?” “You wish.” My murmur isn’t believable even to my own ears. “No backup. You know I work better solo. Now, one, two…” He lifts his body over mine push-up style. “Three.” He completely stands up and I do, too, bolting to where Lia is crouching. I turn around to insist that he takes guards, but there’s no sign of him. That hotheaded man will be the death of me.
It’s possessive, rough, and unapologetic—like everything about him. It’s a clash of tongues and teeth, as if our war for power bleeds into our kiss with vengeance.
“Are you going to open, or should I repeat?” He bits down on my nipple, hard. A whimper-moan leaves my lips as my legs fall open of their own accord. “Good princess.”
All my life, I looked at men as rivals or allies. I never once considered any of them as someone who belongs in my night fantasies.
I’m ripped to pieces from the inside out. The ferocity and wildness of my release scares the shit out of me, and I hold on to the only safe person in sight. Who also happens to be the person who detonated this explosion in the first place. The person who can break me with one wrong move, but also the person who can pick up my pieces off the floor. The person who can build me up after being torn apart by the earthquake.
She’s my canvas, and I’m the only brush that will touch her.
I try to focus on her anger instead of how much I want to flip her under me and devour her all over again. It’s like Rai senses my thoughts. She abandons the pillow and storms to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. My jaw clenches. That habit will have to go. She can’t hide from me or lock herself away from me. Not anymore.
“What else?” “That’s all.” Adrian grips me by the arm so hard I wince. “What. Else. Rai? Surely you saw something? Someone?” Kyle grabs Adrian’s arm and twists it off mine, his expression closed. “Do not lay your fucking hands on my wife again. She already said that’s all, so that’s all.”
A hand wraps around my nape from behind, and shivers instantly break out on my skin before a sinister voice murmurs near my ear, “What are you two whispering about? Let me in.” “It’s none of your concern.” I take a sip of my soup, trying to ignore how Kyle’s mere touch has awakened my whole body. “I’m your husband and baby daddy, Princess. Everything about you is my concern.”
How come she’s the first thing that comes to mind in the morning and the last thing I want to see before I close my eyes? Rai Sokolov is the forbidden fruit I should’ve never tasted, because one single taste isn’t enough. Neither is the second, the third, or the tenth.
A part of me wants her to go out like this, with my cum dried on her thighs and her face looking thoroughly fucked, but the other big part, the one that wins, doesn’t want anyone but me to see this side of her.
“Why does it feel…normal?” she murmurs. “What’s it?” “This.” She tips her head between us, and I don’t know if she’s talking about her and me or the way we tucked each other in. “Shouldn’t it?” She shakes her head once. She always gets on my fucking nerves when she does that. She’s still fighting and running away, even though
I run at full speed and beat her to the position at the last second. She halts at my right, her expression stunned as a bullet pierces my chest. The force swings me back and I slump on the ground, my bones taking the impact. Hot liquid pours out of me before red soaks my chest and pools all around me. “Kyle!” Her shrill, panicked voice reaches me despite the chaos. An angelic face hovers over me, flashing back and forth in my blurry vision. I raise a finger to her cheek, only my arm doesn’t move. “I knew you would be the death of me, Princess.” My eyes roll back in my head and the world turns
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All the energy I used to remain standing abandons me. I fall to my knees at the side of the bed, then carefully wipe the blood that’s marring Kyle’s abs. He shouldn’t be bleeding or hurt. He’s too professional and methodical for that. And yet he is. Because no matter how professional he is, Kyle is still human. Humans bleed and die.
Then, her fingertips slide up my chest to the mark of the gunshot. “What happened?” I can’t tell her the truth because that will reveal who I really am, but I can at least show her the side of me she has never seen before. It’s so selfish of me to try to keep her close when I know her stance on what I have in mind.
The only miscalculation in my plan is this woman who has her hand wrapped around my waist as if she doesn’t want to let me go. This woman is my only loose end, but I will find a way, and I will get her where she belongs. Right next to me.
“It makes perfect sense. You just wanted your entire family with you. That’s why you can turn heartless when it comes to protecting them.” I stare at him for a beat, incredulous. I never thought he’d be able to figure out my angle this easily. He’s too observant sometimes, and it’s both scary and comforting. Right now, it’s definitely leaning toward the latter.
At one point, I realized there would be a day where she will leave me and never look back. But that was before I decided I won’t lose her. I wasn’t joking when I told her she’s coming with me. It was said in the heat of the moment, but it’s the truest decision I’ve ever made. Rai is coming with me. When this whole thing is done, she will be by my side when we go to live somewhere far away from here.
