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Ronny coughs and turns purple. Nothing feels quite as nice as putting a smug piece of shit in his place.
“You’re marrying Dmitry Nikolaev, the newly-crowned don of the Nikolaev Bratva,”
Everything has changed now. Father is gone. That means Gavriil has been promoted to my underboss. Bastien is chief brigadier, the head enforcer. And I am now the don of the Nikolaev Bratva.
Why does he smell so goddamn good? Better yet, why am I noticing his smell in the first place? It’s not like I don’t have bigger problems to worry about.
“Yeah, sorry,” I scowl. “You’re right. I totally should have stayed put after being kidnapped by men with guns. Silly me.”
Though, while we’re questioning things, I do have to wonder: why did my body react like that? As I was trying to escape, a strange heat surged through me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was attracted to him.
“No, you haven’t learned anything yet, my queen,” I whisper savagely. “But you will.”
She won’t meet my eye. Her chest rises and falls with labored breathing. Good. My precious little wife has been put in her place.
“Of course. What else can you say? All you have left right now is your beliefs and your misguided sense of moral superiority. See how well those protect you.”
“So you’ll marry me for the image, and then do whatever you want with whoever else while I languish in captivity?”
And even though I’ve spent hardly any time with Shannon, I can add one more thing to the list of things I want… Her.
I have to get through this. I can’t let Vicki guess the truth. Her life may depend on it.
“Just our luck they have Philippa on staff today. The woman has an unhealthy obsession with lace. You’d think she invented the stuff. Don’t worry—we will find you something suitable.”
find myself chuckling, too. If this was any other situation, I think I’d actually like Dmitry’s mom.
“I’m so happy for you, Shann. Now, we can take that Colorado couples’ vacation together. Go on double dates. Just how we always wanted to. Oh my God! We can have babies at the same time and have them be best friends, too. Ahh!”
But I did none of those things. Maybe I was protecting her and my parents, but the truth is, the thought never crossed my mind. Now that it does, though, another thought comes with it. The Nikolaevs have already started breaking me.
You’re a good dog, Shann, I taunt myself silently. I feel miserable as Vicki disappears from sight.
I study his face. Is that actual pain I see in Dmitry’s dark eyes? I didn’t think sociopaths could feel sadness.
And Dmitry is a liar, a criminal, a beast. Of course he’s not going to tell this sweet twosome how his family basically purchased my life from the womb and had me raised as their perfect little pet.
“So, it’s okay for you to ply me for information, but I can’t know the first thing about you?”
He’s just a man using me. I need to remember that. Whatever I thought I saw—real feeling, evidence he actually has a soul—was nothing.
“Do you even want to? Because I don’t.” He clenches his jaw and turns to face me. “Unfortunately, I’m not giving you a choice.”
Mother would be pissed if she heard. Although the prospect of another woman seems… unappetizing. Can’t say why. But who knows? Maybe in person I’d see something that would strike my interest. Take my mind off things.
“I don’t give a flying fuck what anyone thinks. I’ve been putting this off long enough. It will happen when I say so.” “Right. Two days is ‘long enough.’ Of course.” I whirl around to face her. “What did we say about being insubordinate?”
intend to lead it, and to do that, I must make it clear to everyone that I am not going anywhere. I have to show them I have power, I have an army, I have an heir. You’ll give me that baby. That’s your piece in all this. So shut up, spread your legs, and do as you’re told.”
This has never been about me. This has always been about their perfect little bridal doll.
“I was planning on streaking, but, if you insist, I guess I can compromise on flashing the priest.” Gavriil chuckles. “That might make the old man actually believe in God. I can see why Dmitry likes you.”
So, in front of God and the priest and the law and all the assembled mafiosos of New York City, I blurt out, “I absolutely fucking don’t.”
“You’ve seen what I did when you disrespected me with your clothing out on that hotel balcony. Your body remembers how it felt to be broken. Now, imagine what I will do if you disrespect me like this here and now. I will kill your parents and your friend Vicki with my bare hands. And then I will come for you. What I’ve done to you already will be a blessing compared to what comes next. I’ll break you again and again and again. And you’ll beg me for it. Do you understand that, Shannon? Do you get what I’m telling you?”
“What do you want me to say, Shannon? That this isn’t fair to you? That the world isn’t nice? Get the fuck over it. It doesn’t matter.”
She glances over every so often to be sure I’ve noticed. She’s really trying. Good girl. Maybe I’ll let her earn that phone call with her parents after all.
I lay there for a long time, clenching my jaw until it aches. Who the hell knows why I’m still awake? Usually, I’m out like a light after a good fuck.
“What did we say about keeping the door shut when someone is knocking?” Leon grumbles in his Russian accent.
Then, with nowhere else to go, I drift off to the one safe space I have left: my dreams.
Now, if only I could slap away this weird jolt of excitement in me, this heat between my legs…
He’s got that insatiable hunger in his eyes. It’s more than predatory—it’s pure violence. But the scariest part of all is what it does to me. It makes my own fire burn so much hotter.
I get on top of him and ride him furiously. He’s filling me up so deep in a way I never knew I needed, never knew I could take. “That’s a good wife,” he breathes. “Such a good little wife, taking all of me.”
I’ve stopped trying to understand what happens when Dmitry and I have sex. How wrong becomes right. Or how, even, every time after, a part of me feels like I hate him a bit less.
“You’d better learn to behave, wife. Or next time...” He shakes it again. “Next time what?” “Next time, I won’t change my mind about this.”
But an asshole who actually was in love before? With who? Is he still?
Is that really so crazy? This is all his doing, right? Maybe I’m the wife for show, but he can still have another woman. A love, a real love. Is that so hard to believe?
“Maybe men being closed-off is kind of normal. Although, you are married to the guy, so I would’ve thought you’d have opened up to each other at some point before, you know, tying the knot.”
But by the time I log off and go to sleep, that happiness fades. And I’m forced to remember the truth again: there’s no hope anywhere anymore. Not for me.
“Whoa,” Vicki laughs. “Your life is a literal fairytale.” If only you knew how wrong that is…
IRISH COMMUNITY SEARCHES FOR ANSWERS IN CASE OF MISSING TODDLER Marine Park police are searching for answers in the case of a local missing toddler. Mr. Patrick McNulty, a successful businessman, and his wife, Mrs. Ferna McNulty, reported on Monday that their young daughter was nowhere to be found. The police department immediately began search and rescue operations, but have thus far been unsuccessful. Community efforts have likewise failed to turn up any evidence. “I just can’t believe it,” local resident Abigail O’Connor said. “Who would want to take a precious little baby?” I slam my
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“I might not be the husband you hoped for, but I’m the one you have. And as long as that’s true, no other man lays a finger on you,” he growls. “Never.”
Part of me thrills at that utter bullshit. It sounds so pleasant coming from his lips. Then again, if there’s one thing Dmitry Nikolaev is good at, it’s turning the hideous truth into a pretty
This is what real power looks like: doing what you want, looking how you want, saying whatever the hell you want to whoever the hell you want to say it to. My husband basically just told the Attorney General of the whole damn state to go fuck himself—then walked away like it meant nothing.
As soon as we’re out of sight of the other partygoers, Dmitry whips me around, pins me against the shadowy wall, presses his hips into mine, and shoves his tongue down my throat. It’s
“What haven’t you done? You’ve kidnapped me. Forced me to marry you. Stripped me away from my friends and family and my freaking life. But the worst part…” She raises her face and I’m stunned to see her cheeks streaked with tears. “The worst part is that I can’t bring myself to hate you as much as I should. I should fucking despise you, Dmitry Nikolaev. I should hate you with every fiber of my being. But then you say things like what you said to me tonight, and I just… can’t.”
