Novels by Author Chris

Viktor POVAria stayed behind in the kitchen with Tristan, Ivan and his wife while Sergei, Alexei, and I escorted Nikolai and his brother upstairs upstairs.The mansion had fallen into an eerie silence after the chaos earlier. Music no longer echoed through the halls and the laughter from the party had vanished hours ago, replaced by the heavy stillness that always followed violence.Bloodshed changed the atmosphere of a place.People could feel it even if they couldn’t see it.I reached the master bedroom first and pushed open the door without a word.Nikolai stepped inside immediately and his brother followed behind him, both men halted the moment their eyes landed on the room neither spoke at first.Blood painted nearly every surface in dark stains.The mattress had been destroyed completely, soaked through so deeply there was no salvaging it and crimson streaks covered the floor, splattered walls, even shattered furniture.Yuri mutilated body remained tied where we had left it, ba

Viktor POV She frowned up at me because my words seemed to make as little sense to her just as her words made little sense to me.She wrapped her arms around her chest in a protective gesture, was she scared of my reaction? I thought so I spoke again.“Voicing your opinion doesn’t provoke or irritates me, Aria and as I said eat, I don’t act on anger. You don’t have to be submissive and I won’t feel attacked if you stand up to me. I’m aware of my status and power and don’t need your submission or flattery.”The frown deepened, but she dropped her arms.Her breasts settled nicely against her top as she did so, but I moved my gaze to her face.Another thought crossed my mind, something I hadn’t considered before. “When he came for you, there must have been blood on the sheets.”She blanched. “It was, Viktor. Every single time, he came.”“Why didn’t the maids who cleaned your sheets alert your guardians? Your uncle would have acted if Yuri dishonored you under his roof and It’s what hon

Viktor POV As always, I woke around five in the morning, on my back, staring at the ceiling.Today I had slept about three hours, which wasn’t much worse than my average night and I turned my head toward the sound of soft breathing beside me, Aria was still curled into herself and her face hidden under her wavy dark brown hair.After her nightmare, she had slept soundly, and once I’d returned to the bedroom from my conversation with Alexei, I had quickly found sleep as well and I had no trouble sleeping beside her, even if it had been years since I’d shared a bed with anyone and back then it had been with my brothers because we only had two beds. Soon I sat up, wanting to prepare everything for the presentation of the sheets and Yuri but Aria jerked awake, her eyes wide open and terrified as they settled on me.Her body coiled tighter before she swallowed visibly and then finally relaxed. “Sorry.”“For what?” I asked. She said sorry a lot for her body’s natural reactions and I wasn

Viktor POVAria’s breathing stayed uneven long after the nightmare ended.Most people believed they could fake sleep if they kept their eyes closed and stayed still enough, but the body always betrayed the truth eventually. Aria still breathed like someone waiting for danger and I lay beside her in silence, staring at the dark ceiling while her shaky inhales slowly settled beside me. She thought I believed her act and I allowed her to think so.Fear didn’t disappear because someone whispered promises in the dark but eventually her body softened slightly against the mattress, tension draining little by little until her breathing finally evened out for real.I turned my head slightly toward her.Moonlight filtered faintly through the curtains, silvering the edges of her face even asleep, there was tightness around her mouth, like some part of her still expected pain.People feared me every day and men twice my size lost their nerve when they realized who stood before them.Some feared

Aria POVI fought against him in the dark, panic crashing over me before I was even fully awake.My body twisted violently beneath the blankets, my breath tearing out in broken gasps as something heavy held me down.My heartbeat exploded in my ears and I shoved harder, clawing at the thing trapping me, but the fabric only tightened around my legs and waist. One arm was pinned beneath me while the other thrashed wildly through the darkness.A strong hand suddenly wrapped around my wrist and astrangled sound left my throat then light flooded the room.I blinked hard against the brightness, my chest heaving violently as the nightmare slowly peeled away from reality.“Calm down, Aria,” Viktor said quietly. “You’re tangled in the covers.”His voice cut through the terror like a blade through fog.For a second I could only stare at him. My lungs still burned from panic but the fear slowly loosened its claws when his face came into focus above me.I exhaled shakily and loosened my grip on h

Aria POV I flinched every time my uncle’s stifled cries rang out as Alexei and Viktor broke each of his fingers. My eyes weren’t on my uncle, though, but instead on my husband’s face. His expression was unreadable as he watched my uncle like he was conducting some sort of experiment.Soon, they began cutting his clothes off from his body then they began slicing his skin over and over in the process. I jerked to my feet because there was no I would watch this and move importantly I don't want to see him naked and his screems were now getting to me. Viktor looked over to me and stopped his brother from removing my uncle’s underpants. He walked toward me. “Do you want to hear what he has to say before you go?”I wasn’t sure what I wanted at this point but I gave a very small nod.He went back and pulled the cloth out of my uncle’s mouth. “I’m sorry,” he shouted. “Please forgive me.” His eyes begged me.Viktor looked at back at me, whatever I say now would determine his fate. “Do you