ROMAN Lifting my hand, I gently brush my fingers over her thick hair.So this is what it feels like to love a woman with all my heart I love it and hate it at the same time.When she’s in danger, there’s only excruciating pain.And when she’s close by and safe, there’s a peaceful calmness.My eyes drift over her face, touching on the bruises that look much worse today.She’s been through hell.I wish I could erase her memory.I keep brushing my hand over her head, but then she starts to stir and mumbles, “Stop.”As the scream tears from her throat, I sit up in time to catch her when she darts up, her eyes opening wide. Horror fills over her face, making her look pale as fuck.“It’s just a dream,only a dream.” I say as I hold her close.She shakes her head, her breaths not calming down, and breathing fast.Her fingers grip the sweater I’m wearing tightly, her body trembling so much.“You’re safe.” I begin to rock her, moving back and forth slowly,hoping it will help calm down her ne
ROMAN “No, that’s my job,” Dolores replies. “You can go back to bed and get more rest.” She shoots me a serious look. “Don’t keep her here take her upstairs to get some rest.”“thanks , Dolores,” I mutter before I finish the last of my sandwich.Ana gets up and gives Callie’s arm a squeeze before she leaves the kitchen.As soon as she’s gone, Callie locks eyes with me. “How’s she really doing? Because I know she trying to play strong”I shake my head.“I’m not sure. She went through a lot," I tell her keeping it brief to ease her worries"so it will take a while for her to heal and get back to her usual self.”“Did she tell you what happened after they took her?”I nod.“is it really bad?” she asks, looking concerned.Yeah, bad shit.Getting up from my chair, I say, “I’ll let her tell you when she’s ready. Okay?”“Should I be worried?”I shake my head. “not really. She’s very strong.”“Yeah.” She glances in the direction of the stairs, holding herself together. “She is.”“T
ANAI blink Roman as if he’s lost his goddamn mind. When the words sink in, I start to laugh, shaking my head.“It’s way too soon.”“Not for me.”Realizing he’s serious, I stare at him. “Jesus, Roman. We’ve only got married few months ago. Marriage is a serious commitment.”“So?” I give him an incredulous look.With a dead serious expression, he mutters, “It doesn’t matter whether we’re were dating or married because I’m never letting you go, and we have to start trying for kids.”“We can talk about kids at a much later stage,” I say hastily Wiping a hand over my forehead, I mumble, “Now I’ve forgotten what we were talking about.”“You said you’re scared of making changes and talked shit about us divorcing, then I brought up kids, and you freaked out,” he reminds me.“Right.” I let out a sigh, and feeling tired from the intense conversation, I lie downRoman crawls over me and bracing his hands on either side of my head, he locks eyes with me.“You need security, and I want to g
“I’m going to my annex,” Dolores says. “Callie, come help me move some things around the kitchen?”“ Must I ?,” she replies obviously tuned in to the drama between me and Roman.“Come with me so they can have some privacy,” she snaps at her, which has her shooting up from the couch.“Yes, ma’am.”Ana and I watch as they leave the penthouse, then I turn my attention back to my woman.“Please accept the gifts.”She glances at everything on the coffee table, then says, “Okay, but you don’t have to buy me stuff.”“I do. It makes me feel good knowing I’m taking care of you. Let me spoil my wife when and however I want.”Wrapping her arms around my neck, she finally gives up. “Okay.”Excited, I let go of her and pick up the phone. “Want me to set it up for you?”Ana lets out a chuckle as she sits down on the couch. “Please.”I switch the device on, and it takes a few minutes for me to sign Ana into all her apps. When I’m done, I hand it to her.“Thank you,” she whispers as she looks
She stares at me for a long while before looking at her bank balance again.I wait patiently until she murmurs,“What do I do with so much money?”“Whatever you want, give it to charity.” Pulling the phone out of her hold, I set it down on the table beside the couch before focusing all my attention on Ana again.“You can invest some.”“Yes. I have to get it out of my account before someone steals it.”“No one will steal it.”“You sure?”“Yes. Besides, if someone is dumb enough to steal from you, I’ll track the stupid fucker down and get it back before killing him.”Her tongue comes out to wet her lips while her eyes search mine, then she asks,“Have you killed a lot, huh?”Lifting my hand, I brush a couple of her hair strands behind her ear.“Do you really want to know, what goes on?” I retort before she finishes her question.“The Bravta is this whole other side of you that I really don’t know about.”“As I’ve said before, I mostly take care of the hacking and tracking part of thin
ANAHe keeps plunging hard into me.I'm needing somewhere to hold onto before I fall of the bed at the rate which he's going, I grab hold of his ass. It allows me to feel how his muscles tighten with every thrust and releases with every pull, and my ovaries practically explode.“Fuck, Roman,” I whimper from how intense it feels. “Baby, I need–”I’m shoved back against the bed, his grip around my throat tightening until he’s a second away from cutting off my air supply. His other hand grabs my hip, and he hammers hard into me.“Ah,” is the only sound I can make as he sets fire to my pussy with his cock.My body keeps tensing more and more, pleasure threatening to overwhelm me at any moment. It keeps building and building and fucking building until I let out a desperate cry.Roman’s thumb brushes lightly over my clit, and it’s all it takes to make me my body feels tight like it's going to explode like a bomb.The orgasm is so intense I can’t breathe and lose complete control of my
ANAWalking into Knife, the restaurant where Roman said I'm I was going to start working, I feel nervous for a different reason.I glance at the tables and customers, thinking this place is the complete opposite of the diner, to a small restaurant as he said it was.Walking to a stand where a woman is reading something, I wait for her to look at me before I say, “I’m here to see Chloe.”A frown forms on her forehead. “The head chef?”“Yes.” Worried I’m going to be kicked out, I add, “She’s expecting me.”“Oh.”As the woman glances over her shoulder, I see Chloe coming from the kitchen, Roman showed me her pictures before I left home.Thank God.A smile spreads over her face when she notices me. “You’re here. Come to the back.”I quickly move around the stand, and when I reach Chloe, she gives me a quick hug.“Thanks for agreeing to see me,” I say while we walk to her office.She closes the door behind us, she smiles at me again. “Let’s get the business out of the way so we can
ROMANI’ve just got back from tightening some loose ends in my clubs, and driving up a street , I recognize an SUV parked outside of a diner.I slow down, and when I park behind the vehicle, I see Ana and Zoran sitting in a booth. It looks like they’re eating ice cream.I push the BMW door open to get out, but an alarm on my phone has me digging the device out.Seeing an alert regarding the head of Vladamir special guards I quickly go into the app. He’s been spotted in Miami.Christ. We have to move fast.I shut the door again, and starting the engine, I pull away from the curb while dialing Sergei’s number.“You better have good news for me. These motherfuckers are attacking us too ,” he mutters.“The head of the guards is in Miami,” I say, feeling good that I finally get to give him solid information.“Wheels up in thirty minutes,” he grumbles out. “Let the others know we’re meeting at the airfield.”“On it.”The call ends and when I stop at a traffic light, I quickly send a gr
We walk out to the front of the house. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Petrov,” Zoran says, holding the back door open. Roman takes my hand to help me in.“Hello, Zoran.” I smile as I get into the back seat, and Roman gets in behind me. The door closes, and we sit in silence throughout the drive.I get vivid recollections of how much Roman Petrov could infuriate me back in the day. Nobody could wind me up like him.Nothing’s changed.Calm, calm, keep fucking calm.The car pulls up at the ballroom. We get out, and Roman takes my hand. We fake more smiles and walk through the crowd as if we are the happiest couple in the world.“Where are our seats?” Roman whispers, passing me a champagne from a passing tray.“What’s wrong, darling?” I whisper, taking a sip. “Tired of holding my hand?”His angry eyes flick over to me. “I am, actually.”I glare at him, our eyes locked. “Please, don’t act happy on my behalf.”“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve acted happy now, would it?”Adrenaline begins t
ANA I sit in the cafe waiting for Callie.I keep going over what Roman said to me before he left. You made me do it alone.I hate that he sees it like that.He had an issue and I locked him out and made him face the problem alone. But our sex life was never the problem.But I did make him feel like the problem was only his?Then, being the stubborn woman that I am, I got so resentful that I locked him out of our room in return?Both of us not speaking and sleeping in separate beds. I exhale heavily. Well, I’m too angry at his stage to even think about it anymore. I’m not letting him turn this around on me.I haven’t done anything wrong.I never once said that I was blaming him for this.I only think that he should have told me the facts at the time in which they happened. And how dare he say that I’m making him face this alone when it was his choice not to tell me about it or involve me in the first place? He chose to do this alone, not the other way around.Seriously, is ope
ANAMy stomach rolls.It makes me feel sick.I think for a moment.I'm still waiting for her to threaten us with a child.It's just been a few months since we saw her.She could be one of those women who don't show a bump in the early stages of pregnancy.Or the child could be for Vladamir.I just need it to be Vladamir's child.But Rome won't abandon his nephew either nor would I want him to.Can a DNA paternity test be taken while pregnant or do you have to wait for the baby to be born?Hmm. I grab my phone and type into Google:Can a paternity test be taken while still pregnant?DNA testing can be completed as early as 9 weeks along. Technological advancements mean there's little risk to mom or baby. If establishing paternity is something that you need to do, non-invasive prenatal paternity test is a blood test that analyzes fetal DNA found in a pregnant woman's blood during the first trimester.Shit, it’s just a blood test. That should be easy enough.I type into Google:Can a pre
ANAThe car pulls into the garage around 7:00 p.m.Roman hasn’t called me once today. That’s a first. I know he’s probably busy being pulled from point to point, but with everything that’s going on, I would have thought.I made dinner and had a glass of wine.I feel unusually nervous to see him.My heart beats as loud as it can when Roman comes into my line of sight.“Hello.” I smile.“Hi, Moya Roza.” He bends and kisses me, and then pulls immediately out of my arms.Oh.He sits on the chair and rests his elbows on his thighs. His head hanging low, and he looks at the floor, he looks exhausted.The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I watch him. Something’s up.“I called her,” he says quietly.I frown. “Who?”“On the night I was drugged, my call log shows that I made an eight-minute call to Gloria’s number,” he says softly.Emotion rushes through me.His eyes rise to meet mine. “And there were other things, I saw when I woke up.”My heartbeat pumps loudly in my ears. “
ANA“Good morning love.” I smile at him.He walks over and hugs me so tightly.it's a wonder I didn't break anything.He kisses me so nicely, his lips hovering over mine.He doesn’t say anything, but what is there to say? With no one ready to hash out our feelings.Both of us are unsure what’s going to happen with Gloria, the loose cannon still on the run. We are both on pins and needles.I want to fight and yell and cry like a child at him for getting us into this position with her.But then I remember that he was only trying to protect me, and my past is just as sordid as his.He went to that club… but I worked there.And nobody else besides the two of us would ever believe that he was my first client. My only client.He has the weight of the world on his shoulders.And I’m not adding to his stress levels, no matter how selfish I want to be and put the blame on him, because he's the cause of this problem.I know I can’t.“I made you a coffee,” I say nervously.“Thanks.” He rol
ANA The police were here for hours going through everything. A warrant has been put out on her. The questioning was in depth, and I imagine it was very stressful for Roman. Then the public relations team arrived, and the house was full of people who worked for Roman. They organized the statement that was to be released to the press. While Dolores ran around handing out refreshments to them I just watched from the stairs trying to process my hurt. It was a whirlwind of activity down there, and I should have perhaps been involved. After all, I was the person who solved half the case. But I couldn’t. I stayed upstairs and cried like a baby to Callie on the phone, she wants to come over to be with me but I rather be alone I just needed someone to talk to for a moment. I feel so alone and compelled to stay out of sight tonight. I didn’t want to see anyone. And perhaps, if I’m being completely honest about the whole drama. I’m embarrassed that my husband is being accused
ROMAN “To the house.” I tell Dimitri while looking at Ana beside me.“Yes, sir.” The car pulls out of the garage, and I reach over and to take Ana’s hand but she flicks me away. My heart drops.She’s furious.Who could blame her?What Gloria saidOh no, my stomach rolls.I feel sick.I can't even remember if that ever happened, but she's delusional who knows what she would come up with but for the fact, she has already gotten Ana to believe her lies.The car weaves through the heavy London traffic. My mind goes back to that morning in the hotel in Russia when I woke with no memory.I see the silver wine chiller and the two crystal glasses.I remember the scent of perfume on my sheets. At the time, I was terrified, but then as soon as Dimitri said he walked me back to my room, I dismissed my fears. I put it down to two glasses being delivered as standard practice. I'm pretty sure it wasn't used and the scent on the sheets was a strong washing powder, but now…Why didn’t I get d
“Give me the money and get out,”Gloria screeches.“He’s not giving you a single fucking penny!” I snapped at her. I glared at Roman, angry he wouldn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on, and he rolled his lips.“She’s got a video of us at the Auction house that night.” Roman replies frustrated.“Ha liess.” I huff out looking at Gloria's sneering face.“She hasn’t got shit.”“Yes, I have. I’m going to the press. Now get out, I'm talking to him, you whore.” She tries to snatch the bag of money from him.“Do not give her that fucking bag!” I yell out to Roman.“She’s lying.”“How do you know?”“Because I have the footage,” I snap at him as his head whips towards me.“I’m the one who hacked the system. I wiped all the footage of the two of us months ago, so you can go to Hell, you scheming bitch, fucking hell.”Roman and Gloria’s eyes widen.“You hacked the system?” Roman whispers, shocked.“Of course, I did. I wiped everything with you on it.” I snap, adrenaline is co
ROMAN “Keep your voice down.”I look around feeling stressed.“What the fuck?” Sergei whispers.“How did she get it?”“Their systems got hacked twice and they didn't think to alert past clients. Can you imagine the fucking headline? The Minister and the prostitute who is now his wife.”Sasha’s and Sergei’s eyes widen in horror.If my files have been hacked, hell, we’re all fucked.“fuck, what are you going to do? I can hire someone to off the bitch” Sergei asks.“Second,I say we kill this bitch.” Sasha punches his fist. “For real this time.”“Will you be fucking serious for one minute? You think Gloria doesn't have a contingency plan, maybe the minute we kill her there is some sort of mail that will be sent to the press.” I hiss.“Who says I'm not serious?” He huffs in anger.“I think I’m going to pay the money.”“What?”“Have you got a better idea?” I whisper. “I won’t have my wife dragged through the fucking press and internet.”“Fucking hell,” Sasha mutters.“How does this