LOGINNinaDiana and Beck are ready five minutes before the Uber is supposed to arrive. A miracle. Normally, the driver has to wait at least fifteen minutes for them.“Start-of-the-night selfie,” Diana chirps. We pose so she can take a picture.We head downstairs and jump into the car. About thirty minutes later we’re standing on the longest line I’ve ever seen as we wait to get into Club Exposito. The thumping music is so loud, no one really needs to go inside to dance. Of course, there aren’t any drinks out here, but at least the music makes the wait less boring.“Nina, the cover is on me,” Diana says.“No, no, no. I don’t want you paying. Look how pretty you both made me tonight. I’m paying the cover for both of you,” I say.They both stare at me, hips cocked and lips puckered. But they know better than to argue with me. I’ll win. So, with a dismissive wave of their hands, they turn and hand their IDs to the bouncer who allows us to enter. I gulp as I offer the cash to the cashier just i
Nina is losing hope. A night of drinks, partying and fun at a trendy club downtown ends with her getting kidnapped and put up for a sex-trafficking auction.Her only savior? The devilishly handsome and incredibly sexy mob boss who hasn't taken his eyes off her since he walked into the room.She's just finished her finals and looks forward to taking on the whole world. But all can go to shit in just a second. Unless he saves her.Yaroslav Baturin is smitten by the pretty girl looking desperate and forlorn on the auction stage. He's a man who's hard to impress, but something about Nina stands out to him with just a glance. Nina says he can't own her. Nina challenges himFine, he'll bite, by making Nina his.She's his to break, and his to mend.------------------------NinaFinals are over. Thank God.I wrap my hair up in a messy bun, sling my bag over my arm, and head out the glass door of the math building.But I’m not as relieved as I’d expected. I’m not sure if that’s because this la
ArtyomAfter the meeting, I have a few hours before I need to meet up with Nadezhda and Alek, so I drive the familiar highway north out of town.I don't get out to the old estate very often. After everything that happened there, my memories of the place are tainted, but the property has remained one of the Paplov holdings and it is a nice place to house recruits and guests of the family.I drive down the long gravel road and through the wrought iron gates, passing the tiny cottage where Nadezhda spent her entire childhood. The new groundskeeper lives in the main house, so the cottage has been empty for the last few years and the neglect definitely shows.The rest of the property, however, is well maintained. Not quite to the same standard Dominic insisted upon, but I don't mind. Even when Dominic lived here, he never spent any time out in the gardens or walking the paths, so that level of upkeep was an unnecessary expense. One of many such expenses he required that put a strain on the
ArtyomNadezhda curls her legs around mine when we are finished, clinging to me. "That was incredible."I kiss the top of her head and roll onto my side. Her chest is still heaving, and I run my finger across her ribcage. "Another tick in the column against spending money on pajamas, don't you think?"She nods. "Yes, absolutely. I'll stop buying negligee and maybe use some of that money on toys.""Oh, Nadezhda," I growl, nuzzling her neck. "Don't tease me."She throws her head back and laughs, her hands resting on her stomach. "I didn't mean toys for us. I meant toys for Alek.""Oh." I frown, and then lean over and check the clock by the bed. "He should be getting up soon."Nadezhda stretches her arms over her head, arching her back and once again testing my dedication to my meeting. I kiss her stomach, pinning her to the bed, and work my way up to her breasts. "I need to get moving. Once he's awake, I won't have a moment to myself until I take him to visit his grandmas."I swirl my t
ArtyomFive Years LaterShe smells like vanilla and sugar, and I bury my face in the brown curls spread out on her pillow."I'm sleeping," she murmurs, her voice soft and thick. It has been five years of waking up next to Nadezhda, and I'm still not used to the sight of her.The morning sun is streaming through our sheer curtains, washing the bed in golden light, and Nadezhda looks like a fallen angel. The light brings out the red in her tangles, and I pinch them between my finger, admiring the beautiful complexity of something so ordinary."I have a meeting in the city this morning. I won't be able to come home for lunch."She rolls over, eyes still closed, and frowns. Her full lower lip pouts out, and I can't stop myself from leaning forward and pressing a kiss to it.As soon as my lips are on hers, she arches into me.The sheets and comforter are in a tangle between us, and I kick them aside in one deft move to have better access to her body. When my hand lands on the curve of her
NadezhdaThankfully, there isn't much to tell since my memory of that night is mostly a blank, but I tell him what little bit I can. I explain that I was out drinking by myself and then ended up back in my bed in the morning, sticky and sore.I tell him what his mother told me she saw. About Lukyan helping me out of his car and walking me into the estate late in the evening."Why didn't she stop him?" he asks, his face paler than I've ever seen it. "Why didn't she do something?""She would have," I say quickly. "She didn't know, Artyom. She couldn't know."I sit quietly while he processes, not wanting to burden him with too many details at once."So, when I told you I knew the baby was Lukyan's?" he asks, looking up at me from beneath lowered brows. "You didn't even know he was the father yet?"I twist my lips to the corner of my mouth and shake my head. "I didn't have any clue."He groans and lays his face in his hands. "God, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Nadezhda.""It's fine. You didn't







