LOGINArtyomAfter 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
NadezhdaI feel my fingers first.A soft, pulling pressure. It is warm and nice, and for a minute, I'm still too lost in the fog to realize I don't know where I am. And I can't see anything.Slowly, though, I become aware of my other senses.I feel the firm mattress beneath me, and I smell the generic lemon scent of clean tile floors. Then, I hear the soft beep of the machine behind me, and I know I'm in a hospital. The thought startles me for a moment, but then I realize the beeping means I'm alive.And the tug on my fingers means I'm not alone.I try to remember what happened, how I got here, but escaping the cloud of my thoughts is like untangling myself from a net. I make my way out through slow, torturous effort, freeing myself one thread at a time."Nadezhda?"The voice is familiar but far away. Like I'm hearing someone's voice from underwater."Nadezhda, are you awake?"Warmth wraps around my hand, and I know it is Artyom.I fight against my heavy lids and the aching fatigue in
ArtyomThe ceremony is short and simply, and although I trust the men are loyal to me and my family, I can see they aren't excited about handing over the leadership position. And I can't blame them. My father has only been dead a few hours.As soon as it is finished, I rush back to the hospital and find my mother sitting in the waiting room. She shakes her head as I approach, letting me know the doctors haven't come in yet, but before I can even sit down, the double doors leading back to the operating room open, and a doctor in blue scrubs and a face mask walks out."Artyom Paplov?"I hobble forward on my bad leg. "Is she okay? Can I see her?"He pulls back his mask, revealing a soft jaw covered in dark stubble, and plants his hands on his hips. "She came through surgery just fine."The weight that has been pressing down on my chest the last several hours lifts slightly, allowing me to take a deep breath. "She is alive.""Yes, she is alive," he says."And the baby?"His brows lower, s







