LachlanI moved to follow her but Jeremiah stepped in my path, stopping me. “Move.”He didn’t. His eyes glared at me and he said, “We have a meeting.”“Go ahead. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”He narrowed his eyes and took a step closer. I was aware of the eyes on us. Xavier, Kayne, Olezka and his fûcking aunt was staring at us. But he didn’t seem to mind as he gritted out, “Don’t defy me again and again, little shadow, there’s only so much I can let go.”I took in a calming breath and moved past him in the direction of his fucking office. I needed just a moment of his weakness to strike back at him and bring him to his fucking knees. I was bidding my time, letting him think he was in control. Because if he knew I was plotting he will consider me his enemy too. His trust in me was already fragile and I didn’t want it to shatter like it had for everyone else in his life. God. He didn’t even fucking trust his own twin. It was a fucking miracle that he put even the slightest of it in
LACHLANI shouldn’t be here.That thought lingered at the back of my mind, but it didn’t stop me from opening her bedroom door and stepping inside. As soon as I entered something came flying at me, I ducked, my reflexes taking over. A loud crack had me looking to my left where now the broken vase was. When I turned to face her she was standing on the bed and glaring at me. The sight of her flushed face and angry eyes almost made me smile. Almost. But I knew it wasn’t time to let her know how adorable she was looking right now and I just wanted to sit there and look at her. Instead, I stepped inside her room, closed the door and said, “It could have been Garcia, or worse Jeremiah who you could’ve hurt, Nina. And we don’t want them hurt.” I walked to the bed and held out my hand for her. “Garcia wouldn’t have been able to dodge and would’ve gotten hurt, and she doesn’t deserve that. And, Jeremiah would’ve retaliated.”She stared at me for a long moment, the spark of silver in her one
LACHLANMy little kitten let out a beautiful gasp as her lips parted for me. She let me devour her, melting into the kiss. Her tongue coming out to tease mine and when I sucked on it, her hands gripped my shoulders. I banded my arm around her and adjusted her until she was straddling me. I deepened the kiss, tasting her gasps as she settled over my hard cock.I had been hard since she’d come down to the dining table, just the sight of her had made me want her and take her. And then Jeremiah had humiliated her in front of everyone. I didn’t like that he had humiliated her for his revenge. It would’ve been different if it'd been for her pleasure and for ours but he did it for his revenge to shame her. And yet still, I had become hard when I had seen her eyes, for one single moment she had almost looked like she wanted me amidst her ordeal.Now her labored breathing fanned across my cheek as I trailed my lips down to her chin, jaw and neck. She arched, and sighed, as I placed open mouth
JEREMIAH I watched her.Her eyes were wide with curiosity, lips parted as she hung onto every word that left Lachlan’s mouth. I should have been the one telling her our past, not him. But no— I had been too distracted, too consumed by thoughts of making her pay now that she was finally in my grip. I had forgotten to begin the history lessons as I had planned.Instead, I had wanted her out of my sight as soon as possible because I wasn’t sure what I would have done next. Every time I looked at her, all I saw was fire closing in around me— then waking up in a dark cell, my body marked with the scars of her betrayal.There was a time when I had stood where Lachlan was now, wanting to shield her, keep her safe, wipe away her tears, and offer her the solace of my presence. But that time was gone. It was never going to happen again.And I would make damn sure my little shadow didn’t fall for her lies and end up scarred, too.Last night, I had thrown her out of my bedroom and stopped Lachla
Twelve Years Ago ____Innessa: 18 years oldJeremiah: 24 years old ____JEREMIAH I sat in Giorgio Sicilian’s office, was poured the finest whiskey the man had as he sat across from me.Now, you must be thinking— why would a man who came to Italy with the sole purpose of destroying Giorgio Sicilian be sitting in his office, sipping his whiskey?The answer was simple.Because at this moment, I wasn’t Jeremiah Sokolov, heir to the Bratva. I was a businessman from New York, looking to invest in his third-rate weapon manufacturing industry.My disguise was flawless.A slate-grey Armani suit, Italian leather shoes, and a French beard— just for effect, I like to check all my boxes. Contact lenses concealed my grey eyes because Lachlan claimed they always gave me away as a predator. My little shadow was perceptive and I always take his advice with a grain of salt. After all he was the only man I trusted with my own life and not to betray me.And to top it off? I was wearing spectacles I di
NINA The low hum of the car was the only sound filling the thick silence between us as the three of us sat, going to my first public appearance as Jeremiah Sokolov’s wife. I was tense, nervous, not knowing what to expect and the two men surrounding me like I was there pet to display were sitting back like they couldn’t feel my growing agitation. But there was the tension in the air around us, too suffocating to go unnoticed. Outside, the foreign city stretched in all directions, neon lights bleeding into the darkened streets, casting fleeting shadows against the tinted windows of the Rolls-Royce. The car was sleek, all black with an interior of deep red leather that smelled of luxury and power. Everything about it screamed and represented what the owner was — polished, controlled, with an underlying edge of danger. What it couldn’t show was how lethal and fucking arsehole the man who owned was. I leaned back, trying to relax. But it seemed impossible to relax with was Lachlan sit
NINA “What will it be, my little shadow? Your hand or my belt?”Before I took my next breath, Lachlan’s fingers curled around my wrist and he was pulling me down on his lap. I fought, tried to twist my wrist free. But Lachlan held on. “Lachlan! Are you mad? How can you listen to him? Let me go!”The monster tsked. “Look at her, she thinks you’ll do whatever she wants. She thinks she has you wrapped around her fingers just because you fucked her and made her come.”Lachlan was staring at Jeremiah, his eyes still locked with his. And it felt like he had shut me out and no matter how much I tried he won’t listen to me. I touched his face with my free hand. “Lachlan, please…. You don’t have to—”“Shut up.” I froze. And in the ensuing silence the monster chuckled.Lachlan met my eyes with his green ones, they were reserved now as he said, “You heard him. We disobeyed him. Do you want to get the belt?”My throat went dry.Until now Lachlan had never talked to me so coldly and treated m
NINAMy phone.I almost lunged out of my seat, but held back. Barely.He chuckled. “Patience, wife.” He stared down at my phone. “I'm going to give it to you. It’s your gift after all.”“But?” I gritted out, my pulse still running rampant and my heart beating fast. I could feel my whole face covered in a pink flush from what just happened, but looking at the men sitting across me no one could tell what they made me feel and how. “Aren’t you smart?” His grey eyes gleamed. “You’ll get this at the end of the night, but only if you behave for the rest of the evening.”I glared at him. My teeth clenching.“And first step to getting your phone is showing us how wet you are.”“No.”All the amusement left his face. “What did I say about that word? Do it. Or, I’ll fûcking parade you naked in that party.”“I hate you.”“Hate me while you obey me.” He gestured at my dress. “Remove your panties, part your legs and hold yourself open.”I wanted to scream. Not for what he wanted me to do.Because
LACHLAN I was waylaid by a phone call from Kayne telling me that Vasili Baranov was itching and throwing hands for a meeting at the High table, to settle the disrespect he had suffered. The old fucking bastard surely wanted a trip to my black room and I'd happily oblige if given the chance. I had hated him since the moment he had suggested the marriage between his granddaughter and my Jeremiah. Something that had amused Jeremiah at that time, but now even he was annoyed by the old bustard's continuous pestering since the party. And so he had been ignoring all his calls and demands to meet him in person.But now Vasili was throwing a fit with Kayne and Xavier to make Jeremiah listen to him. I informed Kayne that I'll let him know when Jeremiah will be available for the High table, if ever.And then by the time I made my way upstairs to her room, Jeremiah was already there. Instead of entering, I paused on the threshold as I saw Jeremiah crouching beside her prone figure on the floor.
JEREMIAH Chen left the office without another word, what he had said now echoing in the silence of my office while Lachlan and I stared at each other, processing the information.The men who had attacked her were Russians.Lachlan took a seat and asked, "Did anyone know about her before we brought her here?"My jaw clenched, and I forced my hand to stay still on the desk, not ball into a fist like it wanted to, as I shook my head. Instead of pushing the curiosity aside I pulled the file open in front of me.The pictures of the men were there. All dead. Because my little shadow had been unable to curb on his violence. I might be known for my cold heart and merciless attitude, but Lachlan was the one who had a temper of a volcano. When it erupted it doesn’t stop until it destroys everything in his path. I focused back on the file with all the details of this men. Names. Their backgrounds everything was there.“Black Hive.” I pulled out a sheaf of paper and a black and white picture wi
ROSE My body was frozen from the fear of my own desire. His gravely words, his fury was making me want him more. It was almost ridiculous that I could feel the flutters in my lower belly. I knew he was going to spànk me like the other day, but unlike that day now I knew what was going to happen and as much as I feared it, the buzz of anticipation in my body couldn’t be ignored. You've really gone mad, Rose! Ryan pushed me on the desk, still maintaining the grip on my tied wrists. As far as I knew he pulled something from his pocket, something silk and cool to the touch with which he tied my hands together. I startled as he swept the hair off the back of my neck which he had unravelled and then surprising me he placed a gentle kiss between my shoulder blades. He followed my spine all the way down to my ass where he traced the waistband of my panties with his fingertips. I sucked in a breath as without any warning he dragged my pantîes down to my knees. I could feel his hot b
LACHLAN I flung the office door open as I entered, my pulse still thrumming with the aftermath of witnessing her break down and looking at me with disgusted eyes, shoving me away like I was filth. Like she couldn’t look at me for one more moment, like she couldn’t bear my touch. She hated me. And god, it hurt.Jeremiah looked up from his desk, a half empty glass of bourbon in his hand even though it wasn’t even noon yet. His grey eyes travelled down me and I saw the possessive gleam he didn’t hide. Any other time I’d have enjoyed his gaze on me. But now. I slammed the door shut behind me and marched to the desk behind which he sat.Her arched a blond brow. “I thought you’d have a better disposition after last night.” I glared at him. He said, “You did sleep like a baby, but I see something have upset you again. What is it?”“Nina.”In a blink, his expression changed. His jaw tightened and his eyes turned cold. “What about her?”“You should’ve seen her,” My voice was low. Tight. “She
NINA It was ten in the morning when Lachlan entered my room, bearing a breakfast tray in his hands. The scent of buttery toast and coffee curled around me. If he thought it would fix things, like food could erase the way I was dragged, punished, humiliated under strangers’ eyes, while the one person who promised to stay and be there for me... vanished, then he was hugely mistaken.Because his presence now, the warm food, it didn’t bring me comfort. It was a slap, a mockery. And all it did was remind me what a fucking liar he was. A deceitful fucking man. A manipulative bastard.Worse than the monster himself.He walked in like he had a right to. Like nothing had happened, like he hadn’t fractured something that was already delicate between us. Like I hadn’t been left alone and stripped bare in front of the wolves, and he hadn’t walked out afterwards instead of holding me. Instead of giving me a safe blanket he had left me in the care of the monster.He put the tray on the table near
NINA My eyes fluttered open and I looked at the bed beside me, at the empty space, and felt a heavy weight in my chest. Like the presence I had felt wasn’t here in the reality but deep somewhere buried in my heart. It was a dream. I told myself it could only be a dream, but its echo was wrapped around me like a comfortable blanket. Like a blanket I had adored in childhood and lost somewhere along the way, but now I could see it peeking through the clutter of forgotten things, shining and beckoning me, as it looked down at me from the top shelf that I couldn’t reach.He was there in my dreams. Once again my husband was in my dreams and he wasn’t the monster he was today. I had willingly crawled into his lap, I had felt safe with him. He was the man who’d brought me my favourite food and gave me a relief from my horrible life.I sat up slowly and let out a breath when I felt my whole body tensing up in discomfort. And then my present, my reality, rushed back to the forefront of my min
Flashback continues...NINA “You need to eat more, lisichka. How will I hunt you next time if you fainted in the middle of the chase.”I sucked in a breath, he made it sound like there was more to our little game of chase. I licked my lips and despite myself I obeyed him. Somehow it felt good to obey him, to make him see that I could do whatever he wanted from me.As I ate, I watched him. And watching him, made my body relax. It always did when I am around him, except that initial nervous energy that takes hold of me. But being close to him, my muscles would relax, no longer coiled up to fight or run from danger. Even though I knew he was dangerous, he felt less so with every other threatening presence around me.And it was all because of the last few days. Because something had changed without me knowing it. The quiet between us wasn’t threatening anymore. It had morphed into something else. Slowly, subtly, it had become a respite from the nightmare that was my life. I used to be s
Flashback #4 NINAThe house was quiet. And it was way past midnight. But I was still waiting… He hadn’t come yet.I didn’t even know when it had started, this habit of waiting for him. Of glancing at the balcony doors every night, my breath catching at the slightest shift of shadows, thinking that he had finally come.But he wasn’t there.For the past ten days, he had come at midnight like clockwork. But even though he had been at the dinner table last night because my father had invited him, he hadn’t come to my room afterward like he usually did. And it seemed he wasn’t going to come tonight either.With a disappointed sigh, I slid down on the bed and pulled the covers over my head. I was just about to let out a frustrated breath when I heard the balcony door creak open, and the air in my bedroom shifted with his presence.Jeremiah Sokolov.The Russian. Enemy of my father.And my only chance at freedom.The small lamp at my bedside table barely illuminated him, but I knew exactly w
LACHLAN "Then maybe you never did.” And then he walked past me. But I wasn’t done.His words made a crack inside my chest, spilling the pain and making a mess. “So that’s why you chose to do what you did tonight, to test me? To hurt me, because you think that I never loved you.” I whirled him around by his arm and glared at him, “If you want to punish me then do so… don’t fucking use her, or question my feelings in this way,” I yelled, my calm that I was known for was nowhere to be found. And because I was filled with so much need to destroy something, I grabbed the bottle from the bar and threw it across the room. It shattered on impact, but not nearly loud enough to compete with the noise inside my chest. I'd need something else to drown that out. “And you will take that punishment? To spare her?” He asked, his grey eyes glinting with a warning. If I was sober, I would’ve laughed in his face for being jealous of me and Nina. Wasn’t it him who brought her in our lives? Wasn’