AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Simple. That I’ll be going on dates as well.”
“I will bury the motherfucker! Just give me his name.”
This time, it was her eyes that narrowed. “That doesn’t seem fair, does it? You get to screw around on me and I’m just supposed to take it? Is that what you’re saying?”
A laugh bubbled up from his chest. She could see the exact moment his rage was pushed neatly back into the bottle.
Interesting.
She yelped when the next second he lay on top of her. His hands on her breasts. His fingers plucking her nipples.
His tongue delved inside her mouth, devouring her until she forgot about what they were fighting about. Until she even forgot her own name.
Then he pushed off of her and pulled his jacket straight.
“Don’t know where you got the idea that this thing between us would ever be fair,” he said. “There’s only one rule. The basic rule of power: might makes right. I ever see you touch another man, I will skin him alive.”
With those words, and a smirk just to raise her hackles, he left.
CHAPTER 23
ELENA
Might makes right? Did he really just say that to her face? Elena had always considered herself a pacifist. She believed in live and let live, and all that jazz.
Viking’s statement on the state of their marriage…irked her. It always came back to the same thing, him having power over her and giving her none. The same black cloud that had been hovering over her, over them, from the day he’d kidnapped her. No matter what, she couldn’t seem to get rid of it.
Her morning started off badly, then got worse. The smell of frying bacon made her heave. She turned off the stove and barely made it to the bathroom in time. Sweat poured over her face as she tried to keep her measly breakfast down.
You just have a hangover. Nothing to worry about.
Now you’re just lying to yourself.
When she puked over the toilet two more times in an hour, she knew she was in trouble. She took a cracker, made some coffee, and settled onto the couch. After talking to Vicky on the phone she felt much better. She could do this, step by step. First, she needed to get to a pharmacy and…
Then the doorbell rang. When she opened it to find her brother on the other side, she decided her day just got even worse.
“Ricky.” He looked haggard in a wrinkled suit, with his belly bulging over his tan leather belt.
“Hello, sis.” When she didn’t move, he said, “Aren’t you going to let me in?”
She stepped aside reluctantly. “How did you get in the building?” she threw over her shoulder. It was Viking’s apartment after all, and Ricky was still a Morelli soldier. He wouldn’t exactly be considered a friend of the Romanov Bratva, no matter their family tie.
His eyes went to the bar and she nodded reluctantly. He was going to get himself a drink, whether she wanted him to or not.
“I’ve come to an understanding with your new husband,” he said while grabbing a bottle off the cabinet.
When he silently asked if she wanted to join him, she shook her head. No more drinks for her, thank you very much. Not after last night, and certainly not after her…morning sickness. Crap, she didn’t want to think about that. Keeping a tight lock on that trail of thought, she shoved those worries away for later.
“You sure you don’t want a drink?” her brother asked, for the first time ever. “You can now, you know. Lorenzo’s not here anymore.”
Her lips thinned as he admitted what she’d suspected all along. “So, you did know.”
“Know what?” He poured himself another shot, eyes all innocent.
“About the way he was treating me. The way he kept me on a tight leash. You’ve known all along and still encouraged me to stay with him.”
He sighed. “What else was I supposed to do? We were living in a dump and Morelli was like a guardian angel. He came and took you off the streets and placed you in a big mansion. You’ve driven in the best cars, wore the best clothes, and had everything you could buy at the tip of your fingers. You had everything.”
