AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After walking three winding hallways and passing four doors, I find the one I want and push it open. It’s dark inside, just like I wanted it to be. Steadying her on my shoulder, I flip on the light, and smile as the room illuminates in nothing but red from the tinted lights to the red walls to the red velvet couch to the left of us. Everything is bathed the color of hate, love, and the blood that stains both our hands.
Our beginning and our end.
Ava blinks, the corners of her mouth first turning down in confusion. “You brought me to the bondage room? Why? You know we don’t allow this kind of stuff anymore…” She trails off as her eyes catch the one thing breaking the room’s singular color scheme. Slowly her frown curls into a smile. “An orange blossom.”
Not just one. Dozens of them. Filling the room like little slices of innocence trapped in the depths of immorality. I always did say they reminded me of her. Looking at it now, I can see I was right.
“How?”
“I have my ways,” I say, cupping her face in my hand. Ava leans into my touch, sliding her hand up my arm until she’s holding my wrist.
“Blade.” She hums his name triumphantly, but I don’t have to admit to anything. She knows she’s right. “I need to keep my eye on you two.”
I trace my thumb over her painted red lips. “A man never tells his secrets.”
Kissing my thumb, she gently pushes it out of the way. “Speaking of which, where have you been this time? California? Vegas? New York?”
“You know I can’t tell you that. Business and personal, remember?”
“But, Niko…”
Fuck, not this again. We’ve been over this a hundred times, and a hundred times I’ve given her the same answer. No way in hell am I going through what happened in that hangar ever again.
“It’s for your own safety, pchelka. The Cavalieri have enemies just waiting to use our weaknesses against us. The less you know, the safer you’ll be.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like not knowing where you are when you disappear for weeks at a time.” Her lips twist in that kissable pout that drives me insane. All I want to do is push her against the wall and devour it, but I have to wait.
“I know, but it’s not like you don’t have things keeping you busy.” Tightening my hold on her chin, I tilt it up until there’s only a breath between us. “I’m proud of you, Ava. You’ve turned this Bratva around and made it your own. You’re ruthless but fair, and loyal to those who are loyal to you.”
“Well, Seven will never be legal, but as long as I’m alive, no girl will ever be prostituted, sold, or raped here. That shit is over.” Her face darkens, memories of the past playing in her eyes. “Blade watches over those girls like a hawk.”
“He watches over you too.”
“He acts like he’s my dad,” she groans, rolling her eyes.
“Yeah, one you deserved.”
My words hang in silence, and I wonder if I crossed a line I shouldn’t have. In twelve months, neither of us have spoken Sergei’s name. It’s not allowed in our house or in our presence. I clench my teeth, and wait for her to completely shut down on me. Thankfully, she just bows her head.
It’s a start. I’ll take it.
I decide to change the subject. “Do you remember the last time we were in this room?” I say, cradling her head in my hands. “I wanted you so much that night.”
She chuckles and looks up at me. “You could’ve fooled me. I thought you were going to kill me.”
“Well, we’ve always pushed the line between pleasure and pain, haven’t we, pchelka? What’s reward without risk? What’s need without knives?” Leaning in, I press against her, my body molding to her curves. Brushing my lips across hers, I first taste, then sink my teeth into the plump flesh.
Fuck, the things I want to do to this woman.
Ava moans, running her hands down my chest. “We could make up for lost time.”
Dropping a hand from her face, I catch her fingers before they reach my zipper. “Not like that, pchelka. Not for another eight months.”
“Niko, I’m pregnant, not porcelain.” Frustrated, she mirrors my own movement and cups my face in her hands. “You can’t treat me like I’m made of glass. That’s not us. We’re not like other people. We don’t go to our boring nine to five jobs and come home to a quiet family dinner then make love in a tastefully decorated bedroom of our suburban home. We take lives for a living. Sometimes we don’t see each other for weeks at a time. We never get through a full meal because we usually end up fucking on top of the table.” Tilting my face down, she flashes those golden cat eyes, holding me prisoner to her words. “When we’re together, it’s hard. It’s rough. It’s full of punishment, guilt, hate, and love. We’re all those things. We don’t pretend to be anything but exactly who we are. We’re as real as real gets and that’s what I want, baby. I want real. I want every ugly and beautiful thing between us. I want you.”
I’ve already forgotten half of what she said, but one line blasts over and over in my head.
“I want every ugly and beautiful thing between us. I want you.”
