lai

ited squeal hits m

my leg like a vine. It's a habit she's developed r

me, and her eyes sparkle with the ki

n her curls. "What are you doing here

tle opportunity since we got back from Russia. It was a habit that was becoming increasingly worrisome, consid

, revealing a missing tooth that was

onight because the last thing I need is a curious five-year-old on my

y since she turned two. She's been an esteemed member of the Volkov staff for almost fifty y

scoop up her tiny body effortlessly, setting her on my hip. She wraps her li

er if she's eaten anything other than the

uldn't be surprising if she hadn

e, and in that instant, I become ac

h is, I expected her to be surprised when she saw Kira,

heartless killer she painted in her mind ha

sing Ava's confused features before scr

ira asks, her ey

side me. She didn't expe

rection the way she did while we were in the car, but instead, she presses her l

fabric of her wedding dress, noticing how her

s question, but the words die on her tongue, and she

ing she remembers the conversation we had this morning about me going to go

s that I wasn't ready to answer. So, in order to avoid that, before I left, I made s

cent voice startling me. I glance back at my wif

e can a

ive. She was beautiful, fucking hypnotic, with cur

ering my daughter a faint smi

addy says I'm the pretti

ld her she was beautiful or not my little girl would undeniabl

in my family and it sure as

band to the only other surviving family member I had other than my daughter. We've known each other since w

No, " She says. "He le

do

hter by now and was probably transport

sier than I expected, mostly bec

Isabella was a mafia princess, the third highest rank given their hierarchy and you would think that her father would have the

o train his daughter. Instead, he much rather prefe

of Alessandro's men scampering

ust the safety of his most precious daughter in the hands of men that couldn't

r?" Kira asks, interrupting my tho

een me and the five-year-old who hadn't tor

der where the woman who'd snapped her fingers i

ink our new friend is really tired. Why don't you go

set her down back on the floor and sign

toward us, a faint smile gracing he

es

s and extends a hand towards Kira whic

ut I need her gone in order to get Ava adjusted

r to the garden, and once the doors leading o

r." She says, surpri

the daughter of my brother and his wife who died tra

sion in her jaw releases and the space between

e way her body reacts to the sound of her name on my lips. It's the first time I've said

she unconsciously loosens her

t over an hour on the road and you

appear she's foun

n't a subject I typically brought up in a conversation. It was either you knew about her or you

shuts it, then opens it a

what I thought," I say, my voice cool as I

bother to check if she's following behind me but I feel the h

shoulder, and sure enough, ther

was currently giving me was enoug

" I ask my tone c

re gathering the train of her wedding dr

ardwood floors echoes through the spacious ent

ng towards the sta

gaze. When I don't move, she exhales slowly, squares her shou

tracing the elegant lines of her s

or me to worship. Against my will, my eyes drop to her ass, and I

oblazhalsya ( I am

hatter any ounce of self control I thought I

ecause only a delusional person would be wondering what the soun

t what she knew bout the fire that kille

n. Wanting to fuck h

parked something within me. A hun

tongue parted her lips back then but that did little to kill my

d idea for my mental sanity but that didn

right, heading down the long halls until we stop

m." I tell her, pu

ndows on either side allowing the soft g

in the luscious design. Her gaze bounces from the

stant liking to the room with t

eeling their texture. A large bookcase leans upright against the wall, the spine

was an artist. She thrived in the artistic spac

rn my gaze to her. Shoving a hand into my pocket I tried to

point to the red button on her night stand, and her gaze follows my

umming sound, glanc

an hour. Fortunately for you, I won't be around so yo

before turning around and pl

gs, leaning back slightly on her palm against the mattress. Her posture is relaxed

lse you'd like me to

r call me the word husband unravels something in me

on either side of her, my fingers dipping into the plush mattress beside her, caging her

rom beneath her lashes. I could ask myself the same da

r lips, watching the way the supple flesh parted open under the heat of my gaze and it takes every bit of

p just below her bottom lip, brushing my thumb against the delicate skin. I pretend not to notice the sharp ex

ch and a smug smile grace

hing I asked like a

gaze flickering with something

es

o and the thought

her gaze and the sig

ipping with venom but her gaze bet

rs drop from her chin, the warmth from her skin linge

o more. And I almost do. Fuck do I almost give her exac

I d

and watch as the heat in her eyes dissol

and taunting "And the Next time you ask what I want I'