Protected by a Mobster 2: A Russian Mafia Romance (Volsky Mafia) (2 page)

The sweet innocent princess is falling dormant. She’s shackled like a prisoner deep in the confines of my physical being. She does not wrestle against the bonds holding her there. She just watches me grow stronger, more sure of who I am becoming at Ruslan’s side.

I love her for that. Love that she’s allowing me to be a strong and fearless woman that will let nothing stand in her way. Steel determination.

My father wanted me dead. There was no other way to take the things he said to me. His malice is undeniable. He would come for me or he would send his soldiers, of that, I was certain. Would I see him coming? Maybe I would. Maybe I wouldn’t. It didn’t really matter. But he sure as hell had made a mistake in uttering those few words of warning. At least now I knew to watch my back and expect someone, or several someones, to come for me. I wonder who it would be. Dane? My father himself? Or someone else entirely?

In his eyes, my death would probably be no different than any other. He’d want me to suffer for turning my back on him – on the family – and stealing the things he so desperately wanted from his clutches. I’d done the unthinkable. Men under his thrall had died for less, I was sure, but I am much stronger than even he can possibly imagine.

Little did he know that I have embraced the evil – the darkness – of the mafia way of life. I want to taste his and Dane’s blood on my lips, feel it coating my hands like a glove. I want to feel as much as see them take their final breath. I want to watch the life drain from their eyes and smile knowing that I, a mere woman, have beat them at their own game.

Thinking like this might make me seem cold and heartless to want such a thing, but no men have ever deserved such a fate more than them. Especially them.

The war has already begun and I’m standing in the center of it all, breathing it in like a warrior princess hell-bent on winning. When the dust settles and the blood has all been spilled, flowing like rivers beneath my feet, I’ll stand there with my head held high in my brother’s name.

I will fear nothing.

I will let the threats empower me.

I will not fail.

A wicked laugh echoed through the room as I tossed my phone on the bed, the sound almost shocking as I realized it was coming from me.

One week later

“Good morning, Ruslan.”

Taking a seat at the table, I offered him a bright smile before dropping my eyes to the table. Looking at him for too long always makes my body tingle with desire. I am sure most all women within a fifty-foot radius reacted in such a way to a man like him. How could they not? There was something in the heat of his gaze that made you want to fall to your knees at his feet as I had done at the club in his office.

He was delicious in every conceivable way, a perfectly chiseled male form that oozed sex appeal and promised a night of passion no woman could ever forget. Men like Ruslan Volsky ruin women for other men. I want more than anything for him to ruin me, too. Silently, I cursed Dane once again for stealing what I knew would have been a moment of deliciously satisfying pleasure at Ruslan’s hands.

For days, I have fantasized about what could have been if we had not been interrupted that day. I want so badly to run my hands over his chiseled body, to explore every groove and dip of those tight exquisite abs and flick my tongue over his nipples, tasting his flesh. Just the thought of learning his body makes my mouth water and my pussy ache to be filled. I want him so damn bad I can taste it. Being close to him has become difficult, not just because I hunger for his touch, but because I have been keeping Lyosha’s threats a secret. Guilt has been eating away at me. I don’t know how much more I can take before I break.

“Good morning, Liliya. How did you sleep?” He folded the daily newspaper and tossed it on the corner of the table.

Before I could respond, our breakfast plates were delivered by his personal chef, a young woman named Lola, who quickly disappeared back into the kitchen after delivering our food. Lola and I had become close since my arrival since we were the only two women in a house overrun with men. Very sexy men, I might add.

Lola’s friendship has been a welcome distraction from everything happening in my life, and I had desperately needed that. Sometimes a little girl talk goes a long way. We may not sit around and paint our nails and watch romantic comedies, but having a friend to shoot the shit with has been nice. However, despite being really nice, she has yet to answer any of my prying questions about her boss. That does not keep me from constantly trying to learn about his past, though. One day, she will dish out the goods, so I’m being patient.

The scent of bacon, eggs, and French toast filled the air. My stomach rumbled and my mouth watered as I leaned forward and took a whiff of the delicious food. Lola was a magician in the kitchen. No matter what she cooked, it was always wonderful. I tucked into my food, avoiding eye contact with the sex god sitting a few feet away.

For a week, I’ve kept my exchange with my father to myself and the guilt of keeping it a secret was beginning to chip away at me. I felt as though not telling Ruslan was equivalent to a lie, and I did not want him to think he couldn’t trust me. Plus, I figured if something was going to happen, it would have already. It’s been a week and not a damn thing has happened, making me think my father was full of shit. So the worry I felt has dissipated.

Keeping the threat to myself probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do but I also didn’t want to bother Ruslan, either. He had already done so much for me as it is. As much as I wanted to tell him, he already had so much on his plate. It just didn’t seem fair to drop yet another problem in his lap.

The fight and the meeting with the Commission were approaching, and Dane was missing in action from what I could tell from fragments of conversations overheard as Ruslan’s men chattered with one another like gossiping old ladies.

“I slept well,” I responded as his hand reached for mine.

I gasped at the contact, loving the intimacy and hating that these little touches and the simple chaste kisses I so often received were all I was getting when I wanted so much more. God, how I wanted to feel his hands on me again.

The pad of his thumb brushing back and forth over my hand sent an electric spark up my arm, radiating through my body, and straight to my core, where it settled into a throbbing pulsating ache. My pussy ached for him like it had for no other. Only him. To be honest, my sexual experience was pretty darn limited, but I was eager to gain ground and learn to please this man.

I shifted in my seat, clamping my thighs together as heat rushed to my cheeks, flushing a nice pink at my body’s naughty reactions to his simple touch. Goosebumps rose up on my body in waves with each stroke of his thumb and my thighs clenched together even tighter, doing little to stop the heat fluttering to life there. I needed release. I yearned for the feel of his fingers delving between my moist and swollen folds before thrusting into my honey-soaked heat.

But as much as I was enjoying the warmth of his touch, I didn’t feel as though I was deserving of it with my secret. I needed to get it off my chest. Ripping it off like a Band-Aid was the best option, or so I’ve heard. I’d just have to hope he didn’t hate me for it, or God forbid, kick be out onto the streets.

Clearing my throat, I struggled to speak. “I… I spoke with my mother. And my father.”

“Oh. And how did that go?” A lone brow arched in curiosity.

I tilted my head in his direction, my gaze meeting his, loving the way his eyes seemed to darken as they met mine. Sometimes I got the feeling that he was seeing things I wasn’t sure I was comfortable revealing to him. I shivered under his gaze as tears began to prick the back of my eyes, working their way forward to reveal my weakness. I knew I had to tell him, and I feared how angry he might become at my withholding the threat from him. I hoped it wouldn’t be bad. I silently prayed he would understand why I didn’t come to him when it happened. Pushing the tears and worry back where they belonged, I licked my lips, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth.

“From the look on your face, I’d gather it must not have gone very well,” he said. “Do you wish to talk to me about it? You know I’m here to help you, Liliya. I won’t judge you.”

He didn’t need to hear my words. He knew I was holding something back. It was written all over his face, but mostly I saw it in his eyes. In the short time we had known one another, I realized he was gifted at reading people. He could see through the simple expressions and the unspoken words to the heart of a person. Especially me. Hell, he’d probably known all week that I had been keeping a secret. He might even already know what I was hiding. He knew me without truly knowing me entirely. I loved that about him. It was oddly comforting… and scary as all hell.

“No, it did not go well at all. My mother wasn’t very understanding of my being here... with you. I think she believes I’m a traitor to the family… amongst other things. Then my father got on the phone and threatened me. It was… it was just awful. I felt so damn small and helpless, but more than that, I was angry. It’s already been a week since I talked to them and I still can’t get it out of my mind. Somehow, I found the strength to not be a coward when I talked to him. He was so angry, Ruslan. So volatile.”

Ruslan nodded, but remained quiet, listening to every word, taking it all in. His jaw twitched and his brows furrowed as he watched me. The raw anger flowing off of him was intense. The air in the room seemed to thicken, making it difficult to breath, but the dark anger brewing in him wasn’t directed at me. I knew that by the way he canted his head, his eyes warming in a way that gave me comfort. So I continued expressing my worries.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should tell him that it was him – his words – that gave me strength. As much as I wanted to let him know how much he was changing me, getting under my skin, I just couldn’t do it. I feared what would happen if I did. Would he push me away? I didn’t want that. I needed him. I needed his help more than anything. “There’s more, Ruslan, I think he hurt my mother.”

Ruslan’s brows drew together, his gorgeous face taking on a menacing appearance that sent chills down my spine. He didn’t speak, though. I could see the anger boiling in his eyes like a raging storm, aching to break free and go wild, but he sat still, silent, as if pondering what he should do or say next. And I understood that feeling. It was inside me too. We’d make a hell of a team if we became more than whatever we were. The silence was killing me, so I did the only thing I could. I filled it.

“I can’t be sure if she was hurt or just scared to death but I could hear her crying and yelping in pain as she sobbed in the background. I feel horrible for putting her in that position. I’m just so damn angry. None of this had to happen and it just sickens me so.”

“It’s not your fault, moya koroleva.”
My Queen
.

A lone tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it as I pictured my mother cowering in fear. I needed to be strong for her and for me. When all of this finally came to an end, she’d be safe. I’d make sure of that. Something good had to come of all of this misery.

“Your mother chose the life she has with your father, Liliya. She knows the danger just as you now do. Your mother wasn’t born in this mafia world of ours. She made a choice to live her life the way she does. She became a part of it, embraced it in her own way. She’s strong, da?”

I nodded. Yes, my mother was strong. She had surely experienced a lot of darkness living with a man like Lyosha. If anything, my mother was the strongest woman I knew.

Ruslan stood up, closed the distance between us in two long strides. He took my hands in his, gently urging me to stand before him, then wrapped his arms around me. I felt the stress and anger begin to subside as I reveled in his warm embrace. It was moments like this that gave me hope that we could be something more, have something more between us than a marriage contract or a fight to the death.

Maybe, just maybe, if – No! Not if –
when
he won the fight against Dane, we could learn to love one another.

Ruslan always soothed the anger inside me, his touch always seeming to ease the chaos growing rampant within me. He gently kissed my forehead and I let out a sigh as he pulled back. I groaned at the loss of contact as his hungry eyes found mine. For a moment, I was sure that he’d kiss me, and I wanted him to kiss me again so badly. I mean really own me with a savage kiss that would have me melting into his embrace, but he didn‘t. To be honest, I was more than a little disappointed. He hadn’t laid one of those earth-shattering kisses on me in over a week and it was driving me crazy.

Ruslan lifted his hand to my chin, grasping it between his thumb and forefinger, tilting my head up so that I met his eyes. “You too have chosen your path in this world of ours, Liliya. Tell me of his threat. I promise that no harm will come to you. I will keep you safe from your father, from Dane, or anyone else who would dare cause you harm. I can promise you that.”

For the next few minutes, I recounted the conversation in detail, doing my best not to leave anything out. Even though a week had passed, I remembered everything in vivid detail. It played over and over in my mind like a movie as I shared it with Ruslan and answered his questions. By the time the conversation ended, Ruslan was clenching his handsome chiseled jaw, his eyes flaring with an anger I had never seen him display before. A shiver swept over me at the dark menacing look on his face and the tension in his body. He was supremely pissed off and ready to kill. And fucking hell,if he didn’t look sexy as hell all worked up with rage billowing off of him like that.

Did he really care for me? Oh, how I hoped he did and it wasn’t out of some heroic need to save me that he responded in such a way. A girl can hope, can’t she?

In the end, he had decided it was necessary for me to have a personal bodyguard attend to me when I was away from the house. This unknown man was to be with me at all times, following me around like a lap dog. I just hoped the man he assigned to me was nicer than my old bodyguards back home. They were royal pricks in every way. They were always angry and brooding silent types until I stepped out of line and then they would get a little snappy, like rabid fucking dogs.