Used by the Russian Mafia Boss: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (32 page)

“Why is it that you think the only way to be good enough is to be successful at breaking the law?” Emily wanted to kick him. It was so stupid!

“It’s what Papa would have wanted,” Sergei said quietly. “He always dreamed of me following in his footsteps.”

“And yet you really aren’t.” Emily gestured to the house. “This is Yuri’s place. He’s in jail and the only reason you’re not is because a man that you despise decided to stick up for you.”

Sergei pursed his lips together. “So I was wrong about Ivan. That doesn’t change the fact that he’ll always be an orphaned bastard.”

“And you being a Volkov doesn’t change the fact that Samantha Bristo is going to be waiting for you to mess up at every single turn.” Emily shook her head. “Honestly, big brother. I don’t envy you a bit. The minute you put a toe out of line, she’ll be all over you. And we both know that you’ve been depending on everyone else to carry off your mistakes for the last decade or so.”

“Maybe that’s why I have to do this for myself,” Sergei suggested. “And maybe that’s why I know the real-estate business is going to be in better hands with you.”

“Then I wish you the best,” Emily said sadly. “But I’m warning you now. Don’t come running to me when you mess up and need someone to pull you out of the fire.”

Sergei smiled. It was completely incongruent with everything else going on.

“What?” Emily demanded.

“You’ve changed, little Emily.” Sergei gave a nod. “I’ve never seen you like this.”

“Like what?” Now she was getting annoyed.

Sergei reached out quite suddenly and pulled her into a hug. “So ready, willing, and capable of taking charge of your own life.”

The action flustered Emily. She pulled away and straightened her suit jacket. “Well I couldn’t just let you flush my life down the toilet with yours, now could I?”

“No,” he agreed. “And you’re going to be just fine.”

***

Ivan paced back and forth in front of Emily’s office door. Every few minutes her assistant would glance up and give him a strange look. He was probably an oddity compared to all of the usual people who came to see Emily Volkov.

“Sir,” the assistant said nervously, “you can sit.”

Ivan barely spared her a glance. “Thank you, but no.”

“You’re making me really nervous.” The woman’s throat moved as she swallowed. “Are you sure Ms. Volkov knows you?”

Ivan was getting mildly irritated. “Yes. I’m sure.”

“Because I can call security to escort you out if you’re here to cause trouble,” she informed him.

Ivan snorted. He did not scare her any worse by mentioning that her useless security personnel would never be able to evict him from the premises without his say-so.

“Ivan Dedov.” Emily’s familiar voice drifted down the hallway. “Are you here making trouble for my personal assistant?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Volkov,” the other woman said quickly. “He just sort of camped out in here. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Tessa, calm down,” Emily said soothingly. “It’s fine. Ivan is an old friend. We’ll be in my office. Please hold my calls until further notice, all right?”

Ivan tried not to look threatening, but Tessa appeared ready to dial 9-1-1 anyway. He sighed and followed Emily into her office. She shut the door and then walked directly to the bank of windows overlooking the city street below.

“Do I really look that scary?” he asked, trying to break the ice.

She half turned, but he could see a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Actually, you do look sort of rough. No more custom suits, I see. You look like a mercenary.”

He glanced down at his dark cargos and black T-shirt. “I suppose that’s a bit ironic since I’m no longer doing any of that type of business.”

“Really?” She sounded truly surprised.

“Have you paid any attention to the news?”

“No. I’ve been actively avoiding it and now find that I was remiss in doing that.” Emily’s sigh frustrated him. It sounded as though she were giving up and that wasn’t like her.

“Emily.” He walked forward, wanting so badly to pull her into his arms. “I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

“Are you?”

“Yes, dammit!” He couldn’t help but raise his voice. “I was confused and angry. Honestly, I acted like a little kid still mad that he didn’t get to play in the big sandbox.”

That brought on a real smile. “Yes. You did.”

“But I want to make things better.”

“Why wait until now?”

“Because Samantha told me to get my ass over here,” he admitted. “I was waiting—I don’t even know for what—and I kept thinking that I could change myself and my ways and make myself good enough for you.”

“You were always good enough.” She faced him and he saw that there were tears running down her cheeks. “I loved you, Ivan. I always did. I may not have been great at saying that, or even at taking a stand when it came to wanting to see you, but my heart belonged to you and you stomped on it.”

“I did, and I’m an ass.” He sighed. Finally he could take no more. He pulled her into his arms and was grateful that she didn’t pull away. “I had the most important thing in life and I didn’t even know what to do with it. I was so prepared for you to be like your brother, or to think you were above me. I didn’t know what to do when you were everything good and gracious and so much more.”

“So now what?” she whispered.

Ivan threaded his fingers through her hair until the pins holding her bun in place fell out and her hair tumbled around her shoulders. He sucked in a breath at the beauty of her. Gently touching her face, he traced the beloved features that had been in his mind for so long.

“Ivan.” His name sounded heavenly on her lips. “Kiss me, please?”

He lowered his mouth to hers and carefully did just that. The chemistry that always existed between them sizzled and sparked. Soon she was flinging her arms around his neck and twisting her fingers in the hair at his nape. She pressed her body flush against his and he held her as close as he dared while he continued to make love to her with his mouth.

She pulled back gently, her breathing ragged. “This is what I want.”

“Then this is what I’ll give you,” he promised.

“No more lies, Ivan.” Her gaze was steady. “I want to know that the man I love isn’t double-dealing, or working out some scheme to gain revenge on a rival. You’re enough just as you are. More than enough, I think.”

“Only for you,” he told her honestly. “And I don’t care about anything else.”

“So would you give it up forever?” She cupped his face in her palms and ran her thumbs over his lower lip. “The mafia, I mean?”

He laughed. “I already did.”

“You did?”

“I had to. If I step out of line even once, Samantha will drag me back in whether she wants to or not. Let’s just say I made her boss very, very angry.” Ivan thought about the narrow road he had to travel from now on. “I’m okay with this, though. I want this life.”

“It isn’t like you’re giving up business altogether,” she reminded him. “You forget that I’ve seen your books. Your arcades make an incredible revenue without the stuff on the side.”

“So you’re okay with me just being…well me, I guess.”

“Ivan Dedov, I’ve always been okay with you.” Emily’s smile warmed the far corners of his heart and soul.

Ivan swallowed. He had faced down a legion’s worth of thugs in his lifetime, but he had never been this anxious. “So if I asked you to marry me, what would you say?”

Her eyes widened. “I would say yes!” She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed tight. “I would say absolutely, positively yes. Yes. Yes!”

“Just checking,” he teased.

Emily swatted his arm. “Ivan, sometimes you are just bad!”

“So will you marry me?” He nuzzled her neck. “I want to make sure I don’t screw this up again before I finally manage to get it right.”

“Yes, Ivan,” Emily said solemnly. “I would be proud to marry you and call you mine for good.”

He kissed her once again, wishing they were anywhere but her office so he could show her exactly what she had to look forward to for the next fifty or so years. If someone had told him when he was scraping his way through the foster system that he would be marrying a woman like Emily, he would have thought they were out of their minds. Now, though, he was beginning to see that Emily had always been meant for him. They were two halves and now they would be one.

THE END

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Russian Mobster’s Blackmailed Bride

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Russian Mobster’s Blackmailed Bride

By: Bella Rose

All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2016 Bella Rose

Chapter One

Trisha threw her hands up into the air and shouted with excitement as the little white ball tripped and bounced along the roulette wheel. Around her, the new friends she’d made in her study abroad program were drunk on cheap liquor and the freedom of being out of the dormitory. The ball finally settled into a red slot, and the dealer called it. Trisha grabbed her friend Minka’s arm, and the two girls did a little victory dance.

“We won!” Trisha was practically screaming to be heard over cheers and moans from the other people at the table.

The casino in Moscow was everything Trisha could have wanted for an adventure. The high ceilings were covered in ornate carvings coated in gold leaf. Rich draperies hung from ceiling to floor. The floors themselves were marble shot with pretty pink quartz. And there were sexy Russian dealers at every single table. The place was a college student’s dream.

Minka nudged Trisha’s shoulder. “That man over there. He’s looking at you. Did you notice?”

It took Trisha’s pleasure-soaked brain an extra second to translate her new friend’s words from Russian to English. Then she hazarded a look in the direction Minka was staring.

“No!” Trisha sucked in a quick breath. “Wow. He looks serious.”

“He’s handsome, though. It would be worth walking by and giving him a smile, don’t you think?” Minka asked slyly.

Trisha smiled at her friend. “Easy for you to say. You’re gorgeous.” Unlike Trisha’s stereotypical redhead appearance.

“I look like every girl in Moscow.” Minka rolled her blue eyes.

With her long blonde hair, pale skin, and willowy figure, Minka certainly did look like every other woman in Moscow. Except the other fifty percent of the population who were dark and good looking. From what Trisha had seen so far, it was a whole country full of beautiful people.

“Come.” Minka started dragging Trisha in that direction. “Let’s go. Now!”

“Oh fine!” Trisha giggled and swiped her chips off the table and into the little velvet bag she’d been given for that purpose. “But when he laughs at me, I’m blaming you.”

Trisha smoothed the skirt of her sassy black dress.

Minka nodded with approval. “You look good. That dress suits you.”

“Really? Because I feel like blowing the rest of my clothing allowance on one dress was a bad idea.” Trisha sighed. “I don’t want to go back to Cleveland this weekend. I’d rather just stay in Moscow.”

“At least you don’t live in Siberia,” Minka teased. “I have to go home to a tiny village where all of the men are my relatives.”

“You’re right.” Trisha held up her hands to indicate surrender. “You win.”

Both women knew they were being intentionally dramatic and flirty. They were getting closer to their target. The nearer they got, the more Trisha grew fascinated with the man standing by the big drapes. He seemed to be watching the whole room in the way she might imagine a king would survey his kingdom.

Minka began cursing in Russian, her fluency making it impossible for Trisha to keep up. It was something about the guy being edible, which he certainly was.

Then she poked Trisha. “He still stares at you. Look!”

Everything about this man was dark. He was very tall, over six feet if Trisha was any judge. He wore an impeccably tailored black suit. Diamond cuff links glittered at his wrists, and the fine linen shirt he wore was snug over what had to be killer abs. Still, it wasn’t the suit or the obvious wealth announced by the jewel-encrusted watch he wore. There was something undeniably powerful about this man.

His eyes were dark, like pools of midnight in his chiseled face. His stare made Trisha’s skin tingle. She felt as though he’d touched her without actually doing so. He didn’t smile. His lips remained in a firm line. But she could easily imagine what it would look like to see a sensual smile curve those lips. His dark eyes would glitter, and Trisha knew that she would melt from the inside out.

Minka grabbed Trisha’s arm. “He is making my panties wet, and I haven’t even spoken to him,” she whispered fervently.