Ruthless Reign: A Dark Mafia Forbidden Romance (Tarnished Reign Book 1)

Chapter 38

We’re about halfwayto Roman’s cabin when I realize I need to call Sofiya. Leaving my parents in the dark doesn”t bother me, but I can’t do the same to my sister. I won’t be able to tell her everything, but of all people, she deserves to know that I’m okay.

It should have occurred to me earlier, but my mind was preoccupied, wondering if I”d just made the best—or worst—decision of my life. Although, it wasn’t like I had much choice. Roman had already set the wheels in motion when he spoke to Anatoly.

I haven’t been able to stop stealing glances at him since we got in the car. He’s so handsome with his chiseled jawline and chin indent, and for the next few days, I can pretend he”s mine.

Since I agreed to go away with him, an unfamiliar feeling has settled in my chest. It reminds me of what Kira described when she fell in love with Maxim—a thrill when he”s near, and an electric charge at his touch.

But with Roman, it all feels different. There”s something deliciously selfish about hiding away from the world, spending days wrapped up in a man I”m so attracted to that the only thing on my mind is getting naked the moment we”re alone.

Damn him. I don’t know what kind of dick-magic Roman has worked on me, but I am well and truly under his spell.

His eyes settle on me. “What are you smiling about?”

As soon as he mentions it, I become aware of the big, goofy grin on my face. “How maddening you are.”

He purses his lips. “I’ve been accused of worse.”

Roman pulls the car—an Audi with darkly tinted windows and license plates that he claims can’t be traced—into a gas station somewhere along a quiet stretch of highway.

“Stay right here.” He steps out of the car and locks the doors behind him, his gun tucked into his waistband. He conducts a thorough sweep of the gas station, ensuring we haven”t been followed—a precaution he”s maintained throughout our entire drive. He also insists that we don”t need extra security where we”re headed, claiming it”s unknown to anyone but a select few.

When he”s finally satisfied, he comes around the passenger side and opens the door for me.

“Bathroom‘s over there.” He points to one side of the gas station. “I’ll fill up the tank and wait for you right here.”

I start to push past him, but he stops me with a hand on my arm.

“What’s on your mind, milaya? Not having second thoughts, are you?”

I struggle to put my thoughts into words. I’ve kept so many secrets locked up for so long that it almost feels like I’ve lost the ability to be truthful. “Just nervous, that”s all.”

Nervous I’ll lose my heart to you.

He gives me a little smile and runs his palm over my cheek. “Do you trust me to keep you safe?”

“Yes,” I answer truthfully.

He leans forward to catch my lower lip between his, delivering a tender kiss. “Go. I’ll be waiting right here. I won”t take my eyes off that door,” he promises.

As I lock the bathroom door behind me, a twinge of guilt surfaces because I”ve deliberately not told Roman that I”m calling my sister from here. I was concerned that he wouldn’t want me to contact Sofiya since he”s worried about our location being discovered, but I have no intention of revealing our whereabouts. Truth be told, I”m not entirely sure where we are.

“Lizka!” Sofiya answers the phone in a rush. “Is everything okay? Mama told me something happened and you”ve gone into hiding with Kira.”

“I’m fine,” I assure her. “And yes. As a precaution, I am laying low for a few days.”

“That”s crazy,” Sofiya blurts out. “Where are you?”

I bite my lip. I don’t want to lie, but I can’t tell her the truth either. “I’m out of the city, just until all of this blows over. Please, don’t worry about me. Anyhow, I’d rather hear about you.”

“Me? There’s nothing interesting happening in my life except tomorrow I’m heading to my final dress fitting for your wedding.” She pauses, as if the timing just occurred to her. “Wait, how are you going to prepare for the wedding? Liza, this is a disaster.”

A lump forms in my throat as the lies slip through my lips, smooth as silk. “My dress fits like a glove, and I’ve approved the flowers, music, and color scheme,” I point out, trying to sound upbeat. “Mama and Mrs. Petrovich are doing everything, anyhow. I’ll make sure to be back for the rehearsal dinner the night before. It’ll all be fine, you’ll see.”

I have it all worked out. Before the rehearsal dinner, I’ll meet with Anatoly and lay it out for him. I won’t be marrying him, but I will pay him back precisely what my family owes him—hopefully, even the wedding fees if he demands it. I’ll offer to wire it to his account on the spot.

He might not like it, but if I repay what we owe him, our ties are severed. It’s not like he can force me to marry him. Can he?

The discussion between Anatoly and my father before the opera lingers in my thoughts. What kind of contract were they referring to? Is it related to the debt we owe them, or is it something else?

“Maybe a little time away will be good for you.” Sofiya sounds older than her years. “Last time we spoke, you sounded so stressed out. I know the circumstances aren’t great, but hopefully you can take time to relax.”

I smile to myself. “Good advice. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“Really?” She sounds pleased. “Promise me you’ll call again soon. I’ll need updates.”

“I will. Just don’t tell anyone I called, okay? I don’t have the bandwidth to deal with our parents, but I wanted you to know that I was fine.”

She’s quiet for a moment. “Sure.”

“And Sofiya?

“Yes.”

“Anatoly hasn’t come back to your school, has he? Or asked you to attend another business meeting?”

“No,” she says slowly. “Why are you worried about that?”

From the window, I see Roman putting the pump back and taking his credit card out to pay.

“I just want you to be able to focus on school and your friends without grown-up distractions. Anyhow, good luck with the play. Call me the moment after your first performance. I want to hear everything.”

I say goodbye to Sofiya and take a minute to check my trading app. After getting my phone back from Roman, I made some quick buys. But checking now, only a few hours later, I see I”ve missed the sell-off peak.

Crap.

I close my eyes and lean my head back against the wall.

That’s thousands of dollars lost. Quite literally, I can’t afford to be off my game over the next few days. Even while I”m living in this bubble and playing house with Roman, it doesn”t change what”s waiting for me on the other side.

If I fail… Well, failure isn’t an option.

I stompup the stairs to the entrance of Roman’s not-so-small cabin, the snow crunching under my boots. “I thought you said it was a cozy cabin in the woods.”

“Did I undersell it?” Roman asks, each breath escaping as a visible puff in the crisp air while he punches in a passcode to unlock the door.

“Uh, yeah. This place is huge.”

He winks at me and swings the door open.

Inside, the cabin feels much cozier with its rustic log walls and a commanding stone fireplace. I can only imagine how pretty it will look when daylight floods in through the expansive glass wall.

“What do you think?” Roman steps back to gauge my reaction.

“I like it,” I admit, turning in circles. “It has a chalet feel. Definitely not the bare-bones cabin I was picturing.”

“It was bare bones at one time.” He drops our bags by the foot of the stairs and takes a quick assessing look around. “This place was in my mother’s family for generations. I inherited it when she died.”

“I’m sorry. When did she die?” I ask gently.

“When I was fifteen, but it wasn’t until I was in my twenties and part of Maxim’s crew that I had the money to renovate. Knocked the whole thing down and started from scratch.”

Roman doesn’t talk much about his past, and I don’t want to pry, but I find this little glimpse into his family history fascinating.

He starts to unpack the groceries. On the way up here, we stopped for food and clothes after I insisted I couldn’t actually wear Roman’s too big T-shirts and sweatpants.

“Do you come up here often?” I ask, leaning against the counter.

“Not really.” His back is to me, so I can”t see his expression.

I realize I’m not being very helpful, so I busy myself opening the bottle of wine we brought with us and pour two glasses.

“This place doesn’t hold the best memories for me.”

“Oh?” I swallow and take a sip of wine, waiting for him to continue, which he doesn’t do right away.

Instead, he turns and braces his hands on the marble kitchen island, giving his head a small shake. “My mother died here.”

A lump forms in my throat as I reach for him and rest my head between his powerful shoulder blades. Roman is stock-still, but his body softens when I nestle against him.

I know it’s none of my business, but I can’t stop myself from asking, “What happened?”

He releases a heavy breath before turning around to face me. My arms are still wrapped around his middle as I tip my head to look up at him.

“What happened is dark and ugly. It’s not something I want to burden you with.”

My heart squeezes. I don’t want to leave him alone in the dark. I want to carry some of his story with me.

I tighten my arms around him. “It’s not a burden. Let me be there for you, even if it’s just to listen.”

Roman looks away, his expression conflicted as shadows pass over his eyes. After a long pause, he finally speaks. “My father used to beat on my mother and me. Not very original, huh? A drunk beating on his family.” He scoffs. “I tried to step in… I hated to see my mother hurt. One day we were here, I was swimming in the lake, and when I came back to the cabin, it was obvious that he roughed her up. She looked fine, certainly not worse than other times, but there was a bleed on her brain that led to her falling into a coma.”

He’s leaving out details, but I can read between the lines. My stomach drops to my toes, and my palms go clammy.

“What a horrible thing to go through at any age, but at fifteen, you were just a kid.” I lean my head against his hard chest. “I’m so sorry. It must be hard for you to be here.”

He releases a bitter laugh. “Something like that.”

I cup his face with my palms. “Look how far you’ve come despite everything.”

“I run a crime syndicate; I’m not Mother Theresa.” He cracks a smile. “I’m hoping we’ll make some new memories together to erase the old ones.”

His steady gaze sends a rush of nerves throughout my body.

I reach up on my tiptoes and drop a kiss onto his lips. “Whatever you need, I’m here.”

“All I need is you, milaya.”

He sweeps my hair aside and plants kisses along my throat, trailing downward slowly. I tilt my head to give him access, and a moan slips through my lips.

From the back of my mind, a voice reminds me that I can’t be his, but I ignore it. That voice isn’t welcome here.

“You have me.” I turn my head to brush my lips against his.

The kiss starts slow but soon deepens. Every stroke of his tongue against mine sends a flurry of shivers down my spine.

Breathing heavily, he pulls away, his eyes still at half-mast. “If we keep going, I’m going to fuck you here on this table, and that’s not what I had in mind for tonight. I can’t just fuck you on the first available surface. You deserve better than that.”

“I have no problem with where you fuck me, just that you do.”

He releases a breath in a long, slow hiss. “At least let me feed you first.”

Roman claims he can cook, and considering there’s no hope in hell for me in the kitchen, I’m happy to let him try.

“In that case, I’ll go upstairs and unpack.”

He crosses his arms in front of his hard chest. He’s wearing a V-neck Henley, his tattoos peeking out the collar, and my throat immediately goes dry.

“No, you won’t. Stay here. I need a sous chef.”

I wrinkle my nose. “My cooking skills are pathetic.”

He smirks. “I’ll put you to good use.”

He throws an apron my way, and I tie it around my waist.

“We’re having wild mushroom pappardelle. Good with you?”

“Good with me.” I shrug and reach for the glass of wine I poured earlier.

“You can start by cleaning and slicing the mushrooms.” Roman hands me a clean kitchen towel and lays a paring knife on the counter.

“I think I can manage that.” I turn my attention to the array of mushrooms before me.

“Gently wipe the mushrooms with the towel. They don’t need to be cleaned in water,” Roman instructs.

“Yes, sir. I’m impressed you cook for yourself,” I admit, considering he can afford an army of private chefs.

He looks up from where he’s started to boil water for pasta and gives me a smile. “In the name of full disclosure, I don’t cook for myself very often. And I do have a cook—she taught me this recipe.”

“To impress the ladies,” I tease, even though it causes a little pang of jealousy to bubble up.

“There’s only one lady I care about impressing.” He swoops down and lays a kiss on my neck. “And she’s right here.”

I roll my eyes even as my belly tightens with need. “You sweet talker, you.”

“It’s more like I craved the normalcy of cooking. My life has been anything but normal.” He comes to stand beside me, taking the mushrooms I’ve cleaned and begins chopping them with practiced ease. “My mother never did wake up from that coma.”

The air is snatched from my lungs. I want to say something comforting, but I don’t know what. He keeps his focus on the task in front of him.

“I can’t imagine what that was like.” I bite my lip. “Was it just you and your father afterwards?”

“No. I killed my father the day I found out my mother was gone.”

Sorrow knots my gut. I understand his actions, but it’s just a lot to process.

“I spent a few years on the streets afterwards. I was a bit of a loose cannon. Fighting, running scams, trying to get myself killed because I didn’t have the balls to do it myself.”

I force down the lump lodged in my throat, but Roman seems unfazed.

“I learned early not to rely on anyone but myself. Things changed when I met Maxim and he took me under his wing. He gave me a purpose. He and Pavel, they’re my family now.”

“It certainly explains your loyalty to him.”

“I owe Maxim my life.” He gathers the cut mushrooms and throws them in a hot pan with garlic and thyme. The sound of sizzling fills the room, followed by a rich, earthy aroma. “Now, I have a chance to pay back his loyalty.”

“How is that?” I lean back against the wall.

“By allowing Maxim to step back from his business. Pavel and I will run the syndicate while he lives his life.” His voice softens, but shadows linger beneath his words. “When Maxim lost his young son, I didn’t think he’d ever smile again. Since marrying Kira, everything’s changed.”

My heart does a nose dive in my chest. I”m thrilled Kira’s found her soulmate, but sometimes I feel a twinge of self-pity, realizing I may never experience that.

In another life, Roman and I could be more. More than this one time, more than a forbidden affair. Because even after I free myself from Anatoly, I need to break free from this life. From this city. No matter how safe Roman makes me feel, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s partners with Anatoly. Part of the world I’m trying to escape, for me and Sofiya.

I rub the back of my neck. “What about you? What happens when you meet the woman of your dreams and want to settle down and make babies?”

His eyebrows pull together while he focuses on stirring the mushrooms. “I don’t see that happening for me.”

“You might feel differently in the future. With the right person.” I don’t know why I’m pushing the issue. Imagining Roman with another woman, even worse, imagining another woman carrying his baby, makes me feel sick.

“I’m not exactly marriage material. No one in this life is. It’s why Maxim is taking a step back from the business. Because the life we lead will never be safe for those we love.”

“Is that why you’ve been single for all the time I’ve known you? Well, I assumed you were single,” I’m quick to correct myself. “Maybe you weren’t.”

He tilts his head, eyes fixed on me. “Like I said, you’re the first woman, other than those I employ, to step into my bedroom. And the only person that I’ve brought here.”

I chew on my lip. Am I just interesting to Roman because I’m off-limits? Maybe a brief affair is perfect for him. Great sex, no attachments, and at the end of the day, I’m marrying someone else. He probably gets off on how forbidden this all is. All that talk of needing me earlier was just talk. Of course he doesn’t mean it.

“If I found the right woman,” he muses, all of his attention focused on me. “Maybe I’d feel differently. Maybe I’d even leave this life.”

Bitterness fills my throat. “The right woman, huh? Someone like Katerina?”

Roman dumps the cooked pasta into a colander in the sink and turns to face me, his hands gripping the edge of the counter tightly. “Is that what you think? That Katerina is my type?”

I lick my dry lips. I don’t know what I think other than that I need a reaction from him. “I get that your date was ”business’,” I say, using air quotes, “but Katerina is gorgeous. Sure, she might be a bit shallow, but she”s in your circle, right? Marrying your business partner”s sister would strengthen your alliance.”

Roman stalks toward me, a scowl marring his handsome face. I feel like a trapped animal with nowhere to run.

Why is he mad at me? I’m only stating facts.

He stops just inches away from me. His hand grips my hair, and he tilts my head back so I”m looking up at him. Our lips are so close that we”re breathing the same air.

“You are deeply mistaken if you think, based on our conversation, that I want to be with Katerina.”

I’m poking the bear, but I can’t stop myself. The bite of jealousy is real, gnawing at me with sharp, insistent teeth. Anyways, he’s the one who went on a date with Katerina and allowed her to kiss him.

My frustration peaks, and I open my mouth to push back, but he stops me with a sharp tug at my roots.

“Be very careful what you say right now, milaya, because I can’t be held responsible for my actions. I’ll claim temporary insanity.”

A cocktail of fear and excitement blasts through me. I glance up at Roman through my lashes, and my voice comes out hoarse. “What are you going to do?”

“You know what happens when you tease a man like me?”

I swallow and shake my head.

“Push me, and you’ll find out.”

My nipples harden to little diamond points under my shirt, and my pussy damn near soaks through my leggings. What’s wrong with me that I want to work Roman up? Make him so mad that he takes his anger out on my body?

My pulse races wildly as I poke a finger into his chest. “This is me pushing you.”

“You were warned,” he snaps. “Now get on your knees, and beg for my forgiveness.”