Untamed (Bratva Kings #2)

Chapter 30

EMBER

I sit cross-legged on the floor of my apartment, camera propped up on a stack of books, a coffee mug that’s gone cold beside me. The room is more than half-empty—boxes stacked in the corner, half-packed, ready to go. But my reading nook is still in place, the familiar stack of books in my hand as comforting as a weighted blanket, twinkling under the glow of the white light. Fairy lights will forever hold magic for me.

Rodion hangs up the phone with his brothers. I told him once he was competent, and he’s shown me that in spades in the past few days. When his enemies out here couldn’t prove anything he’d done, following an investigation on the sudden disappearance of Shawn Steele, I watched my husband… my husband …handle every detail. He methodically extinguished every fire with a precision that was unnerving as it was impressive. No panic, temper, or hesitation. Every step he took was deliberate, every detail accounted for as though he’d mapped it all out before the events unfolded.

I’d knew he had a dangerous mind but watching him handle every facet of a high-stakes situation, I saw how terrifyingly capable he can be.

That thrills me.

The little red recording light blinks at me, and for a second… I hesitate. It’s been so long since I faced this screen, this world, that I’ve almost forgotten who I am in the book space. But then I remember Zoya, her eyes alight when she talks about all things romance… and I face the screen.

I decided it would be fun to come back in a live feed. Why not?

I lean in, my heart beating faster, grinning like I’ve kept the biggest secret in the world. “I’m baaaack. And oh, how I’ve missed you all!”

The words echo in the room, playful and familiar, and it feels so damn right. I sigh contentedly.

“I know. I disappeared for a little while. You probably thought I got kidnapped by one of those morally gray mafia boyfriends we’re all swooning over.” I pause dramatically, ignoring the way Rodion chokes on the beer he’s drinking. I’ll have to edit his choking sounds out. I pause, tucking my hair behind my ear. “And I’ll tell you… you’d be not that far off.”

The chat lights up. I can hear notifications pinging, but I ignore them for now. I lean back, folding my arms.

“So… what have I missed? Besides every single mafia romance released in the past month ?”

A shadow moves at the edge of the frame, just out of focus. I pretend to be surprised like we didn’t plan this whole thing.

I fight a smirk. “I was going to do this whole video alone, but it seems someone decided to lurk.”

Rodion leans against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his bare chest. He watches me with that dark, unreadable expression that always makes my heart race. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the look of him shirtless, sweatpants hung low on his hips, a black mask covering the lower half of his face.

Zing.

I turn the camera slowly toward him. “See? On brand, girls.”

He cocks his head, eyes narrowing on me. “What is that supposed to mean, little queen?”

At the “little queen,” the comment section goes wild.

I grin. “Exactly what you think it means, sir,” I tease, shifting my focus to him. “Look at you. You are the mafia trope come to life.”

He steps forward, tugging the mask down just enough to smirk at me. “Careful, little queen. You’re skirting the edge. Keep saying things like that, and I might have to play the part.”

I toss the back of my hand to my brow. “No. No. Please don’t.”

The chat explodes as he prowls closer to me and fists my hair.

Yum.

Didn’t know I had a voyeuristic streak, but here we are.

Maybe I’ll need another theme for my account…

“Can you take your mask off?” I say in a low voice, biting my lip.

He drags it off, facing only me, so they can’t see his face on-screen. He drops it on the stack of books beside me. I grin and face the camera. “I would say I created a monster, girls, but believe me when I tell you… he was firmly established in that role before we first met.”

Rodion leans down and brushes his lips to mine. “Camera off now, little queen.”

I lean in with a little cackle of glee and shut it off.

“I am never going to hear the end of this, you know,” I say with a laugh, even as my heart beats faster and arousal pools between my legs. Who knew that bringing my two lives together, my fantasies and hopes and dreams, right here in the open with my real-life book boyfriend, would be so utterly addictively hot ?

His gaze lingers, dark and heavy, the corner of his mouth tugging into that smirk that always makes my pulse skip a beat. The soft hum of the city outside buzzes in the background, but here, it feels like we exist in our own world.

“You enjoyed that too much,” I murmur, leaning against the pile of books behind me.

He follows, one knee pressing between my legs, as he braces his hands on either side of me.

Oh yes. Love.

I love that so much.

“I’m not the only one,” he says, eyes flicking to where I nervously tug my bottom lip between my teeth.

I smile, not bothering to deny it.

His hand skims down my side, then back up again, before he hooks a finger in the string of fairy lights.

“Rodion,” I say warningly. “Don’t you?—”

“Careful, little queen. You’re not about to tell me what I can and cannot do, are you?” His eyes glint dangerously at me. I bite my lip. “That’s what I thought,” he finishes, tugging the fairy lights into a straight strand.

He bends and snags the hem of my dress with his teeth, dragging it up so he can divest me of my clothes. The little dress I wear falls into a heap at the foot of my bed, followed in short time by my bra and panties.

Oh my god.

I watch, mesmerized, as he loops the string of lights around my wrists, down under my breasts, over the swell of my belly, between my legs, and finishes at my ankles. I’m trussed up like a Christmas tree. I couldn’t get away now if I tried.

The first real kiss is slow, deliberate. His mouth claims mine with a kind of unhurried patience that makes my body sing with need. The books behind me shift slightly as I arch into him, the fairy lights casting soft shadows across the room. I kiss the edge of his jawline when he bends closer to me, my wrists too secured for me to touch him.

“Is this safe?” I ask, jerking my chin at the fairy lights. “These books aren’t exactly pillows, Rodion?—”

“Quiet, Ember. It’s my turn now.”

He arranges the pillows and blankets so I’m cocooned on either side, the books arranged all about me, ensuring I’ll never look at them the same way again.

I gasp when he takes two of the thickest ones and slides them under my ass.

“Shh.” He bends his mouth and licks the side of my thigh. He suckles, teeth scraping the tender skin. My hips rise, needing the wet heat of his mouth just there.

“I told you,” he whispers in my ear. “I’d let you make those videos under the condition that I’m your only real-life book boyfriend.”

“Hmm, I don’t know about— oooh. ”

He silences me with a firm swipe of his tongue right where I need him most. Oh my god, it feels like heaven and hell wrapped all together.

Yes, please.

He teases me with the tip of his tongue before he licks lazily, anchoring himself on my hips with a groan of pleasure. Somehow, hearing how much this excites him makes me even hotter for him.

My mouth is dry, and I’m stifling a pant when he suckles again, the perfect pressure of his tongue making my hips jerk with need. Again and again, I’m drowning in pleasure when he reaches for my nipples and tweaks them. Pleasure cascades down my spine like molten lava, and I shiver in glee.

“Please,” I whisper. “Yes, please. ”

His low, dark chuckle between my legs makes me whimper. Again, he licks me before he slides one hand down between my legs and thrusts two thick fingers inside me. Pleasure bursts inside me, and I whimper out a moan.

“ Rodion ,” I whisper. “Oh my god, please, yes, yes, right there.”

“Beg for me,” he grates against my thighs, his breath hot on my skin.

“Please. Please let me come. I want to—oh god, yes—please!”

“Come for me, little queen,” he whispers. “Come on my tongue.”

My back arches, and the books beneath me shift, but Rodion doesn’t stop.

His fingers dig into my hips, anchoring me to the bed as I shatter, gasping his name in a moan. My thighs tremble around him, every nerve on fire as waves of ecstasy crash over me.

I’m still shaking when he finally lifts his head, his mouth trailing lazy kisses along the inside of my thigh. His eyes meet mine, dark with satisfaction. I didn’t know I really wanted to be owned by someone like him… and now I do.

“There she is,” he says, pressing a kiss to my pulse at my wrist. “That’s my girl.”

His dark, whispered approval makes me want to sing. I live for this.

I can’t find the words just yet. I’m boneless and breathless as he gathers me in his arms and untangles the lights around my legs. His hot, thick cock presses into my belly.

“I love you,” I breathe out, still blissed out beneath him, as he presses my thighs apart with his knee and glides his cock to my entrance. My hips jerk when he moves through my slick heat, and I hold my breath when he nudges my entrance.

“I love you,” he whispers in my ear just before he thrusts into me. I love the feeling of being so full, so completely his.

I gasp as he sinks deeper, stretching me with perfect, deliberate strokes. His hands press into my hips, grounding me. The heat between us is so strong, so pervasive, as the world shrinks to just the two of us. I cling to him, to his raw power, as he thrusts again. He stills, buried to the hilt. My pussy clenches around him, eager for more.

He kisses my cheek, working a perfect rhythm in and out, filling and teasing, until I’m a blubbering mess, arching into him between strokes. I shudder, a wave of pleasure overtaking me, pleasure building again as I tighten around him. Desperate for more.

“Rodion—” His name falls from my lips, a half prayer and half plea.

I grip his hair, dragging him closer to me. He thrusts harder, his breath hot against me. “ Mine. ”

“Yours,” I gasp, echoing the sentiment. My legs tighten around him, pulling him closer, deeper, until the two of us cease to exist as we meld into one.

The coil inside me tightens, winding until I’m panting and begging incoherently.

“Come, baby,” he demands, his own voice hoarse. “Come when I do.”

I break apart beneath him as he drives deep, chasing his own release. He spills into me with a shudder and a groan as pleasure crashes through me. I’m half-blinded, drowning in ecstasy.

He collapses gently beside me, his weight comforting as he traces lazy kisses on my shoulder. The fairy lights flicker like a silent reminder of the magic between us.

Finally, after a while, he lifts his head. “How’d I do?”

I slap his massive shoulder and snort.

“Not bad, Bratva boy. Might need another round to do a comparison test.”

He groans and flops beside me. “Of all the times to test me, woman…”

We curl up in bed. The half-packed boxes can wait.

He reaches for my phone and hands it to me. “Go ahead. See what they said. Maybe tell them you were otherwise occupied, wink wink.”

I take my phone and kiss him. “Stop being so perfect already.”

“Oh yeah? I can take your phone away and make you worship me as your king. Would that destroy the fantasy illusion?”

I grumble. “Yes, actually, it would.”

I love the way he chuckles when I slap his arm playfully with a book. I click on the notifications and nearly squeal.

This is so fun.

Girl noooo. You’ve been keeping him from us the whole time? Where do I sign upppp

The way he took off that mask and whispered in your ear? I need holy water, rn

Not me rewatching the video on repeat to catch every detail of his shadow lurking in the background…

OMG. Welcome BACK, “little queen!”

The way he looks at you like he will LEGIT burn the world down for you.

Forget the book recs. I just need to know when the second part of this video drops, pretty pretty pls

I grin at him. “I knew they’d love you.”

We read through the comments and reply. I swear his head grows three sizes.

“Stay humble, Bratva boy.”

“Call me that one more time, and I’ll reopen my account just to post that video of you over my lap.”

I can’t help but giggle at that.

He kisses my cheek. “Baby, they love you. You’re the one who keeps the fantasy alive. Who keeps the hope alive.” He shakes his head. “And I love that for you.”

I sigh and look around my apartment before I shut the phone off. I rest my head against his chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heart beneath my cheek. “I guess I’m just nervous. It feels like closing a door.”

Rodion tilts my chin up, his thumb tracing my jaw. “Then leave it open. Just don’t let it keep you from walking through the next one.”

He’s right.

There’s nothing tying me here anymore. Shawn is gone, and for the first time in a long time, I’m not looking over my shoulder. This apartment—the one I once considered my safe haven—now feels like something I’ve outgrown.

“Alright, let’s finish packing. I still owe Zoya about ten book recs before we leave.”

“Not sure how I feel about that.”

“Not sure it’s your business.” I narrowly dodge his outstretched palm.

The apartment grows quieter as we work, the shelves slowly emptying. But even as the space becomes less mine , I feel it—the excitement thrumming just beneath the surface.

Moving to Russia isn’t the end.

It’s the start of something new.