Chapter 13
Ulayna ties off the end of her braid and secures it against the back of her head with a hair clip. Once done, she pauses and looks at herself in the mirror of her vanity. She tilts her head from side to side and stares at her reflection, trying to determine whether she looks any different.
She certainly feels different.
For the hundredth time in the past several hours, she squeezes her thighs together. Partially because she enjoys the achy, sore feeling, and partially as a reminder of her accomplishment. Maybe she shouldn’t be thinking of seducing Alexi as an accomplishment, but she can’t help it.
Her chest warms when she thinks about what they did earlier this evening.
The sex had been intense and so, so good.
Her fears about not being able to enjoy it are completely eradicated.
Yes, she had a few moments of nervousness, but there was no real fear.
And Alexi made her feel strong and centered.
She didn’t even need to focus on her breathing to keep the demons of her past at bay.
Honestly, her past never even entered that room. From the moment Alexi told her to follow him to his office, she’d been focused on him. Her body had been so flooded with desire for him that there was no room for memories of her past to intrude.
She bites her lip and presses her thighs together again when she remembers how he felt inside her. Even with his hands literally tied behind his back, he was able to make her feel more passion and pleasure than she ever thought possible.
And afterward… Her heart aches at the memory. If she hadn’t already been falling in love with him before, that would have tipped her over the edge.
He’d called it after-care and had described that sex can be emotional.
As she’d sprawled across his chest, sniffling, he’d rubbed her back and held her close.
He explained that sexual experiences are often better when the partners give and receive sexual after-care.
The more intense the sexual experience, the more it matters.
And without it, partners can feel lost or used.
It had been completely unexpected yet obviously needed. She’d basically fallen apart afterward. Any other time, or with any other person, she would have been mortified. But he’d made it feel like the most natural thing in the world to sit with her as she pulled herself together.
Even after she’d gotten her emotions under control, he’d simply carried her upstairs, still naked with the blanket tucked around her, and had tucked her into her bed.
He’d brought her a glass of water and kissed her on the forehead, then had looked genuinely pained when he explained that he had to go.
Maybe it was out of a sense of obligation, and Ulayna honestly didn’t care if it was, but he’d really seemed like he’d wanted to stay. Like he wanted to slip between the sheets with her and wrap her in his arms.
When she was in the Program, one of her Masters had a cuddling kink.
He liked to dress her up in babydoll outfits, make her crawl to him, then sleep with her squashed beneath his pudgy body.
It had been humiliating and uncomfortable.
She thought for sure the mere idea of cuddling would be a turn-off for her.
But as Alexi’s arms had released her, she’d found herself missing his warmth and calming presence.
Unfortunately, he really had needed to leave.
Resigned, Ulayna brushes the disappointment aside.
Alexi has responsibilities as Pakhan, and she wouldn’t begrudge him that.
The first team placement challenge is taking place in—Ulayna checks her watch—less than an hour from now.
And Alexi has to be there. It doesn’t matter what he wants or what she wants.
He’s the leader of the Bratva, and that comes first. Always.
After he’d slipped out of her room with a lingering backward glance, she’d lain in bed for a few minutes, reveling in her experience. It didn’t take long, however, for a restless energy to shiver through her.
She felt alive. Invincible. Like her very blood was humming with her newfound glory in reclaiming her body and sexuality. Once the unexpected emotional outpouring had passed, she hadn’t been able to sit still.
And that’s why, even though she knows she absolutely shouldn’t, she’s decided to join tonight's team placement challenge.
Not that she has any desire to be on a team.
She just wants to test her skills against Alexi’s trained men.
She’s been training day in and day out with his team, but other than questioning Mikhail, she hasn’t had a chance to test her skills.
Not in any kind of real-world scenario. And tonight’s challenge will provide the perfect opportunity.
Plus, like Yuri, the guard at the gatehouse, said, maybe it’s time she showed Alexi’s men what she’s capable of.
Standing from the vanity chair, she steps into black combat boots and quickly laces them. Paired with black cargo pants, a tight long-sleeved black shirt, black gloves, and a black balaclava to hide her hair, she’s ready.
Adrenaline courses through her.
Tonight’s challenge is essentially Capture the Flag.
Except there will be four teams of men and four flags.
The teams will be pitted against each other, each trying to protect and hide their flag while simultaneously finding and stealing the others'. And she knows the men won’t hesitate to take out anyone in their path.
Technically, no weapons are allowed in this challenge. So she’ll have to be resourceful and use her environment like Phoenix, Bill, Shade, and even Hawk have taught her. She’ll be testing herself against the best of the best, and she won’t have a team at her back.
—
Ten minutes later, Ulayna approaches the guard house holding a plate of cookies and a steaming cup of coffee.
Having memorized the guard’s shifts weeks ago, she knows it’s Yuri’s shift tonight.
She’s crossing her fingers, hoping that hasn’t changed.
If he’s at the gatehouse and she can convince him to do what she wants, then this will be so much easier.
Not bothering to hide her approach, she steps up to the small brick building and peeks inside. She breathes a small sigh of relief when she sees Yuri.
“Yuri Dmitriyevich,” she says, greeting him respectfully.
His eyes sparkle with humor and mischief when he spots her and sees what she’s holding… And what she’s wearing. “Gost’ya, what can I do for you? It would appear that you have plans this evening?”
Ulayna chuckles and shakes her head. He was frank with her last time they spoke, so she’s hoping she can be frank with him.
She hands him the plate of cookies and the coffee, which he readily accepts. “Last time we spoke, you told me I had to prove to everyone that I’m not a weak child who needs Alexi’s protection.”
Yuri scoffs. “Me?” He holds his hands out wide as if the idea is preposterous. But there’s a mischievous smile on his face. “I would never.”
“So… in exactly three minutes, you’re going to need to take a bathroom break.” Ulayna stares at him, making sure her meaning is conveyed.
He winks at her. “Of course.” He takes a big sip of the hot coffee she brought him and sighs in pleasure. “My wife… she says I have a problem. I’m not as young as I once was, and all this coffee makes me have to pee every ten minutes.”
They share a conspiratorial smile, and Ulayna slips back out the door.
Hurrying now, she sprints from shadow to shadow until she reaches the door to the massive garage next to the house. She pulls two hairpins from her hair and quickly picks the lock. Shade would be proud.
Once inside, she walks quietly but confidently to the key hanger. It takes a few seconds to find the correct set of keys—Boris really did like to waste his money on fast, expensive toys—but she finally finds the right ones.
With a grin, she snags the keys to Alexi’s Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon off the small hook. As much as she’d love to scratch up the paint on another one of Boris’s hideous cars, she has something else in mind tonight, and it doesn’t involve any scratched paint.
Now, she’ll have to be quick. It’s impossible to hide the roar of an engine starting or the squeak of a garage door opening. So if she wants to avoid unwanted questions, she has to time this perfectly and hope that Yuri fulfills his end of the bargain.
She looks at her watch and judges the time. With twenty seconds remaining on her mental countdown, she slides into the G-Wagon, clicks the garage door opener, and turns the engine over.
With barely an inch to spare beneath the still-opening door, she speeds out of the garage and down the driveway. A huge grin splits her face when she sees the entry gate rumbling open.
With sure and confident motions, she careens past the gatehouse and out onto the road. From there, it’s a thirty-minute drive to the warehouse district where the challenge will be held.
She makes it in twenty.
Blood pumping, she parks the car several blocks from the meeting point.
She pulls the balaclava down over her head to hide her blond hair in the pale moonlight and checks her gear one more time.
She doesn’t have much with her, just a high-lumen tactical flashlight, her phone, and a knife strapped to her ankle.
The knife is just a precaution. If all goes according to plan, she won’t be using it.
But she’s not stupid enough to insert herself into a brutal competition with twenty-two Bratva soldiers and not bring some sort of weapon.
On light feet, she makes her way down the block, skirting the random pools of light from the occasional flickering bulb on the exterior of a building. Working her way from shadow to shadow, she slowly approaches the meeting point.