12. Joy
JOY
I can’t lie. It’s nice to see Igor standing in the dining hall entrance, jaw all the way on the floor.
He never ate me out. And his father’s doing a damn good job.
Valerian covers me up, after taking his mouth from my pussy. A real fucking shame. I honestly wouldn’t mind him continuing. This is what Igor gets for framing me. For lying to me all the time we were together.
He gets to stand there in shock, and watch his father pleasure me.
Don’t get me wrong—Valerian’s no better than his son. He owns the Bratva he’s involved in. And forced me to marry him.
But at least Valerian doesn’t lie. He owns being a criminal. I can respect that.
Valerian makes a point of wiping his mouth. I watch him turn and address his son, taking his damn time, like he has all of it in the world.
Fuck. This is the second time I’ve been right on the verge of—
Igor lunges forward and tears Valerian away from me. But it doesn’t work. Valerian is twice Igor’s size, fucking huge compared to his son.
Valerian, while keeping me covered, somehow thrusts his son against the table and keeps him pinned there.
Then, he extends his leg, reaching out to grab my nightgown. The one he ripped.
He puts it over me like a blanket. “Here,” he says. “Hold at the top.”
Concern is written all over Valerian’s face. Why? Igor’s seen me naked plenty of times.
I guess a lot has changed.
Valerian takes off from his seat, keeping his son pinned against the table.
“My money. My apartment. Even my—”
“Quiet,” hisses Valerian.
I watch in shock as they go at it.
Igor shoves his father off. It doesn’t really work. Valerian stays standing. Nothing is getting through that chest.
“You really are one sick motherfucker to be—”
“Pleasuring a woman who no longer belongs to you?” interrupts Valerian. “Yes, very sick indeed. She ended things with you.” He narrows his eyes. “You might want to ask yourself why that was.”
Venom fills Igor’s eyes. He looks like he wants to poison his father.
God, this family dynamic is even more dysfunctional than mine.
His eyes aren’t as blue as Valerian’s. They’re darker in color.
I swiped up to Igor on the dating app in the first place because he looked kind.
His pictures didn’t make me feel anything.
But he looked safe. There was light in his eyes.
And after decades of being cold, living between anxiety attacks my entire childhood, I wanted warmth.
But it’s gone now.
It was never really there in the first place.
Igor was just looking for someone to use. He wanted a reliable vessel. Someone he could use to transport money through.
Which is why he proposed after six months of us knowing one another. Being married makes it easier to access your spouse’s accounts.
“I couldn’t stand the thought of being under you for the rest of my life. That’s why I did it,” spits Igor.
“Then you’re missing the point.” Valerian’s eyes cut deep into his son’s. “Because this will all be handed down to you, in your name, when I die.”
“Which should be now,” sneers Igor.
Igor throws a punch. But Valerian catches his fist, twists it back around to his son, directing it back at his face.
“That was the plan,” says Valerian. “But I might need to tweak the plan if you don’t learn your lesson.”
“My lesson?” snarls Igor.
He faces me.
And I can’t help but shiver. He’s never been angry at me like this before.
He clenches his jaw. But it’s not a good look for him.
It makes his chin stick out even more. He’s looking at me like this is all my fault, like I should have kept my mouth shut about the forged offshore accounts and let him do his thing.
“You were lying to me this entire fucking time.” I enunciate each word. “About where you worked. About how much you loved me.”
A muscle flecks in Valerian’s jaw when I say that.
“That’s not true. I did love you,” says Igor.
“Yeah. Because you thought I was an easy target.”
“I needed to steal money from him somehow.” Igor looks back at his father.
God, it’s not a good day to be Igor.
Valerian thrusts his son into the table again. I watch his biceps pop through the shirt he’s wearing.
Valerian could do a lot worse than this. He could flip his son and the table upside down in one swift motion. I’d happily take a seat and watch.
This is the first time I’m seeing him after the breakup. And I hate him. Maybe even more than I hate his father.
Igor wasted my time. I poured energy into him, lived under his roof for months. And he was blowing smoke up my ass the entire time.
Valerian may have forced me to marry him. But he’s honest about his intentions.
“I want my engagement ring back.” Igor looks down at my hand. And his eyes flare wide. “Who’s ring is that?”
I feel a smile toy with the ends of my lips. Yeah, I don’t like being married to Valerian either, but I do like seeing the reaction on Igor’s face.
Igor’s mouth twists in disgust, and then his expression shifts.
“Who’s ring is that?” he says, staring at his father.
“Mine.” Valerian doesn’t hesitate.
God, he owns everything so unapologetically. It’s refreshing after being around men who don’t know how to take accountability.
Every single thing about Valerian is hot. I’m burning up again. Arousal still floats through my body. It’s not going away.
I tuck my pelvis, pressing my clit into the table to give myself relief. Everything hurts. Only Valerian can take away the pain.
“You married her?” Igor’s mouth twitches.
Silence stretches between them.
Igor’s eyes fill with even more hate.
Valerian stares back, challenging him. His eyes are like ice. He looks like he wants to murder his own son. He won’t.
Otherwise, I figure he would have done it by now.
Igor tested his authority. Something tells me this isn’t just about betrayal. His son was close to overthrowing him. If he succeeded, Valerian would have lost control.
Maybe this is why Valerian is taking his punishment to the extreme?
Igor attempts to push his father off again. “You think you’re the best.”
“I am the best,” corrects Valerian.
The wooden table creaks as Igor leans into it. He folds his arms over his chest. The shoulder pads on his dress suit are questionable. What is he trying to achieve with those?
“You’re not as powerful as you think you are.
” Igor hitches a brow at Valerian. “You think taking away my apartment, my money and my girl will straighten me out?” Igor shakes his head in disbelief, like he’s trying to mock his father.
“I will stop at nothing.” He sticks his face in Valerian’s.
“I will find a way to destroy everything you built,” he threatens, “for being the worst father a son could ask for.”
Valerian clenches his jaw, keeping eye contact with his son.
His side profile is to die for. The square jaw. The strong nose. I was rubbing myself on that nose a few minutes ago.
Valerian should punch Igor in the face or something so he can continue eating me out.
Valerian tilts his head in assessment. “You don’t understand what it takes to build and maintain an empire of this size.
I gave you everything. A roof over your head.
Money. A job. And you throw it all back in my face.
” Valerian yanks his son closer. “Threaten me, Igor, by all means. But you’re wasting your time.
I suggest you educate yourself first before coming at me on smoke.
I’ll speak to you when you’re mature enough to have an actual conversation.
” He releases his son. “For the time being, I’ll continue taking everything away from you until you learn your lesson. You will, eventually.”
“You’re wrong,” he grits.
“Very well.” Valerian stands back to full height. Light falls behind him, casting shadows on his face. He truly is a spectacle. I can’t take my eyes away.
And Igor can see this.
I feel his gaze burning my temple. I turn and see him. Igor screws his mouth up in anger, creases forming all over his face. He knows exactly how I feel about his father. He walked in on us. Heard me moaning. Saw how wide open my legs were for him.
He wishes that was him.
But he never fucking bothered to go down on me. Or even make me come. He was always too busy with selling houses.
Of course, that was all code for breaking the law.
I keep eye contact with Igor, feeling that smirk crawl back onto my face. “If you won’t make me come, someone else will.”
Valerian snaps his head my way. He flashes me a look, telling me to keep my mouth shut. He should know by now I can’t.
He wants me to stay quiet and let him deal with this.
Absolutely not.
Igor disrespected me too.
“You think you won because you married Joy,” Igor says to his father. “I’ll get her back when I knock you down.”
“I don’t think Joy wants you back after you lied and framed her.”
“I don’t give a fuck about what she wants,” snaps Igor. “Just like you didn’t give a fuck about marrying her.”
I glance in Valerian’s direction. He offers me some reassurance. And that actually calms some of my nerves.
“Let me give you a word of advice, son,” says Valerian. “Framing someone for tax evasion is all well and good. But leave the innocent people out of it. It increases your chances of being caught.”
“Oh,” laughs Igor. “You wanna talk about innocents?”
“Niko!” shouts Valerian at the top of his lungs. His voice echoes through the room.
Each reply is making me wetter.
I’ve never heard him shout like this before. But it fills me with excitement, adrenaline coursing through my veins again. He’s so powerful. I’m pretty sure he controls air, and the rate in which it flows in and out of me.
Footsteps pound on the polished floor. Nikolai enters. Valerian doesn’t need to give the man any instructions. He assumes his position and grabs Igor, pinning his hands behind his back, escorting him out.
Valerian turns around, sighing when he hears the main door close. He rakes a hand through his silver-streaked hair, looking me up and down.
“Apologies.” He stalks back toward me. “Here. Let me take this.” He grabs the nightdress I’m still holding. And removes it.
Air rushes straight to my nipples. I part my legs. Feel the cool air run over my exposed pussy.
Valerian holds onto the nightdress, his eyes skimming over my body. My skin prickles. I need him back between my legs. I have hope of being able to breathe properly again if he can finish what he started.
I spread my legs, tilting my hips. Letting him see me.
“Please,” I gasp. “Let's finish what we started.”
Valerian leans in. He plants a kiss on my pussy, lingering there a while. His breath bristles my clit.
I slam into his face.
And he pulls back.
“I’ll be the only man to touch you from now on, sweetheart.”
My pulse spikes.
“Under my roof, you’re not allowed to touch yourself. I get to decide when you come. Until then, I need you to wait.”