Chapter 12 Power
Chapter twelve
Power
Kira had been to many events growing up under the most notorious mafia boss and felt comfortable in the room with so many familiar faces.
There were many millionaires and billionaires, but they tended to stick with their own, so she’d see the same couples over and over again.
The only thing different this time was that she was married and had to cling to Maxim’s arm.
She missed being on her own, where she would follow her sisters around, laughing at her brother Gil’s shenanigans.
They always had a bet going on about how many times Gil would get shot down before he found a girl gullible enough to believe his stories.
How many daughters of influential people did he get into trouble with?
It never mattered. With the Morozov name, he got away with all of it.
Without her siblings, she found the night boring and struggled to pay attention.
Maxim was busy, constantly talking to someone, and as soon as one person walked away, another would step in.
She was exhausted just from watching him.
It was one of the rare moments; she was glad she was a woman.
Aside from a kiss on the cheek and some small chatter, she got away with simply smiling and supporting.
After the tenth person left, Maxim pulled them off to the side into an empty hallway, where he detached from her, cursed, checked his phone, and texted.
“What’s wrong?”
He waved her away.
Kira sighed. One day, she hoped he would see her as a partner rather than a nuisance.
“My brother’s not even here. He’s making me do all the fucking work.”
She smiled but hid it. Kira didn’t mind him having a bad day. It felt like payback.
“You proud of your work?”
Kira turned back to him. “Huh?”
“It’s all because I had to marry a Morozov.”
She scoffed. “You can’t be serious? None of them even looked at me.”
“They normally don’t look at me either, and yet I can’t get away from them. Don’t act coy, Morozov. You know the power you possess.”
“Do I?”
“Everyone is at your beck and call.”
“Not you.”
“Lucky for me, I’m immune.”
“How unlucky for me.” She pressed a smile to her lips.
Maxim was not amused. “It must rile you most extremely that I am not under your thumb.”
Kira scoffed and bitterly asked, “Who hurt you?”
Maxim opened his mouth to bite back, but his name was shouted from down the hall.
Lazar had just entered the house, and with Trina on his arm, they came strutting down the walkway.
Maxim took hold of Kira’s hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm, pulling her and getting great satisfaction when she tripped.
Kira met Trina with a broad smile, happy to find another woman at this party whom she could befriend.
She was beautiful, with dark skin, curled, puffy hair, and perfectly accented highlights.
She wore a dress just as tight as Kira’s, but far less revealing, which only made Kira self-conscious about her own outfit.
Though she had seen many other women wearing less, to see such a conservative outfit made Kira feel like a whore.
Mainly because she wasn’t wearing any panties.
“Maxim,” Lazar began. “We have a meeting down the hall. Kira will be safe with Trina.” He kissed Trina’s cheek and whispered sweetly, “Don’t corrupt her. She’s innocent.”
Maxim only glared at Kira in warning before they left, and the girls stared after their men as they stood silently in each other’s company. Thankfully, Trina broke out with, “So sorry we couldn’t attend the wedding. My father passed away the day before. It was horrible timing.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be. None of us is sorry.” She giggled. “You understand.”
Kira nodded, though she didn’t. She loved her father despite the expectations he put on her and the way he treated her brothers. Yakov was a ruthless man, but he cared for his family. Some may say that’s controlling, but Kira saw it more as love.
“How is Maxim treating you? He is a giant sweetheart.”
Kira snorted, but then tried to fix it, but Trina heard it.
“What? He can’t possibly be bad to you?”
Kira hesitated. She knew she shouldn’t talk to anyone about this, but she was bursting at the seams.
Trina nudged her to the side when a group walked by. “I have known Maxim for fifteen years. He is a big softy.”
With a sigh, Kira admitted. “He doesn’t trust me. He keeps me at arm’s length and won’t believe a word I say. I feel like I’m being blamed for something I didn’t do. Has he had his heart broken? Has he been betrayed before?”
Trina stared down the hallway after the two brothers, chewing the inside of her lip. “Let me talk to him–”
“No, please. He’ll think I’m conspiring behind his back.”
“I’m like his big sister. I’ll find out what’s wrong, and I won’t implicate you.”
Kira smiled. “Thank you.”
“Might I add, this dress is amazing on you.”
Her cheeks warmed at the compliment. Something Maxim had failed to give. “Maxim bought it.”
“Well, he must think something of you to dress you in such attire. Maxim is very-” She paused to giggle. “Cheap, for lack of a better word. He hates spending any more than he has to, but for you, he went all out, didn’t he?”
Kira touched the fabric of her dress. She liked that thought and allowed it to warm her.
But not for long before the negative thoughts rolled in.
He dressed her this way to show her off, like a prize on his arm.
It wasn’t for her benefit, but for his. She was just a name to him, and though he tried to come off as if he despised it, he was only jealous of Morozov’s power.
When Trina saw a friend, Kira opted to go outside.
The grounds were lit with lanterns, and couples walked through the mazes like they used to back in the eighteen hundreds.
She admired such a time, but she was happy to be in this period with air conditioning.
Thankfully, it was a slightly cold night, and she rubbed her arms, shivering.
Only seconds later, a coat dropped on her shoulders, and she found Lazar behind her, smirking as he rubbed her arms. “Better?”
The smell of his cologne was sweet and different from Maxim’s.
There was a hint of nicotine. She felt his hand on her hip, and she was stiff under the touch.
“You smoke?” Lazar asked as he slipped his hand into the pocket, pressing more against her than he needed to, and pulled out his cigar and lighter.
“No, never.” When Lazar stepped beside her, she shifted a little to the right so their shoulders weren’t touching.
She kept a soft smile on as anxiety built in her chest. Maxim’s words shouted at her, telling her she was misreading Lazar’s manner.
‘Happily married,’ Maxim called him. Lazar wouldn’t cheat on his wife, especially one who looked like Trina. Kira was nothing next to the woman.
“My philosophy is you should try everything once, because how do you know you won’t like it?”
“But then you might end up liking something bad for you,” Kira hit back, staring straight, trying to ignore the way he was looking at her.
“And what’s wrong with that?”
She pulled the jacket off her shoulders and held it out to him. “I heard a sermon once. And he said, ‘Sin is very freeing until you try to leave it.’ I wouldn’t like being a prisoner and handcuffed to my own bad habits.”
He took the jacket slowly as his smile stretched. “I find that hard to believe.”
“What?”
“That you wouldn’t like being handcuffed.”
Kira flushed, the heat pouring through her cheeks and down into her chest. He saw it, watched it bloom across her breasts, and only smirked.
Kira twisted on her foot and hurried away.
The illicit fantasies that she only allowed herself to think of in the middle of the night when no one was around sprang up, and she pressed a hand against her belly as it twisted.
Lazar shouldn’t be the one making her feel any arousal, but the attention he was giving her was more than that of her own husband.
She hated him for it. Why wasn’t Maxim interested in her like the way Lazar was?
She turned the corner and stalled, pushing her back against the wall. Maxim was in Trina’s face, and whatever he was whispering had Trina blurry-eyed. She reached for his arm, and Maxim slapped her hand away before he left her standing there, with her head in her hands.