Chapter 4 - Jaroslav
In the morning, Valery is gone. The first thing I did when I got up was look into the guest room where I knew she was sleeping, because I checked on her last night.
But the bed was empty. And she wasn’t downstairs or in the garden or anywhere.
My housekeeper informs me that she was up before the summer sun, leaving the house wearing one of my oversized t-shirts and a pair of shorts five times too big for her.
She left the wedding dress hanging on the closet door and called for a taxi, even refusing to use the driver I have on call at all times.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” I snap.
“Sir, I didn’t know she wasn’t allowed to leave.” The young housekeeper shifts anxiously from one foot to the other.
“She is allowed to leave, but…” But nothing. I can’t be angry at the girl.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” she mumbles quietly.
Sighing, I clench my fist. “It’s fine.”
The girl hurries away.
Anger spikes in my veins, burning like fire. Valery went back to her brother’s place. And now I have to start negotiations so that my wife can live with me . It’s ridiculous. But at the same time, my argument is solid enough.
Before I ’ ve had a cup of coffee, I’ve already set a meeting with her brothers for late morning. I arrive at their offices early.
“Matvei,” I greet him as I step into his office. Diomid and Oleg are already there.
“We can start without Timofey; he got caught up with some things this morning, and he’s not sure if he’ll make it,” Matvei tells me.
“I appreciate that. I think we should get straight to the point.”
“You want Valery to live with you,” Matvei nods. “Please, take a seat. Can I get you a cup of coffee?”
“Coffee would be good,” I reply, sitting down in one of the sofas near the window.
Diomid sits too. “I’ll take a double espresso,” he says. “The champagne at your wedding was a little too good,” he chuckles.
Matvei informs his assistant of our order, and she hurries off to fulfill it.
Then he sits opposite me and folds one leg over the other. “Valery is insistent on living with us,” he tells me.
“I’m sure you understand why that would be a problem.”
“I do, but she simply isn’t willing to budge on this,” Matvei says tightly.
“That’s not acceptable, Matvei. I am a Bratva leader, a powerful businessman who attracts significant media attention. The public was already enthralled by our wedding. I don’t know if you’ve seen this morning’s newspaper?” I had a photographer send our wedding shots in for a front-page article.
“I did.” He nods, gritting his teeth.
“All eyes will be on me and my new wife. What would they think if she weren’t even living with me? It doesn’t make sense.”
I expected Matvei, of all people, to understand this. He is a leader. He should know. The fact that he’s arguing with me in any manner is a frustration I’m struggling to hold back. For the sake of diplomacy and our tense alliance, I’m doing what I can to remain civil.
In all honesty, I don’t give a shit about what the public thinks.
I don’t give a fuck if the media sees us together or not.
This is for me . Because I want Valery at my side.
She belongs to me. I never want to lose her again, and besides, how can I win her heart if she isn’t even spending time with me?
We discuss the ins and outs of public scrutiny over our coffee, and I make a solid point regarding the alliance being tentative, and any issues, such as a wife not living with her husband, would only make a mockery of that alliance.
“We need to embrace this marriage fully. For the sake of our alliance,” I demand.
“I hear you,” Diomid says. “But what about Valery?”
Matvei presses his fingers against his eyes and shakes his head. He’s struggling with what he knows he has to do and keeping his sister happy, but I can see I’m getting through to him.
He sighs deeply. “Valery agreed to the marriage. She can’t think that continuing to live with us would be acceptable. She must act as a wife.” He sounds reluctant, but like he’s caving in. “I don’t understand what her problem is,” he mutters to himself.
“I think she’s just overwhelmed with the sudden changes.
Let me offer this. I will make the transition as easy as I can for her.
She will have her own bedroom, set up with whatever she wants.
I can even bring a designer in if she likes.
She is welcome in my home, and I want her to think of it as her home too.
She will be happy there if she just gives it a chance.
Besides, I would like the opportunity to get to know my wife.
” I smile. Now I have appealed to their sister’s happiness as well.
I’ve made it clear to them that I want her to be happy and comfortable in my home.
That she will have her own space, even if I plan for that to only be temporary. I want my wife to share my bed.
“That is generous of you, Jaroslav. Yes. Valery must move in with you. You’re right about being under a very public gaze, especially so soon after the wedding. And we want to do this properly. I’ll have her pack and she’ll be back at your mansion by lunchtime.”
I stand up, I got what I came for. “Thank you, Matvei, Diomid. Please give my regards to Timofey.” Her brothers stand and walk me to the elevator.
We chat about small business inconsequential matters, just as a way to ease the time waiting for the elevator to arrive.
It chimes, and the thick metal doors slide open.
“Thanks again,” I say, smiling broadly and stepping inside.
***
Satisfied with the outcome, I head back to the mansion to wait for her. As promised, a car arrives just after lunch, and Valery climbs out, but with only one small overnight bag and a knitted scowl across her face. She looks furious.
I’m waiting for her at the front door, and as she walks up the steps, I stand in her way. “Welcome home, little raven,” I say.
“This isn’t my home. I agreed to move in here for my family’s sake. To honor the agreement. I don’t want to be here. I just had to make that clear from the start,” she snaps.
“Fair enough. Loud and clear,” I say, a touch of dramatic flair in my voice which she notices and returns with a cold glare.
I gesture toward the bag. “Is the rest of your stuff arriving in another car?”
“No,” she replies coldly. “This is everything.” She pushes past me and into the mansion, walking straight upstairs. “Which is my room?” she calls out over her shoulder.
I chuckle at her rudeness and jog after her. “Allow me to show you, little raven.”
She moves away when I place my hand on her lower back, but I feel the electric current between us, and I know she does too. She can only ignore it for so long.
“Here you go.” I lead her into the room closest to mine.
She marches in and dumps her bag on the bed. “Thanks, you can go now,” she says rudely.
“How are you going to manage with only one small bag of things? Where is everything else? I can have my men fetch it for you.” I shake my head, amused by her.
“Actually, it was much too annoying to pack. Besides, you are my husband now and therefore I think you should buy me all new things,” she says, clearly expecting an argument from me. But I’ll play her little game.
“Of course,” I say as though it really is an obvious requirement as her husband. I slip my hand into my pocket and pull out my wallet, then hand her my black credit card. “Get anything and everything you desire, little raven.”
She stares at the card in disbelief. “I need a lot of things,” she says, her nose scrunched, looking cute as hell. I suppress my laughter. She really was geared up for an argument. She has no idea I would literally give her anything.
“There is no limit. Anything you want, Valery, I will give it to you,” I say.
She hesitates for a moment as a flicker of confusion clouds her eyes. Then she scrunches her nose again and tosses the card onto the bed next to her bag. “You are full of shit,” she huffs.
I bite down on my reply. I want to snap back that I’m not lying. That I will give her the world. I want to tell her that I plan to keep her, to make her happy, to truly have her for the rest of my life. But she’s not ready for that conversation, and I can’t rush this. I need to be careful.
Valery folds her arms across her chest and glares at me. “You can go now,” she sasses.
“I will see you at dinner.” I grin, backing away from her. She can settle in. At least I know she’s here now. And she can’t go anywhere.
***
I wait in eager anticipation for dinner time to see her again. She hides in her room until I send the housekeeper to call her down. When she comes down, I can see she’s made an effort not to make any effort.
Her hair is a disaster, pulled into a more messy bun than usual with tendrils curling up in all directions, and she’s wearing old jeans and an oversized t-shirt with a tear over the shoulder.
Of all the things in her closet at her brother’s place, this is what she chose to bring with her, and it’s funny.
What she doesn’t seem to get is that I think she’s gorgeous no matter what she’s wearing.
She could have walked in here in a brown hessian sack with her head shaved, and I’d still be wildly obsessed with her.
“You look lovely,” I remark with a grin.
“Go to hell,” she snaps, pulling her chair out and sitting down.
I chuckle and pour her a glass of her favorite wine. She eyes me the entire time, her gaze burning into my soul. “Are you all unpacked?” I tease.
“Yes. I shoved the entire bag onto the shelf in the closet,” she sasses back. “Tomorrow I’m going on a shopping spree.” Her eyes dart to mine to gauge my reaction.
“Would you like a lift to the mall? I can take you myself or have a driver take you. Perhaps two drivers. You might need a second car to carry your parcels.” I speak matter-of-factly, no jokes.
The corner of her lip pulls upward, and she throws me an annoyed glare. “Two drivers should do,” she replies with raised brows.
“Done. I’ll have them ready to take you at nine.”
She nods.
Her plan to annoy me didn’t work. She’ll have to find another way.
And over the next few days, she goes out of her way to be as frustrating as possible. She’s rude, sassy, abrupt, messy, annoying—and I’m loving every minute of it.
In the kitchen one morning, she accidentally turns toward me and spills lukewarm coffee over the front of my pants. “Oops,” she says. “You really should watch where you’re going.”
“Me?” I stammer in amusement. “Of course, how clumsy of me.” I narrow my eyes at her, and her cheeks flush pink.
I take a step toward her, and she backs up into the kitchen counter, letting out a little gasp of surprise when I pin her against it with my body.
Desire flares through me like a fever dream as I reach behind her for a cloth.
I can smell her hair, feel the heat of her skin, and my body is raging with need as I pick up the cloth and, casually, with great difficulty, step away from her to wipe away the coffee.
When she realizes what I was doing, she scoffs, her cheeks flushed bright pink and her rosy lips parted.
I grin at Valery, and she looks away, refusing to let me see the heat of lust on her cheeks.
But I do. I see the way her chest heaves and how she slowly licks her lips.
I see the tilt of her head and the way her eyes close halfway as if she’s lost in her thoughts.
She clears her throat softly and sets the mug down on the countertop.
“You have a thing or two to learn about personal space,” she huffs.
“Says the girl who just poured coffee on me.”
“Says the guy who doesn’t look where he’s going.”
“Says the girl who seems to arrive in the kitchen every time I do,” I tease, knowing it’s the opposite.
“Excuse me?” she huffs. “I do not!”
“Oh, but you do. You can’t stay away from me.” I latch onto the fire in her eyes, pushing her a little because I love to see that passionate flare.
“You’re delusional,” she snaps.
I take a step closer to her to put the cloth back where I found it, expecting her to hurriedly step away, but she doesn’t and I end up with her body against mine all over again, but this time she’s caught onto my game and she tilts her head up toward mine, a sly smile on her face that makes my cock throb.
With her head tilted up like this, her lips are inches from mine when I look down at her. I can’t bring myself to step away, and she isn’t moving. Hesitantly, caught in her mesmerizing stare, I lift my hand and gently brush my fingers over the soft curve of her jaw.
She leans a little closer, and my heart races.
But in an instant, she snaps out of it and shoves me away. “That’s enough of that,” she blurts out. “I’ve got things to do.”
Valery storms from the kitchen, leaving me with an achingly hard cock as I rest both hands against the kitchen counter and groan loudly.
Having her near me is teasingly beautiful. I haven’t felt this alive, this high on life, in years. Not since we were together.