Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Riley & Matvey
Riley
"Look at me, Riley."
His command poured into my ears as his thick cock drove deep inside me.
My chest felt stuffed with cotton, the pressure so heavy I couldn't breathe. How could he just transfer Adrian away like that? And why the hell was my body so much more honest than my brain? The more he treated me like this, the wetter I got. Damn it.
Finally, his seed filled me completely. My spinning world came to a halt.
Night had fallen. The dim office was lit only by neon lights bleeding through the windows. The floor-to-ceiling glass reflected an obscene scene—my body half-naked, both breasts exposed, skirt hiked up, ass flushed red.
"Sir..." I straightened myself out and sat on the desk, watching Matvey button his shirt with deliberate slowness.
I didn't know what I wanted to say.
"Your eyes only look at me." His words consumed my every thought. My head felt like it was splitting open.
Did he actually care about me? I knew I shouldn't think that way—he'd just told me my only job was to obey and please him.
"What?" He covered the last inch of muscle and turned to me.
His eyes held satisfaction, but I couldn't read anything else.
"What do you really—"
"I don't plan to end this deal after two months."
What? He actually had feelings for me! Riley, wake up! A man like him—what woman hasn't he seen? He didn't strike me as the type to catch feelings easily. But that sweetness was already flooding every corner of my body. Maybe? Maybe I was the exception?
His gaze stayed locked on me. Then he leaned in, caging me beneath him. That familiar pressure crashed over me again.
"Name your price."
"What?"
"If you're willing to extend the deal, name whatever price you want."
I thought my ears were broken.
"What do you want? A house, a car, jewelry—I can give you anything." He looked at me like I was merchandise waiting to be appraised.
I stared at him. The soft spot in my chest instantly froze over. Reality slapped my delusions hard across the face. What the hell did he think I was?
"Matvey Bykov." Anger made me use his full name. "I'm only doing this to pay for my sister's medical bills. I had no choice but to stand on that auction stage."
"What do you think I am now? Some whore who'll spread her legs for cash?"
My voice trembled. My lips trembled.
I'd been naive enough to think I was special. But now it was clear—in Matvey's eyes, everyone was the same. Money. Profit. Was that all he could see?
"You talk too much." His hand gripped the back of my head, thumb pressing against my jaw. "You only need to answer my question."
His disapproving look seemed to blame me for being unreasonable. I felt like my heart would be carved right out of me.
"I have a right to know why." I met his gaze. "You have so many lovers. Women everywhere."
"Why me? Just because my body's a novelty you want to try?"
God, I was pathetic—my voice cracked the moment I opened my mouth.
"You don't need to know why." His voice dropped several degrees. "You just say yes and tell me what you want."
His reaction made me wonder if I'd pissed him off.
"I want to know why."
"I only want you right now." He fell silent for a moment, then forced the words through clenched teeth. "I fucking hate admitting this, but I can't stand other women anymore."
"When I think about another woman sucking my dick, it makes me sick."
"You think I want a novelty? You ever seen novelty last two months or more?"
That completely froze me. Was this what? A confession? Nothing like what I'd imagined.
"So you're... jealous?" I ventured carefully, afraid of setting him off again.
The air went quiet. His heavy breathing stopped abruptly.
Right. I'd hit the nail on the head. He was jealous—Matvey Bykov, this cold, ruthless man, was actually jealous. It was unbelievable.
"I said you talk too much." His large hand covered the lower half of my face.
My face was hot enough to fry an egg.
He cared about me. He just didn't know how to express it? This discovery was like Columbus finding the New World. Finally, after a moment of stillness, he slowly lowered his hand. He'd regained that experienced, composed demeanor.
The taut string in my mind finally relaxed. I took a deep breath and collapsed back onto the desk.
"Matvey, how am I supposed to work tomorrow? I don't have an ounce of strength left."
I lifted my arm, then let it fall. The muscle soreness left me completely limp.
"You can rest and come to the office when you're ready." He straightened, his tone softening.
So he had a gentle side after all.
The me from a few dozen days ago never would've predicted that the Matvey I'd always looked up to would speak to me in his softest voice.
Was this what being loved by him felt like?
A month had passed since that day, and my relationship with Matvey had shifted in subtle ways.
He was still the untouchable CEO of the Bykov Group. I was still the invisible low-level employee. But every morning, a cup of hot milk appeared on my desk. My work emails contained lines of notes unrelated to work.
"You look sexy today. Just watching you makes my dick throb."
"Your tits seem bigger. Is it because I've been taking such good care of them?"
"Wait for me in the parking garage after work. Wear those panties I like."
Damn it! Every time I read these messages, I could hear Matvey's sexy voice saying them. Every time, my panties got sticky. He rarely appeared at my desk, but that didn't stop him from disrupting my work this way.
But today, when I opened my computer as usual, no annotated files arrived. Suspicious.
I leaned back in my chair with my eyes closed, waiting for work to come, when a shadow suddenly blocked my view.
Half the chatter in the office died instantly.
I opened my eyes. There was Matvey's criminally handsome face. He was born to be a leader—being looked up to was his calling. Even from this angle, he was heart-stopping, the stubble on his jaw radiating mature masculine charm.
"Riley." His tone was unreadable.
I shot to my feet.
"Mat—Mr. Bykov." I tugged down my riding-up skirt and bowed.
I was so familiar with him now—I'd seen every inch of his body. But seeing him here, I still felt like gravity had suddenly increased.
I wondered if today's missing notes were related to his current attitude. Maybe he'd finally gotten tired of passing dirty messages through work emails?
"You're my assistant now," he said without expression, like it was the most ordinary thing. "Tomorrow morning, report directly to my office."
I felt the office atmosphere shift for the first time.
"Yes, Mr. Bykov."
He walked away in his leather shoes. I didn't lift my head until his footsteps completely faded.
Well, I'd actually been looking forward to what he'd write in my emails each day.
"Riley!" Before I could sit down, several girls crowded around.
"Tell us!" The lead girl looked excited, bumping my shoulder. "Mr. Bykov has never had an assistant before!"
Really? I'd assumed he was the type who changed assistants frequently.
"It's really nothing..."
"Don't be modest! Tell us, honey! What's going on between you and Mr. Bykov?" Their gossip-hungry expressions were identical.
I was almost dazed. How could they change their attitude so fast? Were these the same people who'd gossiped about me behind my back?
"We were blind before," another girl who'd joined Miranda in excluding me squeezed over and linked her arm through mine intimately. "Riley, you have to look out for us from now on."
Miranda was at her desk, keyboard clattering—at least she was consistent.
Honestly, I was more comfortable dealing with situations like Miranda. Not being surrounded by people who'd once isolated me, hearing them call me "honey."
Even the male colleague wanted to join their gossip circle. Several cups of coffee appeared on my desk.
And all these changes just because of one sentence from Matvey.
So ironic... but whatever!
Matvey
Dusk was falling. She sat in the passenger seat watching out the window, wearing my jacket.
In early spring, Manhattan got cold after sunset. It would make her sick. I didn't want that.
"Riley."
"What?" She turned immediately.
I glanced at her while checking the rearview mirror. Since that night, she'd been like this. Whenever I said her name, she'd look at me with those round eyes, like I was her whole world.
Honestly, if there weren't several suspicious cars tailing us, I'd stop and fuck her right here in the car, make those eyes go wet.
"Buckle up," I floored the gas, "hold on tight."
"Okay—ah!" Her hand just touched the handle when she slammed back into the seat.
Gunshots erupted behind us. The sound of bullets hitting the car body set my teeth on edge.
Riley looked terrified, hunched over in her seat. I didn't have time to comfort her—the road ahead was getting narrower.
I cranked the wheel hard. The tires shrieked on the wet pavement. I whipped through several turns and drove into a narrow alley. But those SUVs stayed glued to us. Another burst of gunfire, and the car lurched violently.
Fuck! The rear tire blew! The car spun out of control, heading straight for the brick wall at the alley's end. I slammed the brakes to the floor, but the front still scraped along the wall. The car was totaled.
"Get out." I kicked open the door and pulled Riley. "Stay close. Don't let go."
Her hand was shaking, but she followed desperately. Those men caught up fast. Bullets chased us.
"Don't be scared." I shielded Riley, then drew my pistol from my waist and turned.
The first shot tore through the leader's throat. The second hit another thug between the eyes. The third man had already fired at me. I dove with Riley in my arms, then took him down.
Headlights cut into the alley. More chaotic gunfire. When it ended, Anton walked over cursing.
"That fucking Victor!" Anton swore in Russian. "Because we terminated the partnership, this bastard pulled this revenge shit. He even ratted out our smuggling channel to the cops!"
"Pakhan, you okay?"
I shook my head. Riley suddenly gripped my shirt.
"Pakhan." She repeated the word, then looked up at me. "You're the bratva's pakhan?"
Her face went even paler. I didn't want her to face this, but I didn't want to lie either.
"That's right." I pointed at the Russian bear standing aside. "This is Anton, my second. He looks scary, but he's saved my ass many times."
Riley's expression was complicated. I knew—she was just an ordinary girl. This had to be hard to process.
"The channel will be fine. We always pull through." I switched to English for Anton. "But I'm damn sure going to make Victor regret this."
Anton wisely went to clean up the mess with his men.
I pulled the dazed Riley to a nearby park and sat beside her on a bench by the path.
"You're scared." I kept a few inches between us.
"No."
Her hoarse tone left me momentarily speechless. She was obviously scared to death.
"I had a falling out with my business partner. So he wants me dead." I leaned back against the bench.
"Sorry for dragging you into this."
She shook her head.
"Don't you want to ask anything? About who I am."
What was I saying? I'd never said anything like this to anyone. I'd never been the type to answer questions.
She looked at me, like she was waiting for something.
"My father was the bratva's previous pakhan. I inherited his position." I looked away from her. "From the time I can remember, all he gave me were trials. Nothing else. Win, and it's expected. Lose, and you get punished."
"That's the bratva world. The weak don't deserve to live."
She moved closer, but her breathing grew more cautious.
"He wanted to train me into the perfect heir machine. A killing machine that wouldn't fear, wouldn't show mercy."
"My mother refused. She fought with him for years, trying to pull me out of that trial ground." As I spoke, my mother's gentle smile surfaced in my mind. "But she never succeeded. She ended her own life when I was twelve."
Only after saying it did I realize—the weight that once felt unbearable didn't hurt as much now. Maybe time healed everything. Or maybe it was the person beside me. Riley.
Riley stayed silent, eyes downcast, sitting quietly beside me. Her body pressed closer and closer until there was almost no space between us.
"I think she loved you very much. She wanted to save you." Riley suddenly placed her hand on mine. "Trust me, no mother would willingly abandon a child she loves. She was just too tired."
"Bratva or not, pakhan or not—you're still you." She looked up at me.
Those clear eyes seemed capable of washing away all the world's darkness and pain. My heart pounded harder than it ever had, almost out of control. Riley's warm gaze would definitely burn my heart to ashes.
My past—my family, my failed marriage—had long since hardened my heart.
Love? That never had anything to do with someone like me.