CHAPTER 18
Anastasia
To say my emotions are giving me whiplash would be the understatement of the century.
They went from overwhelmed during the ceremony, to shocked and scared shitless when the bombs detonated, to horrified because a man I’ve never even heard of suddenly wants me, to turned on like never before as my husband practically drooled from seeing me in the lace underwear.
Needless to say, it’s been one hell of a day.
Sitting beside Rodian in the back of the Rolls-Royce, his arm is slung across my upper body, and he’s gripping the side of my thigh tightly. I’m clinging to his bicep, my cheek pressed to his shoulder.
The tension is thick in the cab, and even though a convoy of guards surrounds us, it feels as if we’re targets sitting out in the open, and it’s only a matter of seconds before everything goes up in flames.
Rodian presses a kiss to my hair, then says, “No matter what happens, just stay at my side.”
I nod, and when I glance up, our faces are less than an inch apart. He closes the small distance and presses his mouth tenderly to mine.
Since the amazing date he took me on, I’ve been wrapped in a bubble of infatuation, falling in love with him all over again. It really started to feel like all the bad was behind me, and I could find happiness again.
And now this. A glaring reminder that I married the pakhan, and the brutal world he commands will always be a dangerous minefield, littered with enemies.
When we enter an airfield, I ask, “Is this where the safe house is?”
Rodian shakes his head, then points at the runway where a private jet is standing. “The safest place for us right now is up in the air. We’re flying to Novosibirsk. That’s where Sokolov lives.”
My eyes go wide as saucers, and I gasp, “Why are we going to him? Shouldn’t we stay away, or flee in the opposite direction?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t run from someone who’s coming after me, Anastasia. He wants a war, so I’m taking it to his turf.”
“But what about the other heads? Will they meet us there?”
“No.” Rodian’s face sets into grim lines.
“This is between Sokolov and me. He challenged me for my wife and my seat as pakhan. The old code demands I answer him myself. No other heads. No army between us. I will defend what’s mine, and Sokolov will learn why I’m the pakhan when I kill him with my bare hands. ”
I’m torn between finding it absurdly attractive that my brand-new husband is hot as hell right now and being terrified that something could go wrong and I lose him.
Sergei parks the SUV near the airstairs of the jet and shouts, “Move!”
When Rodian opens his door, he pulls me out of the backseat. He’s so wound tight that he maneuvers me exactly where he wants me, and I have no choice but to go with the flow as I’m ushered up the steps.
Beside the two of us, Andrei, Sergei, and another ten men fill the cabin. Everyone quickly takes their seats, and Rodian straps me in before taking care of himself.
Andrei shuts the door and secures it, then shouts, “Go! Go! Go!”
When I glance out the window, I see sedans and Jeeps speeding toward us, and some of them have rocket launchers, which makes me shriek, “Oh dear God!”
Rodian pulls me into his chest and says, “We’re going to be fine.”
The jet begins to move, and as it picks up speed, I cringe against him, bracing for impact. When we lift off the ground, my stomach drops from how loudly the engines roar while the entire plane shudders as it climbs higher and higher.
I swear I can taste the tension in the air as everyone holds their breath, and when the aircraft finally levels out, some of the men whoop and cheer.
I can’t make myself pull away from Rodian and cling to him with all my might. My heart is slamming wildly against my ribcage, and I struggle to stop my anxiety from overwhelming me.
I feel Rodian pepper my hair with kisses, his hand brushing up and down my spine, then he murmurs near my ear, “We’re out of danger, moya krasavitsa. Try to take deeper breaths for me.”
“Tell the pilot to keep flying,” I gasp. “We can live the rest of our lives in the air.”
Rodian has to peel me off him, and when he looks at my face, something makes him unhappy, and the lines on his forehead deepen. “How are you holding up?”
Lifting my hand, we both look at how badly I’m trembling, then he says, “I think you should take your medication. It’s been a rough day.”
I stupidly glance around me as if the three boxes that are always kept on the bedside table will magically appear out of thin air.
“Blyad?,” Rodian snaps when he realizes the same thing as me. “We forgot to pack your medication.”
He removes our seat belts, and standing up, he helps me out of my seat. As I’m maneuvered down the aisle, Rodian barks out an order to his men. “Don’t disturb us unless the plane is going down.”
I’m taken to the back of the plane and into a bedroom. My breaths still come in short puffs over my lips, and the trembling won’t stop.
After shutting the door, he rushes to a bar fridge and pulls out a can of Coke. Opening it, he comes to place one of his hands behind my head while holding the can to my lips. “Drink, moya krasavitsa. The sugar will help with the shock.”
I take a few sips, then shake my head to indicate I don’t want any more. As soon as he’s done setting the Coke down on a counter, I move closer to him. Curling my fingers into his jacket, I press my cheek to his warm, solid chest, and shut my eyes.
Screams echo through my mind, some new from earlier today and others from my time at the factory.
Rodian holds me, every now and then kissing my forehead or hair. “Just focus on me,” he murmurs, his tone soft and comforting.
“I hear them,” I whisper. “The screams.” My voice cracks, and I swear I can feel how my fingers ached from all the work I was forced to do in order to stay alive as I admit, “I peeled potatoes while the others were tortured. I hid in the kitchen and didn’t try to help them.”
“You did what you had to.” Pushing me back by my shoulders, he orders, “Open your eyes and look at me.”
I pry them open and almost flinch from the brutal expression on his face.
“Don’t feel guilty for a single second, Anastasia.
There was nothing you could’ve done to help them.
You would’ve gotten yourself raped and killed alongside them.
” His expression turns downright savage as he growls, “If they didn’t kill Yelena, I would’ve.
There was no way I would let her live after what she did to you. ”
“No one deserves to die the way they did,” I whimper as a tear escapes and rolls down my cheek.
He places his hands over mine and squeezes them as he leans even closer.
“Fair, but you need to realize you couldn’t help them, and they sure as fuck would’ve fed you to the wolves if it meant saving their own lives.
Stop feeling guilty for surviving. You have so much to deal with already with all the hell you had to endure, don’t take this burden on your shoulders as well. ”
He’s right.
Every single one of them would’ve sacrificed me in a heartbeat. Even when Ms. Fedorova and I were the only two left, with no one but each other to depend on, she still called me a fat bitch and smirked when they forced me to crawl like a pig.
When I curl into his chest again, he engulfs me, one of his hands gripping the back of my head.
Pressing gentle kisses to my temple, he whispers, “Forget about them, moya krasavitsa. It’s okay to move on with your life and to be happy. You deserve it more than anyone.”
I nod and tilt my head back so I can meet his eyes, which soften on me while he keeps showering my face with feather-soft kisses.
“My Anastasia,” he whispers lovingly, his expression turning to one of pride. “My beautiful wife.”
All the attention he’s giving me makes the trembling stop and my breaths even out.
Staring up at him, I take in his neatly trimmed beard and the extra strands that have escaped from the bun.
I lift my hand to the back of his head and untie his hair, loving how wild he looks when it falls to his shoulders.
As I lift myself onto my tiptoes, he hooks an arm around my waist to support me and leans down. Our mouths meet in a soft kiss, and when he doesn’t deepen it, I take the initiative and bite his bottom lip.
Giving him what I hope is a seductive look, I push the lapels of his jacket to the sides until he gets the memo and shrugs it off.
This time, when I press my lips to his while undoing his bow tie, he doesn’t hold back. His fingers twist in my hair as he takes control, the sudden hunger stealing my breath.
I pull the bow tie free and let it fall somewhere beside us, then work on the first button of his shirt as his tongue strokes mine roughly.
God.
As intense tingles scatter through my body and my abdomen clenches with need, my fingers fumble with the buttons.
A low sound rumbles from his chest, and his hold around my waist tightens before he lifts me clear off my feet, keeping me firmly pinned to his muscled chest.
I love when he does that.
Moaning, I drag my fingertips through his beard, desperate for everything he’s willing to give me.
He angles his head, deepening the kiss until I completely fall under his spell. When I nip at his bottom lip again, a rough groan vibrates through him, sending a thrill straight to my core.
Rodian lowers me to my feet, then grabbing hold of my sweater, he breaks the kiss so he can drag it over my head. As he drops it to the floor, he orders, “Turn around and take off your jeans, so I can see your sexy ass.”
A little worried, I ask, “Won’t the others hear us?”
He shakes his head, indicating with a twirl of his finger for me to do as he said. “The hum of the engines will drown out any sounds.”
As I undo the button and pull down my zipper, he grins wickedly. “Unless I make you scream.”
A nervous chuckle escapes as I turn my back to him, and when I shimmy out of the tight jeans, the groan coming from him makes it sound like he’s in pain.
Just as I step out of the jeans, he grips my asscheeks and digs his fingers into my skin. “Blyad?, do you have any idea what you do to me?”
His voice is gravelly with desire, giving me one hell of a confidence boost. Slipping one of his hands around my front, he pushes it down the front of my panties and cups me between my legs.
“Iisus Khristos, even your pussy is fucking soft and plush.” The words rumble deep from his chest, making me pant with need for him. “Getting to put my hands on you has every ounce of control going straight to shit. I’ll do my best to take it slow for you, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult.”
Having a man touch me so sensually for the first time, my legs go a little numb, and I slump back against his chest. I have no idea what to do with my hands, and before I can figure out where to put them, he releases me and orders, “Get on the bed.”
As I place my knee on the covers, Rodian rips his shirt open, not caring that the buttons come loose.
Unable to tear our eyes off each other, he watches as I crawl onto the bed and lie down for him while I devour the ink on his skin and the sharp curves by his hips.
My body flushes with heat, and I rub my thighs together when he takes off his belt and unzips his dress pants.
He shoves his boxers down his muscled thighs, as well, making me lose my ability to think. As I stare at his manhood, which is thick, with angry veins snaking beneath velvety-looking skin, I feel my panties soaking with arousal.
Rodian gets onto the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his weight. Taking hold of my knees, he pushes my legs open, then proceeds to press a kiss to my mound before alternating between lightly biting and kissing his way up to my breasts.
“Oh God,” I moan from how erotic it feels.
He pushes his hand beneath my back and unsnaps my bra, then ripping the lace away from me, he lets out a predatory growl before he feasts on my nipples like a starving man.
I shove my hands into his hair, gripping the strands while my hips swivel, my core instinctively in search of his manhood.
With a desperate groan, he hurries to get my panties off, and I swear his eyes are so light, they look like ice crystals as he drags a finger through my arousal. I’m in for the surprise of my life when he leans down and bites the insides of my thighs before licking me from opening to clit.
Something between a squeak and a whimper bursts over my lips, then Rodian begins to suck and lick at me with urgency, as if I’m the most addictive thing he’s ever tasted.
“Shit!” I gasp, my fingers tugging at his hair while I squirm and dig my heels into the covers.
My abdomen tightens and tightens, and just as I lift my ass off the bed, it feels like I’m going to come apart at the seams, he stops and crawls over my body.
Gasping for air, I give him a what-the-hell look, which makes him chuckle. “I want you to come on my cock.”
When Rodian begins to rub a finger around my opening, I mutter, “Yeah, that’s not going to happen if you keep doing that.”
My lashes begin to drift closed, but then he uses the arousal he’s gathered from me to lubricate the head of his cock, and my eyes pop open while my brain misfires completely.
Holy crap, that’s incredibly hot.
Lifting his head, he locks eyes with me, and I don’t know what he sees on my face, but it makes him strike fast. His mouth slams into mine, and his hands knead my breasts, stomach, hips, and thighs. It feels as if he can’t get enough of touching me.
Losing myself completely to the only person who’s ever truly seen me and the amazing sensations he’s making me experience, I’m ready for him to take my virginity.