Chapter 59
Nikolai
Ihate being without her. I knew this would only get worse, that my obsession would only grow with her presence, but I didn’t anticipate how painful it would be to leave her. Quiet in a way I can’t stand.
But I need to meet with Adrian before this shitshow of a ball Viktor has planned.
My annoying little brother has a talent for making everything difficult, and with the way shit is unravelling, I don’t have room for surprises.
Walking through the property, two buildings away from mine, I make my way to Adrian’s room. It’s a bit less extravagant but nothing close to minimalistic—just enough luxury to remind him he’s an Orlov, not enough to let him fool himself into thinking he’s like me.
I let myself in without knocking. Adrian is shaving in his bathroom, half his jaw covered in foam.
“You look horrible,” I say with my usual confidence, leaning against the grey doorframe.
He doesn’t turn. “Yeah, well, you shot me,” he retorts, dragging the razor with practiced irritation.
Adrian has never been my biggest fan. His mother is dead, as is mine, yet somehow it’s still my fault.
In his head, my mother caused Viktor’s spiral, which caused him to retaliate by fucking someone else, which caused Adrian’s existence—an existence he resents because he holds no real power.
“Yeah, well, you started fingering my girl,” I shrug, unbothered, because it’s true and because pissing him off is a cherished hobby.
He finally glances at me in the mirror, jaw flexing. “She’s not yours, Nikolai.”
“I don’t know,” I say, pushing off the frame and stepping inside. “She was begging for my dick, whereas she allowed you to finger her out of pity so you wouldn’t off yourself. Pretty sure it’s clear who she likes more.”
He throws his razor into the sink, water splashing before turning to push me back against the frame.
“You’re a dick.”
I smile. “Yeah, but regardless of your feelings, you’re going to help me.”
“Now why the hell would I do that?” he bites out, chest rising and falling too fast.
“Because you don’t want her to die either.” I step around him, lowering my voice. “Plus, if you help me, you’ll get everything you’ve ever wanted.”
He scoffs. “And what’s that?”
I let the silence stretch, watching the suspicion glisten in his eyes. Then I say it with taunting precision:
“Power.”
His breathing stills. It always does when I say the one thing he’s starved for. Adrian may hate me, but he hates being powerless more. And he knows Viktor’s ball isn’t a celebration—it’s a trap.
* * *
She moves around the little space, already owning it, barefoot on the wooden floor, humming under her breath as she pours coffee into a clean cup. Her hair falls in messy waves, catching the light. It shouldn’t undo me, but it does.
I sit against the headboard, shirtless, arms crossed. Watching her. She notices, of course, and throws me a sly glance over her shoulder.
Walking back with a tray, she sets it carefully across my lap, like this is normal.
“You didn’t have to,” I murmur.
“I like re-plating the food you bring up here,” Aurelia says, her tone light but edged with something heavier. “Makes me feel like I’m not your little prisoner.”
I lick my lips, looking down, trying to hide the truth—how much I like her being exactly that. My prisoner. My responsibility. Mine.
She sits on the edge of the bed, close enough that the warmth of her thigh seeps through. I catch her hand, fingers warm and slender, and she doesn’t pull away. That small surrender makes my pulse jump.
“You really are… something else,” I say.
Her grin is crooked, teasing. “You’re not as evil as I expected you to be.”
I lace my fingers through hers, anchoring her to me. “Well, that’s because you’re now hypnotized by my cock.”
“And now you’re back.” She smirks as I pull her in, pressing my lips to hers before she can protest any further.
She leans back, separating her touch from mine. “Can you tell me why you are so obsessed with my brother now?”
My jaw tightens. I force myself to keep my expression neutral. “That night we met,” I say slowly, “Enzo wanted to kill me for going near you. And I wanted to kill him for trying to keep you from me.”
Something shifts in her posture. She retreats, and for the first time since I took her, I can tell she’s uncomfortable. Not afraid—just suddenly aware of how deep the roots of this go.
“Ivan was with me that night,” I continue, watching her reactions carefully, “and when he shot at your brother, I decided to intervene. I knew you wouldn’t want me if I killed the one person you were closest to.”
She scoffs, but it’s thin. “I’m surprised you could read me so well. Even then.”
Her eyes flicker, and I can tell she remembers what happened next, the moment everything between us tilted.
“But then,” I add, “you told him my secret. About what Viktor was doing behind closed doors.”
That lands. Hard.
Her cheeks flush, eyes skittering away.
“Let’s just say,” I add with a humorless laugh, “your brother didn’t consider us even when he found out from his sister, not from someone he was trying to build trust with.”
She picks at the skin of her nails. “I-I’m sorry, I had to tell him. I needed his help.”
She won’t look at me. And I can’t stand that.
I reach out, sliding a finger under her chin, lifting gently until her eyes meet mine.
“Ya vlyublen v tebya,” I say quietly. I’m in love with you.
The words come out softer than I expect, careful, almost reverent.
I’m not trying to overwhelm her. I just need her to know.
“I don’t give a fuck what you do or say to hurt me or anyone else,” I breathe. “It doesn’t change anything.”
She laughs quietly and leans her forehead against mine. “That’s a bit dramatic.” Her voice is teasing, but there’s a tenderness underneath. For a moment, the world outside ceases to exist.
“But I’m starting to care about you too,” she continues.
“I know you are, Aurelia.”
Silence stretches, softer this time.
Then she shifts. Her gaze drops to my mouth, then lower, then back up. She’s debating something, her mouth stiffening in the way it does when she wants to lie but chooses honesty instead.
“You’re the only one who calls me that.”
I tilt my head, studying her.
Her shoulders stiffen. She doesn’t meet my gaze.
“When I was younger, during training… every mistake meant punishment. Every bruise meant I wasn’t good enough.
I wasn’t worthy of being Aurelia, not to them.
Just… Ace. And Dante, my father, started seeing me as someone to use.
He would bring me to meetings as something for men to look at.
Luckily, as Enzo got older and Elijah started having a larger role, they interfered and found excuses for me to stay home. ”
“Those excuses usually involved me getting punched in the face.” She lets out a hollow laugh, but her hand trembles in mine. “But I preferred it. Physical violence over mental.”
Something hot coils in my chest. I have to stop myself from standing up and tearing the world apart piece by piece until every bastard who touched her is nothing but dust and blood.
Dante, Enzo, Viktor, Elijah, whoever thought they could make her less than what she is—I would slit every one of their throats.
Not worthy? She’s more than all of them combined.
“I would kill anyone who tried to hurt you,” I say, and it comes out darker than I intended, but underneath it’s a vow, a promise written in blood.
I pull at my personal rubber band, realizing I might be coming on too strong, and I soften it with, “You’re mine to protect now.
No one touches you. No one even looks at you wrong. ”
Her lips twitch, holding back a smile. “That’s the difference, isn’t it? You’d stop them. But you’d still keep me caged.”
I lean in, catching her chin so she has no choice but to look at me. “I won’t keep you forcefully forever, Aurelia.”
Her breath hitches. She searches my eyes, waiting for a crack, a lie. But there isn’t one. There never will be.
For a long moment, she just stares at me, her defences slipping. Then she presses her forehead to mine again, relaxed this time, almost vulnerable.
And in that second, I know. She’s already given in. Even if she hasn’t realized it yet.
She runs her hand down my front, letting it get caught on my waistband before undoing the button and zipper that leads to my boxers.
She wraps her hand around my length, and I can hardly keep my eyes open at her touch.
“I want to know more about you,” she whispers, trying to hold my gaze.
“Malyshka, I don’t really want to talk when you’re doing that.”
I regret my words as soon as I say them because she actually releases her grip and sits back.
“Really?” I question.
She shrugs. “If you tell me more about your life, I’ll keep going.”
My mind flashes to the first time she tried this, manipulating my desire for her into something for her benefit, and my dick only hardens further.
“You get five questions, malyshka, hurry up.”
She smiles, thinking she’s won. Fuck, she’s adorable.
Her hand returns to my aching cock, and I want to shove it in her mouth, but instead, she licks from base to tip, slowly, just once, then looks up at me with her gorgeous eyes.
“How was your childhood?”
You’ve got to be kidding.
“It was fine.”
She tilts her head in disapproval, but I need her to keep going, so I elaborate. “It was probably as shitty as yours. I was twelve when my father made me kill someone for the first time.”
She looks sad, like she wants to console me, so I immediately put a stop to that. “Put my cock back in your mouth now.”
She smiles shyly and takes me to her mouth again, this time wrapping me in her perfect pink lips and pulsing up and down, first in a slow rhythm, then picking up speed as she probably notices my body tensing under her.
“Fuck,” I let out a groan, but this fucking girl pulls back again.
“Why did you talk to me that night we first met?”
I lean my head against the backboard in frustration, but again, do as I’m told. “You were hot and you were crying, I wanted to make you feel better.”
“Did you know who I was?”
“Yes.”
She looks disappointed to hear that, but she shouldn’t be. I didn’t know she was a secret until later that night. “It didn’t affect my decision to speak to you, Aurelia, and it certainly isn’t the reason I became obsessed with you either.”
She smiles with my reassurance, taking my length like the perfect princess she is.
She keeps coming up for breathers to ask quick questions. What’s your favourite movie? What kind of music do you listen to? Do you go to the beach?
My answers all came quick, unable to wait for her continued touch.
Aladdin. I don’t like music. Yes.
She continues picking up speed, and I can’t take it anymore, spilling into her mouth.
She swallows me and wipes her lips clean with the swipe of her middle finger.
I look at her in awe as she sits as perfect as ever, and not looking like she just made me unravel for her.
She smiles as I pull my pants back up.
“Is your favourite movie really Aladdin?” She lets out a small giggle, and I throw a pillow at her face.
“It’s a cinematic masterpiece. Stop disrespecting it.”
“Come on,” she continues, laughing, “you’re just scary, evil heir-to-the-Bratva man, so I wasn’t expecting it.”
“It’s funny now, malyshka, but now it’s my turn to be in control.”
I grab at her ankles, pulling her to the edge of the bed. Taking her in a deep kiss.