Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
Saskia clapped enthusiastically, peeking past the crowd in front of her as Deputy Saagan approached the podium.
Radik said something into his earpiece, and she noticed Saagan’s security move a little closer.
It wasn’t Radik’s job to adjust Saagan’s security, but he thrived on this sort of thing and Saskia didn’t mind sharing the responsibility with him.
“It is with great pleasure that I announce the People’s Party for Change has won the election!
” Saagan shouted to his campaign staff, friends, and followers.
Loud cheers erupted and he waited for the noise to die down before continuing.
“Through corruption, assassination attempts, and election fraud, we have succeeded in securing the majority of the vote. From the bottom of my humble heart, I thank the people for their confidence. I have heard your messages of faith and I will not fail. Change is coming to the Central African Republic.”
Screams of support echoed through the hall.
“These are unprecedented and dangerous times, but together we are stronger; together we will make our country a home again,” Saagan added.
Saskia blinked back tears. She was happy for Saagan, for the people who voted for him, and she was happy for herself.
Pride swelled as she thought of the months leading up to this moment.
The intensity of Saagan’s opposition when it became clear he would take the majority of the vote.
There had been shootings, bombings and a car chase through a remote area of the CAR. Saagan had survived it all.
Saskia had gone to battle on the Deputy’s behalf with Radik’s resources behind her.
She’d flown security teams to voting stations all over the CAR, mobilizing hundreds of Radik’s mercenaries.
It had been a largescale operation with her at the heart of it.
And now she was beyond pleased to watch as the fruits of that labour were reaped by the people who deserved a man like Saagan as their leader.
The Deputy finished his speech and left the stage. It took several minutes for him to make his way to them. When he arrived, he exuberantly shook Radik’s hand, then hugged Saskia with enough strength to drive the breath from her body.
“It’s because of both of you that I am to become President, that I can enact my policies for change.
” His gaze softened on Saskia. “Your tireless efforts on my behalf have not only secured the election but have saved my life multiple times. If you are ever in need of a favour, please come to me. I will give you anything you ask.”
Saskia shook her head. “I only want you to do the things you’ve promised. Provide your people with clean drinking water, roads, safe infrastructure, vaccination programs, environmental programs… all those good things.”
“You have my word,” he said, bending to kiss Saskia on the cheek before moving along to meet his new constituents.
Saskia grinned up at Radik. “This might be the best day of my life.”
“No,” Radik said decisively. “Our wedding day will be the best day of your life, but you may have this as the second-best day.”
Saskia laughed at his autocratic demand. “Speaking of wedding, we should get back home. We only have a week and there’s so much left to do.”
“Nikka and Nonna have things well in hand, but yes, we should be getting back home. I’m eager to see Rory.”
Saskia’s heart melted, the way it did each time Radik showed interest in their daughter, which was often. This trip to Bengui to support Saagan was their first time away from her. “Yes, let’s go to our daughter. I don’t trust Shola not to teach her weapons before she can even walk.”
After a quick word with Saagan’s head of security, they drove to the airport and were soon in the sky on their way back to Marifiya.
Shola met them at the airfield. “Rory is sleeping, but she was upset that you weren’t here to put her to bed.
” Her tone was displeased. After falling in love with the baby, she’d decided it was her mission to clear Rory’s path through the world.
Any disruption to routines and schedules was met with extreme displeasure from Rory’s self-appointed nanny.
“She’ll survive,” Saskia said drily, though she was a little sad she’d missed Rory’s bedtime routine. “Have our sisters arrived yet?”
Ayaan and Leeza had promised to fly out early to help with wedding preparations.
It was a simple question, but Shola seemed to struggle with the answer. “Y-yes, they’re here, along with Dr. Koba. I put them in a guest room… I mean in their individual rooms. By themselves.”
Saskia and Radik stared at her. Shola was the master of confidence when it came to weapons of war, but whenever a certain someone was mentioned, she turned into a stuttering mess.
Saskia pushed the needle in a little further. “Have you discussed Koba security yet with Ayaan? I understand Jozef has some specific requests and Ayaan is to communicate them to our security team.”
“I… y-yes, she said something about it. I’ll put her in touch with Nuani in the morning.”
Saskia gave her a predatory grin. “I think you should handle this yourself.”
Radik frowned. “Nuani is head of s–” He finished with a grunt when Saskia stomped on is foot.
To Shola, she said, “Can you handle liaising with Ayaan along with performing your other duties?” Saskia tossed out the gauntlet, knowing Shola couldn’t resist a challenge.
“Of course, you needn’t worry about a thing.”
Later, after they’d checked in on their sleeping daughter and were in Saskia’s room getting ready for bed, Radik asked, “What was all that about with Shola? It’s Nuani’s job to secure the compound, he should be the one working with Ayaan on Koba security.”
“But is he in love with Ayaan?” Saskia asked, pulling her nightshirt over her head.
Radik stood motionless, his expression blank, before he growled, “He’d better not be. I’ll snap his fucking neck if he touches her.”
“Why?” Saskia giggled, turning on the bedside lamp before crawling into bed.
Radik hit the wall switch, throwing the room into shadows. “She’s too young.”
“She’s the same age as I am, but by all means, if you want to compare the age gap between Nuani and Ayaan with our age gap, let’s do it. Hmm… now is it one or two decades between us? I keep forgetting?”
“Alright, enough.” Radik forcibly rolled her over on the bed and smacked her butt while she wriggled and laughed. “What’s your point? Is my sister really in love with Nuani? Am I going to have to put up with her moving to Marifiya to be with him?”
Saskia moved so Radik could slide into bed with her. They’d been sleeping in the same bed since coming back from Prague. Radik’s nightmares had lessened and he hadn’t had a PTSD episode in months.
“She might want to move here, but it’s not Nuani she’s in love with,” Saskia said. “Besides I think Nikka would stab anyone trying to cozy up to Nuani.”
Radik pulled the blankets over both of them. “Then why are we talking about this?” He reached for the lamp.
“Because Shola is in love with Ayaan, and I’m pretty sure Ayaan is in love with Shola, which is why I insisted on them working together. Enough dancing around the elephant in the room. They need to spend time with each other, see if all that chemistry they have can go anywhere.”
Radik’s hand froze in midair as he processed what Saskia said. “In love?”
“Yeah,” Saskia giggled. “Scary right? The two most powerful women here combining forces. Things could go catastrophically sideways.”
He turned the lamp off and gathered her against him, cradling her head in the crook of his arm. “You sound happy about it.”
“Yeah, I love watching the love lives of others. It’s like watching a serial romance on TV. You should have seen my sister and Havel when they were flirting around each other. Houses burned, people died, it was great.”
She felt Radik’s lips on the top of her head. “You are as bloodthirsty as the rest of your family.”
“Maybe a little.”
He rolled her beneath him, pressing her into the mattress and settling himself between her thighs. “You like to flirt with danger as much as any of us.”
“Is that what I’m doing?” she purred, wrapping her legs around his waist.
He dragged her nightshirt up, pressing his cock against the wet crotch of her panties. “In no uncertain terms, that is what you are doing.” He crushed any response she might have had in a heated kiss. His tongue dipped eagerly into her mouth, exploring the depths with an insatiable need.
She moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck like a vine as he touched his thick fingers to her panty-clad pussy. When she widened her thighs, he pushed the panties aside and touched where she desperately desired him to touch.
After months of uninhibited exploration, he knew exactly where and how to touch her, and oh boy, did he use that knowledge! She flung her head back as he stripped her panties off her, then plunged a finger inside her.
“Oh my god!” she gasped, rocking against him, riding his finger.
“Come for me, my angel.” He leaned over her, flicking his tongue against her engorged clitoris.
“Yes, yes, yes!” she keened, lifting her hips to his face, her body clamping down on his finger as he took her to paradise.
“Now,” he commanded, and she came with a garbled scream.
He climbed over her, caging her in his massive arms as she came down from the high of her orgasm. When he surged into her, another orgasm took her. Every muscle in her body went rigid as she milked his cock, holding him inside her, forcing him to come alongside her.
“Fuck!” he snarled as his hips surged against hers, pumping his seed into her heated channel.
After, they lay sprawled across the bed, sweat soaked and satiated.
“Didn’t mean to come so fast,” Radik growled, his hand splayed possessively on Saskia’s belly, his fingers encompassing her. “You undo me every time.”
Saskia grinned her satisfaction. “What you’re saying is I have a magic pussy, right?”
He chuckled. “Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”
“Or is it just an excuse for premature ejaculation? Maybe we should get you looked at. After all, age is a factor in men’s sexual performance–”
He surged up in the bed, yanking her with him until she was on all fours. She barely had time to register what was happening before he was inside her again, this time from behind.
“I’ll show you premature ejaculation,” he grunted, slamming into her with enough force to drive her into the mattress. He held her up with an arm around her middle, forcing her to take the brunt of his furious strokes. “You’ll be begging me to stop before I’m through with you.”
She laughed, but soon her giggles became gasps as he strummed her like an instrument, his fingers gliding across her clit, forcing her into another orgasm.
He wrung several more from her, until she was limp in his arms, a moaning mess as he continued to hammer her from behind. He leaned over her, his chest to her back, his guttural voice in her ear, “Any more comments about my age?”
She shook her head emphatically. As much as she loved the orgasms, she was ready to stop. “I’ll be… respectful,” she said breathlessly. “P-promise.”
“You won’t,” he grunted, slamming into her one last time, flooding her with semen for the second time.
She collapsed onto her stomach, barely aware as he pulled out of her, kissed her shoulder and dragged the blanket over both of them.
Her voice was a whisper when she said, “You love it when I’m cheeky.”
“I do,” he said, his fingers wrapping around her hip as he settled onto his side of the bed. “And you love it when I punish you for it.”
One week later, Saskia and Radik were married on the dirt road out front of their house.
Saskia was wearing a dark blue silk sarong that wrapped her curves in a loving embrace.
It was pinned together at her shoulder and waist with bundles of brilliant red flame lilies.
Another cluster was woven into her curls.
Radik looked every inch the confidant man he was in his military dress uniform, medals shining in the sunlight, beret perched on his head, and shiny boots on his feet.
Little Rory, held in Saskia’s arms while they said their vows in front of their friends and family, was adorably dressed in a baby version of her mother’s sarong.
While Saskia didn’t consider herself particularly traditional, she did ask Jozef to give her away.
It seemed poetic, since he had been her protector from a young age and was now giving her into the keeping of another protector.
It was old-fashioned and mafia, but Saskia appreciated the tradition, nonetheless.
It felt familiar and it bonded the two families.
The best part of their wedding day came after the ceremony, when the entire town erupted into a raucous party. Food and drink flowed abundantly while a group of local musicians played as people danced all around them.
Much to Saskia’s surprise, Shola unbent enough to join the festivities, taking Ayaan’s hand when she asked Shola to dance. Ayaan pulled her into the street with the other revelers and they danced together until they collapsed on the grass in exhaustion.
After a few hours of celebration, Nonna took Rory from Radik, saying to Saskia, “I know you like to put her down yourself, but let me do it tonight. Nikka and I prepared a surprise for you in your room. It’s ready when you are.”
Saskia raised an eyebrow at Radik. “Who are we to deny such a lovely request?”
“Indeed.” He held his arm out and she slid her hand over it.
As they entered her room, Saskia gasped. “Oh wow, this is a good surprise!”
Flowers spilled from every corner, giving the room a delicate fragrance. The flowers trailed out through the open balcony doors and onto the patio where an ice bucket held a bottle of Champagne. Beneath their balcony, the party raged on, music and laughter punctuating the rapidly darkening night.
Radik popped the cork on the Champagne and poured two glasses. “My bride,” he handed Saskia a glass.
She took it, holding it up. “My groom.”
“To us.” Radik touched his glass to hers and they drank.
He took her flute and set it on the table, then pulled Saskia into his arms. “As lovely as you are in this dress, I’m eager to see what’s beneath it.”
“You know what’s going on under this dress,” she pointed out. “You’ve checked hundreds of times.”
“It’s different this time,” he insisted.
“How?”
Wrapping his hands around her hips, he dragged her against him, his rigid cock pressing against her belly. “All this belongs to me now.”
“Ah, well, by that logic, all this…,” she ran her hand down his chest, before reaching around him to squeeze his perfect ass, “belongs to me.”
“I’m glad we agree.” His teeth flashed in a predatory grin before he kissed her. Cheers erupted below them, but they ignored the noise, exploring each other at their leisure before taking their private party for two indoors.