by V. Domino
Her head snaps around towards the main door, evidence that she was so distracted with me that she didn’t hear the car pull up. I turn to make my way outside hearing her mumble angrily as she hurries to get dressed. I find myself smiling at the irritation in her voice, I know that Paige is a feisty one, but I’m not worried with that as I am more than capable of keeping her too distracted to argue. Opening the main door to step outside I see Dimitri making his way towards me from where the rooms are located. He must have also heard the car and has come to investigate.
The first person I see is Vlad, he has his arm around Haley’s shoulders, and is holding Gabby their little baby girl in his other arm. One of our SUV’s has parked behind his Mustang and two of our men are stepping out. “I thought you were only coming tomorrow.”
Vlad inclines his head towards his woman, “Haley wanted to make sure that Paige was fine after what happened.”
“She has just gone to her room, she is fine.” At my reply Haley steps away from Vald holding out her arms for Gaby.
“I’ll go in and see her, I know you want to speak to the men.” Vlad nods as he passes a sleeping Gaby into her arms, he then leans down and kisses her lips gently before letting her walk away.
“I brought you an early present.” Vlad says as he turns his back towards me and lifts his hand to the men that are now standing outside the SUV. I see one of them open the back door and then pull out a bloody Maxim.
“Fucker” I mutter, knowing that if Vlad brought him then it means that they have confirmed that he is the traitor.
“Alexei said you can do as you like with him as it was you that they nearly killed.” Vlad says as he glances over his shoulder at me.
“Spasibo” I thank Vlad knowing that Alexei would have given Vlad the option of avenging Paige as her brother in law, but he has rather given me that pleasure. I slide my hand behind my back to pull out my weapon from my waistband as I make my way towards the two men and Maxim. I can see the fear in his eyes as he sees me approach. His eyes snap down to my weapon and then back to mine, when I am standing but a couple of feet away from him I stop and incline my head for the men to let him go and step away.
“You are responsible for the attack on my life and the life of my woman today. For that you will die.” I see his eyes widen, he opens his mouth to talk as I lift my arm, but I don’t give him a chance as I pull the trigger. The bullet enters his forehead, and then he is slumping down, I turn my back on him making my way back towards where Vlad and Dimitri are standing.
“Your woman?” Vlad asks when I reach him. I nod but do not reply as I’m not sure what else to say except that Paige is now mine. “You know what that means, don’t you?” he asks with a quirk to his lips.
“What?”
“You are going to be my brother in law.”
“Fuck,” I grunt, but I grin. Vlad and I are like brothers, there would be no one else I would rather have as a brother in law.
I thought that Andre might have come to my room last night, but he didn’t, after Ruby and Gaby left, I went to bed but tossed and turned half the night before finally falling asleep. He told me that I was his woman, but then he doesn’t come to share the bed with me. Did he mean what he said or was that just talk? I know that I was angry with Andre at what I heard him tell Vlad so many years ago, but If I am being truthful with myself, I was an irritating spoilt brat when he met me.
He makes me feel like no one ever has, and that isn’t even the sex last night. I have never had sex like that before, but I should have known that Andre was dominant, it’s all over his personality. His kisses have me forgetting my own name, and even though I know that I can be argumentative and strong willed, I know that Andre will only let me push his buttons so far and then he will retaliate, and to be honest I can’t wait for those times as I have a feeling that the sex will be explosive.
I heard the others arrive earlier this morning but after the day and night I had I decided to sleep in, but it’s now time to get up and go and join the others, time to go and face Andre. Looking at myself in the mirror one last time I see my short plaided skirt, my black stockings and black combat boots with the roller neck red jersey. I know that I look good, and I am hoping that Andre will notice.
Usually I am nervous at these parties when surrounded by Alexei, Nik, Dimitri and Vlad as they are clearly dangerous men, but after witnessing Andre killing those men yesterday I know that he is just as dangerous as the others. I walk into the sitting room to find Jade, Raven and Ruby on the couches talking while the children play by the Christmas tree.
“Paige” Jade calls when she sees me, patting the couch next to her, “come sit here sweetie, I was so worried when I got here this morning and your sister told me what happened yesterday. How are you?” Jade is Alexei’s wife, the Boss of the Bratva Fury. Alexei is a force to be reckoned with, I have always heard the men and women talking with respect and admiration about him, and it is hard to link the man that runs a mafia family to the man that is so caring with Jade and their kids, but Jade is wonderful and it is understandable how such a powerful man fell in love with her.
“I’m fine, it was just the fright but as you can see, I’m unscathed.” I say with a smile
“I know all about those frights, and I can tell you that it leaves you shaken for a while, but you slowly start to forget the experience.” Raven says with a kind look at me, I think out of all the women she is the most courageous in being Nik’s wife. Everyone calls him the Reaper of the Bratva Fury, and apparently he stands up to his name. I have heard that his name alone triggers fear in hardened men, meanwhile if you see him with Raven and his two kids you would never say that he’s the man that can torture the truth out of the most hardened man.
“I. . .” I start to reply when I feel the very air around us change, looking towards the door I see first Vlad with his arm around my sister walking in, Andre and Dimitri are behind him and then Nik and Alexei walk in last. The presence of these possessive, dominating men will always capture everyones attention with their magnetism alone.
My eyes lift to be caught in Andre’s possessive gaze; his eyes lower to my lips which has me instinctively licking them. The spell is broken when the kids see their fathers and start calling to them to come and see the presents under the Christmas tree. Dimitri goes to sit next to Ruby, placing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close against him.
Nik leans down kissing Raven on the lips gently before moving to sit on the ground near the Christmas tree and the children. Alexei too goes to sit next to Jade taking her hand in his much bigger one as she leans her head against his shoulder.
Looking over at Haley I see her and Vlad have decided to lay down Gaby’s play blanket and are now both sitting on it with her. I smile when I see how happy my sister looks. I know that I gave her a hard time growing up, especially when she was doing all she could to make me happy. When I was younger, I was rebellious but when she met Vlad, I realized what a sacrifice she was willing to make for me. I am so distracted looking at Vlad and Haley that I didn’t realize that Andre was approaching.
When he leans down over me, I tense, glancing up at him I am surprised when he pulls me up and then takes my seat. I’m about to turn towards him and complain when he pulls me down onto his lap. I can feel my face heat with embarrassment when I see the women all look at us in surprise except for Haley because I told her yesterday about us. I also notice that the men don’t seem at all surprised which tells me that Andre must have mentioned the fact that he wants me to be his.
His arms slide around my waist as he pulls me back against his chest, I feel the heat on my face kick up a notch when I feel his erection rubbing against my ass. He leans his lips against my ear, “Relax, I don’t bite” he whispers as his thumb starts stroking my stomach. Relax? How can I relax when he pulls something like this in front of everyone without warning me first? “Unless you want me to.” His sexual innuendo has heat rising in my core thinking of all the things he can do t
o me.
“I didn’t know you two were together.” Jade says with a poke at Alexei’s side, “why didn’t you tell me?” I see Alexei shrug, but he doesn’t reply.
“I think it’s great.” Ruby states with a smile
I look over at Haley and see her nod of approval, as she smiles. “I’m glad it’s Andre.” Haley says, her eyes moving behind me to Andre. I can feel his warm breath on my neck which has warmth spreading through my body and gathering between my legs.
“Looks like I have your sister’s approval.” He whispers again against my neck and this time I feel his lips just below my ear. I place my hand over one of his and squeeze letting him know to behave, but instead I hear him chuckle. I hear Vlad say something to Dimitri that starts up a conversation about who eats the most, but I am so distracted with Andre that I can’t concentrate.
“Shouldn’t you have my approval too?” I whisper back knowing that no one is paying us any attention, I feel his thumb stop its stroking and his body tense.
“You gave me your approval when you told me last night that you are my woman, or did you forget?” I know exactly when he’s referring too, I could argue that I was delirious with passion and didn’t know what I was saying, but I did. “What if I did forget?” I ask knowing that I am teasing him and that Andre isn’t one to let a challenge lie, I should be prepared for the consequences but if I can have with Andre what the other couples here have, I will be a very lucky woman.
“You are my woman, and one day you will be the mother of my children, don’t ever doubt that.” I know that Andre isn’t someone that makes promises lightly, since I was a teenager that I have had a crush on a man that seemed to not even notice me, but now I am sitting on his lap and even though I know that we still have lots of fights ahead of us, I also know that the making up will be worth it. This Christmas started out bloody, but Andre has turned it into a heartwarming dream come true.
THE END
Thank you so much for reading BLOODY CHRISTMAS Novella. This is a Christmas Story in the Bratva Fury series. I hope you enjoyed your journey into the life of these possessive alpha males and their women. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review. Reviews help authors like me stay visible and help bring others to my series.
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Next book being released by Alexi Ferreira is DANE (book 2) Elemental’s CT MC
ELEMENTAL’S MC SERIES
Wulf (book 1)
Bjarni (book 2)
Brandr (book 3)
Ceric (book 4)
Cassius (book 6)
Celmund (book 7)
Burkhart (book 8)
Caelius (book 9)
Draco salvation (book 10)
Draco wrath (book 11)
Elemental’s mc christmas blast
BRATVA FURY SERIES
Tormented (book 1)
Turmoil (book 2)
Mayhem (book 3)
Fury (book 4)
WOLVERINE MC
Bound (book 1)
Tamed (book 2)
Stalked (book 3)
ELEMENTAL’S CT MC SERIES
Ulrich (book 1)
Dane (book 2)
NEXT WOLVERINE MC
Revenge (book 04)
Death was not a spectator when you were born into our world. Instead, Death was an old friend. He sat quietly in the room, followed you wherever you went, and when he felt the time was right, he stole from everyone you knew and loved. It was rare that Death would arrive gently in our circles. He asked no permission, took without mercy, made sure that his presence was felt until you were begging for him to take you as well.
December used to be my favourite time of year. It was the only month that my family slowed down. Mama would demand that Christmas and New Year’s be a time that business was paused in order to spend time with family. And family usually encompassed not only my parents and three older brothers, but multiple others who were part of the family business. The house was decorated, and the front door constantly swung open with people bringing in the winter chill alongside their holiday cheer.
There was none of that this year. Christmas day was creeping closer, but the house remained eerily bleak with the exception of one room.
I flipped the switch in Mama’s room and a dozen strings of fairy lights blinked into life. A small tree was propped in the corner, glitter covered baubles casting reflections that danced onto the walls. It was still early in the day, so the tinny tune of Christmas classics had yet to start.
The sudden flash of the lights drew Papa’s attention to me. I froze on the spot. Papa had always been a larger than life figure, intimidating and ferocious in everything he’d done. The name Emilio Diaz was spoken with reverence and fear and in every rumour, there was an essence of truth. Not one of us had been a stranger to the family business or his temper, but lately it had become increasingly unpredictable.
Papa had strict control over everything. There wasn’t a thing that could happen that Papa didn’t know about. That Papa didn’t have a hand in. That Papa couldn’t fix in the blink of an eye.
Until now.
He had tried, of course. We had seen every specialist with no care for the amount of money being spent. Unfortunately, biology could not be bribed. My corrupt Papa had been bested by crooked DNA.
“I can come back later.” The words cut through the silence in the room, but Papa shook his head.
“It’s okay, son,” he said. “She’s still asleep.” Mama slept more than she was awake these days. A combination of the disease and pain management medication meant that her lucid moments had become rare events. She had begun the steady, sombre march towards Death’s alluring call.
“Did she have a good night?” I asked, walking up to the bed and looking at her. The long, dark locks that I remembered her having ever since I was a baby had vanished. And, instead, her bare head was nestled against the pillows.
When I glanced over at Papa, I saw the small twitch as his jaw tightened. The circles were prominent under his eyes and the tension never left his shoulders these days. He opened his mouth to answer, but whatever he was about to say was cut off as he looked past my shoulder.
“Papa.” Iago’s voice filled the room. “Marcus De Salvo is here. He has some news concerning the Santoros.”
My head whipped around to look at my eldest brother. Santoro? That was Valentina’s family. What news did Marcus have about Valentina and her family? They’d left for Italy during the week. The usual social engagements had not tied them here and so they had chosen to travel back home where they would spend the holidays.
“What is it?” Papa asked him. Business no longer came to the door. The family knew we had bigger things to deal with, so this had to be something Marcus felt needed us.
Iago’s eyes locked with mine for a few brief moments before he looked back to Papa. The message was clear. Whatever news Marcus had was not to be shared with me, which only drove my curiosity, but I knew better than to question Iago. If our father had forged himself a reputation, then Iago was attempting to make his even more formidable. At twenty, Iago had already earned himself the moniker Reaper’s Apprentice and he wore it with pride. There was nothing my brother wouldn’t do to ensure the Diaz name maintained the power it held.
“Stay here,” Papa instructed, looking at me as he rose from his seat. I bit back on the growing urge to ask them what was going on and instead, nodded my head as Papa and Iago left the room, closing the door behind them.
The Santoro Family had gone home. What news could there be? My mind instantly wanted to run to the worst conclusion, but I needed to be logical. Maybe Papa had given them a job and Marcus was merely reporting back. There was no point in thinking the worst, even if somewhere in the back of my mind and the pit of my stomach a seed of nervous energy had been planted. The thoughts ebbed and flowed from my mind, bringing with them waves of anxiety. I’d text her later, and that w
ould put an end to my worries. Or call. A call would be better. I’d hear her voice, her laughter as she called me silly, but she’d know that, even before an exchange of rings, she was my priority. A habit that I’d continue throughout our lives.
Mama’s coughing pulled me from my thoughts, and I rose from my seat to get her a cup of water. I lifted it to her lips and she drank, then turned her head away and I put it back on the nightstand before sitting on the bed beside her.
“Morning Mama.”
“Tesoro,” Mama said, her cold, bony fingers running down the side of my face. Mama had always said she loved us all equally, and while that might be true, we were also loved differently. I would always be her youngest and her tesoro. Her treasure. “If you frown like that those lines will be permanent. Then what will Valentina say when you ask for her hand?”
I let out a quiet laugh and I saw a weak smile pull at Mama’s lips. Unlike my brothers, I was a little less concerned about the business and more focused on trying to win Valentina around to becoming a future Diaz.
Valentina Santoro was an angel placed on Earth. She had golden blonde hair that fell down her back, and blushed easily whenever she was paid a compliment. It wasn’t just how she looked. Valentina was seemingly loved by everyone. There was never a moment where she wasn’t smiling or helping out in some way. The perfect golden girl and I had every intention of making her mine the moment we turned 18.
“Did she like her gift?” Mama asked me.
Before Valentina and her family had left for Italy a few days ago, they had paid a visit. We knew what it symbolised. It would likely be the last time they would see Mama. The entire visit held a strange tension in the air, but I thought nothing of it. This was not the typical scenario and people never quite knew what to say or how to behave.
