Tempting the Badman (Russian Bratva #5)

by Hayley Faiman

The dress skims the tops of my knees, however, there is a long slit up the back and to the right, below my ass, so that I can actually walk. The back dips so low that it just skims the top of my ass, making it impossible to wear a bra.

  I quickly finish applying my makeup, leaving it creamy and soft, even going so far as to adding a sheer gloss to my naturally peach lips. Then, I take my hair out of the hot rollers and let it tumble down my shoulders in soft curls.

  Ashley did not come empty handed when she showed up yesterday. She came bearing gifts, and one of those gifts was a brand new pair of high heels. They’re not just any high heels, either. They’re not even released yet, a favor she called in, a pair of Jimmy Choo, Cinderella edition, four-and-a-half-inch high heel shoes. They’re covered in different sized Swarovski crystals, placed expertly and perfectly over the entire shoe, including the heel. On the toe is a large crystal flower cluster with just a hint of blue to the stones.

  “Your something new and blue,” she said with a wink. Then she pulled out a gorgeous diamond necklace and told me it was my something borrowed.

  “I have my something old handled,” I whispered as I walked over to my jewelry armoire.

  I took out the bracelet that Uncle Pavlov gave to me. It was his mothers, and it was one of the only things he brought with him when he moved to the United States from Russia. It isn’t anything flashy or over the top, just gold strands woven in a pretty pattern. It’s very old, and it’s special, so I decided that I should wear it for my wedding day. I explained to Ashley where it came from and she wrapped her hand around my wrist and gave it a gentle squeeze. Then we went through my earrings to find something to match my dress.

  My fingers skim some of the pieces that sit in the top of my jewelry box that belong to my mother. I should wear them, but I’ve never worn them. They’re beautiful, but every time I pick one up to wear, I close my eyes and I see her. It should make me feel nostalgic, but it just makes me so damn sad. I don’t want to think about her or her jewelry. I don’t want to think about the fact that she’d probably be disappointed in the woman I’ve become by allowing this man to make the decisions he has for me.

  Now that I’m completely dressed I start to put on my jewelry. I let out a breath as I begin, tightening the screws of my pink diamond studs, that were a gift from Uncle Pavlov for my college graduation, in my ears.

  Looking in the mirror I glance at my dress, I’m wearing my sexy and exposing tight dress. Moving my eyes down I smile at my sparkling shoes, dazzling, as they catch the light with every move I make. My necklace is absolutely stunning, and my hair and makeup are done to perfection.

  I sigh, now that I have to actually leave my bathroom and go to the courthouse to marry Dominik. I feel sick.

  Marrying Dominik is not like marrying some ordinary man.

  Marrying Dominik is for life.

  Divorcing him is not an option.

  Death is the only way out.

  “Inessa, it’s time,” Konstantin murmurs from outside my bathroom door. He informed me this morning that he would be delivering me to Dominik at the courthouse.

  I shouldn’t be surprised that we won’t be going to the judge together. I haven’t actually seen him in days, so it shouldn’t leave me a little hurt or stunned that he doesn’t want me at his side all day. It shouldn’t, but it does.

  “I’m ready,” I murmur as I open the door.

  Konstantin’s eyes slowly take me in from head-to-toe and then back down before he lifts them to meet mine.

  “Inessa,” he rumbles.

  “Shall we?” I ask, tucking my handbag beneath my arm as I start to walk past him.

  “You look stunning—absolutely, out of this world, stunning,” he rasps.

  “Thank you,” I mutter, keeping my eyes trained on the gorgeous shoes Ashley bought for me.

  Konstantin doesn’t say anything else, and his hand slides to the small of my back as he leads me out of the apartment. I’m thankful for the silence. My head is lost, and I’m nervous as all hell. The ride to the courthouse is also silent, leaving me equally as grateful.

  “Take a deep breath,” Konstantin murmurs. I turn to him and see that he doesn’t have his usually cocky expression. He looks almost—worried.

  “I’ll be okay,” I say shakily.

  “I know you will. You’re a strong woman.” I open my mouth to deny his observation, but he unfolds out of the car and makes his way over to my side before I can.

  He opens the door, holding out his hand to help me. With shaky fingers, I slide my hand into his and close my eyes for a brief moment before I inhale deeply and stand. The time has come. I should have been married years ago, so this shouldn’t be so nerve-racking, but it is awful. I feel so sick.

  Konstantin squeezes my hand before he releases it with a grunt. I look up, and there, waiting for me—his eyes staring at us behind his designer aviator glasses—is Dominik. From the distance, I can see his set jaw and the stiffness in his body as he watches us. The anger almost shoots out of him, and the closer I get, the more I can feel it radiating from him.

  “Good morning,” he growls.

  “Good morning, Dominik,” I whisper.

  Dominik doesn’t say anything else. He wraps his hand around my bicep and tugs me into his side, his hand sliding around my hip as his fingers dig into me.

  When we walk through the courthouse, I ignore everything but what is in front of me. I see Ashley, Yakov, and Uncle Pavlov waiting at a closed door. I’m shocked to see Ashley and Yakov, but my focus is on Uncle Pavlov, whose eyes narrow on Dominik, and then get even smaller when he sees his grip on my hip.

  I wriggle out of his grasp and hurry to my uncle, wrapping my arms around him as I hold him close to me.

  “Are you okay?” he asks on a whisper that only I can hear.

  “I will be. It will all be okay,” I whisper, not believing a damn word I’m saying.

  “You are full of shit. He hurts you in any way, you tell me. I know people,” he murmurs. I can’t help but smile as I take a step back. He grabs my hand and looks down at the bracelet, then looks up to me and smiles. He touches the metal, and then Dominik yanks me back to his side and lifts his chin.

  Konstantin opens the door we’re standing in front of, and we all shuffle inside. There is a judge sitting behind the desk, and he smiles kindly, albeit a little franticly. Then he proceeds to marry us. We don’t say our own vows. What’s the point? We don’t have a deep love between us. We say the normal ones; and then when it’s time, Dominik slides a ring on my finger, and I slide one Ashley hands me onto his.

  I don’t even look at my ring. I don’t have time before the judge pronounces us husband and wife, and Dominik yanks me into his chest. He slants his head before he crashes his lips against mine in a hard, almost painful, closed mouth kiss. Then, he tugs me away, and I run after him.

  “Dominik, slow down,” I call out. He doesn’t respond, and he doesn’t slow.

  I am panting by the time we reach his car. Dominik opens the door, practically throwing me inside before he slams it shut behind me. Then he hurries to the driver’s side and takes off toward Brighton Beach. I’m afraid to speak, and he chooses not to say a word, so we drive in complete silence. I take the time to look down at my hand—specifically at my ring.

  I bite my bottom lip when I catch a glance at it. Holy shit, it’s gigantic. It’s at least ten carat weight cushion cut with a halo of diamonds around it. I press my lips together, trying not to show any kind of reaction, because my new husband is an asshole, but he’s an asshole with an exquisite eye for jewelry.

  “Ready?” he asks. I’m surprised to see the car parked at the Oleandr. He’s got my door open and is holding his hand out for me. I slip my newly adorned hand in his and get out of the car. “Never wear this dress in public again,” he murmurs angrily against my ear.

  “What?” I whisper.

  “You are a wife of a Brigadier now. If I want your tits on display, I’ll tell you to put them out t
here. If I wanted you working in the whore house, I’d put you there as well. I don’t need you to advertise for them, unless you want to work there?” he asks, arching a brow.

  I reach back without thinking and slap him across the face. His head twists to the side and he turns back to me with a grin on his lips.

  “There’s my girl. I see you underneath, after all,” he chuckles.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re like a fucking corpse, and that’s not the Inessa I know. If I have to be an asshole to breathe some life back into you, I will be,” he mutters, wrapping his hands around my waist and pulling me into his chest. My hands are trapped between us, and I try to push away.

  “No, you don’t ever push away from me again, Inessa. You’re my wife now,” he mutters before his lips gently brush against mine.

  “I hate you,” I whisper.

  “You’ll get over that about the second my cock slides inside of your wet cunt,” he murmurs against my lips. I gasp before he slides his tongue inside of me and groans.

  My hands move up to wrap around the back of his neck as he fucks my mouth with his tongue. I moan at the feel of him, a familiar feeling and yearning I’ve missed for days. Then, as if cold water is dowsed on me, I freeze and wrench my head back.

  “Nessa?” he stupidly asks, looking surprised.

  “You can’t just kiss me and expect everything to be fine. What you just said to me, and then what you did.” I shake my head but he lowers his forehead to mine.

  “I didn’t fuck anybody. There’s been nobody for months, Nessa,” he whispers.

  “Don’t lie to me. Please, respect me enough not to lie to me,” I say with a tremble.

  “I’m not. She came onto me, she kissed my neck, but nothing happened. I pushed her off and I slept on the couch in the office because I got drunk, alone, in my office,” he says, his voice low and soft.

  “Why did you let me believe it?” I ask, taking a step back from him. We’re on the street, and I know we should go inside. I’m sure that people are waiting, but I want to know. He shrugs as his reply.

  “Nik,” I demand.

  “Better you know I’m an asshole now, expecting very little of me, then figure it out later,” he grunts.

  “I already know you’re an asshole. That’s a stupid answer,” I shoot back.

  “Fuck. Because I’m a fucking piece of shit. I’ve been in prison, I’ve done despicable things, and I’ve broken you,” he shouts.

  “I’m not broken,” I whisper.

  “Yeah, right now, you fucking are.”

  “Then it’s your job now to fix me,” I continue to whisper as I wrap my arms around his neck and press my breasts against his hard chest.

  “Inessa,” he groans.

  “Are you going to fix it?” I ask, looking up at him through my lashes.

  “Yeah, yagodka, I’ll fuckin’ fix you,” he growls before he presses his lips to mine and takes me in an all-consuming, perfect, heated, completely beautiful kiss. A kiss that should have been our first kiss as husband and wife.

  I walk into the Oleandr with my gorgeous wife at my side. My wife. I’d been avoiding making a woman my wife for so long that now it feels surreal. My fingers flex against her waist as I pull her a little closer to me. She’s absolutely beautiful today, but she’s too exposed. I can see every single man’s eyes track her as we walk through the crowded restaurant.

  “Dominik,” she murmurs. I almost flinch at how soft her voice is. I hate it. I want that strong, confident woman back—the woman I fucking broke.

  “Mmm?”

  “I’ll move in with you, but I want to lease my place, and I want you to actually come home,” she announces. Her fire, that fire that I absolutely adore about her, I see it spark as she tries to order me around.

  “Okay, yagodka. You move in, and I come home,” I murmur, turning to her. Stopping in the middle of the restaurant, I wrap my hand around the side of her neck.

  “Really?” she breathes.

  I grin before I lean down and press my lips to hers.

  “Really. We do this, and we do it right. Enough of the fighting,” I announce. “Now, let’s have some good food, some good vodka, and then I’ll fuck you all night,” I murmur against her lips.

  I feel the hitch in her breath before I hear it, and I know that she wants that too. She’s missed me as much as I’ve missed her, and tonight we’re going to make up for the days we’ve been apart.

  We don’t have a huge group of people waiting for us when we arrive to the back of the restaurant, but there are a few. Ashley and Yakov are there, as are Konstantin, Matvey, Stas, and Dr. Pavlov. I’m not close to anybody else, and I’m thankful that Ashley didn’t invite anybody else.

  Yakov orders the food family style, along with Cristal and vodka for the table. We drink, we eat, we laugh, and by the end of the party, we’ve spent well over eight hours just being together. I stand with a sway, and realize that I cannot drive home; neither can anybody else in our party, aside from the pregnant Ashley.

  “I’ve called to have some Byki come and pick us up,” Konstantin announces.

  It doesn’t take long for the different town cars to line up, and we all shuffle inside of them.

  “Where to, sir?” the driver asks.

  I give him Inessa’s address and she curls into my side, wrapping her arm around my middle and placing her hand on my stomach. I look down at her hand and touch her wedding ring.

  “Do you like it?” I murmur.

  “It’s the second most beautiful thing I’ve seen in the world,” she whispers as her eyes flick up to mine.

  “What’s the first?” I ask.

  “When you come,” she admits shyly, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip.

  I growl my response and twist my fingers into the back of her hair as I tip her head back and then press my lips to hers. I thrust my tongue inside of her mouth and I taste her. She tastes like champagne and the sweet dessert she consumed not too long ago. She tastes absolutely amazing, my gorgeous wife.

  “Your destination, boss,” the Byki from the front seat says. I watch as he climbs out, and then walks to the back of the car and opens the door for us.

  We hurry out of the car. The anticipation of being inside of my wife is too great.

  I need to fuck her.

  I need to claim her as mine—mine for eternity.

  WE HURRY UPSTAIRS, AND I’ve never felt such thrill and excitement as I do right now. Before, when we were together, it would be me going to him. I wasn’t exactly thrilled and excited, more like nervous and anxious. I was trying to guard myself, guard my feelings from him, and I didn’t allow myself to be anything other than anxious.

  Now, with the hope of something spectacular, with the hope that our relationship is on the verge of a radical shift, I’m feeling enthusiastic for the first time—maybe ever.

  “Take that flimsy scrap of fabric off,” Dominik mutters as soon as we walk into the living room.

  I watch as he locks the front door behind him and then turns to me, his face serious, and his eyes focused on me and nothing else.

  “Let’s go into the bedroom, Nik,” I rasp.

  “Nyet. Take it the fuck off, Inessa,” he demands. His voice is so hard that it sends a chill up my spine.

  I reach behind me and tug down the short zipper before I slowly push each strap over my shoulders and shimmy out of the extremely tight dress. I step out of it once it falls to the floor, and I’m completely naked, save for my shoes, in my living room—my living room with floor to ceiling windows that are completely open.

  “You are too sexy in that dress. Every man you walked past today was hard just looking at you,” he mutters.

  I almost snort at his words, but I don’t. The seriousness in his tone, the rigidness of his posture, it sends a warning that makes me keep my mouth shut tight.

  “Those shoes are pretty fucking sparkly,” he grunts as his eyes zero in on them.

  “Ashley gave th
em to me as a wedding gift,” I murmur.

  “Take them off,” he demands.

  I quickly, but easily, step out of them. I’m waiting, nervousness, along with anticipation, flooding my system. My drunken body can no longer handle being as far away from his as it is.

  “Ass on your coffee table,” he orders.

  I stand for a second, frozen in surprise, and then I do as he’s demanded. I hurry over to my coffee table and sit on the edge, hissing as my ass touches the cool glass. The legs are a silver metal and square, the glass extremely thick and sturdy.

  “Spread your legs,” he instructs. A thrill rushes through me as he starts to undress himself.

  Dominik is dressed in his usual black suit, white shirt, and black tie, but he didn’t need to wear anything different. His everyday suit is sexy as sin. It’s what drew me to him the second I saw him. If you didn’t see him in the suit, with his hair long in his face, you’d never know the power he commands. Other than naked, I’ve never seen him in anything but his suits, and that’s perfectly all right by me.

  Once he’s completely naked, my eyes travel his long body until they meet his hard cock. I lick my lips at the sight. He’s long, thick, and hard. He chuckles, but I don’t shift my focus as he walks toward me. Then he surprises me when he crouches down and goes to his tattoo starred knees between my legs. I have no choice but to look into his eyes, which are almost level with mine, and I watch as he grins.

  “I missed your hungry gaze, yagodka,” he murmurs as he tucks my hair behind my ear. “I missed your sweet cunt more.”

  “Nik,” I rasp.

  “Lie back.”

  I do as he asks, and he wraps his strong fingers around the inside of my thighs and pushes my legs apart even further before he licks me. He licks me from my ass to my clit, and I let out a long, deep moan. His tongue swirls around my clit, once, twice, three times before he flicks it and then plunges inside of my pussy. I gasp as my hands fly to his hair and hold onto him.

  Dominik doesn’t stop. He alternates from fucking me, to biting, sucking, and flicking my clit with his tongue. I start to sweat and my hips move at their own volition, searching for more from him as I climb higher and higher toward my release.