Nanny and the BRATVA BOSS

by Daiko, SC

  Zoe’s and my first dance was necessarily short, barely a few twirls around the floor to Roberta Flack’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face being played by the musicians I’d hired. Just holding her in my arms was enough. We had our whole future in front of us for dancing. I dropped a bow, and Zoe a wobbly curtsey while I steadied her. We had a secret we’d kept from our guests, and she needed to rest a short while before we revealed it to them.

  We returned to our seats, and I lifted her hand, kissed it. “Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?” I met her gaze.

  “Positive,” her smile was confident and put me at my ease. The idea had been hers; at first, I’d been doubtful, but this was her day and I wanted it to be perfect for her.

  We sat and watched our friends and family on the dance floor. Emma was dancing with Valentin, all starry-eyed. Should I be worried? I fisted my hands. She was still so innocent. Relax, Taras… she’s just a kid.

  A sudden thought occurred to me. I didn’t want to raise my daughter to become a wife and mother like Nina had been raised. I wanted Emma to have a career, a career she loved. If she decided to get married at a later date, it would be her call.

  “You know Emma’s ambition to become a professional ballet dancer?” I said to Zoe. “Well, I’ve been thinking and…”

  “And?” My bride shot me an expectant glance.

  “How about she starts attending ballet school in New York?”

  “Oh, Taras,” Zoe’s topaz eyes shone, “you’ve no idea how pleased that makes me. Emma told me once she was expected to marry when she was eighteen to someone in the Vory, chosen by you.”

  “I don’t know where she got that idea,” I touched my finger to Zoe’s cheek, “maybe Mrs. Konin?”

  Zoe nodded. “Could be. She mentioned your marriage to Nina had been arranged...”

  “It was the way things were done.” My voice was gruff. “Times have changed. I want what’s best for my Emmochka.”

  “Don’t look now, but here she comes,” Zoe chuckled.

  Dragging Valentin along with her, my fierce little mouse approached our table and planted her feet wide apart. “Are you guys ready yet? I can’t wait any longer…”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Zoe cracked a smile. “How about you, husband?”

  Hearing the word husband from my rybka’s mouth sent a silly grin to my lips. “Let’s do it.”

  We rose to our feet and sauntered across the room to the small stage by the Baby Grand piano. I snapped my fingers, and Oleg appeared with my cello.

  Emma grabbed the mic, tapped it, and the entire room fell silent. “Ladies and Gentlemen, friends and family, it is my absolute honor to introduce my dad and Zoe, who are gonna duet for you.”

  Thunderous applause and whistles from Taras’ men.

  I sat on a chair, my Stradivarius between my knees.

  Zoe sat next to me and took in a deep breath.

  I gave her a nod, tapped my bow three times on the side of my cello and started playing Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years.

  Zoe was right there with me, singing like an angel. I was so fucking proud of her tears sprang to my eyes.

  This was real.

  The real me.

  For years I’d been lying to myself.

  There was no longer any need for that; I could be open.

  All thanks to the beautiful woman by my side.

  “I love you, Zoe,” I got to my feet after everyone had applauded and congratulated us. “I’ll love you to eternity and beyond.”

  Emma took my cello and Zoe smiled up at me. I raised her to stand before me. She was my soulmate, more than my equal; I would forever be in her debt.

  “Ya lyublyu tebya,” Zoe said the words in Russian, and I caught Emma grinning like the Cheshire cat.

  “Come here, myshka,” I opened my arms, enfolding my two girls in a warm embrace. “We are a family now. What do you say to that?”

  “I think it’s awesome,” Emma giggled.

  Zoe and I gave her a joint-smirk. We’d tell her about ballet school later, after we’d finished partying.

  Now it was our time. Our night. So special. I led Zoe back onto the dance floor. “Not too tired?” I checked with her.

  “No way,” she said, resting her head on my shoulder as we swayed together to Adele’s Make You Feel My Love.

  Zoe sang the words in my ear, and I sang them back to her, so fucking happy I could have exploded.

  Epilogue

  Nine Years Later

  Zoe

  The curtain rises on the stage at the Met to reveal a lake under the moonlight. Tchaikovsky’s glorious music echoes through the theatre. The corps de ballet swans move in magical unison, and there, right in the center of the group, is our Emma. My heart swells with so much pride I could burst. I reach for Taras’ hand and squeeze it; he’s so freaking proud of his little mouse that tears are running down his stubbled cheeks.

  It was only two years ago that Emma joined the American Ballet Theater as an apprentice, after attending ballet school and pursuing her dream, never deviating, but working the longest hours until she achieved near-perfection. Tonight’s performance is her first in the corps de ballet; if she carries on at this rate, she’ll become a principal dancer before too long.

  I glance across the box toward a red-headed woman, sitting with a tall brown-haired man. I shoot her a smile.

  Nina.

  If my almost full recovery from brain injury… I still walk with a slight limp and occasionally have difficulty remembering words… can be described as a miracle, Nina’s recovery from her psychosis, can be deemed an even bigger miracle.

  Seven years ago, Taras received a phone-call from the facility in San Diego he’d entrusted with her care. Nina was showing signs of improvement. Then, over the next several months, her psychotic episodes became fewer and farther between until, finally, she was able to function with minimum medication.

  We took Emma to see her then, and the reunion between mother and daughter was so poignant my eyes well up remembering it. We became close, and Emmochka got to be a bridesmaid for the second time when Nina remarried. Her husband, Roy, is an accountant, who was living in the same apartment block in San Diego where Nina moved after she was discharged from the facility. They’ve adopted two kids, not wanting to provoke a recurrence of Nina’s mental health issues from a failed pregnancy, and they clearly adore each other.

  As for Taras and me, we’ve increased the size of our family to six, including Emma of course. The doctors gave me the go-ahead to try for a baby two years after the shooting. A year later, our first son, Anton, was born, followed eighteen months later by our daughter, Sofia, and two years after that by our baby boy Ilya. We have our hands full, but we love it.

  As for the rest of my family, when Taras discovered I was working for him to pay for the repair to Daddy Gabe’s ancestral home, he immediately made a significant donation to the fund. So significant, in fact, that Aldridge House will no longer need to be opened to the public, giving my parents well-deserved respite from the intrusion. My mum only goes on the occasional tour when she wants to, not because she needs to financially, and she visits us with my daddies at least a couple of times a year. We even go to England with our kids every summer; there’s so much to see and do. Taras refuses point-blank to take us to Russia, though, which is probably for the best.

  Olivia came out about her relationship with her friend, Becca, when our first son was born. They’d loved each other for years, apparently. Livvy had only pretended to have a thing for Becca’s step-brother, Ben, aka Brash. Olivia and Becca were married at Aldridge five years ago, shortly before Livvy’s company transferred her to New York. It’s great having my sister and her wife living so close, and our kids love both of their aunties.

  I focus my attention back onto the stage. Emma is one of the swans that turns into a human at the end of the performance, and she looks so beautiful in her white tutu. The music score finishes on a rousing note, and the go
od-looking young man seated on my left, leaps to his feet and applauds.

  Valentin.

  Emma’s fiancé.

  They got engaged last summer and will be married next June when Valentin graduates from medical school.

  Taras and I couldn’t be happier about it. They were made for each other, just like Taras and me.

  My Bratva Boss reaches for my hand, lifts it to his lips.

  Still so handsome.

  Still deep, dark and dangerous.

  There are things about him I don’t know, and don’t want to know.

  He isn’t evil, and I doubt Nina thinks that of him now. He’s a good man at heart, when you peel back the layers. I give my head a little shake. Not exactly good to everyone, but, yes, to those he loves.

  He loves deeply, deeper than most.

  And I will love him to the end of my days.

  * * *

  Thank you so much for reading Nanny and the BRATVA BOSS. I hope you enjoyed Zoe and Taras’ story as much as I loved writing it. US representative Gabby Gifford’s shooting in 2011 and rehabilitation in the following years inspired Zoe’s recovery from her bullet wound. I based her injuries on those sustained by the American politician. This is fiction, of course, and I wanted my heroine to have her HEA, but miracles do happen.

  Would you like to read more about Eleri, Gabe and Luke? Find out about their ménage romance by one-clicking Their Virgin Nanny.

  Taras’ predecessor in Fairwood, Gleb Sokolov, features in BEAST: A Mafia Romance. One-click here.

  Alyona’s story will feature in BRASH, which will release early summer 2019. Add it to your Goodreads TBR here.

  Sign up to my newsletter for news, updates, giveaways and freebies. I promise I won’t spam your inbox. You can also join my Facebook group, Siobhan’s Courtesans, for info and sneak peeks of future books.

  Turn over a couple of pages for excerpts from Their Virgin Nanny and BEAST: A Mafia Romance, if you like.

  Playlist

  I Dreamed A Dream (Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables)

  Hallelujah – Sheku Kanneh-Mason - Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah, arr. Tom Hodge

  With or Without You – (U2) – 2 Cellos

  Something Just Like This – (The Chainsmokers & Coldplay) – Cello Cover

  Baby Can I Hold You – Tracy Chapman

  The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Roberta Flack

  A Thousand Years – Christina Perri

  Make You Feel My Love – Adele

  Excerpt From Their Virgin Nanny

  GABE

  It’s a warm July evening, so I open the patio doors. The sounds of London reverberate in the air… planes heading towards Heathrow, police car sirens, traffic, all interspersed with evening birdsong. At this time of the year, it doesn’t get dark until ten pm. I set the table and pour us both a glass of wine. Oreo, our black and white neutered tom-cat, winds his way between my legs, purring; I smooth his silky fur and get a head butt in return.

  Luke appears with two bowls of spaghetti Bolognese; we dive in and eat hungrily in companionable silence. Our nanny, Abi, always eats with the boys, and I suspect she has a collection of snacks up in her room to keep her going. Thinking about her gives me a prickle of worry. What if we can’t find a suitable replacement?

  “Where’s that list of applicants?” Luke asks, as if he’s read my mind.

  “I left it in the study,” I say, clearing our plates and then filling Oreo’s bowl with dry cat food. “I’ll go get it.”

  Within minutes I return, and we scan the details of five different girls. There’s one that catches my eye immediately. Twenty-two years old, the same age as Abi when she started with us. One year’s experience with an American family in Notting Hill. They’re returning to the States, which is why she’s looking for a new job. I hand the information to Luke. “This girl. Eleri Thomas. I like the look of her. She’s been caring for twin boys aged eighteen months. And she likes cats.”

  He stares at the girl’s picture, and his smile shows the dimples at the corners of his mouth. “She looks nice... like sugar and spice.”

  I grab the page back from him. Eleri has dark wavy shoulder-length hair. She’s wearing a plain white blouse and is looking directly at the camera. Not at all like the sort of girl Luke and I have invited into our bed from time to time. Which is good. We deliberately chose Abi as she wouldn’t tempt us. Although we’re committed to each other one hundred percent, Luke and I like to spice up our sex lives by sharing a willing woman and fucking her together. We certainly wouldn’t want to fuck our nanny; apart from the ethics it would make life far too complicated.

  Thinking about sex has made me feel aroused. I put the girl’s details down on the kitchen counter. “I’ll email the agency tomorrow,” I say, giving Luke a needy look. “Let’s go to bed.”

  LUKE

  I close the patio doors and check the cat-flap so Oreo can get in and out. He’s a good-natured beast, accepting of Matty carrying him around like a cuddly toy, but he needs his independence at night. Thank fuck we live in a quiet street and don’t need to worry too much about him ending up under a car.

  Gabe has already undressed before I step into our bedroom. I shoot a look at his perfect body: abs and pecs toned from daily workouts. Unlike my own shaggy dark-blonde hair, Gabe’s is almost black and neatly cropped. He never sports more than a day’s worth of stubble, whereas I avoid my bastard razor like I avoid going to the fucking dentist. His dark-blue eyes lock with my greens, and his smile is full of lust.

  We kiss, our lips meshing, his tongue seeking mine and drawing it into his hot mouth. He pushes down on my shoulders, and I know what he wants. His cock is iron-hard and straining against me. I slither down his body until I’m on my knees. Fuck, his dick is beautiful… thick, veined and ready for me.

  He buckles his legs and I suck him into my mouth, my own pierced cock throbbing as I taste his salty fluid. I sweep my tongue across his tip, sinking more deeply over him, pressing firmly against the underside.

  He groans and slides his hands into my hair, tilting his hips and pushing more of his thickness into my mouth. I open for him and take what he gives me. He begins to thrust deep and steady, the head of his dick grinding against the back of my throat, his balls bumping against my chin.

  He withdraws and I inhale a sharp breath, ready to suck him off again. But he pulls me up his body and kisses me instead. “Take off your clothes, tiger. I want you naked.”

  “Yes, sir,” I deadpan, stepping out of my jeans and boxers.

  He lifts off my t-shirt and pulls me against him. We kiss again, our tongues sliding together, our cocks rigid. I reach down to fist him, and his dick twitches in my hand as he releases a moan. He tugs at my shaft, jerking and pulling and stretching my length. I release him with a gasp, the ring of my Prince Albert pressing against his hand as I grip his beautiful ass. He lets go of my dick to hold my butt cheeks, and our cocks seek each other out, meshing together as we buck against each other, hard flesh against hard flesh, a frantic dance of hips and cock.

  Fuck, it feels incredible.

  My balls tighten, and tingles spark through them. “I’m gonna come, Gabe.” I grind into him.

  His cock jerks against mine and he explodes with a hiss, his cum shooting onto my lower abs. I grunt and thrust, my cock sliding in the slick of his release, and then I’m there too, spilling onto him as I crest the wave.

  I crush my mouth on Gabe’s before deepening the kiss, enjoying the feel of him, this man, my hot lover and best friend. “Guess we’d better have a shower,” I say, pulling away from him.

  “You’ve guessed right,” he smirks. “Dirty boy.”

  * * *

  Later, lying in our king-sized bed, I run my hand up his smooth chest. “I love you. You know that, don’t you?”

  “I do,” he breathes. “And I love you too. Sorry if I don’t say it that often. You know me. Stiff-upper-lip and all that.”

  His breathing slows and soon he’s asleep. I ki
ss his shoulder, and he sighs in his sleep, pulling me close.

  Meeting Gabe was the best thing that’s happened to me. Both in our late thirties, we’ve been together eight years already, healing the hurt we’d suffered from failed relationships. Mine with a woman whose career was more important to her than starting a family, and his with a bloke who left him for a himbo from Brighton.

  It was fate that brought us together, a chance meeting in the Beaufort Bar at The Savoy. We’re from different ends of the social spectrum, you could say. Gabe was drinking a champagne cocktail and I’d ordered a pint of ale. Gabe’s father is an earl and Gabe is set to inherit the title, not that you’d realize if you hadn’t been told; Gabe is totally unassuming.

  I close my eyes, trying to clear my mind of thoughts so I can sleep... tomorrow I have a ton of work to get through. I fucking hope this new girl works out… that’s if we take her on; it’s not every girl who’d be able to manage a set-up like ours.

  Excerpt From Beast: A Mafia Romance

  I cross my arms above my head, closing my eyes and swaying my body in time to the throbbing bass rhythm. The upbeat vibe of the dance music and the screwdriver cocktail I just drank are making me feel good... not so out of place as I was feeling a couple of minutes ago. Lure has got to be the swankiest club I’ve ever been in; not that I’ve been in many. Opulently decorated and oozing style, so freaking exclusive they use face recognition to let you in. I’m here only because my bestie, Tamara, is dating one of the Russian bouncers; we wouldn’t have gotten past the doorman otherwise.