by Mason, V. F.
When we’d just started, I made so many mistakes, expected a man who’d closed off his heart to love me easily when in fact it probably scared him. It wasn’t just his fault; rather, we probably couldn’t have had it any other way.
Our love was born in pain and suffering that brought no relief, just more fear that consumed us because of our pasts. Running away from it seemed easier than facing it, and even though I wanted a chance with him… I never truly asked for it before I got pregnant.
Love couldn’t flourish in fear; love needed hope, and both of us lacked it.
“I love you too,” I replied, because nothing really mattered besides this truth, and for the first time, his mouth spread in a smile right before he took me in a deep kiss, right after he murmured, “Thank fuck for that.” And then the energy changed back to lust and a raging inferno that demanded to be satisfied.
He hooked his arms under my knees and picked me up, catching my loud squeal with his lips, and it quickly escalated to a groan as I wrapped my legs tighter around him, seeking the hard-on digging into me. I could feel it slide over the outside of my core, but he needed an extra push for it to come closer and slam home.
To me.
But to my utter shock, he took us down to the floor and dropped me on the fluffy rug in the middle of the spacious bathroom, which even had a jacuzzi. Aleksei was nothing but a show off. And then my one true love loomed above me as I gulped.
Gone was the tender man who just declared his love for me. Instead, a hungry and wild man replaced him.
He spread my thighs, and his eyes immediately widened as he focused his attention on my stomach, and unconsciously I covered it with my hands as shame washed over me.
I forgot all about my scars from Jaroslaw’s torture, but the biggest was the knife wound that left a deep, angry bruise that wouldn’t fade and always reminded me of the nightmare I’d lived. “It’s not pretty,” I said quietly, hoping it wouldn’t stop his actions, and shifted a little so the harsh light from the ceiling wouldn’t light it up so prominently. “I understand if—” My next words died on my lips as I noticed lightning flashing in his eyes, and I closed my eyes, expecting a fight.
However, I only received a growl as he removed my hands and ordered, “Keep them above your head. Don’t ever cover your body from me, upryamaya.” Once he dropped next to me, he skimmed his hands from the underside of my breasts, down my ribs, and to my hips, spreading my legs wider as he settled between them. His hot breath fanned my skin, leaving goose bumps in its wake, and my stomach dipped when I felt his velvety tongue tracing the scar from one end to the other, along with a few small kisses that in a way soothed the pain that was long gone. “This shows me your bravery,” he murmured, placing yet another kiss on the part where everything was puckered and red. Sometimes even I detested looking at it. “Reminds me that no matter what, you held on for me, for our baby. I love this scar as much as I love you,” he whispered.
And then all thoughts flew from my mind as he shifted lower and opened me up with his finger, flicking my clit with his thumb as he leaned forward and pushed his tongue inside. I bit my fist, stifling a moan that would have reverberated through the walls. I forgot how everything faded away and nothing existed but pleasure when he loved me with his tongue.
Lifting me higher, he stabbed his tongue inside me, scooping up my wetness and feasting on me as if he couldn’t get enough. Fire spread inside me, heating up my skin, coating me in perspiration. I didn’t think, just reacted, and my hands tangled in his hair, trying to bring him closer even though he was as deep as possible.
I dug my heels in his back, urging him to give me the release my body craved, but he would have none of that. Instead, he left me empty but quickly replaced the void with two fingers as his lips trailed from one fold to the other, biting and nipping on the sensitive skin while each touch took me higher and higher. I groaned and held on to him as my hips moved, seeking the perfect friction to reach my orgasm, but he wouldn’t let me.
He continued to lap at my wetness, spreading it all over as he pressed on my clit, and instantly electricity struck me. I gasped, suddenly lacking oxygen, but before I could concentrate on that, he entered me with his tongue again, pushing deeper and deeper, devouring me to the point of pain while only intensifying the ache, instead of soothing it.
“Please, Yuri. No more,” I begged, jerking my hips once again, but he shifted his focus to my clit, continuing to play with me, as if he had his favorite toy back and had no intentions of ever letting it go.
“Your smell, your taste. You are flushed, dripping for me, begging. I’ve never seen a more beautiful picture.” Then he placed a soft kiss on my navel, trailing his tongue up and up, before reaching my breast and sucking it harshly. I widened my thighs, cradling him as his hand dragged his cock up and down my wetness, teasing me with the tip but still not thrusting inside me.
“Yuri, please.” What did a girl have to do to get laid here?
His mouth travelled to my mouth where he bit me, and I gasped and groaned as he growled, “Mine. My woman and no one else’s.” And with that, he finally gave us what we both so wanted and needed.
A reunion.
With one swift move, he thrust inside me, and my pussy clenched around him, drawing him deep. He stilled while our eyes met, and for a second everything froze.
Only our heartbeats existed in this moment together, where we could love each other freely without reservation or control.
Without the fear of rejection or pain. We had experienced so much, yet I wouldn’t have traded it for anything if it meant never having him in my life.
Some pain was worth it.
“I love you,” he whispered, jerking back and then slamming inside me again as he smashed his mouth on mine, catching the scream that tore from the back of my throat and was impossible to keep in. I bucked my hips, meeting his harsh move as the rug under me moved along with us. With each movement, he sped up as hot lava spread inside me, more and more like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
I gripped him, forcing him to go deeper and faster, wanting to have him as close to the edge as me, and he groaned above me, slapping my ass as he shot me a warning look, but I just arched my back, whimpering as he hammered back, leaving me completely breathless. My breasts shook from the action and he devoured them with attention again, nipping them as he continued to push in and out, harder and harder, his strokes measured in such a manner that he wanted me to go insane.
“Heaven and hell feels like that.” His hand slid between us as he flicked my clit, and ordered, “Come for me, upryamya.” His simple command was all it took for me to finally reach the brink. He deepened our kiss, while I rode the wave of ecstasy that overpowered me and silenced the outside world.
The orgasm ripped through me as my pussy clamped around him, and he roared into my mouth, sending vibrations through my system and adding to the pleasure forever settled in my soul.
His cum coated my walls as he bucked his hips a little, but still kept himself inside me. It was all I could do to keep the tears at bay.
The separation was over.
“Make-up sex is indeed the best,” I said with my hoarse voice, and he groaned into my neck.
“Then I’ll do my best to screw up from time to time.”
I didn’t stifle my giggle.
Yuri
Alive and mine. There wasn’t a man in this world happier than me in that moment.
Melissa
Breathing heavily, I hugged him closer as my body floated on cloud nine, and all the pain we’d been through brought nothing but a smile, as my man was finally with me. “I’m squashing you,” he mumbled into my chest, but instead of moving, he licked my nipple and bit it and then gave the same attention to other one. My fingers tangled in his hair as I played with it, completely calm and, despite the circumstances, happy.
“We need to talk,” I said, and he laughed, sending vibrations through me. My brows furrowed, and I nudged him with my knee
as he groaned.
“Damn it, woman, protect the family jewels,” he admonished and then leaned back, sitting on his calves as he tugged me after him.
I protested. “I want to lie down.” I felt like an awful human being for letting the water run for so long, but if it provided me time and space to be with the man I loved, I had nothing against that. Just once I could be selfish and indulge.
“You will tell me everything in the shower.” Despite my loud protest, he dragged me inside the shower stall and turned the water to hot, and then steam instantly enveloped us. He pushed me against the wall and dragged his mouth over my neck while his hard-on dug into my stomach.
“Again?” I questioned, and he shook his head, stilling my rising hips with his hands.
“Tell me everything, Melissa.”
Sighing, I did just that, knowing full well he might not like the plan, but he would follow it.
Because children were involved, and Yuri wasn’t just a man. He was a father.
And sometimes as parents, we had to make the hardest choices.
* * *
Melissa
Lying in bed, I gazed at the ceiling with a stupid smile that seemed permanently glued on my face. With my body aching in all the right places, I closed my eyes, enjoying all the stamps of ownership my man had placed on me.
This was everything.
And then I wrapped my hands tightly around the photo he left behind of our baby boy who gazed at the camera curiously, reminding me so much of his father, yet had my eyes.
He was mine.
And with Yuri’s scent still covering me and Artur’s picture pressed tightly to my heart for the first time in seven months, I fell asleep easily and didn’t wake up in the middle of the night.
Chapter Sixteen
Dublin, Ireland
Melissa, 17 years old
Grabbing the bars of the cage located in the basement of my father’s house, I shouted in the empty space, “Let me go!” But as always, in the last fifteen hours, no one came to the rescue and the door above the stairs stayed firmly shut.
A slight noise on the side caught my attention and I glanced there only to still my breath as several rats ran around the place, munching on the food my sister had brought me earlier.
I threw it away the minute she brought it while she begged me to be more compliant and accept father’s rules. I’d stubbornly refused.
Quite frankly, it was damned hilarious how everyone tried to convince me I should sacrifice my life for something only they would gain leverage from.
Letting go of the bars, I walked back and forth in the cage while crying out in frustration, because there was no way out. I tried digging, searching, and squeezing myself between the bars, but nothing.
I knew he brought people here for interrogation, and the dry blood spilled on the concrete confirmed that. They probably beat the shit out of them, because I couldn’t see any weapons.
I tunneled my fingers in my hair and pulled then sat in the far corner on the left, ignoring the cold creeping through my jeans, and wondered what he would do next.
Surely they wouldn’t bring Arden here along with a priest. How did they plan to play it all out?
Just as this thought entered my mind, I heard the lock turn, and harsh light filled the space. I closed my eyes, blinded by it for a second.
The minute my vision adjusted, I saw Arden coming down the stairs to the cage, his boots making a loud thud, thud, thud.
He threw over his shoulder, “Leave us alone.” Immediately, the door closed, and I focused on the wall, ignoring his ass.
“Edana, I told you the truth and that’s how you behave?” Even his raspy voice annoyed the hell out of me, and I silently prayed he didn’t come here to rape me.
One absolute law in the brotherhood? If someone took your virginity, you had to marry him. This way they ensured their daughters stayed pure, as they put it, and guys didn’t touch them before marriage.
If he rapes me, then no one would be against this wedding.
Oh my God, was that my parents’ plan? Who would do this to their daughter?
He grabbed the dangling lock on the bars and unlocked it quickly, stepping inside the cage. I darted to the far end, but he managed to grab me midair, wrapping his hands around my waist and pressing his front against my back.
“No!” I shouted, struggling in his hold, but he didn’t even budge.
Instead, he leaned to my ear and murmured quietly, barely audible to me, let alone anyone else who might have ears dropped on us through surveillance cameras, “Stay put.”
No way would I be a sacrificial lamb for this arsehole! Men who took women with force deserved nothing. And I’d rather die struggling than allow him to touch me or rape me.
“Edana, I’m on your side.” His words stilled me while he continued to murmur, this time rocking us slightly and turning us away from the surveillance camera I knew was present on the ceiling above us. “You know we’re monitored. So act as if you want to get the fuck out of here and achieve your goal.” His words confused me, not so much for what he said, but in the way he said it.
He was usually cocky and full of himself, confidence lacing his voice. But this time he was harsh, pissed off, and didn’t remind me of the boy I grew up with.
What was going on here?
“I told your father I would convince you to go with me for a walk. You have to act agreeable, do you understand? If you show me disrespect in front of anyone, I will have to retaliate, and I don’t want to do that.” Right, if women talked back, they usually got hit.
Not all brotherhoods were like this, but Uncle Aiden preferred such leadership, maybe because it suited his desires.
I nodded, and then he spun me around so we were facing each other, and a sinister smile greeted me. “Come on, darling. Let’s go for a walk.” He squeezed my hand and we walked out, while I trailed him and touched my slightly throbbing cheeks that probably had bruises left after Dad’s blows. “He shouldn’t have touched you,” he murmured as his eyes darkened in fury, but he masked it with indifference.
He took us upstairs, and the minute we came out, my entire family watched us with surprise while Dad kept looking at Arden and me then grinned.
“You’ve managed to convince her, I see.” Pride laced his words, and I almost barfed right there. The idea of someone reining in his daughter pleased my father so much?
I didn’t recognize the man I’d grown up with.
Arden nodded. “Yes, I think we need a little bit of fresh air. I want to take her to the lake. Is that okay?” I stayed silent, but I understood his intention at once then.
The lake meant we would be alone, and he hinted at us having sex, which would forever seal the deal. So I wasn’t much surprised when my parents eagerly nodded and let us leave, but not before my dad wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close. I struggled in his hold, unable to act like nothing had happened, but he locked me in his arms.
“Baby girl,” he whispered, and then kissed my forehead as I leaned back and frowned. But I had no time to dwell on it as Arden urged me to go, and quickly we ended up in the car, and the vehicle moved speedily through the gates, taking us on the narrow path. “What the hell is going on?”
Instead of answering, he leaned forward and picked up the black bag from the floor that I hadn’t noticed. “You have here a new passport, money, and an apartment key. It should last you for the first two months. The FBI will take care of the rest.” Blinking a few times, I tried to digest the information but failed.
Freaking who would do what? “FBI?”
Arden ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled. “Right. Listen, your Dad took their deal and they agreed to provide protection for his family, okay? We will get your mom and sister out later.” All this made zero sense to me.
“Dad is a snitch?” And although it was dangerous, relief filled me that he was a good dad after all and wasn’t handing me over to the highest bidder.
“He h
ad no choice. Aiden”—he spat his dad’s name with disgust—“left all of us no choice. He agreed to enter the child trafficking ring, and it’s so fucked up. But he has the backup of the mob, so there is no opposition.”
“But we’re in Ireland. Why is the FBI helping us?”
“Because the main chain operates in the States. They hope if they can get enough information here, and the States, they can figure out how to take down the chain there.” I was not familiar with all the mafia hoopla, so all this information came out of the blue.
But kids? How low a scum do you need to be to do those horrible things to kids? “Anyway, listen to me. You will be transferred to the States and you will keep your head low until your parents get to you, okay?”
“But how will we do that?”
“You will get out of the car shortly, and the FBI will take you to the airport. I will organize a hit on this car, so the Mob will think someone attacked us and you escaped. Dad will not go searching for you outside the country, because he wouldn’t think you would have a chance without a passport. Got me?”
Panic swirled through me, causing my palms to get sweaty, and I asked with a trembling voice, “My family will be safe?” I was scared shitless to move somewhere without knowing anyone, but it was our best chance.
At freedom! Freaking freedom from them!
He tapped harshly on the ceiling of the car, and the vehicle stopped abruptly. He leaned forward and opened the car door where I saw an unknown man waiting for me. He nodded to Arden, and Arden did the same. “Go.” I was about to obey his command but then turned to him and hugged him close, giving all my gratitude in the embrace.
