Sold To The Russian

by Isabella Laase

  “I know,” he dismissed. “Go find him. You won’t rest until you ask him at least one more time, but I’m sure he’s growing annoyed with you, so don’t pester him for too long. I’ll see you in Luka’s hotel room for the after-party in twenty minutes, but why he wants to spend more time with us when he has a beautiful bride waiting for him is beyond me.”

  “All of the boys will go their separate ways tomorrow,” she said, walking toward the door. “It will be months before we see them all again. I don’t want to miss a minute, Pavel, and neither do you.”

  He stared at her with a grin. “You’re right, little girl. I don’t want to miss a minute.”

  When her son didn’t answer the door to his room, she wandered to the downstairs bar, locating him, alone, with a small, dark glass of whiskey. “Anton,” she scolded, sitting next to him and wrapping her arm in his. “You’ve had enough to drink.”

  His smile gifted her the same serenity that he delivered as a child, and he ordered a glass of chardonnay from the bartender. They sat in silence listening to the piano player and watching tourists come and go from the lobby. When the wine arrived, Anton held up his glass for a toast. “To the newlyweds, may they be as happy for the rest of their lives as they were today.”

  “And what about you, Anton?” she asked seriously, after accepting his toast. “When are you going to find a nice girl and settle down? You aren’t getting any younger, you know.”

  “Zoya,” he said with a laugh. “Stop already. Go work on Slavic and Yuri. They need matchmaking help much more than I do.”

  She took a sip of her wine, more than willing to enjoy their private moment. The trouble with having adult children was that it was hard to spend time with them as individuals. Generally you were surrounded by the whole clan for some celebration, and she was happy to take these few minutes with just him… her Anton, the little boy who’d stolen her heart.

  “You’re still okay with me giving the necklace away?” she asked seriously. “I can still save it for your future wife, if you’d prefer. After all, with the exception of Damir, of course, the entire family has long since agreed that Caroline gave it to Katya, and I don’t think she’d be disappointed to see it go to her daughter-in-law.”

  He kissed Zoya on top of her head. “I’m glad that you don’t believe Damir’s version that my mother stole it on my grandmother’s deathbed, but if I have anything to say about it, my future wife will never be the most important woman in this family. It is far too much pressure to drop on an unsuspecting soul.”

  “I’ve long since wanted to ask you this question, Anton, but back then… why didn’t you just tell us that the necklace was in the bunny? You held onto that thing for months before we looked into it.”

  “I think I did tell you.” He shrugged with a wave of his glass. “Many times, but I can’t help if you were all horrible listeners. Actually, at one point I thought that none of you were very bright.”

  “When I think of all the times that you dropped that toy, or we couldn’t find it for a few hours, I tremble with the reality that it could have been lost for good.”

  “I dropped it in the toilet at Aunt Linda’s house once,” he admitted. She looked horrified and he added, “Oh, yeah, I flushed and everything, just wondering what would happen. I don’t think I had a habit of thinking things through very well. There was water all over the floor and running into the living room ceiling. Uncle Steven had to take the toilet off the floor and retrieve him. I give Aunt Linda a lot of credit for cleaning him up enough to give him back to me.” He took another sip of his drink. “I think I might have been a lot for her to handle. I’m kind of glad that when she finally got pregnant, she had girls instead of boys.”

  Zoya’s eyes filled with unshed tears, and he frowned, taking her into his arms for a quick hug. “I’m sorry, Zoya, that was insensitive.”

  Wiping her eyes, she said, “Weddings for people that I love just make me sentimental. Pavel and I would have loved to have had more children, but it just wasn’t meant to be. And I don’t deny Linda all the happiness those girls have brought her. I loved babysitting her twins and buying all those little pink dresses and dolls. Liam and Galena’s children are just as important to me. Family means everything. Don’t ever forget that.”

  He was quiet, but she’d instinctively known for some time that he was struggling with something, so she gave him the space he needed. “I’ll be honest with you, Zoya,” he finally continued. “I’m thinking about pulling away from all of this… this life. There’s a whole big world out there, and I have a good degree and a solid understanding of computers. I’m thinking about getting a real job.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea,” she said carefully. “But why does this cause you to look so unhappy? You’re young, and you have your whole life ahead of you. Your happiness is all we’ve ever wanted.”

  “Talking about it and telling Pavel are two different things. We both know that he won’t take it well, and… well… it’s a tough decision. Our family is completely embedded into this business, and I understand that I’d be giving up some integral part of myself to walk away from it. This is all I’ve ever known, and it’s all my parents and grandparents ever knew. But I might just want to know something else, and I want my future children to have choices, too.”

  “Do you know what, Anton? That day in the car, your mother was right when she told you that you were the most important man in our family, to her and to me as well. Don’t ever forget that.”

  Anton’s face revealed the dark anger that still defined a carefully guarded part of his personality. “Being strong for her has gotten me through an awful lot,” he said. “She died keeping me safe, but I’ll never forget my parents. They missed out on too much of their life to make any of this right.”

  “You worry too much. You’ll make the right decision, and Pavel will support you, at least after he adjusts to the idea. He loves you more than he loves his business, Anton, and you know that’s true.”

  “You make it sound so simple, Zoya, but we both know that it’s not.”

  He stared quietly into the distance, and she put her hand on his arm. “You still have the nightmares, don’t you? I used to hold you when you were tiny, but I’ve long since lost track of the day you stopped calling for me.”

  “I do,” he said simply, looking back at her and forcing a smile.

  Zoya put her arms around him, and he returned the hug just like he had when he was a frightened three-year-old at the police station in Russia. “I… I wish it weren’t so hard for you, Anton,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “I look back on that first year after your mother died, and I wish I could have done more for you.”

  “I love you, Mom,” he said, gently patting her cheek. “No matter what happens, don’t ever forget that. Now let me buy a bottle of Galliano and steal a tray full of glasses so we can go upstairs and finish celebrating with my newest cousin. She’s going to need all of the support she can get to take care of that crazy bastard.”

  The End

  Afterword

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  Books of the Bratva Masters Series

  The Russian

  Dr. Mia Anderson isn’t used to being ordered around, but when a powerful Russian mob boss grabs her off the street she is left with two choices: submit to his demands or be punished.

&nbs
p; Luka Petruskenkov needs medical attention for his injured cousin and he’s decided that Mia will be providing it. The only thing up to her is whether her bottom will be sore while she does so.

  Mia soon finds herself on her knees before the infuriatingly sexy Russian who has made her his prisoner. Naked, bound, and waiting for him to claim and ravage her, she knows he will find her wet and willing despite her protests, but is she ready to surrender completely to a man like him?

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  After Bella Mikelson wrecks her car while driving drunk, the spoiled twenty-two-year-old faces a difficult choice. If she wants to stay out of jail and keep her trust fund, she must accept a plea bargain which will require her to spend a year working on a Wyoming ranch under the strict supervision of Jackson Sullivan and his brother Lincoln, two tough, handsome cowboys who will not hesitate to provide the stern discipline she has been missing.

  Seeing no other way out of her predicament, Bella agrees to the terms, but it is only a matter of moments before her defiant attitude earns her a painful, humiliating spanking that leaves her cheeks blushing and her bare bottom burning.

  As she grows accustomed to life on the ranch, however, Jackson’s firm-handed dominance sets her once-hidden passion on fire, and soon she is yearning for him to claim her properly. But is she just a project for him, or is he ready to be the master she has desperately needed for so long?

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  Saving Sophia

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  Sophia is immediately impressed by handsome rancher and resort manager Marcus Greene, but when her intense focus on her work puts her health at risk she quickly discovers that her new boss takes her well-being very seriously. After a thorough scolding, Sophia’s bottom is bared for a sound spanking, and to her surprise the humiliating chastisement arouses her deeply.

  She soon learns that Marcus can be tender as well as stern, and being held in his lap and comforted after her punishment makes Sophia feel safer than she has in a long time. Over the coming days she grows to trust in Marcus’ discipline and guidance as he takes it upon himself to teach her what it means to truly surrender to a dominant man, but when Sophia makes a startling discovery about her past will she end up leaving Cloudcroft behind?

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  Lassoing Lilly

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  As both a working ranch and a kink-themed resort, Cloudcroft offers the perfect location for Lilly to learn more about real life spanking and BDSM. Though she is all but terrified upon her arrival, after meeting Lincoln Sullivan, the handsome, boldly dominant co-owner of Cloudcroft, she quickly ends up agreeing to spend the weekend as his submissive.

  Soon enough, Lilly finds herself naked, blushing, and burning with need as Linc teaches her what it means to surrender her beautiful body to his masterful lovemaking. But though it excites her deeply when Linc spanks her bare bottom for any disobedience, Lilly struggles to come to terms with her intense arousal at being made to submit. Can she find a way to balance what is expected of an independent, modern woman with her desire to be taken in hand?

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  The moment he sets eyes on Olivia Baldwin, small-town doctor Dan Garcia knows what she needs. Though the desperate, hungry girl was just caught in the act of stealing Lincoln Sullivan’s car, Dan convinces his friend not to get the law involved. Instead, he brings Olivia home with him, promising to help her get back on her feet but also warning the beautiful young woman that any further delinquent behavior will earn her a thorough spanking on her bare bottom.

  Over the coming weeks, Dan is joined in his efforts to guide and correct Olivia by the town sheriff, ex-Marine Gage Collier. While it makes her blush to be bathed and cared for like a little girl and scolded and spanked when she has been naughty, Olivia delights in their intimate attention, and before long Dan and Gage have taken on the role of her firm but loving daddies.

  After a job is found for her at Cloudcroft, a nearby ranch which doubles as a kink-themed resort, Olivia’s eyes are opened to the world of dominance and submission, and she soon discovers just how pleasurable it can be to surrender her body completely to her daddies. But when Dan and Gage learn the truth about Olivia’s past, will it change how they feel about their little girl?

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  Reclaiming Emma

  With credit card debt piling up and her marriage seemingly in trouble, Emma Lanyon makes an impulsive decision and flies to Cloudcroft Ranch unannounced to visit her sister. Upon her arrival, however, she is scolded about running away from her problems, and once her husband joins her at the ranch he quickly leaves Emma in no doubt that things are going to change. From now on, when she needs to be taken in hand her bottom will be bared and very soundly spanked.

  Over the coming days, Emma is taught to surrender her body to her husband’s demands. His stern dominance arouses her intensely, and when he decides to share her with another man she is brought to heights of pleasure she never imagined. But obedience is expected, and she soon learns the hard way that putting her safety at risk will earn her a truly shameful punishment.

  Emma’s desire for both men grows stronger with every new experience and every blushing climax, but will their shared bond endure even when the time comes to leave Cloudcroft?

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  More Stormy Night Books by Isabella Laase

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  Though she agrees to the woman’s offer, Jory does not truly believe such a thing could be possible, and thus it comes as a shock when she awakens in Virginia in the year 1785. Alone and utterly unable to fend for herself in a world so different from her own, she is relieved to be taken in by frontiersman Nial McKay and his brother. She soon discovers, however, that life on a farm is hard work and disobedience, disrespect, or failure to carry her own weight will earn her a sound spanking on her bare bottom.

  Nial is determined to keep his relationship with Jory chaste and proper, but as time passes he is forced to admit that he is falling in love with the beautiful, spirited girl. Can he bring himself to claim her as his woman rather than his ward, or will his hesitance cause him to lose her forever? And when her four years is up, will Jory be forced to leave everything she has grown to love behind in the past?

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  Sparked by Deception (included in the collection Ladder 54: Five Firefighter Romances)

  When twenty-two-year-old Claire lets her twin sister Claudia talk her into pooling their money to bid on a date with firefighter Declan Kennedy at a kinky charity auction, the covert plan is for them
to take turns over his well-muscled thighs. After Declan strips her, spanks her, and claims her hard and thoroughly, however, she cannot bear the thought of sharing him with anyone, especially Claudia. But will Claire’s jealousy end up alerting Declan to their little scheme?

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  Over the coming days, Cruz sets about teaching Victoria just how pleasurable it can be to surrender her body to his mastery. But when the president and his family are put at risk by a mysterious enemy, will Cruz be ready to lay his life on the line to keep Victoria safe?

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