Forced Mafia Bride (Yezhov Bratva #2)

Chapter 20 – Nikolai

Two Weeks Later

No woman more beautiful.

No woman more fucking perfect.

Adorned in her simple white gown and a crystal princess tiara, she offered a small smile, blushing underneath her veil, and I swear I felt my heart shift. It was a sudden move, stopping my breath for a second at her glowing radiance.

The world around us spun in blurs. A haze or, better yet, a fucking dream. I barely heard the voice of the priest but watched her lips move when she said her vows. Her eyes twinkled like tiny diamonds sparkling in a sea of green. She seemed happy, content.

When we picked the gold rings out of the velvet cases for the exchange, they glimmered like sun rays. Gold was intentional, priceless, and customized.

When she lifted her finger, I leaned forward, whispering into her ear, “Look.”

I tilted the gold double band, and her gaze dropped to the tiny gold-brown lettering and symbol crested on it.

Rosa

∞

The smile on her lips moved to her eyes, shining even brighter when the ring slid onto her finger and sat perfectly. I raised my finger, allowing her to fix mine. And nothing felt more fucking real than this moment with her. Knowing that she was fully mine.

And I’m hers.

We belonged to each other now, and every fiber of my being ached to prove it to her in more ways than one.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

The people around us cheered loudly. I was sure I heard Anatoly whistle, and I smirked, tilting forward to lift the lacy veil away from her face. The feeling was similar to unwrapping a present, and not just any present, but one that held more value than all the others put together. Like that one fucking shining star burning brightly in the midst of more than a billion others that snatched your attention the minute you looked up.

When our eyes met, my breath caught in my throat. “Rosa….”

My voice failed. The words failed. Everything failed to conjure the best possible way I could tell her how beautiful she was.

She swept her eyes over my face, questioning and eager. When her warm gaze touched my lips, I wasted not a second more. I cupped her chin, tilted it higher, and claimed her soft lips as if they were my most prized possession.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and so did mine, and it was just us sealed in that moment of surreal perfection. She kissed me like she wanted me, and I retaliated as if she were the oxygen we both needed to survive.

“Dearly beloved gathered here today, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Yezhov.”

Grinning from ear to ear, I broke apart, missing her mouth already as we turned around to face the crowd. The jubilation was wild, mostly with Timur and Anatoly leading the strong chants and crazy applause.

I offered her my arm, leading her down the parted aisle once hers was hooked in.

Both families were gathered for the ceremony, the Irish and Russians, seated on the left and right opposite angles of the pews, respectively. Though it was strange seeing them in one place, it symbolized the unifying of the families—Yezhov and Gallagher merged now, forming one blood line. With one person leading this army— me.

Everything had unfolded according to plan. With Rosalyn, the sole surviving Gallagher heir, now mine, I had effectively acquired control of Cedric’s vast holdings. But I felt like I’d won something more than just assets and exponential influence.

I looked at her, and she smiled back at me.

I’d won her.

****

“Who played the song?”

Anatoly took the cigarette out of his mouth and pointed at my cousin, who was tapping his feet and jerking his leg backward, matching the rhythm. “Timur.”

We turned to the man with the freshly trimmed buzz cut and navy blue tuxedo. He smiled and slid a hand into his pocket, a vain attempt to stop his leg from moving. He had his head buried in his phone as he scrolled through the screen.

He shrugged. “I just stumbled on it and have been hooked ever since.”

Rosa moved her head and her feet. She glanced over her shoulder, talking to my cousin and Anatoly, who strolled behind us. “I think I’m hooked, too. The sound is good and is just… perfect . Definitely not our type of song, but…I love it. Who’s the artist?”

Timur tucked the phone into his pocket and looked up, smiling at Rosa. I barely ever saw him smile, but there he was, flashing those straight white pearls at my wife. After the two got properly acquainted at a family dinner two nights ago, they just…hit it off, like a ball in the park, and had been sailing smoothly ever since.

“His name is—”

“Probably some fucking guy named Billy,” Anatoly interrupted, exhaling smoky white clouds through his nostrils. “Every fucking American with a country song has the name Billy. If it’s not his name, then someone in the patriarchy is definitely a Billy.”

Abruptly, Hannah laughed beside us and blushed when our eyes fell on her. With her cheeks as deep as scarlet, she cleared her throat and spoke to the air.

“I doubt that he’s a Billy. It’s not even a country song.”

Anatoly gave her a subtle side-eye glare and continued with his cigarette in silence, which made Rosa laugh louder than I’d ever heard.

She was cute, trying to dance in her small silver heels with a bright smile on her face as she stepped in front of us, stretching forth her arm. To me.

Gently, I swatted her arm away. “No.”

“Come on,” she whined. “Surely, you’re not high and mighty above dancing. Timur said you were quite the stepper back in the day. Are you sure you don’t want to break some moves?”

I wondered just how much he’d told her.

I smirked, sticking my two hands into my pockets and looking past her head toward the exit, where the remaining guests hopped into their cars to leave.

For the wedding after-party, she said she wanted something simple with a bit of magic, so I arranged for it to be held on the field, a distance away from the main house. It ended an hour ago. We’d waited for the guests to leave and were heading now to our cars lined up on the driveway.

“I don’t dance. Not anymore.”

“I bet that’s not what Katherine will say.”

She thought she’d mumbled it under her breath before she turned her head away, her smile looking like a permanent fixture on her face, but the light in her eyes now dulled.

I opened my mouth to respond when blonde hair appeared in front of us in a flash—a woman. With blue eyes glittering like shiny disco balls and a sleek silver dress, she spread her arms around Rosa for a hug.

“Oh, my God, Rosalyn? It’s really you.”

We stopped walking. Timur and Anatoly and the rest of the men behind us grew stiff, on guard. I eyed Hannah, who looked equally surprised, and raised a brow.

She shook her head. “Never seen her before, sir.”

“I arrived yesterday. A friend of mine got the invite and wanted me as a plus one. That’s how I got here, but when I saw the name on the card, I was like…no way, it’s Rosalyn Gallagher from the eleventh grade. Just…no way. And you can’t believe my surprise when I recognized you walking down the aisle. It’s you!”

Rosa laughed, hugging her as they talked some more before pivoting on her heels. The joy she had at seeing this unfamiliar woman made me relax, and the men behind me lowered their guns.

Beaming from ear to ear, she held the lady by the hand and came up to me. “Come, let me introduce you. Niko, meet Serena, my best friend from high school. We lost touch for years, and coincidentally, she was invited by a friend of hers to our wedding. Serena, this is Nikolai....” Her eyes held mine, and, for the briefest moment, I thought I saw a hint of pride in them before she added, “My husband.”

***

Rosa’s giddiness visibly quenched when I shut the bedroom door behind us. She stood at the center of the room like a fixed monument and fiddled with her fingers.

I walked around her, facing her. Silver moonlight poured in through the curtains, bathing her skin in the faintest glow, and her sullen gaze met mine.

“You were happier a moment ago. Why the long face now?”

She shifted, slowly taking her time to kick off her heels while she shrugged. “I am. I am happy. Maybe slightly overwhelmed. The reality of what my life has become is dawning on me now. But I’m fine.”

I closed the space, keeping us a hairsbreadth apart from each other, and slid my fingers behind her neck. “You’ve been saying that a lot, like you’re trying to convince yourself.”

Her brows scrunched up in an even cuter way. “You’ve been taking note.”

“Only because hearing it numerous times constitutes a nuisance.”

“Whatever makes you sleep at night.” Laughing, she spun on her heels, pointing to the zip. “Can you, um….” She smacked her lips and shifted her weight to the other foot. “I need to get out of this. It feels like I’m suffocating.”

I stepped up behind her, my finger lingering at the base of her neck, and the air thickened with tension. My fingers brushed against her skin, sending shivers down her spine, and just that gentle touch ignited a spark within me.

My pulse quickened.

“You have the cutest laugh.” I breathed against the back of her neck. “I like it and enjoy hearing it. Don’t hold it back. Ever.”

My hand hovered over hers, my fingertips grazing her skin. Electricity coursed through me as I grasped the zipper, my knuckles skimming her back. The warmth of her skin seeped into my flesh, kindling a fire that spread through my veins.

With deliberate slowness, I began to lower the zipper and heard her breath catch in her throat. The sound of its descent heightened the anticipation building between us. Her shoulders relaxed under my touch, and I pressed a kiss on her naked spine.

As the zipper released its hold, my fingers lingered on her skin. The heat emanating from her body enveloped me, drawing me in. She spun to face me, shimming out of the dress.

Her breath mingled with mine, our exhales entwining like tendrils of smoke. Her warm gaze caressed my lips, and her fingers left a light trail down the buttons on my shirt.

“I’m not sure I can hold anything back from you, Niko.”

In that fleeting moment, time was suspended. The world narrowed to the space between us, pushing me to claim what was mine.

I tipped her chin up with a flick of my thumb and took her lips with mine.