Forced to Marry the Russian (Nikolai Bratva Brides #2)

Chapter 10 - Lev

Clubbing. Drinking. Fucking. Killing.

Those were the only things Lev found interesting enough to engage in. It was either one or the other every night. They’d been the only things he’d indulged in for fun since he joined the mafia and made his first kill at twelve.

Yet things had shifted to a different direction since he met the beautiful and insanely intoxicating woman sitting across from him on the dining.

Scarlet red kissed her cheeks as she blushed. Her big golden-brown eyes widened, and he could swear her breath hitched.

He could feel her body tense with both lust and hatred from the distance between them, and his own cock twitched in response. He barely knew this woman, yet she was his wife and his newest obsession.

His mind raged with thoughts of all the things he could do to her, the things he wanted to make her feel, and how desperate he was to get that sensation of her tight walls clenching around him again.

She wasn’t ready. She was in denial, and he wasn’t going to push her for it. He liked his women willing, and he could guarantee it wouldn’t be long before she would be singing his name from those pretty, plump lips of hers as he showed her heaven.

For now, he would wait and take his time to get to know her.

“Fine.” Her chest heaved. “Cheating isn’t my thing anyway… even though we’re barely a couple. In return, I’ll also make it clear that you’re not allowed to bring your mistresses here. Fuck them all you want outside, but not in here.”

He allowed himself a grin. “Do you really not mind if I sleep with other women?”

Her lips pursed, and her brows knitted. She cleared her throat. “I do mind,” she answered sharply. “But I cannot stop you from doing what you want.”

“You’re my wife. You can stop me if you wish,” he told her. And that was the truth. There was only one person Lev respected, and that was Mikhail. No one else could tell him what he could or could not do, but he was ready to allow Zia all those benefits that no one else had. “Do not worry about me cheating, Malyshka . It might not seem so, but I’ll never cheat on you.”

Her gaze softened. He expected her to say something in regard to what he’d just told her, but she didn’t. Instead, she leaned back in her chair and said,

“I don’t have anything to wear, so I’ll have to go get my things from the Airbnb.”

“You do not need to do that. You’ll have to shop for new clothes, get whatever you want, and I’ll pay.”

Zia’s eyes narrowed on him. “I’ll have to get a lot of clothes.”

He nodded. “Get some sexy dresses too. We’ll attend events together; I want my wife turning heads in our direction.”

A lopsided grin stole her lips. “Are you sure you won’t regret this decision? I’m not usually a big spender, but I might become one if you’re encouraging me this much.”

He chuckled. “How much can you spend in a day?”

She thought for a moment. “A lot.”

He bit back a smile. She had no idea that he had more money than she could possibly spend in one lifetime. “Impress me, Malyshka .”

A cocky smile spread on her lips. “I plan to.” She peered around the dining as if expecting something or someone. “Does any of your family live here with you?”

“No.”

“So, it’ll be just us and the people who work for you?” She exhaled loudly. “It’s so big.”

“The people who work for us, Malyshka ,” he corrected her. “This is your home now, not just mine. You have as much right here as I do.”

She rolled her lips between her teeth. “Do you mind telling me about your family?’

“I have three brothers, one sister-in-law, and twin nieces.” His heart warmed at her curiosity. If she was asking, that meant she’d finally accepted the fact that she belonged here with him and was trying to fit in. It would take some time before she fully came around, but these baby steps meant the world to him. “My younger brothers were here last night. They wanted to meet you, but I’ll invite them another time.”

“And your sister-in-law?”

“She’s my older brother’s wife. He’s the Pakhan of the Bratva. You’ll meet them too, but after I tell them about you.”

She frowned. “You married me without your older brother knowing? Were you afraid he would stop you?”

“Afraid? No. But he’s Pakhan ; I can’t go ahead with the marriage if he says otherwise.” He smiled. “Would you be happier if he found out before we got married?”

“Happy is an understatement. Now, I’m shackled to a dick like you.”

“You love riding this dick, though,” he taunted, a laugh rubbing in his chest as her frown deepened.

“Pig!” she called him, then she reached for the plate of strawberries at the center of the table and picked one.

She managed to look beautiful without even trying. The golden rays of the sunlight glinted off her messy bun. Her eyes glowed a lighter shade of brown, and her skin looked as smooth as milk. It had felt silky, too.

Plopping his elbow on the table, he said, “It’s your turn to tell me about your family.”

She raised her head, her eyes meeting his. They didn’t look fierce or annoyed. What he saw in them was sadness, as if hearing about her family and having to talk about them brought her an immense amount of pain.

His chest constricted. He shouldn’t have asked. “You don’t have to talk about them—”

“They’re dead,” she says sharply. “My father died when I was a baby. My mother died a few years ago. I don’t have a family.”

Lev could feel the sadness rolling off her. She suddenly wasn’t this feisty, fearless woman who talked back at him unprovoked. The change in her mood shifted something in him. It awakened an emotion he never knew he had—pity. He’d never felt that for anyone before. “Do you mind sharing what happened?”

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “I don’t know much about how my father died, but I heard he was murdered. Maybe you can—"

His phone bleeped with an incoming message. He picked it up from the table and swiped. It was a message from Mikhail. When were you going to tell me about your marriage?

Fuck.

Lev swiped a hand through his hair. He didn’t need a soothsayer to guess who told Mikhail.

Ivan, that little asshole.

He knew he would snitch, and the fucker did not disappoint. Heaving a sigh, he texted back, I was going to tell you when I’m ready.

“Everything okay?” Zia asked, her face surprisingly marred with concern.

“My brother found out we’re married,” he told her honestly. Knowing Mikhail, he could burst into the mansion at any time, and Lev didn’t want his brother to take her by surprise if he did.

“You mean the boss?” she asked quietly.

Lev nodded. “Here, we call him Pakhan . He’s your brother-in-law now, though. You can drop the formality when you meet him.”

“You mean I can call him by his name?” For the first time, something that looked like fear flickered on her face. “Wouldn’t that get him upset?”

“Those rules do not include family,” he explained. “Contrary to whatever you must’ve heard about the Bratva, we do not participate in kin slaying.”

Finishing the last of his food, Lev pushed up from his chair.

“Where are you going?” Zia asked, tilting her face up to his.

“Going to see my brother before he loses his mind and comes here. I’ll be down in a bit.” He went to his room upstairs and changed into one of his favorite black Tom Ford suits. Grabbing the keys of his new black Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail, he picked up his black Amex card and returned downstairs.

Zia had already left the dining and was about to climb the stairs when he met her and held out the card to her. “Use this to buy whatever you need. Konstantin will drive you today, and I’ll sort out your bodyguards when I get back.”

She stared at the card in his hand in awe. She appeared not to have believed him when he said she could spend as much money as she wanted on shopping. “Is this a black Amex?”

“It is.” He took her hand and placed the card in it. “Don’t worry about price tags, it would be an insult to me if you do.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her head before she could. “Stay out of my trouble and call me if anything happens.”

“I don’t have your number.”

“Right.” He took out his phone. “Give me yours, and I’ll send you a message.”

She called out her number for him while he punched it into his phone and saved it as Malyshka .

He sent her a short text and made a call to Konstantin, ordering him to meet him in the parking lot. “I’ll see you tonight.” He felt Zia’s gaze burn his back as he strode to the parking lot.

The headlights of the La Rose Noire Droptail flickered as he pressed the open button on the remote. Just as he climbed inside, buckled the seatbelt, and turned on the engine, someone knocked on his tinted window.

He rolled the window down to find Konstantin standing outside and peeking into the car. “Where are you going so early?”

“Mikhail found out. I must see him before he comes here and frightens her.”

Konstantin chuckled sardonically. “You don’t think you frightened her? You forced her to marry you.”

Lev’s brow furrowed. “To keep her safe.”

“I’m sure you don’t believe that yourself,” Konstantin said. “You’re just making up excuses to avoid admitting that you’re obsessed with that girl. You became obsessed with her the second you laid your eyes on her in that club.”

Lev turned off his engine and stared at Konstantin intently. “When the hell are you going to stop reading me like an open book?”

“When you start being a little more honest to yourself,” Konstantin answered. He robbed a hand over his face. “I still don’t trust her.”

“You don’t need to trust her. What you need to do is get your shit and take her shopping.”

“Me? Take her shopping?” Konstantin shook his head. “I have more important things to do.”

“It’s an order,” Lev said dryly. “Keep her safe. She gets hurt, don’t come back alive. Got it?”

Konstantin remained silent.

“I do not want to repeat myself, Konstantin,” Lev drawled. Konstantin was his only friend and the only non-family member he trusted. He wouldn’t even point a gun at him, let alone kill him, but Konstantin didn’t need to know that. All he had to do was obey his orders.

“Alright, Chief,” Konstantin finally answered, although reluctantly. “She’s yours. I won’t let any harm come to her.”

“Sounds more like it.” Lev rolled up the window, and Konstantin instinctively moved away from the car. The engine roared to life, and Lev reeled the car away from the parking lot.

He had only one thought as he drove through the busy road of Chicago, and it wasn’t what excuses he would give Mikhail or Cillian’s attack.

It was Zia.

They’d been married only for a day, and he didn’t care that all they did was banter when they were together. He couldn’t wait to finish the businesses he had outside and return home to her.