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

Chapter 14 - Lev

The satisfaction on Zia’s face as she calmed from her orgasm made Lev’s chest swell with triumph.

The sheer pleasure of contorting her beautiful features made him want to pleasure her even more. He’d wanted her from the moment he saw her in that bar, and the moment he had her that night, he knew he couldn’t let her go.

He’d restrained himself from acting on his primal desire after their wedding. She’d been rightfully upset, and he didn’t want to upset her further.

Fuck holding back; he was going to take her like both of their lives depended on it. He was going to erase every memory of her asshole ex touching her.

Zia sat up, her cheeks red as a shy smile spread over her face. “Is that… I should go take a shower.”

She rose to her feet, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the bed before she could take a step. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Her cheeks reddened even more. “I thought we were finished.”

A smile played on Lev’s lips. “Finished?” He chucked, his voice deep and dark with lust. “I haven’t even started with you, Malyshka. I won’t be done until my name is the only thing you remember, and you’re unable to walk from having my cock deep inside you.”

Her plump lips parted, a gasp leaving them. Her eyes widened, and her breaths became shallow. He could see the same primal lust in her eyes, the one that was driving him insane.

If she thought it would be over with his finger inside her, then she had to think again.

Grabbing her ankles, he pulled her close. He parted her legs and positioned his head between them, sniffing in the scent of her arousal. It was intoxicating, consuming his body and soul.

Sticking his tongue out, he swiped it over her folds. She jerked, a cry slipping from her lips.

He liked the sound of her moans, and he wanted to drench in them. He pressed his tongue against her, licking her harder, fucking her with his tongue, and savoring her delicious wetness.

Zia’s fingers slid into his hair, gripping him tightly. “Yes,” she moaned. Her chest heaved, her head rolling back as pleasure cocooned her. “Lev… Harder… Please.”

Her pleas were all it took for him to slip two fingers inside her, fucking her both with his fingers and his tongue. He loved the way she moaned his name and the look of sheer pleasure on her face.

She started to move her lips in sync with his lips, riding his mouth with desperation. Her cries grew louder, her grip on his hair tightening. He knew she was going to come, but he didn’t want her to. Not yet.

Raising himself to his knees, he crawled on top of her in a fluid motion, cupped her face, and claimed her lips. He kissed her ravenously as his hands explored her body, cupping her breasts, teasing her nipples, and sliding down her thighs.

The need to feel and consume her overwhelmed him.

Zia wrapped her arms around him, kissing him fiercely. She tilted her body slightly, melting into him. And then she reached for his erection.

He groaned when she sprung it free from his briefs and cupped him. Her tongue darted out from her mouth, and she swiped it on the tip of his dick, licking off a bead of precum.

“Fuck!” He groaned, raking his fingers through her hair. Her tongue on him was like magic. The warmth of it set him ablaze with the need to be inside her.

She began to pump him, her hands moving up and down the length of his erection. Her hands were small and smooth, and although she wasn’t skilled, just feeling her touch was enough to send electricity waltzing through him.

He’d never felt anything like this before. Sure, he’d been with so many women, but none of them made him feel the way he did with Zia. It was usually always quick sex, nothing serious.

But with Zia, he was vulnerable. With her, he exposed himself to all the emotions he’d closed himself off to before. He wanted to feel everything she did to him, and he wanted to pleasure her even more.

Most of all, he wanted to feel her clenching around him as she came for the second time tonight.

He decided her tongue and hands weren’t enough. He knew she thought the same, too. They both shared the same desperation to become whole, and so he pulled her to feet and lifted her.

Her legs curled around his waist, and the soft swell of her breasts pressed against his chest. It drove him insane when he noticed how wide apart her thighs were. All he had to do was bury himself deep inside her. And that was exactly what he would do.

Slamming her back against the wall, he tilted her face up, exposing her neck. And then he kissed her right there, sucking and biting and teasing.

The cries that escaped Zia’s parted lips were full of pleasure, a plea for him to continue. The sexiness in sexiness in her voice made him harden even more. He pressed his tip to her entrance, and she buckled her hip, grinding against him.

His body heated up, his body and soul yearning for her.

When he slipped inside her, they both groaned, him from the sweet sensation of her warm walls wrapping around him. She was so tight, wet, and perfect, as if she’d been carved just for him.

He pulled out of her and rammed back in more deeply than before.

Zia’s arms tightened around him as a moan slipped through her. Her body tensed with every thrust, and her moans became louder. She leaned in and kissed him as he rammed in and out of her.

Lev kissed her back, his grunts rising louder than her soft moan. “You’re so perfect,” he whispered to her. “So fucking delicious.”

Her response was a gasp. She bit her lower lips and gave him a smile that could seduce even a eunuch. “Fuck me harder,” she ordered, her breath hitching. “Please…”

His fingers dug into her ass as he increased his pace, thrusting in and out of her faster and deeper. The scent of their sweat and arousal mixed in the air, fueling his drive to go even faster.

Zia tilted her waist slightly, her eyes rolling back as she began to move with his rhythm. Her warm breath caressed his face as her lips parted with a pant.

A few thrusts more, and she clenched around him. “Lev, I’m going to…”

He stole her lips, kissing her before she could say more. He slammed into her with more speed as he felt his own climax edge. “Come for me, baby. I want you to come moaning my fucking name.”

She went rigid for a second, and then she came with a cry. Her body jerked, her head rolling to the back.

Lev quickly put his hand between her head and the wall. He groaned as his climax ripped through him.

Zia’s head collapsed on his shoulder. They were both breathless as they slowly recovered from the intense sex they just had.

Lev softened but remained inside her. He savored the intimacy they’d just shared, wanting it to last forever. Raising his head, he kissed Zia’s forehead. It was his own way of conveying the emotions he couldn’t share with his words. His way of not holding back the need bubbling inside him.

Did she know how perfect they were together? He had to tell her if she didn’t. She had to know how well they fitted, how much he would rather be with her all his life than be with any other woman, not just because of how much he loved fucking her, but because of how she made him feel.

He struggled for words to describe that feeling. It was unfamiliar, yet he recognized it as something he’d always wanted despite it being out of reach.

And then he realized what it was that made his heart flutter whenever he was around her. She made him feel complete.

***

It was almost midnight when Lev woke up. They’d both been so exhausted after their lovemaking that they’d taken a short bath and fallen asleep shortly afterward.

The room was dimly lit, with the sunlight streaming in from the open drapes. Zia was asleep beside him, her head resting on his chest and his hand wrapped around her naked body.

The moonlight danced on her silky skin, glinting off her dark, curly hair. She looked like an artwork, nothing short of perfection.

Lev pushed off a lock of hair from her face, his chest swelling with disbelief as he glanced down, watching her sleep. He still couldn’t believe this beautiful woman was his wife. He’d lived for years thinking he would die single or have an arranged marriage to a woman from another family and that they would live in a loveless marriage just to fulfill their duties to both their families.

But this thing with Zia wasn’t love, but it came close enough that he wouldn’t ask for anything else.

His phone buzzed on the nightstand, and she spun around in her sleep, facing the window.

Lev seized the opportunity to grab his phone from the nightstand. A message from Konstantin lit up his screen. It was a picture of a man sitting in one of his clubs.

Another message followed it. Lev squinted as he read the text. That is the asshole ex, Chief. Do you want me to bring him to you?

Leftover rage from the day Zia was attacked filled him. He didn’t hesitate to text back. Keep him entertained, and I’ll take care of him myself.

Okay, Chief. I’ll offer the asshole free drinks and keep him here.

Lev called the head of his security team, Ilya. It rang once before the man answered. “Get the car and three bodyguards ready. We’re going to have fun.”

He could feel Ilya’s face stretch with a smile. “Yes, sir. What car?”

“The red Lamborghini,” he answered.

“We’ll be downstairs in five minutes,” Ilya replied.

Lev hung up and, placing his phone back on the nightstand, he stood to his feet. He walked to the closet and put on one of his black suits, pairing it with the wristwatch Zia gifted him.

Zia was still asleep when he walked back to the bedroom. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head and cover her with the blanket before he turned around and left the room.

Ilya and the other bodyguards were at the entrance when he stepped outside the foyer. Three cars were parked outside, including the red Lamborghini he loved to drive when he was going out alone.

He opened his hand. “Key?”

Ilya handed him the key. “We’ll be right behind you, sir.”

“Keep a distance. I’m out for a hunt, and the last thing I want is my prey noticing I am not a regular guy,” Lev said as he took the key from Ilya.

Ilya looked him up and down, then he smiled and shook his head as if he wanted to say something but was holding back.

Not liking that look, Lev narrowed his eyes. “Is there something you want to say to me?”

“Well…” Ilya scratched the back of his head. “It’s just… you don’t exactly look like a regular guy. A regular guy wouldn’t go to a club at almost midnight dressed in an expensive suit.”

“Well,” Lev returned with sarcasm. “This regular guy does. Get out of my way.”

Ilya moved to the side, making way for Lev to walk to his car and get inside. He shot a glare at Ilya before closing the car door and starting the engine. Through the rearview mirror, he saw the other guys split into their own cars. And then he drove off.

Moments later, he pulled to a curb in front of the club, turned off the car engine, and opened the door. Music from inside the club wafted outside, disrupting the silent peace he’d been enjoying moments earlier.

The other cars parked behind him. All of the men stepped out of their cars, trying their best but ultimately failing to look casual, including Ilya.

He chuckled to himself. “So much for looking casual,”

Sliding out of his Lamborghini and banging the door shut, he sauntered inside the club, silently cursing at the atrocious neon lights flickering in the background.

Out of all the clubs he managed, this one was the worse. It was the oldest, smallest, and the most cramped one. There was barely any space for him as he forced his way through a sea of sweaty and drunk people dancing to the music blasting from the speakers.

His annoyance flared when he spotted the man in the picture Konstantin had sent him. He was laughing at whatever it was Konstantin was saying to him and drinking, oblivious to the fact that the big man sitting next to him was far from a friend. Oblivious to the fact that watching him from a few feet away.

Konstantin was the first to notice his presence. He turned around and waved to him. “Over here!”

The asshole of an ex turned around too. Lev didn’t miss the curiosity in his eyes as they met his.

Lev strolled to the front bar. He grabbed a seat next to the ex, putting the ex between himself and Konstantin.

“Hey, Man. I’m glad you could make it,” Konstantin said with a playful smile, one Lev had never seen on him before. Konstantin was usually all smile, way too serious for his own good. It was surprising to see him looking so bubbly. He was a good actor; Lev could allow him that much praise.

“I’m glad I could too.” Lev waved to the waiter who froze seeing him. He lifted his brows, daring the waiter to do anything stupid, like call him Chief.

Fortunately for the waiter, he behaved and quietly walked over to Lev. “What drink would you like, sir?”

“A bottle of mezcal and three shot glasses.”

The waiter did exactly as Lev ordered, then he walked away to attend to the other customers.

Lev passed two of the shot glasses to the ex and Konstantin. Opening the mezcal, he filled their glasses. “So, who’s your friend?” he asked.

Konstantin sighed as if he suddenly remembered something important. “Forgive me, my friend. This is Owen. We became friends just an hour before you came in.” He turned to Owen. “This is my good friend, Lev.”

Owen stretched his hand out to shake Lev. “Nice to meet you.”

I can’t say the same thing about you, you fucking piece of shit,” Lev wanted to say. Instead, he looked away and gulped down his drink, groaning as heat rolled down the bile in his stomach.

He hated the man sitting beside him and despised him for hurting his wife. He couldn’t bring himself to pretend he liked him.

Konstantin’s chuckle broke the awkwardness as Owen retracted his hand. “Forgive my friend. You see, he’s a snob, but he’s got a nice heart once you get to know him.”

Lev snorted because Owen would get to know him very soon. Very, very soon. There was nothing nice about him, and chaos followed him everywhere, which he would bring to Owen.

Owen chuckled and waved off Konstantin’s apology. “It’s fine.” He turned his head in Lev’s direction and looked at him from head to toe. “He looks rich.”

“He’s the second son of one of the richest families here in Chicago,” Konstantin answered. “So, yes. He’s rich.”

Own chuckled. “I guessed that much. It’s understandable why a rich guy won’t be so quick to let anyone in his circle.” He took a swig of the mezcal in the shot glass in front of him and groaned. “This tastes fucking good.”

“So, Owl,” Lev started, intentionally calling Owen the wrong name just to piss him off. “Are you married? Dating?”

Owen tsked. “Just got out of a relationship with a dumb bitch. I’m not in a rush to get into another one.”

Dumb bitch.

Lev’s fists curled, hearing the asshole beside him call his wife that name. Zia was far from dumb; she was smart, intelligent, and a treasure. He was the dumb one for not recognizing that and hurting her.

He was even dumber for attacking her.

“Dumb?” Konstantin asked with furrowed brows. “You didn’t love her, did you?”

Owen chuckled, filling his glass with drink. “I did find her interesting at first. She was pretty and innocent. I was thrilled with being the first person to fuck her. I even allowed that stupid bitch to live in my apartment, and she didn’t pay a dime for it. That is how much I was into her. But she was using me. She didn’t even let me go past kissing her.”

Into her, a less annoying way to say he didn’t love her. Lev understood that word perfectly because that was close to how he felt. He liked Zia so much that he didn’t think he could live without her, but he didn’t love her. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t love her or anyone else for that matter.

But he would never hurt her. Not in the way Owen did. He cherished her and would die to protect her. That was the difference between him and the idiot sitting next to him.

Lev’s nostrils flared. His teeth bared, but he did a good job of hiding the rage he felt. “So, you broke up with her because she wouldn’t let you fuck her.”

Owen sort of recoiled at Lev’s accusation. It would have been smart of him to deny it, but he wasn’t very smart. He shrugged instead. “I guess so. A man has needs, so I cheated, and she left because I didn’t care to hide it. She had just one use, and she couldn’t even fulfill her role.”

Lifting his drink, Lev swirled it, watching tentatively as the clear liquid danced inside the glass. His heart pounded in his chest with rage. He imagined all the ways he could hurt Owen. Owen’s screams and pain were the only things that could satiate the violent hunger in Lev’s veins.

“Was that all you did?” Lev asked, taking a sip of his drink.

Owen’s eyes narrowed on Lev. “I don’t understand.”

Of course, he wouldn’t. Assholes like him loved to play dumb when they couldn’t play smart.

“If you did all you claim you did for her, you wouldn’t let her go that easily.” Lev twisted to Owen. Their eyes met, and a deadly smile played on his face. Whether Owen noticed how deadly that smile was, Lev couldn’t tell. “You’ll want something back for all the trouble.”

“Ah, that.” Owen caught on quickly. He bit his lips, clearly exasperated by whatever it was that was running through his mind. “I almost had my chance with her the other day. Some fucking dude hit me from behind and knocked me out before I could do anything.”

Lev’s gaze floated to Konstantin. The other man smiled a bit. Lev knew Konstantin wasn’t the type to attack a man from behind. He wasn’t the type to not give his opponent a chance for a fair fight. The fact that Owen was lying only proved how pathetic he was.

It drove Lev insane that a man as weak and disrespectful toward women as Owen had hurt Zia. He didn’t even deserve to be in the same space she was. He didn’t deserve to breathe the air as her, yet here he was, acting like he deserved some kind of trophy for hurting the woman who loved him.

And how the hell did he not remember Konstantin? A face like his was hard not to remember.

Konstantin had a face and body that men feared and women loved. He was a killing machine, brutal to the core and deadly to the roots. Unless Owen was so smitten by the idea of free drinks that he couldn’t care less about the man sitting at his other side.

Which made him seem even more pathetic.

An hour passed. Owen never stopped yapping or talking for all fifty minutes they spent together. Both Konstantin and Lev had grown too angry by the end of the drinking date to listen to any more of his shit.

Lev cleared the bills, and all three men walked outside.

“You need a ride?” Lev asked, opening the passenger seat of his Lamborghini.

Owen’s eyes widened at Lev’s car. “Fucking Christ.” He scurried over to the Lamborghini, caressing it as if it was something more valuable than Zia ever was to him. “Is this a Revuelto?”

“Yeah,” Lev drawled. “Wanna get in?”

“Fuck, yes!” Owen shouted.

Lev cringed at how shameless he was. If only he knew the consequences of his answer. “Get in. I’ll show you around, and then we can have a drink at my place.”

Owen hopped in like a bird into a hole of worms.

Lev signaled for Konstantin and the other men to follow before he rounded the car and got in the driver’s seat. Starting the engine, he pulled the car from the curb.

Owen’s eyes were still wide in awe when Lev drove through the driveway of his mansion.

When Lev stopped the car at the entrance of the mansion and they got out, Owen asked, “Do you live here alone?”

“With my wife,” Lev answered proudly. His chest tingled at that word. That was who Zia was to him, his wife. She was his other half, and he would be damned before he would let anyone get away with hurting her.

Owen’s eyes shone with disbelief. “You’re married?”

Lev raised his hand. The golden ring on his finger caught the crescent moonlight overhead. “Did you somehow miss this?”

Owen opened his mouth to speak, but Lev cut him off with a raise of his finger. “I think we started off on the wrong foot, Owen. The woman you called a dumb bitch happens to be my wife.”

Fear flashed on Owen’s face. He took a step back. “Zia… is your wife?”

“Yes.” Lev took a step toward Owen. “She is. You not only hurt my wife and insulted her, but you also hit her and tried to rape her.”

“Fuck!” Owen readied his leg to run.

Lev gave him a disapproving shake of his head. “Look around, and you’ll find that running is not in your best interest. You saw the men at the gate. You can’t outrun or outfight them. You’ll be a dead man before you even make it to the gate.”

Just then, Konstantin and the other men drove in, their cars lining up behind each other.

Owen’s eyes glistened with tears as he took in his environment. Realizing that he didn’t stand a chance, he did the first smart thing he’d done since Lev met him—he got on his knees and begged. “I’m sorry, Man. I didn’t know she was your fucking wife.”

Lev snorted in derision. Would it have been okay to rape her if she wasn’t my wife?”

The other man’s lips quivered. “That is not… Fuck. I’m sorry. I was out of it that day and crossed a line I shouldn’t have. I regretted it.”

“Yet you bragged about it,” Lev drawled. He inched closer to Owen like a predator, ready to pounce on his prey. “You don’t regret it. You only regret that you’re about to pay for what you did.”

Konstantin walked in just then. He placed his arm on the wall and leaned on it. “I’m a little offended you do not recognize me, though. That punch wasn’t hard enough to have wiped your memories.”

“You… It was you that day at the Airbnb?” Owen stuttered, pointing at Konstantin.

A grin stretched out on Konstantin’s face. “Finally. I was afraid you would never recognize me. Glad you’re finally making a progress.” He raised his head to Lev. “What should I do with him, Chief?”

“Take him to the basement. I’ll take care of him there,” Lev ordered, shrugging off his jacket and handing it to one of his men.

“No, please let me go. I promise I’ll never do anything that stupid ever again,” Owen cried.

The fucker had real tears in his eyes, and he looked like he would actually piss himself before Lev began with him. He was so weak, yet so infuriating.

Lev ignored his pleas as the men carried him away from the entrance. One of them had a hand wrapped around his mouth to keep him from screaming. The last thing Lev wanted was for Zia to wake up and get in the way of his disciplining. She’d given him permission to punish Owen, but she was soft-hearted, and he had no idea how she would react to him doing it.

The men tied Owen to a seat. They left his mouth uncovered at Lev’s request. Lev needed to hear Owen cry for mercy as he tortured him. He wanted to hear him beg as he broke him.

Lev rolled his sleeve as he walked toward Owen in slow strides after the men stepped back. He stopped in front of the trembling man. Without warning, he rammed his clenched fist into Owen’s jaw.

A sharp cry followed the sound of Owen’s bones cracking. Blood dripped down his split lips. He thrashed and wrestled with the rapes bounding his hand to the chair, but he couldn’t escape.

Lev closed his eyes, thinking of how scared Zia must’ve been when Owen attacked her. Thinking of how damaged it would have left her if Owen had succeeded with what he had intended to do to her.

Rape existed in their world, and Lev saw how it affected the victims. He’d seen a few of the women and how broken they were after. He’d killed a few men for hurting those women like that. That is why the thought of that happening to Zia drained him of any mercy he might’ve mustered.

Clenching his fist again, he punched Owen in the stomach again, and again, and again, until the other man was spitting blood.

Something in Owen must’ve snapped when he looked up at Lev because he uttered the one thing that made Lev completely lose his mind. “I should have fucked that bitch. I should have hurt her. Then, I would have gladly died after. I’ll regret not ripping her clothes apart and having my way with her forever.”

Rage, like never before, flared in Lev’s stomach. His vision turned red, and his throat dried up instantly. He laughed, but it was mirthless and cold. “I’m not going to kill you, but I’m going to do something worse. Something that will make you wish you were dead.”

He stretched his hand out behind him, and one of the guards placed a piece of cold metal in his hand. It was a scalpel, one he’d used so many times. “Now, repeat what you just said you should have done to my wife.”