The Bratva’s Bounty (Volkov Bratva #3)

13. Lev

Chapter 13

Lev

~3 days later~

"Mr. Volkov, someone is here to see you."

The tired voice of my assistant instantly pulled my attention away from the mindless assignment Stepan had just dropped on my desk.

"And? If they don't have an appointment, then send—"

I didn't get a chance to finish before I broke out in a smile from Nicole barging her way into my office. "And as I told your stupid assistant, I am VIP. No appointment needed," Nicole argued, shoving the assistant out of my office and closing the door.

Instantly, I shot out of my seat, rounded my desk, and greeted Nicole with a big hug. " Zhizn moya ." Unable to help myself, I pressed a kiss against her temple. "Did I miss a message about you coming? Did the assistant give you a lot of trouble? I would have told them to let you through if I'd known."

Nicole didn't look too peeved, but the assistant surely did.

Flashing me a reassuring smile, Nicole shook her head. "It's fine. I've handled much worse." Her smile quickly faded with the softening of her voice. "We need to talk."

Uh oh, those words were never good, especially in such a somber tone.

Without a word, I led her over to the couch and sat down with her in my lap. "If you're going to break up with me, then you better carve the tattoo out of my chest and take it with you." Having my ex permanently inked on me was not on my bucket list.

I hoped that wasn't the reason for this serious conversation, though. We barely started this complicated relationship of ours, if this whole thing could even be considered a relationship. It was a relationship to me because, well, why else would she continue to put up with me after I quit hunting her? Also, why the fuck would she brand me with a tattoo!?

Granted, we never really labeled this situationship, but at this point, I was more than confident that we were together after everything.

Even if that weren't the case, like hell would I let her end us.

No, she claimed me as hers, and she damn well belonged to me now.

Mine.

A surge of possessiveness tightened my arms around Nicole, trapping her against my body. " Shakhta ." Grabbing her jaw, I forced her head back to attack her neck with aggressive kisses.

Gasping softly, Nicole reached back to shove at my head. "Lev, stop. We really need to talk." She struggled out between her heavy breaths.

"Tell me we're not breaking up, and I will." I bargained, dragging my teeth down the column of her delicate neck.

Scoffing, Nicole slapped my thigh and shoved her hand right into my face. "Okay, for one," she grunted softly as she spun around to face me fully and straddled me. "That's not even what the talk is about, little lion." Reaching up, she lightly slapped my cheek—playfully—a few times with a cheeky smile.

Snaking her arms around my neck, she leaned in close, ghosting her lips over mine. "Secondly, if that's how you're going to act with the impending threat of separation, I might actually try to see how far you go," she whispered deviously against my lips with a chuckle. "How far are you willing to go to keep me? How desperate will your love for me become? "

Those damn four letters had my body freezing up as if my bastard father had risen from the dead before me and brutally murdered everyone dear to me before my very eyes.

Liked? Yes. Coveted? Yes. Infatuated? Yes. Love!? No, no, no, that's where the line was drawn. No.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I averted my eyes from Nicole as I shoved her away to put some breathing space between us. "W-what did you want to talk about?" Safe to say, my mood was ruined, and a change of subject was desperately needed.

Nicole's face twisted with concern and confusion as she studied me momentarily. Her mouth opened and closed with what seemed like a pressing matter, but she dropped it with a sigh. "My parents… and my whole situation," she paused briefly to sigh heavily. "I'm going to stay, but I need some help dealing with them."

Shoving my thoughts and feelings of stupor from before away completely, I recollected myself. "What about your parents? Besides them being a pain in the ass." I was no stranger to the issues that her parents have been to the bratva.

Besides being on my ass about their assignment for me with Nicole, they've been causing our bratva some trouble with some shady business dealings that were starting to affect some of our current client base. Some of our customers were jumping ship, yet we couldn't figure out what kind of ammo the Le's had. They were also in business with someone who kept on eluding us, and that was what pissed us off the most about the whole situation with them.

"I don't really know where to start, so I'll just kind of start with when my problem with them started," Nicole said with a sigh, slouching into me until her head rested comfortably against my chest. "It was a few months ago, a little over six or so, not too sure at this point. Either way, around that time, I found out that my parents stole my company from me, cut me out completely, and transferred everything to them and my younger brother."

I sensed that wasn't the end of the story, just the beginning. And I would be right because she proceeded to unload over the next few minutes. "If having my own company pulled from right under my nose by my own parents wasn't bad enough, they proceed to try and cart me off to some old man over in China who wants a wife for himself and his bum of a son. Some old friend of my father's is what my parents claimed." Scoffing, Nicole muttered something in a different language before continuing. "A load of bullshit is what that all was. It was some business deal, and I was the bargaining chip. Like hell was I going to let some stupid misogynistic man and his equally shitty son beat me and use me."

Tension clenched my jaw as red-hot anger burned through my veins until the veil of anger threatened to cloud my vision. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't storm your parent's gaudy mansion and tear it to the ground with my bare hands to bury them alive in their deceit." I seethed with a silent anger that kept a deep scowl permanently etched on my face.

"Because I need to rob them of everything they have and figure out what they're up to before they can die," Nicole replied flatly with some sarcasm in her voice. "I owe a friend a favor, and my parent's business dealings with this mystery person is putting a big nail in her coffin."

I've never had much reason to doubt Nicole until now. Something about the slight strain in her voice, her slight reluctance set my gut off—and my gut was never wrong. So, what was my empress hiding? And why? Who was this friend of hers who she didn't name?

Although, one thing did bug me a little. "Why do your parents want you back?" No matter how much I dug into her parents, I couldn't find a reason as to why they wanted me to locate and retrieve her.

Pursing her lips, Nicole shrugged her shoulders at me and sighed heavily. "Your guess beats mine. I mean, they took everything from me, so I literally have nothing left to give them." Tilting her head from side to side, she let out an unsure sound. "Well, I mean, I have what I do now, but it's nothing compared to what they got."

Sighing, I tucked the subject away for a later time. "Well, what's your plan now, then? Oh great, Queen Nicki." I snarked the last part out rather sarcastically with a chuckle, earning an eye roll from Nicole.

Playful lust darkened her eyes as her lips curled into a smirk. Walking her fingers up my arm, she sneaked her fingers across my shoulder and down my chest to my tie. One by one, her slender fingers coiled around my tie. Then, with a firm tug, she jerked me closer until our lips were a breath away from touching.

"It's empress to you, little lion." Her whispering words sounded like a ghost as they fanned over my face. "Only my friends call me Nicki or Queen Nicki."

My words became caught in her mouth from the sudden kiss, where she stole my breath away with each press of her soft lips. "And you're not my friend." Again, before I could argue, her frenzied mouth silenced me. "You are far beyond that."

I quickly grabbed her chuckling face, not giving her a chance to take my voice from me again. "Oh? Beyond a friend? So, a boyfriend?"

"Mhmm, more than that." She giggled, grinning at me rather deviously.

Prying my hand away, she set it on her ass as she leaned in and hugged me tightly.

Her heavy breaths made my skin prickle with excitement as her delicate lips and tongue danced along my sensitive neck. All I could do was melt under her care, letting the room grow hot and heavy with my desire for her. Then, when her lips brushed against the shell of my ear and her breathy words whispered into my ear, I nearly lost it then and there.

I wanted to throw her down onto the couch, pin her down by her neck, and fuck her full of my cum.

God, pump her full and make her round with my baby.

Fuck.

What is wrong with me?

I don't even know if she wants kids, so why the fuck am I even thinking about that?

"You. Are. Mine ."

Click!