The Bratva’s Bounty (Volkov Bratva #3)

Epilogue Nicole

~2 years later~

"NICOLE!"

Lev's fury shook the walls of our home, along with my laughter in response to him.

"You psycho! Get your ass out here and uncuff me! How dare you chloroform my ass like that and tie me up!? Naked too!? Is that really necessary!?" Even though he was in the living area, it sounded like he was right next to me with how his voice carried. "Nicole!"

Taking my sweet time, I let Lev stew there for a moment before sauntering out of my office and down the hallway. My feet stopped at the entrance, and I leaned against the wooden frame seductively to show off my lingerie-clad body, making the red in Lev's angry eyes disappear. His narrowed eyes widened with wonder and excitement as his mouth hung open. He didn't even try to hide his blatant staring as he looked me up and down without blinking.

"Holy shit…" His Adam's apple bobbed deeply with his gulp. "This is not fair." His groan of complaint echoed into the air when he threw his head back.

Giggling seductively, I slowly strutted up to him, purposedly giving my hips an extra sway for effect. When I stood before him, I nudged his legs open to get on my knees between them. "Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the first part of my anniversary gift to you," I told him with a cheeky grin.

"Fuck, Nicole you do—agh! Shit!" His gasps and strained groans were like music to my ears as I worked his thick cock with my mouth and hands.

"W-wait, anniversary?" Looking up, I could see the gears turning in his head with how confused his eyes looked. "We're not getting married until next month, the fuck you mean anniversary?"

The cuteness of his confusion caused me to lose control and gag on his cock as I had him down my throat. Pulling myself off completely, I waited until my coughing calmed down before snickering at him. A soft sigh squeezed out of my chest as I leaned in and rested my head against his thigh. My hand lazily stroked his throbbing cock to keep him stimulated as I replied, "The anniversary of when I claimed you." Walking my fingers up his body, I let the rest of my body follow until I hovered over him. "Of when I tattooed you." Softly, I traced the tattoo of my signature on his chest with a proud grin.

Lev's shoulders slumped with relief before his chest shook with a chuckle. "You've never celebrated that before." He eyed me suspiciously for a second before looking around the room as if he expected something to blow up or for someone to pop out.

"What are you—" I immediately shut him up with my lips, not wanting to engage in a game of twenty questions with him and ruin the mood.

Breaking the kiss, I tucked my bottom lip between my teeth and smirked at him as I raked my nails down his chest. It aroused me to no end seeing how Lev's eyes darkened so much with lust at the simple action.

Teasing his body with kisses, I took my sweet time to mark up and taste every inch of his muscled body before straddling him. Pressing his cock flat against his abdomen, I nestled him between my cunt and grind myself along his length. "If you want to get fucked, then you better start begging." There was a devious bite to my giggle as I used him to get myself off.

Bucking his hips at me, he looked at me with needy, pleading eyes. "Empress, please fuck my cock with your tight cunt. Please, I need you so badly." The way his voice became whispery and how he whimpered so sweetly made it hard to deny him.

For once, I decided to take it easy on him. So, I reached a hand down to grasp his cock and position him properly at my entrance. I took him nice and slow, wanting to feel every bump and rub of his piercings as he entered my tight walls. I also wanted this moment to last a bit.

Fully seated on his cock, I stayed like that for a moment to fully savor him before I started bouncing. Holding onto his shoulders, I moved at a rather teasing pace. I intentionally exaggerated my rocking hips to get as much friction as possible to stimulate him and keep him on edge.

Sliding a hand across to his neck, I looped the leather leash around my hand, and with a firm jerk, I pulled him towards me. "Who do you belong to? Who do you kneel to at the end of the day? Who owns this cock of yours?" I asked with a power-hungry grin.

Lev shuddered and bowed his head slightly. "You, my empress. I belong to you and only you." His jaw clenched shut with a whimper when I slammed myself down on him hard. "I crawl and kneel to you and only you." His answer came out a little strained and breathy. "My cock belongs to you. It's your cock."

"Good boy," I praised him with a big and proud smile.

But that was the end of my sweetness.

Grabbing his face, I pressed my thumb against his bottom lip, dragging it down a bit. Then, I leaned in and kissed him passionately with a deep groan. "That's right, you belong to me, and only me," I growled possessively against his lips before kissing him aggressively.

Breaking the kiss with a heavy breath, I pulled at the leash and grabbed his collar. "Don't you ever forget whose collar adorns your neck." My deepened voice rumbled in my chest as I spoke.

Lev's body fell back against the chair when I released the collar and slackened the leash. His glistening chest heaved with each breath he took, making me smile at how my mark on him danced with life.

Dragging my nails along his body teasingly, I traced the tattoo proudly once I came to it. "And don't you ever forget whose mark is on your body," I told him in a slightly dazed voice as I was too busy admiring the work on his body .

Snapping out of it, I leaned up and hovered over him with a dark, possessive grin. "I fucking own you, and don't you ever forget that."

His neck craned toward me, his eyes begging me for a kiss. "Yes, empress, I won't ever forget," he whimpered, his lips pursing slightly in a silent plea.

Running a hand down his arm, I quickly unlatched the cuff from one of his wrists. And the moment his hand was free, it shot up and wrapped itself around my neck, choking me softly. With some force, he pulled me down to get that kiss he desperately wanted.

"Nicole, please, let me come," he begged sweetly against my lips, bucking his hips to urge me.

Not wanting to drag this on any longer, I picked up the pace and force of my movements until I had both of us moaning uncontrollably with pleasure. Not once did my movements falter until my orgasm hit me full force.

Sitting fully on his cock, I slumped against him as my tight walls clenched and twitched around his throbbing cock as he filled me with his cum.

Once the aftershocks of my orgasm died down enough for me to get ahold of myself, I released his other wrist. I kept myself pressed against him, though. We might be done with round one, but I also had something else for him besides sex.

Weakly, I fished around under the seat of the chair until I felt the item I had taped there before I even knocked Lev out. I feared the thing might snap with how tightly I clutched it in anticipation as I sat up and looked at Lev with a tearful smile. "Close your eyes, ??i ca ," I commanded in a soft voice.

Lev looked at me warily, but he obeyed. "I swear, if you're going to whack me in the face with a plank of wood…" he grumbled with a playful chortle.

Memories of that day flashed through my mind at his mention of it, making me laugh a little. "No, no, nothing like that, I promise." I might be a little mean to Lev, but bodily harm like that was a little too far.

Nervously, I held the item in my hands and looked it over one last time to ensure everything was still perfect before holding it toward him. "Alright, open your eyes." A shaky exhale squeezed out of my tight chest as I watched his eyes flutter open .

His face fell at the sight of the object. Disbelief bulged at his eyes, making me worry that they might pop out of his head. My concern and anxiety skyrocketed when he sat there stunned.

"Le—ah!" I cut out with a squeal that turned into full-blown laughter because Lev shot up to his feet with me in his arms.

Spinning around, Lev shouted excitedly into the air and laughed with me as he practically danced around with me.

"Lev, you're gonna make me throw up," I remarked, slapping at his shoulder.

Quickly, he apologized and set me down on my feet. Then, he grabbed my face and kissed me deeply with a happy chuckle. " Zhizn moya , are you really? Please tell me it is real." His tearful eyes begged me with so much hope.

Immediately, I smiled brightly at him while nodding my head, "Yes, I really am pregnant." Tears streamed down our cheeks with my confirmation, and we held each other for a long while on the couch.

After two long years, it was finally happening. We were finally going to have our family—our child.

Not gonna lie, it has been disheartening for me when month after month would pass with negative results. There was nothing wrong with us health-wise, and technically, I wasn't infertile because my eggs were healthy. Biologically, there was no explanation as to why we didn't conceive within that first year of trying.

When the second year of our relationship rolled around without any positive results, we began to talk about other means, such as IVF or adoption. We had both decided to put it off until after the wedding, not wanting to add more stress than necessary to our lives.

So, imagine my surprise when I decided to pee on a stick a few days ago on a whim and had it come back positive. Of course, being the paranoid little shit I was, I took five more in total in the days to come to make sure the first wasn't some fluke. I also had our doctors collect my blood as well to verify my hormone levels. The only definitive answer was an ultrasound, which was scheduled for today.

Looking up at the clock on the wall, I beamed with excitement when I noticed the time. With a giddy giggle, I tapped Lev's chest repeatedly, urging him to get up. "Come on, let's go see our baby."

I could see the questions and confusion written all over his grinning face, but I guess he was too ecstatic to burst the bubble right now. He waited for me to get up completely before he sat up and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me in for a tight hug. With my stomach leveled with his face, he buried it softly into me, being extra gentle. "I really can't believe it." His muffled words tickled me a little, causing me to giggle.

His head rolled back to look up at me with his infectious grin and lovely blues that were full of nothing but pure gratitude and adoration. "Thank you, and I know those two words will never be enough to express my eternal gratitude, but I will spend forever showing it to you every second of every day for the rest of our lives."

Pressing his face back into my belly, he spoiled it with loving and tender kisses.

Unable to help it, I buried both my hands into his hair and pet his head. "You are going to be an amazing father, Lev."

Chuckling softly, his tender eyes looked back up at me. "And I never would have gotten such a chance if it weren't for you, Nicole, so thank you for imploding yourself into my life. Thank you for giving me a chance to love you and for letting me knock you up."

The stifled laugh turned into a full one when I failed to contain my amusement from his words. "Oh, little lion," I sighed playfully and lightly slapped his pouty cheek. "It's cute how you think you had an option in it all," I half-joked, throwing my head back slightly in a rather boisterous laugh.

My cheery laugh warmed up the whole air around us until the walls lit up with their own delight from the overwhelming amusement that radiated from me. "Oh, Lev," I sighed through my dying laughter.

Taking a moment, I looked at him adoringly, smiling at his cute face. "The moment I decided to turn the tables on you was when your choice in loving me went up in flames." Pressing a deep and possessive kiss against his lips, I groaned deeply with him as I claimed him roughly. "Don't forget, little lion, I always get what I want no matter what."

A spark of fight lit up his eyes right before they rolled away from me with his widening smirk. I watched as his mouth opened and remained so for a moment before he changed his mind with a chuckle and shake of his head. "I love you, Nicole."

If it weren't for the way his eyes completely melted with ardor, then I would've poked and prodded at him until he confessed to his fleeting thoughts. Well, that and the fact we had an appointment to see our baby took precedent over toying with Lev.

Rolling my own pair of eyes, I let him win with a relenting sigh as I took his wrists into my hands to inspect them. They were a little chaffed and red, but they weren't bleeding or showing signs of possible bruising. Peering up at him with a soft and tender smile, I brought his hands up to my face, kissing every inch of them before comforting his wrists with my lips. "We'll leave after I get some ointment on you, and I'll feed you in the car," I told him with a flash of a big smile right before peeping up to my tippy toes and kissing him chastely.

After tending to his reddened areas with some ointment to ease any discomfort he'd possibly feel—and to help him heal properly—I forced him to hydrate himself before letting him into the car to drive us to the doctor's office. And, yes, he drove like a fucking maniac because he was too excited to see our baby. I barely managed to feed him properly because of how much he caused the car to jerk with his acceleration. Honestly, how not a crumb or drop of sauce fell onto the pristine floor or leather seat was beyond my comprehension.

"Hey, little lion, can we drop by the office building on the way? I just want to pop by and check things out." Well, I probably could've told him to swing by the place, but I felt generous and wanted to actually ask.

Blowing up my own company all those years ago wasn't for show or anything. Okay, maybe a big reason was to stick a huge ass middle finger to my parents basically, but that was besides the other plans and reasons I had. Aside from wanting to wipe the slate clean, I knew Angel's little safe haven business needed to expand. So, since I had plans to be involved greatly in the whole business, I figured a central place of operations for us and our workers would be grand. Also, the property was big enough to build a secondary building that we turned into a housing place for the victims under our care and protection.

"Yeah, it's on the way, so I don't see why not," Lev replied with an indifferent shrug.

Humming softly, I pulled one of his hands away from the steering wheel to rest it on my lap. Mindlessly, I played with his fingers while looking out the window, pulling myself into my head.

Sometimes, it was hard to believe that two years had gone by and that we'd be married soon. Hell, it was crazy to think about all that's happened in those years. All my friends and Lev's brothers were all settled nicely and starting families of their own; the psycho twins included—shockingly.

Lev and his brothers had their businesses, both legal and not, that flourished with each passing day. Angel and the lot of us girlies had our own thing going on with the safe haven business that Angel started up after her marriage to Nikolai. For the most part, half of us had a day job to report to, but then there was the other half where the safe haven business was our job.

Take me, for example; I didn't have a day job. Sure, I could've started up another tech business, but I didn't feel like it. If I started another one up, then my heart wouldn't be in it. Thankfully, Angel was more than happy to shove the safe haven business into my hands, given my business experience. Angel was still the head of it all, but I was co-CEO, basically. I handled the business front, all the tech work, and some of the equipment management for the safe haven business. And by equipment management, I meant I made the bombs, killer drones, little nifty techy devices, and things of that nature.

It only felt like yesterday that Angel threw the idea at me, and I accepted. One blink of my eyes later, and apparently, two years had gone by. With the Volkov Bratva expanding to nearly all of California over the years, we've had to expand the safety net for victims with the brothers. We were gonna have to look at getting more trustworthy managers and such under our belt soon to keep our plates from getting too full, but I'd bring the issue up to Angel after she popped out her latest children.

"You alright, zhizn moya ?" Lev's deep voice distracted me from my thoughts, and if that wasn't enough, he fully snagged my attention when he grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it. "You have your thinking face on, and I don't want you muddling up your mind too much and stressing. It's not good for the baby."

The sweet and warm smile graced my lips at the sound of his worried words. "And you're worried that you're going to be a bad father," I teased, snickering a little. "You're already worrying about our little one, and they're not even out in the world yet."

"W-well, worrying about you and our child is different than actually raising them," he retorted with reddening cheeks.

Smiling at him reassuringly, I leaned over and hugged his arm. "Don't worry, I'm not stressing. I'm just thinking about how the past two years have been and how there are still big things to come." Okay, that might've sounded better in my head, but it really wasn't anything tasking on me. "I'm just so happy and glad that I have you by my side." Honestly, I didn't know what I'd do without Lev sometimes.

Breathing deeply, I patted his arm softly. "Just drive. I wanna just sit in silence with you and enjoy your presence." More often than not, him being around was more than enough for me.

Peaceful silence befell us for a long stretch until Lev spoke up. "Do you want to stop by the flower shop?" The car slowed to an idle roll as a quaint little shop appeared ahead of us.

Looking beyond a nearby café, I stared at the floral shop with pressed lips and a pensive scrunch of my face. "Maybe after the doctor's appointment." I was in a good mood, and I didn't want to add any tension to sour it right now possibly.

"Are you going to tell them?" Lev questioned with a quirked brow, sounding a little apprehensive underneath all the curiosity.

Sighing heavily, I shrugged my shoulders in response. "We'll see. Let's just keep going for now."

I didn't want to deal with my mother and brother right now. Well, more so I didn't want to interact with my brother.

After I effectively put my company into the ground all those years ago and dragged my parents to The Catacombs, things with my mother and brother have been rather strange. My father was dead, bits and parts of him at the bottom of the ocean or swimming around in a shark's stomach until it'd eventually be excreted and sink down. My mother got the help she needed at The Catacombs. Extensive therapy later, and she was a different woman.

Too bad the same couldn't be said for my brother. While my mother was on the straight and narrow… Yeah… I just wished the same could be said about my brother. He was still a fucking asshole and a half, though he had his good moments. He needed help badly, but he always refused it. Of course, my poor mother didn't want to let him go because he was somewhat all she had left.

Bao was still reluctant to reach out to our mother, for which I didn't fault him, given the treatment. I wasn't particularly close or fond of her; we've established a stable-ish relationship with each other and have learned to live as friends or something along those lines. We definitely weren't cozy and best friends or some mother-daughter duo. We kept in touch with each other, and I visited her from time to time just to make sure she was okay.

I couldn't help but follow the shop with my eyes as we drove past it, only tearing my gaze away when it went out of view. "It probably sounds stupid of me, but I somewhat wished things would've turned out differently." Call me silly for wishing and wanting that perfect family, but that was the only thing missing from my life.

"The world would be too happy of a place if everyone had the perfect family," Lev joked, chuckling dryly. "Well, whatever went wrong with your parents is what we won't do with our kid."

I waited until Lev parked the car in front of the business building before grabbing his face and pulling him down into a deep kiss. "I love you, Lev." Warmth filled my heart, and I smiled as I looked up at him deeply. "Thank you for putting up with my craziness and trusting me."

Of course, he had to ruin the moment with his snarky words. "Well, I've been known to make bad decisions that work out." His mirthful laugh made my eyes roll in response. "I love you so much, and I can't wait until I have someone to share my suffering with." That last part was meant in jest.

Slipping a hand down my body, he rested it against my stomach, rubbing at it with the most loving look and eager eyes.