in an American or a Russian accent. He uses that tactic a lot when he does his thing for the brotherhood.
“Underestimating your opponent is a sure way to be defeated before you even get started, Kyle.” He uses the American accent.
“They can’t reach my level.”
“Arrogance is another way to lose.”
“Stop the philosophical bullshit. I did get myself a guard after Igor insisted.” I search the crowd for a bleached-haired brat. “There he is.”
Adrian raises an eyebrow. “He looks like a kid.”
“That’s because he is one. Barely twenty, newly recruited orphan, school dropout. I’m teaching him the ways of the Bratva.”
“How would you teach him something you don’t believe in?”
“Hey.” I pretend to be offended. “Just because I don’t sing the Russian anthem doesn’t mean I’m not part of this holy union.”
“We don’t sing the Russian anthem. Do you even know why the Bratva started?”
“Sure do—USSR and World War bollocks that I’m not interested in hearing about. What I am interested in, however, is your love story with the Italians. What made the overly distrustful Luciano family trust you so much? It can’t be your non-existent charm.”
“It could be something similar to why Rai married you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Blackmail.”
I smile even though I want to snarl.
“What?” He picks up on my change of mood. “She would’ve never married you of her own accord. Even Sergei knows that. Which brings me to the question: what will you do once she figures out who you are?”
“She won’t.”
“And if she does?”
“So what if she does?”
“She’ll turn your life into hell.”
I have no doubt she would do just that.
The image of Rai’s defiant expression earlier comes to mind, the way she stared up at me even when she was suffering. The way she slapped me to prove a point. That woman is made of hard steel with incomparable tenacity. Nikolai developed the Russian endurance in her bones, and it fucking shows.
But if there’s anyone who will melt that metal fortress and reach the person that’s inside, it’s going to be me.
The toys and the games are just the beginning, a preparation phase for what’s really going to come.
I will start with her body and end with her fucking soul. The more she defies me, the more tempted I am to break her in.
Which is weird, considering that’s not part of my mission. If anything, being tangled up in Rai Sokolov might compromise what I came back to do. And yet, whenever she looks at me with those challenging eyes, all I can think about is taking her up on it.
“Speaking of the princess,” Adrian says, and my first knee-jerk reaction is to punch him in the throat. Only I am allowed to call her Princess.
I stare through the window, and sure enough, Rai marches toward us with sure, confident steps. Her makeup and hair are fixed, and she looks ready to take over the world.
I wouldn’t be surprised if one day she does—when I’m out of the picture, of course.
She opens the door on my side and barges inside. When I don’t slide in beside Adrian, she sits partly on my lap. It’s a mere brush of clothes against clothes, but my dick jumps to life at her closeness, at the warmth of her skin under the dress, and at the fact that she’s still wearing the toy I shoved inside her.
I inhale deep, and that only makes things worse since her scent infiltrates my nostrils. She smells like an exotic goddess out to destroy her peasants. It’s not only about the intense perfume that makes her presence known, but also the way it mixes with her natural scent.
It takes me a few seconds to get my mind out of my dick.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I don’t contain my displeased tone.
Controlling our emotions is the first thing we were trained to do, and yet, all those years seem to vanish whenever this spitfire of a woman is around.
“You’re paying a visit to the Lucianos, right?”
“Yes,” Adrian says with a calm I sure as fuck don’t feel.
She lifts her chin. “I’m coming, too.”
“No, you’re not.” I try to push her out of the car, but she grabs my bicep, nails sinking into the cloth and my skin. It’s like being scratched by a small kitten. The expression on her face is anything but, though. She’s on a mission and won’t stop until she accomplishes it.
That’s one of the traits that never changed about her: determination mixed with fearlessness.
“You can’t stop me. If you kick