Slavik
We intended to take the turf away from the Italians. Any attack now would be suicide. I filled Ivan in on the details I’d gained, and along with it, I heard the new anger in his voice. We’d been aware of Aurora’s lack of desire, but this went beyond that. We couldn’t attack now, but we would be aware, gathering the necessary intel that would be required for us to completely wipe them off the face of the earth.
“What do I do with Aurora?” I asked.
“Simple. I have a feeling if she’s as expendable to them as everyone believes, they won’t care about her death. We keep her alive. You use her. Host several more of those family dinners. Find out everything we know and play the loving husband. We will hurt them for this.”
I agreed and hung up.
My biggest problem … I didn’t like the way they’d disregarded Aurora. She was my wife, and it was my duty, for now, to keep her alive, but I had a problem with how they treated her. From the moment the agreed treaty of a marriage was negotiated, I’d seen the way she was handled. How they pushed her to one side as if she didn’t matter. Not only that, but even the other night with those women at the dinner table. They couldn’t stand to be around her.
I didn’t get it. Aurora was sweet. She was kind. I saw it in her eyes even though she tried to hide everything. What I also saw was acceptance. She lived with this, being constantly passed over, ignored.
Arriving at my penthouse suite, I discovered it was empty. No sign of Aurora or Sergei, which pissed me off.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Sergei.
“Where are you?” I didn’t like this one bit.
“We’re at the pool. Aurora wanted to do some laps.”
“It’s Mrs. Ivanov,” I said, hanging up the phone.
I was already heading toward the pool. In the elevator, I rubbed at my temple. I hadn’t slept in two days so far. Sleep rarely came to me. I had no trust in anyone around me, and right now between Cara’s problem, and now the Italian one, there was no way I was going to relax.
You were killed if you let down your guard, and that was the last thing I was going to do.
The elevator went down to the level with the gym and the pool. I saw the sign posted, stating the pool was closed for the time being.
As I entered, I caught sight of my wife wearing a one-piece swimsuit. She had her arms crossed over the edge of the pool, and Sergei, as far as I was concerned, looked a little too cozy with my wife, which pissed me off.
We’d been married a little over five months, and as I watched them, I didn’t like how close they seemed. Anger worked up my body as I stepped into view. The moment I did, the smile on Aurora’s lips fell and Sergei stood.
He bowed his head to me. “Sir.”
“You can leave,” I said.
He nodded. Without another look at my wife, he left the room. Alone with my wife, I saw Aurora move back into the water. We looked at each other.
She wasn’t a stunning beauty, but there was a beauty there. I’d had my fair share of fake beauty. There was something about Aurora that called to me.
“I didn’t know you were coming home,” she said.
“You never do.”
Again, small talk wasn’t my strong suit.
“It would be wise of you not to flirt with my men.”
This had her frowning. “I wasn’t flirting.”
“You think I didn’t see what you were doing?”
She looked to where Sergei had left. “We were just talking. Not everything between a man and a woman has to be about … sex.”
My cock twitched. I hadn’t gotten the pleasure of enjoying my wife. She’d moved toward the edge of the pool, and as she grabbed the side, I watched as she pulled herself out. I admired the curves of her body. The fullness of her ass. She grabbed a towel.
“If you continue to flirt with Sergei and give him the wrong message, I will kill him.”
She glared at him. “I wasn’t flirting with him. He’s my … friend.”
This made me laugh. I couldn’t help it. Sergei wasn’t a friend. None of my men were her friends, and if given the order, they would turn on her at a moment’s notice.
What I didn’t expect was the slap to the face. I captured her hand and pulled her against me. She began to wriggle, and with how close her body was, I had no problem with it. Not that I’d force her. Rape wasn’t something I wanted to ever experience.
Staring into her eyes, I restrained her, making her pause with a single hand on her ass. I gripped her tightly, and tears filled her eyes.
“Don’t ever fucking do that again.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like being hit. I tend to hit back.”
“Then don’t accuse me of doing something I never did. I don’t flirt. I wouldn’t even know how.”
“My men know the rules. You’re a job to them, nothing more.”
She wore a good mask, but I saw my words had struck her hard. “You think I don’t know that? It’s all I do know. I’m a job. It’s why I don’t flirt. Now let me go, or is there something else you want from me?”
Her lips looked really tempting, but my anger was not in a good place. I released her, and without a backward glance, she left. The curves of her ass just begged for me to call her back and show her what real sex was all about. The two times I’d fucked her hadn’t been real. It had been mechanical, a necessity and then a release. I wanted her again, but not tonight. I never allowed my hormones to take charge. I was the one who held control over myself, no one else.