Ivan
My phone buzzes on the bedside table, where it’s charging. I open my eyes slowly and immediately notice how Tori is curled up with her back against me. Whoever is phoning had better be nearly dead because to leave this comfortable position is going to be irritating. I turn over and grab my phone and look at the number. I don’t recognize it, so I kill the call. I was hoping not to disturb Tori, but she is waking anyway.
I lean over and kiss her shoulder. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” she mumbles sleepily. She gives me a cute smile with bleary eyes before she slowly sits up and stretches. I admire the curve of her breasts under her top as she stretches out, tempted to take them in my hands and give them a solid squeeze.
Instead, I sit back and check the business messages on my phone while she gets up to use the bathroom. I get up and go to the guest bathroom to relieve myself, and when I come back in, I hear the shower going. A small smirk spreads across my lips as I imagine what she must look like under the spray of the water-her olive skin glistening and moisturizing. I could moisturize her.
I can’t help myself.
I walk into the bathroom and undress. Tori has her back to me, so she doesn’t notice me until I step into the shower and almost touch her. She shrieks, and I catch her as she almost slips.
“Come now, surely that wasn’t enough to spook you,” I tease her.
Her cheeks redden as she holds an arm across her breasts and turns slightly away from me.
“I need to shower, too. This way, we save water,” I comment.
I try not to stare at her naked form as I start to wash my body. She doesn’t immediately get out, so that has to count for something. She just stands there, and although she’s tense, I feel her eyes admire my body.
“Relax,” I murmur, turning to her. “Don’t be so tense.”
“I…” She’s blushing again, and I smile, coming closer to her. “We can take this slowly. Why don’t we start small.”
“Small?” she asks. “You’re nothing close to small.”
I laugh heartedly, then step away. “Do you ever pleasure yourself? I mean, it’s completely natural.”
Tori slowly nods, and I smile. “Show me.”
Her eyes widen, and I stroke her arms gently. “Just show me. I want to see what makes you happy. I want to know how I can make you feel good when we’re together.”
She stares at me for a moment before she takes a deep breath and slowly lowers her arm to reveal her young, perky breasts. It makes my dick twitch as I watch her. She backs up against the shower wall and lifts one leg, bending at the knee and planting her foot against the wall to spread her legs a little.
I don’t say anything. I don’t want to distract her from her thoughts. With women, I learned it’s a mental game. Though I know I’m going to need a release after this. My dick is already getting hard.
She licks her lips and closes her eyes. She puts two fingers in her mouth and sucks on them gently. While she does that, her other hand starts to massage her breast, twisting the nipple. The fingers she’s sucked on quickly go between her legs, and she starts running them between her lips. She’s trimmed neat, so I have a full view.
I reach down and stroke my dick slowly, matching her fingers’ upand-down motion. Then she starts to circle her clit, and watching her bite her lip drives me wild. This goes on for a while before I can’t take it anymore.
I kneel before her, and her eyes shoot open. “Wha…”
“Shh,” I say. Tori lowers her leg, and I move them apart. My tongue tastes her juices as I lick from her opening to her clit, letting it twirl around there for a moment. I slowly push one finger into her and curl it up, massaging her vagina wall-that spot. I know that spot well.
Suddenly her hands are in my hair and gripping tightly. Her knees are shaking as I move my finger and tongue-fuck her clit. She’s getting wetter by the second, and it’s only when she starts to move her hips that I leave her clit. I get to my feet and push two fingers into her, in and out, in and out, until she has her hands on my shoulder and is bucking against my hand. I use my thumb to play with her clit as I move.
It takes a few minutes, but then her nails dig into my shoulders, and she gets weak. I wrap my arm around her waist and continue to finger her nub while her orgasm rips through her. Once done, I wait until she’s steady on her feet before I let her go and step away with a wry smile.
She can’t look me in the eyes and mumbles what I think is a thank you before she hurriedly gets out of the shower. I turn back to wash down and finish jerking off my rock hard dick. Once my cum has washed down the drain, I rinse off and turn the shower off, getting out and getting dressed with Tori nowhere in sight.
Once dressed, I come out of the bedroom, calm and relaxed, and walk to the dining room, where Anastasia and Tori are waiting for me for breakfast.
The meal is quiet, and Anastasia eats quickly before saying she has plans. She kisses my head and leaves, and I wonder if she has an issue with Tori. Tori picks at her food for a moment before she seems to pluck up some courage to look me in the eyes. “Can I ask you a personal question?” “Sure,” I ask, wiping my mouth on a napkin.
“What happened to Anastasia’s mother?” she asks quietly. “I mean,” she adds, “if you don’t want to tell me, I understand.”
I never talk about Mila, I don’t even think about her, but for some reason, I feel like this needs to be explained no matter how cold my tone is or what Tori makes of it, “Mila was killed by a rival family when Anastasia was about eight. We were in negotiations with a family known as the Catalans, and someone was rising to power within them. Jose was his name. He put a hit on me when I wouldn’t pay tribute to him or bow to him as my leader. We were in the park, playing with Ana when the shots were fired. I didn’t even think. I just grabbed Ana and ducked. When it was over, I saw
Mila on the floor, lifeless, her body riddled with bullets.”
I look away, but I feel her hand on top of mine. I’m pull away when she says something unexpected, “A rival gang killed my mother. Both my parents technically because they don’t think my father will survive.” I am surprised that I feel a small twinge of guilt. My men ordered that hit, but she continued, “My mother had just come home from a trip to Italy and had pulled into the driveway. They had taken my father’s car instead of hers because hers was in the shop, so they thought they were attacking my father. She died instantly too.”
I reach out for her hand, unsure of why I feel I need to justify myself to her. “I didn’t personally order the hit on your father’s life, Tori. I hope you believe that. But I allowed my men a bit of freedom, and they took the opportunity. I never wanted war.”
We look at each other for a moment before Tori lets go of my hand. “I think I’m going to read some more. When you’re done working, maybe you could join me.”
I stiffen slightly, realizing how soft I’m being with her. “I’ll think about it.”
We both leave, and I head to my office. I want to see how far back those strange withdrawals from the account go. I feel like something isn’t right.
I’m only at it for an hour when Evgeni comes in with a stack of paperwork. “The Sorvino contracts?”
“Yes,” Evgeni says. “Their first proposal.”
I stand. “I’ll get Tori. Set it down at the spare table.”
I get up and go to the library. “Tori?”
She looks up from a large book. “Yes?”
“Are you ready to work?” I ask. “Because it’s time.”
She shuts the book and sets it down, coming to me. “I’m ready.”
She isn’t looking directly at me, so I tilt her chin up with my finger,
“Let me make this clear, if you don’t get this right, you won’t live to see your niece or nephew, whatever your sister is having.” And then I kiss her wildly. I can see the fear in her eyes before I lead her to the spare table in my office. “Give Evgeni a list of what you’ll need for stationary or if you need a laptop, and he’ll arrange it.”
“I can use my own laptop,” she says. “If you’d prefer me not to, then get me a decent laptop with a solid-state drive, and I’ll make a list of stationary.”
She sits down, starts on her list, and I return to my financial reports. Evgeni stands close by until Tori finishes her list and hands it to him. I wave my hand. “She can use her laptop. Just install the security software.
You understand that it’s a necessary precaution.”
“I understand,” she says quietly. “I know I have to prove myself to you.”
My heart beats fast in my chest, and I want to tell her I already believe her, but it would be foolish, especially in front of my cousin. I look at him. “Get the stuff as quickly as you can. I want this sorted out as soon as possible.”
“Yes, boss,” Evgeni says, hurrying out.
Vittoria
As I work through the contracts, my mind keeps returning to the shower and how he touched me. I’m not complaining. That was one of the most incredible sensations I have felt without a vibrator.
I hope he didn’t figure out this was my first time being touched by a man. God, I would be mortified if he found out I’m a virgin. He’ll probably laugh at the idea, and I don’t think I can handle that.
When Ivan pops his head into the room, I get a slight fright and then smile shyly.
“It’s dinner time. You can carry on tomorrow,” he says to me, motioning for me to follow him.
I shut down my laptop and make sure everything is neat and tidy for tomorrow. I follow Ivan to the dining room, and as we’re about to sit down, Anastasia pops out of her room and goes to him, kissing his cheek. “I’m going out partying with some friends. I’ll try not to be in too early.”
“Have fun, and please be careful,” Ivan says, looking at her meaningfully.
“I always am,” she sing-songs as she prances out of the apartment. I sit down at my seat and wait for Ivan to start eating before I start on my food. I’m pleasantly surprised at the everyday meals we eat, considering everyone who works here is Russian. Perhaps they’re just trying to accommodate me, I don’t know.
Ivan is quiet as we eat, and when he suddenly speaks, my head snaps to attention.
He chuckles, “you’re very jumpy.”
“Call it a character quirk. My brother would jump out at me a lot and scare the bejesus out of me,” I explain.
“I just wanted to know if you don’t miss going out. Don’t you miss spending time with your friends or partying?” he asks, cutting up his food.
I pick at my food. “I’ve never really been one to party. I don’t have any people I can really call friends, so I guess I just skipped that part of my teens.”
“You sound too old for a twenty-three-year-old,” he comments to me, and I smile broadly.
“Hardly. I’ve just always been the responsible one. Luigi was a golden child to my parents, and my sister became pregnant in college and got shipped off. No one really paid attention to me because I’ve always been independent and able to take care of myself.”
Ivan sets his cutlery down and looks at me pensively. “Why don’t I take you out to the theater then? There’s a beautiful Russian play on nearby.
We won’t be out late.”
I feel so shy when he’s nice like this to me. “I… Okay, why not?
That could be fun, though you might have to tell me what’s happening.”
“I will,” he says. “Change into something a little more formal, and we’ll get going. I just have a few business calls to make before we leave.”
I nod, and as soon as I’m finished eating, I select one of the dresses Arina purchased for me. The left shoulder is covered, but the right is bare. It clings to my figure, and at my hips, it flows out just a little. I put on high heels and some of the new jewelry.
When Ivan walks in to change, he pauses for a moment and drinks me in. I feel shy, but at the same time, I feel beautiful. I wait in the entrance hall while he changes, and when he comes out in a tuxedo, I’m floored. This man, my husband, is so damn sexy in so many ways. His salt-andpepper hair and beard don’t bother me at all. In fact, I think he’s so much more handsome than some of the younger guys.
We arrive at the theater, and everyone mingling outside seems to know Ivan, respectfully inclining their heads in his direction as he escorts me up the stairs. A few females whisper to themselves as they look at me, and I feel more than slightly awkward.
Ivan isn’t bothered at all. He doesn’t even present tickets. He just sweeps me through the crowd and up some more stairs until we’re in a private box close to the stage. I look around and feel so out of place. There are other boxes with couples who I’m sure are more important than me.
Once everyone is settled, the play starts, and I’m immediately lost because it’s all in Russian. Ivan chuckles next to me, to my right, and leans in, whispering the story to me. The two lovers have known each other since childhood and always knew they would be together. The evil antagonist is a third person from their childhood who has always wanted the girl.
The play goes on about how the evil antagonist tries to get rid of the hero so many times until finally, he rises to a position of power and sentences the hero to exile in Siberia. The woman is distraught, so she kills the antagonist in the hopes that she will be exiled as well. Instead, she is hung for the crime, and when the hero returns from Siberia, he finds she is dead and impales himself on a sword.
I can’t help the tears that well up in my eyes as I listen to the detailed description of the story, and Ivan offers me a handkerchief to dab at my eyes. The final song of the play sounds so forlorn, and Ivan smiles. “It ends with two new lovers coming together and promising to love each other forever, even in death.”
I see to the side a third actor and ask, “Let me guess, it suggests history may repeat itself.”
Ivan shrugs nonchalantly. “Doesn’t all history?”
“I hope not,” I say quietly. “I hope they marry and are happy together.”
“I hope so, too,” Ivan says quietly. The curtain falls, and we stand up and join the loud applause echoing in the room.
We leave, and Ivan takes us to a private section where we can have drinks. We sit down at a private booth. He has vodka, Russian imported, and I have a glass of white wine.
“You seem incredibly shy for an Italian,” he comments. “The ones
I’ve dealt with are generally outgoing and rather boisterous.”
“I just… I’m not a people person,” I say, sipping my wine. “What about you? Do you like mingling with people?”
“Back in the day, I was quite the player when I was younger. I had many lovers, not something I’m proud of now, but I stopped once I met Mila. Russian girls all wanted to date the heir to the Volkov family, but none understood what they were getting into. Mila did. She was amazing in every way.”
“She sounds wonderful,” I say, and I mean it.
Ivan gives me a sad smile, then clears his throat. “What about you?
Any memorable past lovers?”
That blush instantly takes over my face, and I try to hide it behind a sip of wine.
“Um… well…” I obviously hesitate too long because his eyes widen.
“You haven’t been with anyone, have you?”