Conquered Bride (Belaya Bratva 1)

I stripped off my coat next and threw it so that it could join the tie. “None of your concern. I want to know why the embassy would care about a missing American.”

The visit wasn’t common. If Naomi had been a senator’s daughter or some high-society princess, I could understand, but nothing in her background suggested either, and I wanted to know who would be looking for her.

“Who did you tell?”

“No one,” she answered, throwing up her hands. “I have no means to tell anyone even if I wanted to.”

I stalked toward her, and she shrank back, causing me to pause. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Even agitated as I was, I wasn’t going to take it out on Naomi.

Something flickered in her eyes before she looked away. “I know.”

Was my mother right about her? Was she keeping secrets from me?

Could Naomi ask me for anything, and I would be powerless to turn her down?

“Then tell me,” I said. “Why was that man here tonight?”

Naomi looked down and became silent. It took me a few moments before I realized she was trembling.

“I had a stalker,” she finally said, wrapping her arms around her waist and not meeting my gaze. “From college. He, well, he has ways of finding me. I didn’t think he could find me here, in another country. But clearly, he did.”

Motherfucker! I felt a feral rage rising inside of me. I wanted the man dead. I tamped down my desire to kill a man I didn’t know and set my jaw. “Anything else?”

She shook her head, her face becoming even more ashen. “No, that’s the only thing I can think of. I should have told you. But I really thought he wouldn’t be able to find me. Not when I’m with you.”

Some of the fight left me and I sighed, raking my hand through my hair. “I am sorry for scaring you.” If that was all it was, it could be easily remedied once we went back home.

She finally met my gaze. “I hate that this ruined our night. I heard you and your mother fighting.”

She looked so vulnerable standing there that I couldn’t help but reach out and pull her against me, letting her head fall to my chest.

“No,” I said. “Don’t apologize. This didn’t ruin anything for us. It’s done, and we won’t ever think of it again.”

Her entire body shuddered, and Naomi buried her face in my shirt, as if she was finally giving herself up to me. I held onto her, resting my chin on top of her head and stroking her back lightly with my fingers. “I will protect you,” I finally said after a few minutes. “From whatever may come. You must believe me.”

She answered by burying herself deeper into me, so I held her. Whatever came our way, I would protect her. My mother was wrong. Naomi was no whore. She was my wife. She might not be Sveta, and she might not bring me the birthright that belonged to Sveta, but Naomi was mine, and I would never let anything harm her.

Finally, she pulled back, giving me a small smile. “Can we just go to bed?”

I smoothed my hand over her hair. “Of course. Whatever you want.”

I wasn’t going to leave here even though there were likely a hundred other things that needed to be done.

She nodded and extended her hand to me. I took it gingerly and allowed her to lead me to the bedroom. There she stepped out of those heels I had been watching all night and reached for the diamond pendant.

“Leave it on,” I said huskily. I liked the look of her draped in my fucking diamonds.

Naomi dropped her hands and fumbled with the clasp on her skirt, letting it fall off her body a second later. My eyes were drawn to the red lace at her center and my cock roared to life again, deciding that it was far from done with her tonight.

When she stepped closer, I knew that she held me in the palm of her hand. “What do you want?” I asked roughly.

She gave me a little smile. “I want to finish what we started. To strip you of all your clothing and kiss every inch of your skin,” she murmured as her fingers worked on the buttons of my dress shirt. “To have you.”

“Even now?” I forced out, feeling every single nerve stand at attention.

Naomi looked up at me, her eyes deep pools that I could drown in. “Especially now.”

With a growl I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, reaching for my pants to divest myself of them in rapid succession. The moment they slid past my hips, my cock sprang out, heavy with need, and Naomi licked her lips. “That was quick.”

I let down my guard and truly grinned at her. “You wanted it, you got it, my love.” The endearment surprised me yet again, but it was the truth. She was my love, the only fucking thing that mattered right now.

Instead of responding, her hands went to my chest, smoothing the scarred skin there. “Will you ever tell me what happened?” she asked lightly as her fingers traced a deep gash on my left pec.

“Does it matter?” I asked. No one had ever asked me about them before.

Her lips replaced her fingers, and I sucked in a breath. “Of course it does,” she answered, her eyes colliding with mine. “Someone hurt you, Gavril.”

I let out a hollow laugh. A lot of people had hurt me, both physically and in ways I would never tell her about.

“They won’t hurt me again.”

Naomi opened her mouth to respond, but I covered it with mine, clasping her hand to my chest. What she was doing to me wasn’t what I had bargained for, and had she been the true Sveta, none of this would be happening.

I didn’t know whether to be grateful or terrified.

***