Second Best (Volkov Bratva 1)

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.

Chapter Four

Aurora

For the next week, I stopped talking to Sergei, and I ignored Slavik when he decided to join me for dinner or anything else. We did end up going to two different dinner parties, but like the ones before, I was able to sit without saying a single word.

Dinner invitations were offered, but I declined.

I’d come to the conclusion I didn’t want to make friends with Slavik’s world. So by the second week after my decision, I sat on the sofa, bored out of my mind. I’d read so many books I couldn’t even remember a single title or author. The stories had been great but it was like I hadn’t really taken them in.

There was nothing for me to do but stay here.

Sergei stood a few feet away as I stared down at my feet.

I’d already done my workout for the day. According to the scales today, I’d dropped another couple of pounds. Even as my stomach rumbled, I ignored the growl. Eating was done carefully and controlled.

“You need to eat something,” Sergei said.

“I’m fine.”

“Starving yourself is not the answer.”

I lifted my gaze. “You shouldn’t be talking to me.”

“Come on, Aurora, don’t be like that.”

“It’s Mrs. Ivanov,” I said. I heard him tut, and I glared at him. “Do you know what my husband thinks? He thinks I was flirting with you.” I laughed. “I’m not going to give him the satisfaction.”

I hated him. He was an asshole.

I was so fucking bored. Five months of married life sucked. Not that being a daughter was any easy feat. Nope. Both sucked.

“You do know he is probably with a mistress right now,” Sergei said after a short pause.

This had me looking at Sergei. “What?”

He moved closer into the room. I didn’t stop him as he sat down opposite me. I moved my feet out of his room. Sergei had never been like this before, and I quickly glanced around to make sure no one watched. I didn’t know why I did this. We weren’t breaking any rules, but all of a sudden, this felt way too intimate. Like I shouldn’t allow this. Did it make any sense?