Second Best (Volkov Bratva 1)

“Slavik—”

“I do.” I’d never spoken these feelings to another living soul. “I use it to help make me a better leader. I don’t need people to like me or to care about me. They have to respect me. There is no shame in being who you are. They don’t like you, that’s on them, because, Aurora, when I look at you, I see no fault, no flaw. I see a woman who is worthy of my attention, and everyone else around here can go get fucked before I let them treat you like that. The Bethanys of this world, they’re everywhere. I can find a hundred of them right here in this building, but I can only find one Aurora. You don’t need to compare yourself to them. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re one of a kind, and that makes you fucking special.”

I cupped her face, tilting her head back to kiss her. “Now, all of that pain, the anger. Feed it. Channel it. Throw it at this, and let it leave you, knowing you’re a better person than most. You don’t need all of that other crap.”

I slammed my fist against the bag, and it swung. “Just unleash it.”

I moved to stand behind the bag, holding it into place.

“This feels silly.”

“It’s not. You’re afraid. Don’t be. I’m here. I’ve got you. I’m the only one that can see.”

She licked her lips and held her hands up.

The first jab at the bag was pitiful. There was no real fight to her, and I got it. She’d never given in.

All these years, she had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill and look the other way. To hide it deep, deep down. She couldn’t do that. If she did, it was only going to make her feel worse.

“There is no shame in this, Aurora. Trust me to help you through this. Remember, I wasn’t surrounded by family. I had to earn my place here. I was kicked out. Ignored. Rejected. I worked the streets for every single crumb. This is my life now. I will never allow another person to treat me like trash. I will crush them. You’re worth everything, Aurora. One day, we’re going to have children. If we have two girls, or three, would you let one or two feel like they didn’t matter because of the most beautiful?”

“No!” She slammed her fist against the punching bag.

It was harder than before. This time, she didn’t need any more encouragement from me. With each hit, I watched the anger come to the surface, the sheer agony of everything she’d been through.

All of it manifested as she took it out on the punching bag. Her hits got harder. The pain clearly starting to morph into something else as she finally let loose. This time, rather than use her fist, she lifted her leg and kicked the bag hard. The dress was so loose that it didn’t constrict her movement.

Perspiration dotted her brow, and after she finished, she came to me, wrapping her arms around my neck, holding me close. “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me. This was all on you.”

I ran my hands down her back, my dick hardening as her soft body brushed against mine.

Chapter Seventeen

Aurora

I floated.

Staring up at the ceiling, the water carried me as if I was weightless. With my hands resting on my stomach, my mind started to wander.

After attacking the punching bag, Slavik had taken me to our room and made love to me for the remainder of the night. It had been glorious. I smiled at the memory alone. His hands all over my body. His lips on mine. His dick filling me.

Each time even better than the last. I hadn’t wanted him to stop.

When the morning came, we had no choice but to leave the hotel room and head back to his city.

We’d been back a week. My birthday was next week, and he’d given no mention of even knowing. Did he know?

My birthday had never been a big deal back home with my family. There were usually some presents and a few cards. Never a party. No one wanted to celebrate my birthday.

Taking a deep breath, I spread my arms out, allowing the feeling to completely consume me.

This morning, I’d woken up and vomited. Slavik had been there to rub my back. He’d promised to spend the day with me, but a call had him leaving. Something big was going down at work, and I knew it caused him great concern, but he refused to talk about it. I was there for him regardless. Whatever it was, he could handle it.

Left alone with nothing to do, with my thoughts, my attention had caught on the calendar. As my sickness started to abate, realization dawned. The morning sickness, the sensitivity to smells. It was all related.