Conquered Bride (Belaya Bratva 1)

There was only one room that looked comfortable, a small study I found facing the lush garden that surrounded a sparkling pool.

Why couldn’t he have put me in this room? I thought bitterly. This was a room I could have spent a lifetime in.

Vera found me right before lunch, her hawk-like eyes assessing me. “Would you like to take your luncheon on the terrace today?” she asked in Russian.

“Sure,” I answered, giving her a little smile. I needed some allies in this mess I had found myself in, and why not start with the one person who understood Gavril the most? “Can you tell me more about this room?”

Vera looked around the study, shrugging her thin shoulders. “It’s a room that no one frequents.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly what I was looking for.

“Is the pool ready to swim in?” It wasn’t a large pool, more like one of those spa pools, but I was also trying to engage Vera in a discussion, at least.

“Everything on the master’s grounds is usable,” she said, turning and leaving the room before I could ask anymore questions.

That had gone well.

Still, the pool was too much of a draw for me. After lunch, I walked back upstairs to change into a one-piece swimsuit and grabbed a towel from the bathroom. I let out a long breath when I stepped out into the warm afternoon.

Sure enough, the water was just as warm and I felt a rush of excitement as I lowered myself into the crystal blue water, realizing the only visibility to the pool was through the study’s French doors.

Even above me, there wasn’t a window to be seen, and I finally allowed myself to let down my guard. I was sure that the guards were within earshot, everyone knowing where I was right at this moment, but I didn’t care. For just a moment, I could pretend. Pretend I wasn’t Gavril’s wife. Pretend that I enjoyed this place.

I sank until my body was fully submerged and tipped my face to the sunshine, soaking up its rays. I imagined I was in the cold waters of the Pacific. I imagined the sound of gulls as they skimmed over the sapphire waters. I imagined the crash of the waves even though the pool water was still. And for a brief, giddy moment, I thought I could smell the salt.

When I was still Naomi Spencer, I would head to the Pacific Ocean just to watch the waves crash in and let the din take away whatever was bothering me.

This was a close second. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have it take away everything that was bothering me. What that was going to take, I didn’t know.

I don’t know how long I stayed in the pool, the water never cooling around me, but when I opened my eyes after sunning the last time, I found Gavril standing a few feet away, watching me. He was dressed in his customary suit, the collar open and exposing the tanned skin I knew was underneath there.

He had a pair of dark sunglasses on his face, so I couldn’t see his eyes, but I moved over to the side of the pool anyway, resting my forearms on the concrete.

“Welcome home, my love,” I said softly in Russian, knowing I was still playing a part.

“Wife,” he answered, pulling off his sunglasses and tucking them into his suit pocket. “I see you found the pool.”

“Am I free to move around the mansion?” I asked lightly, hoping that he wasn’t upset that I had done so. Now that I knew the pool was here, it was going to be hard to stay out of it. “My door wasn’t locked.”

He made no move to come closer, his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants. “Of course,” he murmured. “This is your home too. You are not a prisoner here, Sveta.”

The hell I’m not. “Thank you.”

My words seemed to surprise him, and I was glad. I wanted to find common ground with him to not make this miserable and for him not to look at me like a piece of meat.

Did he have any softness in him? I didn’t know, and honestly, I doubted it. But he was my husband, whether I wanted him to be or not. So it wasn’t like I had a choice.

If I displeased him, he would teach me a lesson.

If I ran, he would hunt me down.

If I defied him…Well, what was the use of thinking about things that wouldn’t happen?

Finally, Gavril moved toward me and held out his hand. “Come, Sveta,” he said softly, his eyes betraying no emotion. “I’m going to take you out to dinner tonight.”

If the pool had been any deeper, I would have drowned, my knees weakening in the water. “What?”

“Dinner,” he continued, a tease to his voice. “At a restaurant.”

Who was this man, and what had he done with my husband? “You want us to go out in public?”

A flash of emotion slid across his face and then disappeared. “Of course I do. They need to see you happy and healthy.” He paused as he searched for the right word. “Unharmed.”

“Oh,” I replied, feeling foolish. He didn’t want to spend time with me at all. He just wanted to show everyone else that I was okay. That I was still alive.

I pushed myself out of the water and found Gavril there nearly immediately, holding out the forgotten towel to wrap around me.

“Get dressed,” he replied, his hands sliding down my shoulders to my upper arms, his touch drawing a shiver from me in return. “Wear something worthy of a Pakhan’s wife tonight.”

I turned in his touch, my eyes finding his. “What if I’m recognized?” I asked, suddenly concerned.

We were still in LA, a place I had spent most of my adult life in, and I had been known in certain circles. I could only play Sveta for so long.

Gavril dropped his hands and took several steps back. “Play your part,” he murmured. “And you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

Oh, I had plenty to worry about.

***