Midnight Lies (Tasarov Bratva 2)

Too fast, Adrik is out of his chair and rounding the desk. I spin to face him, but he lifts me up and sits me on the edge of his desk. Instinctively, my legs part and he steps between them, running his hands up and down my thighs.

“I’m cocky for good reason,” he says, his voice a low rumble. “Do I need to remind you why?”

“You did that thirty minutes ago,” I breathe. Even though I can already feel wetness gathering between my legs.

Adrik is practically a sex god, but that is still no explanation for why I want to jump his bones every second of every single day. It has got to be the pregnancy hormones.

He snorts and waves his hand. “That? That’s a distant memory. And we both know you need frequent reminders before you learn your lesson.”

He slides under the hem of my pajama shorts and brushes his thumb over my slit. “I’m going to throw away every piece of clothing you own except for these.”

“That might be a little inappropriate for our meeting with Viktoria,” I manage to say, even though I’m half-crazed with lust.

Adrik rolls his eyes. “We’re still talking about that? I thought we’d moved on.”

“No, we just got distracted.” I push on his chest until he backs up enough for me to see his face. “But I really think I have a good idea here, Adrik.”

“Then finish telling it to me. Before I get distracted again.”

He leans forward and tries to bite at my shoulder, but I press on his chest harder and manage to hold him at bay. Even though all my hands want to do is pull him closer to me, those traitorous bitches.

“Men don’t know what it is like to be pregnant,” I tell him. “It puts you in touch with your most basic instincts. You’ll do anything to protect the child growing inside of you.”

“I know very well what it means to be willing to do anything to save the people you care about.”

My heart lurches in my chest at those words, a kind of sideways happy dance, but I do my best to hide it with a simple nod. “Right. My point is, I’m sure Viktoria feels the same way about her baby.”

“So what does that have to do with anything?” Adrik asks.

“She’ll want Yasha to end whatever war he is trying to start, too.”

Adrik shrugs. “Maybe. But she also might be in on his plans.”

“So we secure a meeting with her and feel it out. Maybe she’ll come to our side and help us. For her baby’s sake.”

It shouldn’t matter, but I want him to like this plan. I want to be good at this kind of thing. To be able to help him, to be a resource to him, not just a useless decoration that mopes around the house in expensive lingerie he pays for.

Finally, he squeezes my thighs and nods. “I suppose it’s worth a shot.”

“Really?” I ask. A bright smile stretches across my face.

“What do we have to lose?”

“The Bratva, the house, our lives,” I say, ticking the items off on my fingers one by one with a wry grin.

Adrik grabs my hand and twists it behind my back, forcing me to arch into him. “You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’m losing you, moya zhena.”

I was teasing before, but my question now is earnest. “Isn’t it a possibility?”

“Not as long as I’m still drawing breath.”

He drops my hand and grips my waist, jerking me closer to him. I yelp in surprise, but an instant later, our bodies are melting together. I tangle my hands in his hair and hook my ankles behind his back.

“Fuck. I have work to do,” he says. He cups my breasts in his hands and squeezes.

“Sorry. I had the idea and I couldn’t wait.”

“Believe me, I understand. I have an idea right now. And it can’t wait, either.”

His hand slides down my body, but as he slips over my stomach, I tense.

Will he feel the small bump there? Part of me expects the baby to start kicking wildly, even though it’s way too early for anything like that. Maybe it’s just impossible for me to imagine that there is something Adrik doesn’t know.

“Nervous?” he smirks, noticing my tension.

I laugh, but it sounds maniacal. Like I’ve lost my marbles. Maybe I have, a little bit.

“No. No, I’m not. I just…” I shake my head, trying to clear the cobwebs. “You really think my plan is good? You’re not just saying that?”

“Why would I lie?”

“To spare my feelings,” I suggest.

Adrik pulls back, eyebrow raised. “Have I ever lied to spare your feelings?”

“Well… no. I guess not.”

“Exactly,” he says. “I don’t do anything that doesn’t serve me, Emery. How many times do I have to tell you that? This could work. I wouldn’t try it if I didn’t think it would.”

“Okay.”

I exhale and try to force my body to relax. I don’t want Adrik growing suspicious. And I have a feeling that I’ll be feeling very relaxed in a few minutes if I can keep my cool and let Adrik carry on with what he is doing.

His fingers are just at the waistband of my shorts, flirting with sliding inside, when he stops and pulls back to look at me. “What made you think of using Viktoria’s pregnancy against her?”

“What?” I ask, opening my eyes.

“It’s been weeks since that dinner. I want to know what made you think of it tonight.”

“Well, I was getting out of the shower, and I was thinking about how…” Lie. “I was thinking about how I would do anything to keep Isabella safe and help her. And I’m sure most mothers feel that way, so it made me think of Viktoria. That’s it.”

He’s silent and stoic for a moment. I wonder if he buys my half-lie. My heartbeat ratchets up—

But then he smiles. “Hopefully, Viktoria is half the mother to her baby as you are to Isabella. If she is, this plan will work perfectly.”

Oh, you mean like the way I’m doing now, by not telling Adrik about the life inside of me?

Or maybe I’m protecting the baby by keeping it a secret.

The noise in my head is back in full force. As much as I want to stay here and let Adrik distract me with his hands and his mouth and his absurdly blessed equipment, I can’t.

If I spend another second in this room, he’ll see right through me. With him, it’s only ever a matter of time.

“Speaking of being a good mom,” I say, pushing on his chest. “I think I heard Isabella moving around earlier. I should go check on her.” I slide off of the desk and navigate around him, somehow untangling myself from his hands. “Plus, you need to work, right?”

I look back at him. I know for a fact if I’d said anything other than that Isabella needed me, I’d still be sitting in front of Adrik on his desk. He would either have me moaning his name in a matter of minutes or I’d be spilling my guts.

It’s a dangerous game I’m playing, keeping secrets from him. I won’t be able to play it for much longer. I’ll have to tell him eventually.

But not tonight.

Not yet.

I blow him a kiss on my way out, not quite able to meet his eyes. Then I pull the door firmly closed. When he comes into our room a couple hours later, I pretend to be asleep.

But even in my dreams, he’s watching.