Cruel Paradise - A Mafia Romance Chapter 145

“I knew exactly what you would be to me from the moment I heard that accidental voicemail you left me.” I’m so lost in desire that I don’t even blush. “I heard your hungry moans, your desperate little gasps, and I knew from that moment on exactly what you were.”

“Ahh… W-what… what was I?”

“Mine,” he growls. “All. Fucking. Mine.”

Then he thrusts inside me all at once. I cry out, spasming in every direction as his arm slides around my body to pin me close to him. He fucks me hard, slamming his hips into mine so hard that the sound reverberates around the room.

My fists bunch up the bedsheets. My eyes roll back inside my head. He’s relentless and all-consuming and it’s all I want.

I just want to feel like he’s real.

Especially when he starts fucking me even harder, wringing a second orgasm from me until my body goes limp with exhaustion. He rolls me over so that I’m lying face down on his chest. His fingers run down my spine again, dragging little pathways through my sweaty back.

“I’m happy to tease you, Emma.” His tone is so serious that I have no choice but to pay attention. “I’m happy for you to be my whore and my slut in bed. But that’s where it ends.”

Goosebumps erupt over my skin. Where is this going?

“Outside of this bed, outside of my cock in your cunt, you are my woman. My queen. And I’m going to take care of you as such. I’m going to spoil you and I’m going to protect you. That goes for the kids, too. You, them—you all belong to me now, Emma Carson. And if you ever leave, I will just drag you back here. I will drag you back into my house and my bed because this is where you fucking belong.”

My heart is thrumming so fast and pounding so loud in my ears that I’m afraid I’m gonna miss something.

“You are mine,” he says again, hands hard on my hips. “You’re not going anywhere. And neither am I.”

I just kiss his chest.

There’s nothing else that needs to be said.

34

RUSLAN

COMPARTMENTALIZING.

That’s what helped me acclimatize to my role as pakhan. It helped to keep work out of my home. Made things simpler. More focused.

And yet here I am, bringing my work home.

Because it means I’m just a call away if the kids need me. Emma can just walk right in whenever she feels a little lonely.

Not that she has. Since we slept together two nights ago in what she likes to call the beginning of my redemption tour, she hasn’t sought me out once. Maybe she’s just testing me, checking to see if I’ll keep going to her.

If that’s all it takes to convince her I’m in this for the long haul, I’m willing to make the first move for as long as it takes. Day after day, week after week, year after, I’ll find her and hold her close and remind her that she’s mine.

“Yo,” Kirill greets when he walks in smelling of cigar smoke. “Just wanted to let you know: the team’s on Remmy’s tail. They should complete the job today.”

I nod. “Tell me when they have a body.”

“Will do, boss.”

“Any news from the Bane board meeting?” I ask.

“Vadim was shocked that you weren’t there. In fact, he was shocked that you’re working from home in the first place.” Kirill gives me a playful smirk. “To be honest, so am I.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s just easier this way.”

“Easy access, you mean.”

I throw him a glare. “Did you get your hands on a sample of Sopernik?” I ask, pivoting without the least bit of subtlety.

Kirill’s smile drops immediately. “That’s what I came here to talk to you about.”

Fuck.

“Let me guess—it’s a match for Venera?”

He nods. “It’s a perfect match. Adrik definitely ripped you off.”

“I’m shocked,” I drawl sarcastically.

“That’s not all.”

I clench my jaw. “Go on.”

“He’s basically copying your rollout plan to a T, also. Sopernik is going to be circulating in his club exclusively. The crowd is going to be invite-only and there’s gonna be extra security casing the place throughout the night.”

“That little mudak…” I rake a hand through my hair. “What about the house Sergey was found in? Do we have an ID on who owns it?”

“That’s the weird part. It definitely has an owner. The problem is that, at this point, the owner seems to be untraceable.”

I frown. It’s odd for Kirill not to be able to chase down loose ends like that.

“Does it matter?” he asks, studying my face closely. “We already know that Adrik is behind this. Who gives a damn which stooge he set up as a front man?”

“Exactly. He’s been obvious about his involvement in this steal,” I point out. “Which means he wants me to know it’s him. He wants the credit for this. So why try to hide the fact that he owns that house?”

Kirill shrugs. “Who knows what that little shit has up his sleeve?”

I shake my head. “Something’s not right about this. There’s a missing piece we’re overlooking. Why hide that bit of information? Unless…”

I drift off, caught in the half-formed puzzle in my head.

“Ruslan?”

I clear my throat. “Unless there’s someone else involved. Someone who doesn’t want credit for any of this.”

Kirill doesn’t look overly concerned. “You’re the most powerful man in the city. It makes sense that you would have enemies you’re not even aware of. Maybe Adrik’s just aligned with one of them?”

“It’s possible,” I mutter. But instinct is telling me that this faceless second enemy is no unknown entity.

“You did piss off Jessica Allens and her douchey father.”

“That’s possible, too.”

“I say fuck ‘em all.” Kirill crosses his legs. “I think we need to focus on Adrik and this upcoming rollout of Sopernik. Perhaps even return fire with fire?”

“For one, he’s going to be expecting that. You said it yourself: he’s planning for increased security around the club. Also, I’m not about to murder innocent civilians just to fuck up his launch.”

“Sometimes, casualties are inevitable.”