Cruel Paradise - A Mafia Romance Chapter 73

“She’s a good mother. And I can work with her.”

“By ‘work’ with her, do you mean raise children with her? Because that and what she does now are two very different jobs.”

“I’m not interested in doing things traditionally—”

“Thanks for clarifying; I wasn’t aware.”

“—so this is the perfect solution.”

Kirill frowns. “I think ‘perfect’ is the wrong word.”

I’m jonesing for another drink but I fight the urge. “I know it’s crazy—”

“A baby clause?” he murmurs, dumbfounded. “Or would it be a surrogacy clause?”

“Surrogacy implies she would have no connection to the child after she pushes it out. She’s a good mother, Kirill. I’ve seen her in action.”

“So what you’re suggesting is an additional clause to be engineered into the existing contract that involves you having a baby with your secretary and then raising the child together.”

“You can ax the tone,” I snap. “I know how it sounds.”

Kirill falls back into his seat. “It’s fucking madness. Especially for you.”

“Why especially for me?”

“You’ve never wanted a child! You’ve never really thought about it.”

I clench the arm of the sofa. “Maybe that’s because I never met a woman I could see being the mother of my child. With Emma, it’s… different.”

He rests his chin on his fist. “So then why keep the contract at all?”

“Because I’m not interested in romance. I don’t want marriage. I’m not saying I want a family; what I want is an heir, specifically. So far, my arrangement with Emma has gone smoothly. Why shouldn’t this be any different?”

“Oh, I don’t know—maybe because it involves the creation of a human being!”

I expected Kirill to be surprised. But his blatant shock is pissing me off. “If I do this, it’ll shut everyone up once and for all. Once I have an heir, I don’t ever have to listen to Vadim’s nagging again.”

“At least until you give the Oryolov Bratva an heir and a spare.”

“Let’s start with one baby first, shall we?”

“You’re serious about this.” Kirill’s eyes go wide and he whistles softly. “She’ll have no idea what she’s getting into, Ruslan. She doesn’t know everything. She doesn’t know who you really are.”

He’s got me there.

But like the rest of my second’s inconvenient observations, I don’t tell him that.

“I don’t plan on tricking her into anything. She will have all the facts before I put a new contract in front of her.”

I’m a thousand percent certain that Kirill is underestimating her. All he sees is a shy woman who blushes every time anyone looks at her sideways. But I see more than that. I see the steel behind the self-consciousness.

She walked back into the gala ballroom the other night with her head held high. I’m sure she heard the whispers, saw the curious eyes following her through the rest of the evening, but she never once buckled under the weight. She smiled, she made conversation, she dazzled the room despite the scrutiny she was under.

She may not have been born to this world—but there’s a chance she’s made for it.

Despite that, there’s nothing superficial about her. Her charm ripples with sincerity, which is exactly what makes her so irresistible. Not that any man dared look her way after she returned to the ballroom. I’d gotten my message through loud and clear. Hell, I may as well have tattooed Ruslan Oryolov right on her skin. Come to think of it, the caveman in me likes that idea.

Just not as much as the idea of Emma’s belly growing bigger and bigger with my child.

“Have you thought this through?” Kirill asks.

I blink myself back to reality. “She’s the kind of woman I want raising my children. End of story.”

“But is she the kind of woman you want to tie yourself to for the rest of your life? Because that’s what having a baby will do, whether you like it or not.” Kirill meets my eyes. “I can see you’re set on this. Just promise me one thing: take some more time. Really think about it. Once you bring this up with her, there’ll be no going back.”

It’s annoying how many good points he’s making tonight.

“Very well,” I acquiesce. “I’ll give it a little more time.”

Kirill’s right; it’s the smart thing to do. A necessary step to ensure I’m not making a huge mistake.

But the caveman in me doesn’t like waiting at all.

51

RUSLAN

It’s taken me seven days of brooding, but I’m finally sure.

I don’t want a wife—not after I saw what losing one did to my father. But I do need an heir.

And Emma is the perfect solution.

There’s only one problem: how do I package this in a way that will prevent her from slapping me and walking out on our entire agreement?

She’s sitting on the bed right now, balancing her wine glass in one hand while she admires the view. The first few buttons on her white silk blouse are undone, giving me a bird’s-eye view of her sexy black bra. Her breasts are practically spilling out of them.

There’s a nagging worry in the back of my head. One that’s warning me that this night might be our last night together. If Emma finds my proposition insulting, there’s nothing I can do to stop her from shredding our contract and leaving.

That’s the last thing I want.

“You’re deep in thought tonight,” she remarks. She puts her wine glass down and leans back on the bed with her elbows.

I walk over, my eyes never leaving hers. “I’d rather be deep in you.”

“Cringe!” she laughs. Then her smile turns into something sly and seductive. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

She sits up and starts unbuckling my pants. She strips me down, peeling off each layer until I’m standing naked in front of her. She swallows hard, her hands running over my abs. I grab her wrist and pull her to her feet, switching places with her.

She stands between my legs like the sultry, obedient goddess she is and waits patiently while I undress her. I go slow. Take my time, enjoying the rustle of fabric over her skin as it’s bared to me inch by delicious inch. I twist her around before I remove her skirt and then watch with my breath caught in my chest as I pull the zipper down one tooth at a time.

When she’s naked, I drop my lips to her ass cheek and give it a little bite. She yelps but I hold her in place and press my lips against the same spot to smooth away the pain. She shivers, her eyes finding mine over her shoulder. I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her down onto the bed with me. When she tries to turn around, I stop her.

“No,” I growl. “You’re going to ride me like this.”