Page 14
SIERRA
The estate is quiet.
Too quiet.
Aleks hasn’t been here in… twelve days, maybe thirteen. I stopped counting after the tenth night of sleeping alone in his massive bed, curled on my side, pillow hugged tight to my chest while my belly slowly rounds with the baby he left in me.
Left.
That’s what it feels like.
I keep telling myself he’s busy. Handling Bratva business. Protecting us. That he’ll come home with blood on his hands and his arms wide open.
But then I remember how long it’s been since I heard his voice. Since I saw his name light up my screen. Since he touched me, kissed me, looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.
And a sick, cold thought starts whispering in my ear.
He’s done with you.
—-
I haven’t made any moves. I can’t. Not with Andrey and the others shadowing my every step, subtly reminding me I’m under “protection.”
But I’ve started researching.
Pulling up job listings in secret.
Googling apartments I can’t afford in neighborhoods just far enough from the city.
I even started writing a note. Just in case I need to go quietly. No confrontation. No goodbyes.
I’d leave it with his guards.
Thank you for everything. I’m so grateful for what you gave me. But I can’t stay where I’m not wanted…
I hate how far I’ve gotten.
How ready I was to disappear.
—-
ALEKSANDER
“Where is she?”
Andrey looks up from the surveillance tablet, neutral as always. “In the upstairs office. She’s been on Zillow for the last hour.”
I freeze.
“The fuck did you just say?”
He holds up the tablet. A paused frame shows Sierra leaning over the computer in one of my button-downs, her belly pressed against the desk. The screen shows rental listings. Low-security buildings. Long commutes. Shit neighborhoods.
She’s planning to leave.
My woman.
My wife.
My pregnant fucking queen.
And no one thought to tell me?
I’m across the estate in seconds, rage burning through me like wildfire, my footsteps echoing up the marble stairs.
She thought I left?
She thought I’d walk away after putting my baby inside her?
She thought I wouldn’t notice?
—-
SIERRA
I jump when the door slams open.
My breath catches.
He’s here.
Aleksander. Towering. Wild-eyed. Dressed in all black, shoulders massive, tattoos on full display. His hair is damp from rain, jaw locked tight, chest rising like he just ran through a war zone.
“Aleks…”
I stand up slowly, heart hammering, already backing away from the desk.
His eyes flash to the screen behind me.
He sees everything.
And when his gaze returns to mine, it’s nothing but fury and something darker.
“What,” he growls, stepping closer, “were you doing?”
“I—I was just looking. I didn’t actually—”
“You were planning to leave.”
He says it like a death sentence. Like I stabbed him in the back and dared him to feel it.
“You thought I was done with you?” His voice is quiet. Deadly.
“You’ve been gone, Aleks,” I whisper. “I thought maybe… maybe you got what you wanted, and—”
“You mean when I fucked a baby into you raw and whispered you were mine?” he snaps, stalking closer. “You thought that was a phase?”
“I didn’t know!” I cry, voice cracking. “I haven’t heard from you in weeks—what was I supposed to think?”
He stops right in front of me, breathing hard. Then softer—softer it chills me—he murmurs, “You were supposed to wait for me.”
He grabs me before I can speak. Lifts me off the floor. Carries me out of the office and down the hall, not saying a word. The silence is terrifying.
He kicks open the bedroom door and slams it behind us.
—-
He drops me on the bed.
Stands at the foot of it, eyes burning.
“I bled for you,” he says low. “Tore apart every threat. And while I was out there making the city safe for you to breathe, you were in here planning your escape.”
“I was scared—”
He pulls his belt loose with one hard yank. The sound makes my whole body jolt.
“You should be.”
“Aleks…” My voice shakes.
But I’m wet.
Soaking wet.
Because I know what’s coming.
He yanks me to the edge of the bed, rips the shirt open down the center. My nipples pebble in the cool air, the soft under-curve of my belly exposed.
“You’re lucky I love you,” he says as he drops to his knees.
Because what he does next?
Isn’t mercy.
It’s punishment.
He spreads my thighs wide and licks me so slow, so deep, my breath stutters. Then faster—mouth sealed over my clit, his fingers thick and rough inside me, curling up, coaxing my orgasm like he owns it.
“You thought I forgot this pussy?” he growls, voice muffled by flesh. “I dream about this pussy. I’ve been fucking my hand for weeks thinking about how tight you are when you come.”
“Aleks—oh my God—”
“You don’t get to run, Sierra. You run, I’ll chain you to the bed and breed you all over again.”
I shatter.
Hard.
Convulsing around his fingers, hips bucking, thighs trembling.
He doesn’t let up. Just sucks harder until I’m crying, gasping, pleading—
“Please—please fuck me—”
He stands, yanks his zipper down, and pulls out his cock—hard, thick, heavy, already leaking.
“You still mine?” he growls, pressing the head against my entrance.
“Yes.”
“You still carrying my baby?”
“Yes, Aleks. Yes.”
“You gonna put my name on your lease next time you try to run?”
“Yes!” I scream. “Yours. Always yours.”
He slams inside me.
Deep.
Hard.
Like a man trying to erase all memory of distance.
He doesn’t hold back. His grip is bruising, his thrusts brutal. I clutch at the sheets, at his arms, at anything that will anchor me as he fucks me through all the silence, all the fear, all the weeks I thought he was gone.
“You wanna leave?” he growls into my ear.
“No—God, no—”
“You think any man could do this to you but me?”
“N-never,” I sob, coming again—ripping apart under him, my pussy spasming around his cock.
He roars as he spills inside me, thrusting deep, hard, full.
Then stills.
Our breaths are ragged.
He leans down, kisses my swollen lips. Then my forehead. Then the swell of our baby.
“You belong to me,” he whispers. “You stay with me.”
I nod, dazed, ruined, aching.
“And now,” he murmurs, standing tall, eyes still dark and wild, “you’re going to get cleaned up…”
He zips up slowly, eyes never leaving mine.
“…and prepare for the biggest fucking wedding this city has ever seen.”