Page 118 of Brutal Reign

“I need you to lose control for me,” she begs, her movements becoming frantic. I know she started the birth control pills already and I hope they start working right away because there’s no way I’m holding back from finishing inside of her.

Her words snap something inside me. I flip us over in one swift motion, pinning her beneath me as I drive into her with punishing thrusts. She wraps her legs around my waist, pulling me deeper, meeting every stroke with desperate hunger.

“You want me to lose control?” I snarl against her throat. “You want to see what you do to me?”

“Yes,” she sobs, her nails raking down my back.

I fuck her harder, deeper, claiming every inch of her pussy as mine. The bed slams against the wall with each thrust, but I don’t give a fuck who hears. Let the whole compound know I’m making my wife scream.

“Every part of you belongs to me,” I growl, biting the delicate skin of her neck.

Her pussy clenches around me as she comes, and the sensation drags me over the edge. I bury myself to the hilt and empty myself inside her, marking her from the inside out. She milks every drop of cum from me, her body trembling beneath mine as we ride out the aftershocks together.

Still inside her, I pull her against my chest and wait for our heartbeats to slow, for us to fall into sync.

“Ya tebya lyublyu.”I love you.

The words slip out before I can stop them. Words I haven’t said to another human being in many years.

Hope doesn’t respond right away. Finally, her voice is a soft, sleepy whisper when she asks, “What does that mean?”

“It means forever,angel moy.We belong to each other, no matter what comes next.”

CHAPTER

FORTY-TWO

HOPE

“Mama, look what I can do!”Kin calls from the shallow end, attempting what he generously calls a backstroke. Water splashes everywhere as his little arms windmill, but he’s grinning from ear to ear, completely fearless.

“I see,” I say, swimming beside him. “You’re getting so brave in the water.”

It’s not just in the pool. In the short time we’ve been here, he’s blossomed. He laughs freely, asks for what he wants, and runs through the halls like he owns the place. It’s like watching a different child emerge, the one he was meant to be. Even at a very young age, he understood Simon’s tolerance was limited, that one wrong move could change everything.

“Pavel said he’s gonna teach me how to dive,” Kin announces, adjusting his goggles. “He said when I get bigger, we can dive for treasure like pirates.”

“Pirates, huh? Maybe some swimming lessons first.”

“Alexei takes swimming lessons.” He says it so casually, but I know better. Last night mattered more to him than he can put into words.

And it meant more to me too.

To sit around that table laughing with Kira, Sofiya, and Liza, realizing these people aren’t villains. They’re complicated, damaged, and fiercely loyal. Just like my father was. Just like I am. It’s been so long since I’ve had friends, since I’ve felt that easy camaraderie with other women.

“Mama, I’m hungry,” Kin announces, paddling over to grab onto the pool’s edge.

“What do you want for lunch?”

“Pierogi!”

I smile. Already he’s developing preferences for the food, the people, and the life here. He’s even beginning to accept Pavel as a stepfather. But he’s more than that. The truth will only hurt more the longer I hide it.

“I think we can arrange that. Are you ready to get out?”

“Five more minutes?” he asks hopefully.

“Okay. Make it count.”