Page 22 of Captive Vows (The Dubinin Bratva #1)

LUKA

S leeping in with a woman was a leisure and luxury that I never allowed myself.

Even when Maria was alive and we were newlyweds in love, there was always something for me to hurry off to.

That was the nature of being the Dubinin boss.

There was no shortage of some type of dilemma or problem to solve, some kind of argument or fight to referee.

Work was just there, always waiting for me.

In the beginning, when I was younger, I was expected to be more hands-on more frequently than I was now.

Now, my men could handle everything. I trusted them all.

Even for the bloodbath left at the theater, I could count on the Dubinin forces to handle it and clean it up.

Still, waking up next to Gabriella was different.

She was different.

What I was trying to do with her was different. Because in any other ordinary way, I should’ve treated her just like any other woman, a common, no-strings-attached fling to dismiss once I was through with her and had taken her.

She stirred, as if the weight of my stare was enough to rouse her. Rolling over, she blinked her eyes open until she gazed at me.

I waited for her reaction.

I’d killed men in front of her last night.

I’d also taken her virginity.

But it was a guessing game which would’ve made more of an impact on her in the light of this new morning.

She didn’t give me a reaction, though, merely watching me calmly and meeting eye contact levelly.

Fuck, she was gorgeous.

Serene and sleepy like this, not already at arms with me and stubborn or combative, she looked like a rare and unique creature I’d want to try to tame over and over again. Relaxed and present in my bed, she was the ultimate temptation.

Looking at her was enough to get my dick waking up, too.

She was a temptation I wasn’t feeling ready to pass up on yet. “How do you feel?”

She let out a long, lazy breath. “I feel like I want to not be coddled again.”

And then she did it.

She gave it to me.

That elusive smile. It was as bright and sexy as I imagined it could be.

Unlike the shy expressions she’d given me before, this one came with the full punch.

Without looking away, she dazzled me with her bold gaze, so warm and intoxicating, like I might never learn all her secrets.

Her lips curled up in a mischievous grin, and I couldn’t hold back.

Lunging for her, I rolled her until she was beneath me, all warm and naked, rubbing against me from head to toe.

Kissing her first, I showed her how much I wanted her again.

Then, grinding my growing erection against her as she parted her legs and whimpered with need, I proved that I wasn’t anywhere near done with her yet.

“Oh, fuck. Luka. How can you be so hard again?”

I chuckled, kissing a path down her neck until I could suck on her breasts. Her nipples. The swells of her tits. I was hungry to taste it all. Not stopping the slow pushes of my dick against her, I felt the smear of her arousal.

“I’m always hard for you.” It didn’t matter that she was half my age. She was a full-bodied woman I couldn’t resist. “Are you sore?”

“Not sore enough to want you to stop.” She moaned, closing her eyes as she threaded her fingers through my hair to keep my head where she wanted it.

It seemed that licking and sucking on her nipples turned her on even faster, but I was determined to prolong it for as long as I could.

I had to, if not to keep up the novelty of it all, then to cherish her innocence she so freely gave to me.

Hours later, after we’d come and showered, I suggested that she move more of her things into my room.

“That fast, huh?”

“I’ve been putting off fucking you for over two months,” I growled. “That’s about as far as my patience was going to last where you’re concerned.”

She smiled, teasing me again with her mirth and amusement.

No one in the house needed to be updated that my relationship with Gabriella had shifted. It was evident in the amount of time I spent at home, often with her. On my lap as I kissed her. Clinging to me as I felt her up in the kitchen. Fingering her under the table when we had dinner.

At first, I tried to be as gentle as I could manage. She was a virgin when she arrived. As time passed, she showed me how much she favored my rougher side. Going from completely vanilla to a little more kinky revealed more layers to the exquisite woman she was.

And still, I didn’t tire of her.

No matter what, in the weeks following her botched audition, I only wanted her more.

She didn’t pry or ask about that night, but it was Emil and Alexsei who shared more details about it at lunch one day.

“They were from the Viper Cartel,” Emil remarked.

“And they were coming for me because…?” Gabriella furrowed her brow and glanced at me. “Because of my dad?”

I covered her hand with mine and squeezed her delicate fingers. “Perhaps. We’re still investigating it. Miguel seemed disloyal to all organizations.”

That night, as I stripped her slowly so I could fuck her in the shower, she asked more. I couldn’t tell whether she was nervous to know the truth or afraid to seem nosy.

“Was my dad disloyal to you?” she asked.

“He was.” Under the heat of the water in the shower, I explained how he’d lied and two-timed the Dubinin Family as well as the Riveras. “Traitors are common.”

“I’m sorry he did that.” She kissed me tenderly. “But I’m not surprised that he did. He’s not loyal to anyone. Not even me, his own daughter.”

For that, I was eternally grateful. Otherwise, I might not have ever known she existed.

With her settling in as my woman—for now—I granted her more freedom within my home.

She could go wherever she wanted except for the holding rooms. She had free rein to explore and pursue whatever hobbies she wanted.

Like this, she was more of a guest than a captive, but there was always an undercurrent of expectation.

She would be here per my order. She wouldn’t leave without my consent. While she didn’t express any desire to leave, I was suspicious that her freedom was still in the back of her mind.

With how her audition ended abruptly, I almost wondered if she’d push for another one.

To try again. But she didn’t. Dancing was still her routine.

Day and night, she’d be in the studio I’d built for her, practicing and staying consistent with her choice of art.

Yet, she made no mention of what she would do with her dream, her passion.

“Maybe she’s too scared to go back on the stage,” Allen suggested one day when I was watching her.

He’d passed me in the hall and offered his comment about my question of her not auditioning again or mentioning it.

A greedy part of me wanted to believe she no longer had as fervent of an interest in her dreams to be on stage because she had changed to see me as her dream.

He might have had a point, but even in that regard, I saw the changes. She was more confident. She didn’t flinch at mentions of attacks or deaths. There was no way she was hardened enough to handle any form of violence, but she seemed to acclimate.

She had to. Because the longer she stayed in my bed, in my room, and in my life, it was so painfully clear to me how badly I needed her.

She was the light to my darkness.

She was the salvation for my crimes and bitter soul.

And even though she wanted me, she could respect that my world was a cruel one, not all hearts and flowers.

Despite our differences, we grew closer.

We became almost inseparable, addicted to being with each other as much as we could.

It even came to the point where Ivan and Emil questioned whether I was too distracted by her.

News of challenges and threats reached us daily.

That was nothing new. So long as the Dubinin Family remained at the top of the food web and as apex predators in the criminal underworld we operated in, someone else would always covet our wealth, our land, and our power.

“I’m just saying…” Ivan shrugged as we walked away from my home office after a meeting. “You seemed very distant when we checked in with the supervisors about the Rivera sightings near the docks.”

“I wasn’t distant.” I shook my head. “I was there, hearing the same things you did.” Including that bullshit about the Vipers planning another attack.

They had yet to take credit for the shooting and ambush at Gabriella’s audition.

No one was stepping up to take credit for those Cartel men, and it infuriated me to lack the direction to strike back appropriately. Justly.

“But you’re so busy with?—”

I held up my hand to cut off Emil. My son and I were close, but in this, he would not win the argument.

“I am not too busy with Gabriella. Trust me, Son.” I stared him down as we walked along the lengthy hallway. “I will never lose my edge. I had once before, and I never will again.”

By being too in love and addicted to enjoying Maria in my life, I’d lowered my guard and had been too slow to prevent her death. I’d been caught off guard then.

And I vowed to never let that happen again.

It couldn’t happen with Gabriella. No love was bonding us.

She was a temptation, a distraction that I’d sorely needed.

But nothing more.

Not anything that would be lasting.