Page 26 of Captive Vows (The Dubinin Bratva #1)

LUKA

T he biggest sign that I was torn in two was the guilt that came to me when I was busy in the office. Those moments when I was out with the men and I’d think about Gabriella. It didn’t matter what time of the day or night it was. She was creeping into my thoughts nonstop.

I wanted her.

I lusted for her.

And with how difficult it was to shut off this need to be near her, to feel her warm, silky skin rubbing against mine or her lips pressing with demand on mine, I was addicted to having her in my life.

Emil ceased to give me shit about it. He seemed smug in knowing I’d found “my match”.

Ivan didn’t comment either. At times, I had to wonder if he was jealous of my finding a woman to possess and concentrate on like this.

He’d had the sorriest story of us all, losing his former love, but there wasn’t anything I could do to convince him to seek her out.

He had already tried to find the woman he’d walked away from, but she was hiding too well for him to locate.

Alexsei, too, reacted to how connected I was with Gabriella.

He was the most welcoming of the men, already that quick to assume that she fit with us.

Yet, as time drew on and I became busier with the fucking Cartel and Italians, both of those enemies never content to allow any semblance of peace, I hated how my duties kept me from spending time with Gabriella.

While I always made sure to end up in bed with her after even the longest days and nights, it didn’t feel like a boring routine. It wasn’t the same old because every kiss and every touch was better than the last. It was a consistent exploration of learning about her, and I never wanted it to stop.

Being this attuned to her also gave me an immediate heads up when something seemed off.

She was distant. It started with slight signs of her pulling away.

At first, I chalked it up to her being grumpy that I was so busy lately, always away and doing the leadership tasks expected of me as the Pakhan of the family.

She was still with me, still in bed with me, still eager to take my dick.

I hadn’t scared her off, but the suspicion that something was wrong lurked beneath the surface.

It was enough to caution me that I would do better to balance my time with the family and with her.

Those seemed exclusive and apart, but I wondered how different things would be—for the better—if I simply made her part of the family.

Like my son and nephews had hinted, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I took her for a wife. If I made it official that she was mine , publicly.

Besides, it was already a given that she was. Otherwise, those Cartel fuckers wouldn’t have targeted her at her audition. She was viewed as mine. She did fall under the blanket of Dubinin protection.

Waking up with her this morning, I was annoyed to find her sleeping on the edge of the bed.

She was pulling away. But that didn’t mean I had to throw her a bone and offer her more commitment.

I took. That wouldn’t change. I was the boss.

I would always be in charge. She didn’t dictate the terms between us, but as I urged her to roll toward me, I marveled at how I wanted her to be happy with me like this.

“How about I take you out for lunch?” I asked between kisses I placed on her bare shoulder.

She smiled, slowly and lazily. “Lunch? Isn’t it still morning?”

“Brunch, then.” I tugged her out of bed with me, determined that taking her on a little outing would smooth out any issues that might have been the cause for this distance between us.

Instead of staying close to the mansion, I had the driver bring us to one of the properties the family owned near the water.

Coastal land was significant in our portfolio for many reasons, namely the ease of transportation for goods.

This resort was a newer acquisition, though, a ritzy, five-star destination where celebrities and politicians rubbed elbows and tried to avoid the public’s eye.

After we ate, I led her to the balcony of the penthouse suite. Even though the sky was still stormy, it wasn’t raining yet and we could admire the view of the ocean and the city not far from this area.

“I’m surprised you don’t need to hurry back to the office,” she admitted softly as she stood at the railing.

With her hands on the ledge, her legs crossed at the ankles, she presented herself as at ease and relaxed.

We’d talked throughout our brunch and she hadn’t seemed as standoffish or distant.

Now, she seemed open to caving to me and welcoming my company again.

Fuck, maybe it’s all in my head and nothing is wrong.

Women can be like that. Hormones and all. Whatever.

I approached her from behind, pressing my chest against her back.

She reacted with a sigh as she leaned back toward me.

Resting her head on my shoulder, she seemed to curl into my embrace.

Starting with my hands on top of hers, I caressed up her arms, then traced my fingers down her breasts until I could hug her snugly to me.

“No. No need to hurry to anything,” I said.

“Hmm. So I’ve got you to myself today?” she asked, tilting her head to the side to give me better access so I could kiss up along her neck.

“For now,” I admitted, focusing on tasting every inch of her. When she relaxed against me, I tugged the low scoop neckline of her shirt down lower. Those generous globes spilled out, barely contained by her bra.

Her lips lifted in a smile as she pushed her ass back to me. “For now?” she replied teasingly.

“Yeah, right now, I’m all yours.” Kissing her as I unclasped her bra, I felt her slip her hand lower and back, aiming to stroke my erection through my pants.

She was mine, too, a vixen I couldn’t get enough of.

Having her touch me like this was proof she’d still cave to me.

No matter her moods or whatever she was working out in her mind, she wasn’t giving up on this connection we’d forged.

“I won’t apologize for being busy,” I warned her gruffly as I played with her nipples, baring her to the world as we stood so high up on this private balcony where no one would see her directly. “I am the boss, and duties will always call me.”

“I know,” she admitted.

I bunched up her skirt to tug her panties off. She caught on quickly, shimmying to help me get them off before she reached back to unzip me.

“And I won’t ever apologize for how badly I need you,” I added before lining my dick up to her sweet pussy so slick with her arousal.

“Oh, fuck. Don’t. Don’t ever stop,” she got out between panted breaths.

Lowering my hands, I moved them to hers. I instructed her to hold on to the railing and lean forward so I could ram into her harder and faster like I wanted. She didn’t protest. Instead, she rushed to slant to accommodate us both.

Gripping her hips as I fisted her skirt to keep the fabric out of the way, I stared at my glistening dick sliding in and out of her. Over and over again, I stuffed her with my cock, then withdrew to see the evidence of how much she wanted me. How much I needed her.

“I don’t think I can stop,” I replied belatedly. Not now. Not ever. She was burrowing under my skin and tricking me to confuse this relentless physical desire with love.

“Oh, Luka. Luka!” She lifted her ass, thrusting it out at me as she neared her orgasm.

Already, she was so close, a puppet under my mastery.

I owned her, body and soul, and as I leaned over her to cup her bouncing and swaying tits to pull at her nipples, I wondered how bad it would be if I admitted to myself that I wouldn’t mind owning her heart too.

If she’d give it to me.

She’d submitted to me. Here and now, she was caving to me on this balcony as I fucked her senseless. I was aware of how seldom she fought with me now, adjusting to living with me, but I wouldn’t be deluded to think she couldn’t be stubborn again.

After a couple more hard thrusts, she gave me her release.

Coming so hard that she cried out and slumped forward to drape over the railing more, she proved how helpless she was to withstand my dick stretching her and stuffing her.

Feeling her inner walls clench around me and glove me so tightly, I was helpless to hold out and wait.

I came, digging my fingers into the heavy weight of her breasts as I pulled her back to me. Not a single millimeter of space could be allowed between us.

It was impossible to count on any gap. Like this, we were one, two halves stitched together. Because I hadn’t been looking for someone to love, it still struck me with a blinding punch of awe.

I loved her.

There was no use trying to deny it.

But as I closed my eyes and hugged her to me, catching my breath, I wondered if it would be the biggest mistake of my life to admit it to her.

I didn’t only love.

I destroyed.

One came with the other, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk bringing any more danger to her. Because loving me required the potential sacrifice of so much more than merely taking my cock.