Page 88 of Corrupted Pleasure

Liam stepped in front of me and took my chin gently in his grip. The city buzzed around us, but the only thing I was aware of was this man, larger than life, in front of me. Our eyes met and every single cell in my body vibrated with hope and something that had my heart flipping in the most concerning way.

A large shadow signaling another presence came behind me and Liam lifted his gaze above my head.

“Brennan.” A cold, accented voice came from behind me and I followed Liam’s gaze.

I gasped, recognizing the man.Alexei Nikolaev.For a moment all thoughts left me and I just stared at him. The man was even scarier in person than in pictures. The scar on his lip made him look menacing and the abundance of tattoos didn’t make it better.

Instinctively, I took a step closer to my husband and Liam’s hand wrapped protectively around me. It was the wrong move because until that moment, his focus was on Liam. Now it was on me. The palest blue eyes I had ever seen reminded me of Arctic waters and they locked on me.

“Hello,” I choked out. Something flickered in his gaze, and it was that small expression that turned him from completely unapproachable to slightly less frosty. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him so I kept staring at him, unable to look away. The man was beautiful in a shit-your-pants kind of way. Though it was his eyes that kept you staring. Like there were ghosts lurking in them, threatening to come out and swallow you whole.

He tilted his head at me, then his eyes returned to Liam. “Brennan. A word.”

Liam’s eyes darted to Quinn, and without a word, the latter came up to me, his hand ready on the gun.

Jesus Christ, what have I gotten myself into?

CHAPTER37

Liam

“Idon’t remember calling you to my wedding,” I said dryly.

Alexei’s jaw barely flickered and his expression remained stoic. “She’s family.”

Here was my confirmation. I hoped that neither Nikolaev nor the Ashfords knew about Davina’s existence. This was a clear confirmation that they did. And fuck if that didn’t piss me off even more. They knew about her and didn’t even fucking bother to reach out to her.

My jaw tightened. “She’s mine now,” I told him. “You didn’t bother with her before. Why now?”

He held my gaze. “Davina wasn’t ready. ”

“And how in the fuck would you know?” My voice was dark. “She’s a grown-ass woman that knows what she wants.”

Alexei didn’t move a single muscle. “Did you force her to marry you?”

Ah, there it was.

“What do you want, Nikolaev?” I gritted, ready to reach for my own weapon and shoot the motherfucker if he tried to take my wife from me.

“I want my sister-in-law to be happy.” Alexei’s voice was apathetic. “It’s my wife’s wish.”

My eyes darted to Davina who stood next to Quinn, her eyes full of worry and fear on the two of us.

“I’ll make her happy.” It was my vow to her, but if it’d get this motherfucker to stop scaring my wife, I’d vow it to him too. To the whole goddamn world.

“See to it that you do.” I shook my head, sardonic amusement filling me. This fucker was something.

“When my wife is with me, watch the other three women,” I told him. “I’ve got her back.”

Nikolaev’s lips actually tilted up. “Don’t worry, the other three women are being watched.”

“You’re missing the point.”

“I get it. You don’t want me around your wife.” It wasn’t exactly that, but I worried if Davina found out about her extended family, she’d be even more upset and feel like they didn’t want her either. Just like her parents.

“She knows her mom and dad abandoned her,” I told him, my eyes darting back to my wife who was now chewing on her lip. “It leaves a mark on a kid. If she learns her brothers and sister knew about her, which they obviously did, and never bothered to reach out, she’ll think they didn’t want her either.”

It was at that very moment I realized I had fallen way too deep for my wife. I wanted to protect her not only from physical harm but also any heartache.