Page 30 of Cruel Russian Pakhan (Safin Bratva #1)

Kira pulled back from our hug and stared at my belly.

“Katya! You're huge! Didn't we just see you, like, two weeks ago?”

Vera swatted her playfully. “That’s rude, Kira,” she scolded, then pulled me into a hug of her own. Once she released me, she helped me settle onto the sofa, adjusting the pillows behind my back and lifting my slightly swollen legs to place pillows under those as well.

“Maybe she wants to tell us she's having twins in her own time,” Vera added, settling at my feet. “You can’t just tell pregnant women they’re huge.”

I laughed and tossed a pillow at her. She caught it easily, laughing.

“Hey! There’s only one baby in here. But, being six months pregnant feels like six years. I'm ready for this baby to see the world!”

Vera and Kira laughed.

“Do you know if it’s a boy or girl yet?” Kira asked, settling into the armchair beside my head.

I shook my head. “We’ve decided to wait until he or she is born, Auntie Kira.”

“But that’s no fun,” she pouted.

“How are you feeling, though?” Vera asked, gently taking one of my feet into her lap and beginning to massage it.

“Ohhhhh, that feels so good,” I groaned, closing my eyes in bliss.

“Careful with that foot massage. She’ll doze right off to sleep,” Jaroslav’s voice teased from the doorway.

I opened my eyes and mock-glared at him. “It’s not my fault you guys give the best foot massages.”

He chuckled. “Lev in the office?”

“He is,” I said.

“Do you ladies need anything before I go in?”

Vera and Kira shook their heads, but I smiled slyly. “Since you’re asking…”

I waved him over. When he stood behind the sofa, hands braced on the back, eyes curious, I spoke in a low voice.

“So here’s the thing. In the fridge, last shelf, hidden behind the broccoli, there’s a black plastic bag wrapped in brown paper. Can you bring it to me?”

I batted my lashes at him for good measure.

Jaroslav glanced at the doorway, then leaned in and whispered, “Lev’s been stealing the chocolates I got you from Europe, hasn’t he?”

“Yes! God. Could you please get him some too when you’re getting more for me?”

Kira and Vera giggled.

“What’s he going to get more of for you?” Lev’s voice rang from the doorway.

“Nothing,” Jaroslav and I answered at the same time.

Jaroslav pushed off the back of the sofa with a wink and exited swiftly.

“Hey, Vera, Kira. How are you ladies?” Lev asked with a smile.

“I’m okay,” Vera said.

“I’m great,” Kira chimed in.

Lev crossed the room and kissed me lightly on the lips.

“And how are my two favorite people doing?”

“You mean since you asked fifteen minutes ago?” I asked, deadpan.

He grinned. “Yes, since then.”

“The baby is great. Me and my bladder? About to explode.”

He kissed me again. “Do you need anything?”

“Nope.”

“Okay. If you do, call me. I’ll be right out.”

“Okay.”

He gave me one more kiss, then left.

A few seconds later, Jaroslav rushed in, handed me the contraband package, and disappeared.

Vera, Kira, and I burst out laughing.

“Katya, I swear, you’ve got these men wrapped around your finger. They’ve changed,” Vera mused.

“Maybe at home,” I said, pulling the chocolates from the bag and handing some to Vera, then Kira. “But out there? Not so much. If anything, I think they’re even more badass now, like they have something to prove. They don’t want anyone thinking Lev’s gone soft.”

“I think it’s amazing,” Kira said, her eyes dreamy. “How they just switch. Like, boom, stone-cold killers in the streets, doting husbands at home.”

“I wouldn’t call it a clean switch,” I said, smirking. “Lev’s still controlling and possessive as hell. He’s just…gentler about it. At least outside the bedroom.” I winked.

Vera and Kira exchanged a look, then burst out laughing again.

When Kira composed herself, she dug into her handbag. “Before I forget, I need to give you something.” She pulled out an envelope and handed it to me.

I looked at it confused. “What is it?”

“A letter from Zahkar.”

I gasped, but before I could reply, Vera cut in. “Wait, Zahkar gave you a letter?” She dug into her handbag and pulled out an envelope. Her eyes lit up excitedly. “Yegor gave me one to give to you as well.”

“Open them!” Kira said frantically.

She shifted from the armchair to the armrest of the sofa next to me.

I quickly opened both envelopes and unfolded both letters, reading Zahkar's first, then Yegor's. By the time I had finished both letters, tears were streaming down my face.

“Oh God, Katya,” Vera cried. “We’re sorry, we should've read them before we gave them to you. I didn't…”

I shook my head. “They want to meet me and get to know me more. But Artyom is watching their every move and tracking their phones. So they wrote me letters.”

Kira sank beside me, halfway off the sofa, but she didn't seem to care. She held me as I cried.

“Gosh, I'm sorry, I feel like such a wuss. If I'm not always hungry, I'm always crying.”

“It's okay,” she whispered. “I've got you.”

I was still in Kira's arms when I heard Lev's voice behind me. “What's wrong?”

Kira stepped away and Lev gently shifted me and put me to sit on his lap.

“It's nothing.” I snuggled into him.

“Don't tell me it's nothing, baby, you're crying.” He wiped away my remaining tears.

“Yegor and Zahkar wrote me letters. They both want to get to know me better. But they're being heavily monitored by Artyom.”

Lev kissed the side of my neck. “And how did you get these letters?”

Vera and Kira both raised their hands and Kira smiled. “Guilty as charged.”

“Then you write to them, and they write to you, until we can figure out how to have a physical meeting.” He spoke to Vera then: “But, please, tell them to destroy Katya’s letters as soon as they've read them.

We don't know what Artyom will do if he finds out that any of you are communicating with Katya.

You guys mean a lot to her, and there's only so much I can do to protect you. We have to be extra cautious. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Hey guys!” Mariya’s voice came from the doorway. I looked up from Lev’s shoulder. She had shopping bags in her hand, and so did Ninel.

They quickly made their way over to us and kissed me on the cheek before greeting Vera and Kira.

“The guys are bringing in the rest,” Ninel said over her shoulder as she took Mariya’s bag along with hers to the table across the room.

“Ninel, what the hell did you buy?” Jaroslav asked, walking in with more bags in hand.

“Just the essentials for a soon-to-be mother,” she said, smiling. “We all know that when this baby is born, everyone will be gushing over him or her. I’ll be gushing over my amazing sister-in-law.”

Lev rolled his eyes. “If you keep this up, I’ll have to renovate just to find space to put those things away.”

Marten, Avit, and Pyotr entered the room behind Jaroslav, arms full of bags, and dropped them off at the table, too.

“Lev,” Avit said, straight-faced, “I think it’s time Ninel gets a cut-off allowance each month.”

Lev raised a brow. “She does, but somehow she manages to swindle her older siblings for thousands extra.”

I watched as Kira gave Ninel a high five. “Last born power,” she said proudly.

The women laughed, and the men groaned.

“I personally can’t wait for the baby to be born,” Kira added. “I found this cute place on Walnut Street that sells the most adorable things.”

“Why are you waiting?” Mariya asked. “Just do what I did, get stuff that isn’t blue or pink. Go unisex.”

As the others chimed in about what they’d buy for the baby and the guys debated which toy cars the baby would be able to drive, I leaned into Lev and whispered, “Will the baby be ours when it gets here?”

He kissed me lightly. “With so many babysitters, think of all the alone time Mommy and Daddy can get,” Lev growled softly.

I swatted his shoulder gently. “Alone time is what got me in this predicament in the first pl…”

My eyes widened and I gasped. “The baby just moved!”

The chatter around us died down as I took Lev’s hand and placed it on my belly, just in time for the baby to roll into his palm before going still again.

Lev’s eyes misted over, and so did mine. He cupped my face and kissed me.

“Hey, hey, hey! You guys should get a room!” Pyotr teased loudly.

Lev gently shifted me to stand, then stood himself. “I think that’s a great idea. Feeling the baby move for the first time calls for a celebration.”

Avit chimed in, “I’ll get the drinks for the rest of us. Mom and Dad, you two can have a different kind of fun.”

I groaned. “Kill me now.”

Jaroslav chuckled. “I’ll make sure Vera and Kira meet their driver safely.”

“Thanks.” That was the last thing Lev said before whisking me away to our bedroom.

He handed me a white satin nightgown with thin straps that stopped mid-thigh. I used the bathroom first before climbing into bed, and then he disappeared into the bathroom after me.

I lay on my side, one hand tucked beneath my belly, the other under the pillow. The bedroom was dark, the only light entering it coming from the bathroom door that Lev left open. The baby gave a soft roll, and I smiled and exhaled, letting my body sink into the mattress.

Lev stepped out of the bathroom and flicked the bedroom light on.

In that brief moment, I let myself admire him, really admire him.

He wore nothing but boxers, and every inch of him was breathtaking.

Broad shoulders, strong arms, powerful thighs.

The dragon tattoos coiled around his body like they were alive, drawing my eyes to the deep V that led to his already thickening length.

Lev was absolutely gorgeous.

He climbed into bed behind me, and moved until his chest was pressed gently against my back. His hand slid over my hip, around the curve of my stomach, and came to rest there.

“You're so beautiful like this," he murmured as he kissed my shoulder, the thin straps of my nightgown sliding down my arms. "I wish you could see what I see."

I laughed quietly, readjusting the straps onto my shoulders. “What, a beached whale?”

“No.” His voice went low and serious. “My wife. Glowing. Full of life. Carrying our child. And still managing to drive me completely out of my mind.”

I turned around slowly, my belly shifting between us, his fingers trailing softly along my side.

“Lev, you don't have to lie to me. I know what I look like.”

He pressed a finger gently to my lips.

“You've been hiding from me, Katya, and I gave you space. But I was wrong. As your husband, it’s my duty to make you feel loved and cherished. Hearing you call yourself a beached whale…” he paused, eyes darkening with guilt, “...it makes me realize I haven’t done a good job of showing you how beautiful you are, carrying our child.

How incredible you feel under my hands. How much I crave you. How much I crave seeing you.”

I closed my eyes. He wasn’t wrong. I had been hiding.

Before, I had no problem having sex with Lev with the lights on. But the bigger I got, the more self-conscious I became. I’d light candles or leave the bathroom light on with the door cracked, just enough to cast a soft glow.

We still had amazing sex, and he never said a word. I thought maybe he hadn’t noticed.

But this was Lev—of course he noticed. I should’ve known he’d say something eventually.

“Katya,” he said, voice dipping to that sensually low octave, “will you let me worship your body tonight, with the lights on?”

I sighed, already melting. How could I say no to him, when he looked at me with so much love in his eyes?

“Yes.”

He shifted me carefully onto my back, tucking pillows beneath my side. As he bent to kiss my lips, his hand slid under my nightgown, stroking the skin of my thigh. I tangled my hands in his hair, drawing him closer, deepening the kiss.

“Lev,” I whispered, already trembling.

“I love making you feel like this,” he murmured. “Love hearing my name slip past your lips when my hands and mouth are on you.”

He gently pulled back, removed my nightgown and panties, then slipped off his boxers. His eyes roamed over my body, and I blushed, clenching my thighs.

“Beautiful,” he whispered.

What followed was slow and intimate. As promised, Lev worshipped me. He teased and caressed my breasts, kissed the curve of my belly, and trailed his fingers lightly over my skin, setting off fireworks beneath my flesh. Then he settled between my thighs.

He licked me with his flat tongue, and I moaned, clutching the sheets around me. He licked and sucked and tormented my clit until I came undone beneath his mouth.

Then he crawled up and kissed me, and I loved tasting myself on his lips.

“I love you, Katya.”

“I love y…” The rest of my words vanished in a gasp as Lev eased his cock into my throbbing pussy, careful not to press against my belly.

We moved together slowly, intimately, gradually building pace until Lev knelt between my legs, gripping my thighs as he rocked into me. When I came again, I pulled him over the edge with me.

I hadn’t realized how much I missed that expression on his face…pure bliss.

When he came down from his orgasm, he cleaned me up, then himself. He gently turned me on my side, helped me settle with my pregnancy pillow, and wrapped an arm under my belly, holding me close.

“I’ll never stop falling in love with you,” he whispered into my hair.

I smiled, my heart so full it ached.

“Then fall, Lev,” I whispered. “I’ll always catch you.”

*****

THE END