Page 5 of Crystal Veil (Rostov Bratva #2)

Neither of us speaks. The silence fills with the sound of waves crashing below and wind whistling through the glass barriers.

A storm is building on the horizon, with dark clouds gathering like an ominous sign.

His jaw works, the muscle twitching once before stilling.

He doesn’t speak, and the silence feels like a door slowly closing.

It doesn’t slam. It just clicks shut, leaving me on the other side with nothing but the echo of what I wish he’d say.

“I thought maybe you'd be angry,” I whisper, the words tumbling out faster now. “That you'd think it was a mistake. Or worse, that you'd think I kept it from you on purpose.”

Renat turns away abruptly, walking a few steps toward the edge of the balcony.

His hands press to the railing, his knuckles pale against the polished steel.

The muscles in his back are tense beneath his shirt, shoulders rigid with whatever battle he's fighting internally.

I brace myself for his rejection. For the anger and cold dismissal I've seen him use towards others.

But then he exhales slowly and deeply and turns back around.

“I'm not angry,” he declares, and his voice sounds nothing like I expected. It's hoarse and raw. Like he's holding something back that might break him if he lets it out.

I stare at him, searching his face for deception. “You're not?”

He crosses the distance between us in two strides, moving with the fluid grace that makes him so dangerous in combat.

“Elena.” My name leaves his mouth like a kiss he’s been aching to give.

Slow, tender, full of all the things he can’t say out loud.

He touches my cheek, tentative at first, then cups it with his palm.

His hand is warm and steady, anchoring me when I feel like I might float away. “You're carrying my child.”

A strange sound leaves his throat. Half wonder, half ache. His thumb traces my cheekbone with reverent care. “I never thought…” He trails off, eyes glinting in the sunlight that breaks through the clouds. “I never saw this future for myself. A family. A child. Not in this world.”

The admission surprises me. Renat doesn't share vulnerabilities easily. He has built his empire on appearing invincible and untouchable. But standing here with the wind whipping around us and the ocean stretching endlessly below, he looks human. Fragile, even.

“Neither did I,” I admit, my voice cracking under the weight of honesty. “But it's real.”

He brushes a thumb across my jaw, then lets it trail to my lips. The touch sends electricity through my entire body, awakening nerves I'd forgotten existed. “You should have told me sooner.”

“I was scared,” I whisper.

His gaze turns fierce and protective. The gentleness remains, but underneath, burns something primal and possessive. “You never have to be scared of me.”

My chest aches. The promise in his voice is absolute. But promises from men like Renat come with prices. “Even if this changes everything?”

“It does,” he agrees without hesitation. “But not in the way you think.”

Before I can ask what he means, he pulls me into him, his hands slipping around my waist. I press against his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat through his shirt.

I breathe in his scent of cologne, sea salt, and something darker that's always just under his skin.

Power, or danger. They're the same thing where he's concerned.

“I don't care what it changes,” he murmurs into my hair, his breath warm against my scalp. “You and this child…you're mine now. And nothing touches what's mine.”

The possessiveness in his voice should frighten me.

Instead, it fills me with warmth that starts in my chest and spreads outward until my fingers tingle.

Emotion wells in my throat, too full to speak.

I nod against his chest, letting the warmth of him soak into the cracks I've been holding together alone.

When he lifts my chin again, there's something different in his eyes. A hunger. Not just for my body but for something deeper. Something that terrifies me with how much I want it, too. His gaze drops to my lips, then lower, to where his child grows inside me.

He bends his head and kisses me. Slowly.

Thoroughly. As if the world has narrowed down to just this balcony, just this moment.

His mouth is possessive and tender all at once, tasting me like he's rediscovering something precious he thought he'd lost. The kiss deepens and becomes desperate as if we're trying to convey everything words can't express.

“I want you,” he whispers against my lips, the words vibrating through me. “All of you. Even the parts you're afraid to give me.”

My robe slips open under his hands, silk gliding over my skin like a sigh.

The fabric pools at my feet, forgotten in the face of more pressing needs.

He lifts me easily, his strength evident in the effortless way he carries me through the open doors and into the bedroom without breaking the kiss.

I feel the power in his arms, the surety in his grip that tells me he would never let me fall.

The bedroom is bathed in soft light filtering through sheer curtains.

The storm clouds have parted, allowing golden sunbeams to paint patterns across the polished floor.

He lays me down on the bed with reverence, his eyes roaming over every inch of me as though memorizing what belongs to him.

The intensity of his gaze makes my skin flush, heat pooling low in my belly despite the cool air from the open doors.

His fingers trail down my thighs, across my stomach, lingering there with a newfound purpose. The touch is electric, sending shockwaves through my nervous system. I arch beneath him, suddenly desperate for more contact, more connection.

“You're already changing,” he murmurs, his voice raw with wonder. His palm spreads flat against my belly, protective and claiming. “Already stronger.”

I shiver beneath him from the intensity of his attention. Every nerve ending feels alive, hypersensitive to his touch. “So are you.”

His eyes darken, pupils dilating with desire. “Because of you, krasivaya .”

Clothes fall away in layers, tossed aside in heated desperation.

Heat builds between us, a burning fuse that threatens to consume everything in its path.

Every touch is deliberate, every caress meant to drive me higher.

His hands map my body like territory he's claiming, learning every curve and valley with dedicated precision.

His fingers find my breasts, tugging and pinching my nipples.

His mouth finds mine, kissing me deeply, our tongues tangled in a lover’s dance.

When he pulls away, he trails kisses down my body until he nestles his head between my legs.

His fingers grip my thighs as he wraps his lips around my clit.

My back arches at the contact, my fingers tangling in his thick hair.

“Mmm…yes…” I murmur, lifting my hips as much as his grip will allow.

He slides his tongue between my folds, tasting, devouring my pussy, until I feel my core tighten.

Alternating between sucking my clit and fucking me with his tongue, he pulls me to the edge of an orgasm.

Digging my fingers into the sheets, I cry out as I shatter around his mouth, wave after wave of pleasure coursing through me.

Before I can catch my breath, he presses his cock against my slick folds. “We’re not done yet, kiska ,” he breathes against my lips.

Parting my lips with his tongue, he kisses me deeply.

I gasp into his mouth at the sudden fullness of his cock buried in me.

Without giving me a chance to adjust to his thickness, he fucks me hard, ramming into me.

He slid his hands beneath me, cupping my ass and tilting it until his balls slapped against me with every brutal thrust.

“Oh my God,” I cry out as I teeter on the edge of another orgasm.

“Yes…come for me,” he orders.

The orgasm was a tsunami that built inside my core. It hits me so hard my eyes roll back. “Renat! Yes…oh fuck!” I scream. It nearly split me in two as I gasped for breath.

Renat pulls his cock out before I catch my breath and flips me over onto all fours. My limbs are shaking as he slides an arm around my waist. “My turn,” he murmurs into my hair, pressing the tip of his cock into my ass. I let out a groan as he pushes it in inch by glorious inch.

“Do you like that, kiska ?” he asks as he teases me slowly.

I want him, all of him, right now. I push my ass back, forcing his cock deeper into me. “Fuck me, Renat…p-please,” I beg.

Grabbing a handful of my hair, he thrusts his cock all the way in, fucking my ass as I whimper and beg him not to stop. Sliding his hand from my waist to my pussy he rolls my clit between his fingers. I suck in a breath as my core tightens again.

“I’m…I’m going to come again…don’t stop…p-please…” I cry out.

Renat picks up the pace as beads of sweat drip from him onto my back. “Yes, kiska, come with me,” he grunts.

It feels like my pussy burst, sending shockwaves through my entire body as his cock explodes inside me, shooting hot streams of cum in my ass. He continues thrusting until every drop is released.

Releasing my hair, he collapses on the bed next to me, pulling me into his side.

He leans his forehead against mine, whispering my name like it's his only salvation.

His hands frame my face as he whispers Russian words I don't understand but feel in my bones.

Endearments that sound like prayers in his native tongue.

We lay tangled in the sheets, sweat cooling on our skin as our breathing gradually returns to normal.

His fingers trace slow circles along my spine, the touch soothing and possessive all at once.

I rest my head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, letting it anchor me to this moment.

For the first time since I was brought here, the silence doesn't feel like a prison. It feels like peace. Like coming home to a place I didn't know I was searching for. His arms tighten around me, protective and warm, shutting out the rest of the world.

“You're not alone anymore,” Renat declares quietly, his voice rough with emotion. “Not ever again.”

And this time, surrounded by his warmth and the promise in his voice, I believe him.