Page 13 of Sexting My Bratva Boss (Mafia Silver Foxes #1)

Konstantin

O lena sits on the edge of my desk, both of us watching the small screen that reflects the accountants’ room.

Only minutes ago, we were discussing the operations branch of the business. Specifically, increasing the size of weapons shipments coming into Atlanta now that we’ve bought off law enforcement there.

Olena is sharp, though, and caught the way I kept glancing at my door. Flexing my hand. Rubbing my thigh.

“You’re like a horny teenager,” she chastises, annoyed. “Can’t you think of anything else?”

“It’ll be over,” I promise her, “when there’s a child. Then we can move on.”

It’s a promise I’m not sure I can keep, though, as I stare at Audrey on the screen. Specifically, at the way her shapely calves are crossed.

I’ve taken her almost every single night for the past week. First, in my townhouse. But I’ve since made the trip to the country house every night, almost cancelling plans on Tuesday to see her. Instead, I showed up close to one in the morning, woke her with my cock on her lips.

“You have to do it.”

My gut twists with something like anxiety.

But I don’t get anxious. Not over anything; declaring a man dead, killing him myself, torching a business that rebels.

Certainly not firing someone.

“She’s good at what she does Olena.”

“Right. Aside from stealing.”

Her eyes go flat at my grin. “We are in the business of stealing. Perhaps she’s only doing as she’s taught.”

Olena stands, the holster around her shoulders creaking as she does so. “You’ve made your point. Everyone knows she’s yours. Your men have their orders; she hasn’t been visited by anyone, right?”

“Aside from you?”

Her eyes flash now in anger, and I grunt back in annoyance, standing to pace the room. I despise how on edge I feel, how cornered.

I haven’t felt like this since I was new to the city and fighting my way up the chain of command.

Earning my scars. Earning my place. Sending money back home, only to be met by silence.

“They haven’t seen anyone following or watching her, no. What else have you found out about Sal Imperi?”

It wasn’t hard to find out his name, not when the idiot made enough of a scene for a neighbor to file a police report.

“It appears he’s known to them. For petty crimes in his youth, but larger issues recently. Only no charges have been pressed—he gets off every time. Same lawyer.” She gives me a knowing look.

“Haymond?”

Olena nods.

Ron Haymond is a lawyer in deep with Giuseppe Sartorre’s gang. He has a way of getting Giuseppe’s best men off the hook. Which means Sal Imperi, despite his greasy appearance, is more important than he looks.

It can’t be just a coincidence that he was dating Audrey just before she worked for me. But I can’t step into Sartorre’s territory and demand an answer; I need Audrey to give it up. To tell me just what kind of trouble she got herself into.

How else can I save her, if she won’t tell me the truth?

“Fine,” I agree, exhausted by the short argument and Olena’s rock steady will. “Leave and send in Gorbichov.”

Moments later, Allen Gorbichov enters. I give him a single order, with no explanation. He nods and executes it.

And then all hell breaks loose.

Hell is quite enticing.

Audrey stands in my office, fists clenched, breasts heaving beneath the flimsy polka dot blouse.

“ How dare you. ”

She’s already cursed me out, caused a scene. Even Lev turned his head once at her raised voice. My windows may frost as needed, but the room isn’t soundproof; I’ve never needed it to be because no one disrespects me.

Until now.

“You can’t fire me Konstantin and use me as your fuck toy. You can’t have both!” She pushes a chair out of the way, stalking up to the desk, a wild look in her gorgeous eyes. I’m tempted to grab her throat and shut her up by covering those lush lips with my own.

“I’m not just going to take orders and let you destroy my life! I worked hard for this, I’m good at my job. You know it, or you wouldn’t have hired me.”

Standing abruptly, I momentarily silence her with the movement. Audrey takes an involuntary step back.

“Do you want to know why I hired you?”

I round the desk, slowly. Composed.

She’s practically shaking with anger.

“I hired you because when I saw you at the construction site, I wanted to fuck your brains out. Right there, in the dirt.”

All the color drains from her face.

I step toward her, yanking her to me by the blouse. Several buttons pop off and bounce across my desk.

“I hired you because the moment I saw you I wanted to wreck you. In front of all those men, if I could have the choice. I wanted to own your pussy.”

My hand covers her shoulder, the junction where it meets her neck just above her collarbone. Applying pressure, I make it clear what I want from her.

If she resists I can crush the muscle.

Audrey stares into my eyes hopelessly, the anger extinguished by fear. She lowers herself until she’s kneeling in front of me and I move my hand from her shoulder to her throat.

Banishing thoughts of what I could do to her from this angle, I focus on the task at hand: putting the fear of God—no, of Konstantin Martynov—in her.

“I own you, Audrey. If I decide you no longer work for me in this office, you no longer work for me. You are not to question this.”

I drop to my haunches. Audrey flinches away from me, but I hold tight to her throat, putting just enough pressure that she can’t pull away without hurting herself.

That’s the lesson I want her to learn: If she leaves, she’s doing this to herself. If she leaves, I can’t redeem her.

“You’ve been lying to me. Since the day I brought you in here and made it clear that I knew you were stealing from me, you’ve lied.”

“I—I didn’t lie, I just can’t tell you?—”

“An omission is the same as a lie. You have been helping my enemies, Audrey. That’s all I can assume if you refuse to tell me why you’ve stolen just shy of one hundred thousand dollars.

” I lean in close, tightening my grip enough that she stumbles forward on her knees to relieve the pressure.

“I don’t think it was a coincidence that you were at the construction site.

Someone got lucky; they didn’t know that I would decide you were mine.

But they put you there for a reason, didn’t they? ”

Her eyes are glassy with fear, but her lips stay pursed, colorless.

Standing, I stare down at her, finally starting to get truly angry with her.

“Beg.”

“Wh—what?”

She rocks back onto her heels, falls on her ass. It rucks up the pencil skirt she’s wearing in an obscene way, her luscious thighs exposed.

“Beg me to give you mercy, and I might.”

Swallowing, she whispers, “Please…”

I wait.

“Konstan—Mr. Martynov, please. Please forgive me. Or don’t forgive me—” Audrey corrects quickly when she sees my hand flex, “—just give me some time to make things up to you. I can, I promise. I’ll be good. I’ll do what you say.”

She drops her gaze to the floor.

The obedience from her shouldn’t turn me on. It shouldn’t satisfy me.

I would never, ever let anyone get away with what Audrey Wolfe has gotten away with.

“Stand up.”

She does, almost falling, and I catch her by the elbow. Pulling her close, I breathe in the warm scent of vanilla and citrus. It stirs something like regret in me.

What is this woman doing to me?

It feels dangerous.

It feels good.

“Leave. You’re done here.”

Audrey sucks in a breath, stumbling away from me.

She catches herself on the back of a chair and then walks quickly out of the room.

I circle around the desk and watch the small screen.

On it, she gathers her things quickly, not speaking when one of the accountants—Chrissandra Ives—begins to talk to her.

Lev watches from the hallway entrance.

Audrey practically runs to the elevator. I swear on the feed I can see her shoulders shaking, though it isn’t detailed enough for that.

Then she’s gone.

It’s just past midnight before I let the day’s emotions flood in on me.

I’ve managed to keep them at bay through a meeting with my brigade leaders, each overseeing a territory of the city, and another with my informants.

I took a call from Dubai and spoke to the heads of my construction teams for project updates.

Yet still… my feelings for Audrey have been a wave barely kept at bay.

I stare at her name on my phone.

Malen'kiy volk.

My little wolf.

Something in me is breaking as I sink into an armchair overlooking the city. My entire life in America, I’ve taken satisfaction in wielding control over others. In making them beg, and cutting their lives short. Making them pay.

Today’s episode with Audrey was satisfying… at first.

When I close my eyes, I see hers. The fear in them.

I want to destroy anyone who makes her feel that way. I want to be the kind of man to make her feel safe.

The phone rings twice before she picks it up, answering reluctantly. “Hello?”

She sounds sleepy, hushed. I imagine her in the bed: wrapped in the duvet, huddled up, scared.

“If you do what I say, I’ll protect you. But you can’t lie to me anymore Audrey. If you carry my child, I’ll never let anyone lay a hand on you. I’ll burn this city down to do right by you. Do you understand?”

There’s silence, but I know in the depth of the night that my words have sunk in.

I hang up.