Page 17

Lara keeps asking me about how she can help in the business, and while I trust she would be perfectly capable, I don’t want to involve her in anything that might put her in danger.

The more I expose her to this world, the greater the risk she will face.

It’s not fair of me to do that to her, and I don’t think she understands the risk she is taking by offering that.

And me not wanting to expose her to this world is also the reason I’m not taking her to the charity event this evening.

My mother and sister will be attending, but they have been trained to handle these types of things.

I have allies attending, but among them, there is always an enemy.

Someone in hiding, someone looking for information or ways to target me.

I don’t want them to meet Lara yet. Her innocence is glaringly obvious. She would be an instant target.

As much as I want to show her off, it’s not safe for her to be there.

When I arrive at the black-tie event, my mother is already there with Sergei. I wander over to them to say hello, giving Sergei the cold shoulder but embracing my mother with warmth.

“Where is Ulyana?” I ask, looking around and not finding her. She’s usually easy to spot as she attracts a lot of attention from the men.

“She was running late, so her driver will bring her,” Sergei answers.

“As usual,” I chuckle, not looking at him.

“Are you bidding on anything for the charity?” Mom asks.

“You decide, let me know if there’s anything that catches your eye. I had a feeling you might like the artwork, the one directly over the entrance.”

“Is that up for auction? Oh my word, yes. Let me go look at it again.”

“I’m going to do my rounds, I’ll see you later.” I smile at my mom and turn away from them both.

It’s time to mingle and show respect to my allies.

I really don’t enjoy these things. They always seem so fake.

Everyone grovels and oozes respect. It’s easy to spot someone trying to be nice for the sake of gaining your business.

It annoys me. But it’s part of the world I live in, and I’ve gotten quite good at handling it.

Roan is around here somewhere, mingling as well.

Doing his part.

I spot a good acquaintance of mine and head over to him first, starting with the easy conversations.

“Nestor, my friend, how are you? Where is your wife? I heard you got married,” he says, grabbing my hand and shaking it firmly.

“She couldn’t make it tonight, but I am looking forward to you meeting her next time.”

“What a pity. I heard she was a beautiful woman, and I was so happy you finally found someone to steal your attention.”

I laugh. Viktor is an older man with an old-school view of the world.

It’s why we get on so well. He respects good business and knows how to make money without screwing people over.

And he believes in love. He’s often told me about how his wife was the love of his life and still is, even though he lost her a few years ago.

They were together for fifty-nine years.

He will tell the story proudly over and over again.

“What was the wedding like?” he asks, his brows raised.

“It was lovely, Viktor, but we are going to have another one eventually. That one was only for our closest family.” I don’t want him to be offended that he wasn’t invited. Or to be offended to find out that I practically kidnapped the girl.

“Ah, yes, the special moments are best not spread out for the world to see. They are more intimate that way. You be sure to keep her safe, though, young man,” he tells me sternly.

“I will.”

Someone grabs his attention, and he excuses himself.

I move on to the next person, a man with whom I have a long-term business relationship as well, but we’ve had our moments of not seeing eye to eye.

“I heard your mother was after the mosaic.”

“She has an eye for good art.”

“Well, there go my chances of getting it. I won’t even try and bid against you,” he laughs.

“I’m sorry, my friend. I can’t let my mother down.”

“Don’t worry, I understand.”

I’m going from group to group, making my rounds, saying hello, almost enjoying myself, when Miron arrives.

The instant he does, my body is tense, already prepared to deal with his bullshit that will inevitably happen.

That fucker sneers at me from across the room.

“Your brother is here,” someone says.

“Stepbrother,” I correct them as Miron walks towards us.

Fuck’s sake, can’t he just stay on the other side of the room.

“That deal you just pulled with the Red Caps—I think you could have done it totally differently,” Miron says without preamble, trying to belittle me in front of everyone standing around.

“I’m not entirely sure how you would know enough about the deal to make an informed decision or give any input at all. Unlike you, I don’t make bold statements without all of the information available to me. You might want to consider that next time.”

The crowd around us shifts awkwardly, aware of the tension.

“Some things are so obvious even a child could see it,” he huffs, provoking me further. I hate the fact that he has the power to piss me off instantaneously. I shouldn’t let it happen, but I have years of pent-up anger towards him and his father.

Miron is a constant source of contempt for me.

He lets his eyes wander slowly up and down my body, a look of disgust on his face, his mouth drawn back in annoyance.

“Where’s that wife-for-hire of yours?” he says, and my blood boils ten times hotter. My fists clench at my sides as I bite down to stop myself from punching him in the face.

“She won’t be joining us this evening.”

“She abandoned her husband? I would never allow my wife to behave that way. You should get a handle on your woman,” Miron sneers.

“Allow?” I say, losing the battle with my willpower to keep this civil.

A murmur rustles through the crowd, and when I pull my eyes off Miron, I see everyone looking in the same direction, and I follow their gaze.

My heart leaps into my throat as I stare at Ulyana and Lara, arriving together and looking like they are about to steal the entire show.

Suddenly no one gives a shit about the petty spat between Miron and me. Even I’ve been swiped into forgetting.

Lara looks so incredible, dressed to kill, wearing a tight, body-hugging short dress embellished with glittering stones, patterned to accentuate every curve of perfection on her body.

She glimmers as she moves, smiling confidently, greeting the people I do business with, her chin raised high and her attitude in full swing.

I’ve never seen her looking so in control, and with a dark chuckle, I realize that Ulyana has coached her on how to behave at these types of events. And she’s nailing it.

Every single man in the room is staring at the two of them as though they might have a chance. My smile shifts from surprise to pride.

That’s my wife.

She turns, and her back is towards me as she greets another business partner. The dress has been designed in such a way that the back is completely open, dipping low, elegant enough to hide what needs to be kept for my eyes only, but feisty enough to show the world what they ’ re missing out on.

My mind is spinning as I watch her make her way around the room, slowly coming towards me.

I’ve been paying attention to people’s reactions to her—not a single one of them could hide their instant attraction. Men are to her beauty, allured and enticed, and women, also to her beauty, jealous perhaps, as they cling tighter to their husbands.

She’s close to me now, greeting another of my colleagues, and I hear her elegant laughter and parts of the conversation. “My husband, Nestor…” She turns towards me and lifts her hand to wave. I can’t even try to hide the smile that stretches across my cheeks.

“My love, I thought you weren’t coming tonight?” I say, stepping to her side, showing everyone that she belongs to me.

She immediately stands against me with her hand on my chest as she rises on her tiptoes to kiss me. “I missed you too much,” she smiles.

My heart flips over, and I swallow hard, trying to control my body’s instant reaction to her.

Her eyes, bright blue and full of confidence, her gestures, elegant and beautiful, and those lips, full, plump, and begging me to kiss them with more force.

I cup my hand beneath her jaw and tilt her head higher, locking my eyes with hers. People around are watching us, curious to see me with a woman, never mind one as perfect as Lara.

“You are intoxicating, Lara.”

“Do you like my dress? I bought it just for you,” she whispers.

I brush my hand over her naked spine, then across her ass.

Leaning close to her ear, I whisper my response. “It was a dangerous choice, I don’t know how you expect me to behave while you’re wearing this.”

She bites her bottom lip, mischief glittering in her eyes.

“I don’t want you to behave,” she replies, sending my thoughts spiraling.

“Nestor, is this your beautiful wife?” A business partner interrupts my thoughts and forces me to drag my eyes off Lara to reply to him.

“This is Lara. Lara, this is Yuli Parov, one of my very close friends.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Yuli,” she says, the perfect princess, shaking his hand, but staying right at my side.

“Can I get you two a drink? I’m just on my way to the bar,” he says, his eyes still roaming over Lara.

“Actually, I was just about to take a minute to sort something out before the auction starts. We will join you for a drink in a little while.”

He nods. “Of course, of course. Come find me when you have a moment.”

I take Lara’s hand and walk across the busy event hall, maneuvering past the crowds of people who all turn their heads to watch us. Lara walks behind me, and when I glance over my shoulder at her, my heart races with excitement.

I lead her out of the main area into a storage room off the side, closing the door behind us.

The room leads to a second room, packed with ridiculously expensive art, about to be auctioned. That room has heavy security locks on the door, and technically, there should be a guard in this room, but he must be taking a break.

“What are we doing in here?” Lara asks, confused, as I turn to face her.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming tonight? It’s dangerous for you to just walk in here like this. I need to know your movements—your plans…” My words trail off; I’m lecturing her, and she’s just grinning at me with that darkly naughty smile I recognize.

“Am I in trouble?” she asks, pouting.

“Yes,” I reply, almost a growl. “You are in trouble, Lara.”

I step closer to her, backing her against the wall.

“Will you punish me?” she asks, sending a deliciously dangerous spike of adrenaline through me.

“I have to. I have no choice.”

Her eyes go wide, playfully scared as she bites her lips and traces her fingers over the front of my shirt.

“What if someone comes in and sees you punishing me?” she teases.

I growl, low and aggressive, my inner beast ready to tear her to pieces.

She gasps, genuinely surprised.

In a flash, I have her wrists locked in my hand and pinned above her head as I lean my weight against her, locking her between my body and the wall.

I push my cock against her body to show her what she’s doing to me and she makes the most beautiful sound, like a cat purring, as she tilts her head backwards, her lips parted.

I lock my mouth over hers and push my tongue between her lips and she writhes against the wall, rubbing against my cock, driving me even crazier for her.

We both freeze as the door opens a fraction and someone stands outside, turned away from us, talking to another person.

“No, he’s not there; he went to help the boss with something. He’ll be ten minutes.”

“Oh, thanks. I’ll come back.”

The door closes again, and Lara starts giggling.

“I guess we have ten minutes,” I smirk.

With my free hand, I push her dress up over her hips, pulling her hands over my neck and lifting her against the wall.

I tug my pants open and free my cock and Lara gasps as I press it against her. Hooking her panties with my finger, I tug them to the side. She’s soaking wet for me.

“You’re lucky we’re short on time, little one. I’ll save the punishments for home, where I can make you scream.”

As I say it, I thrust forward, and Lara almost does scream before I clasp my hand over her mouth and fuck her as hard and deep as I can.