Page 19 of The Tsar’s Obsession (Bratva Sinners #1)

Bratva

Mia

Kirill never stopped surprising. Descending the steps of the venue was akin to submerging myself in his world. Pitch black, the air was cool and sharp with the scent of whisky and cigars, the unmarked door hiding the answers to all my questions.

Once down the stairs, Kirill led me through a narrow hallway illuminated with subtle blue lighting, only showing the path forward and nothing around. Black as a tomb, I had no idea if there were any walls around us. But then there was an elevator—steel, heavy, dim, taking us further down.

Kirill didn’t speak, his eyebrows furrowed, his hand in mine. It seemed that he was meditating, taking deep breaths, and staring at one spot. But as soon as the elevator stopped with a thump, his expression changed, and he became that same man I refused to admit I grew so infatuated with.

“This way, Sunshine.”

The doors slid open to reveal a restaurant or a bar.

But not like all the others. The interiors were dark and draped in luxurious fabric, or maybe it only felt that way—soft and welcoming.

Kirill led me past the marble bar and the smiling bartender, past staff who greeted him like they worked only for him.

Gold accents sparkled with mystery. Along the walls, small and larger private booths offered seclusion, while leather chairs and low couches clustered around coffee tables in the center of the room.

There was a hallway lined with glass cabinets stuffed with various alcohol bottles, well-lit, and leading somewhere unknown.

“Good evening, Mr. Alekseev, welcome. Let me know if you would like to access your private vault or if you would like to order from the bar tonight.” A young man in a three-piece suit greeted us.

Kirill let my hand go as I slid into a tucked away seating area with a perfect view of the entire venue.

“I’m not here for business tonight, Tommy.” Damn, okay, he knew the server’s first name. “Tequila for both of us.” Kirill ordered, and the young man disappeared, leaving us two alone. As if in slow motion, I watched Kirill take a seat and motion to his lap with his eyes.

“Sit.” The command was clear; sit on his lap.

Oh God, what was happening to me? Why couldn't I say no to anything? I knew I wanted to. I wanted to do what he told me…wanted to bury myself in him.

All my senses ablaze, I followed his instructions.

It was like ascending a throne, and paradoxically, this felt more intimate than his face between my legs an hour ago.

The memory of that amplified in my mind when Kirill’s hand gently slid on my thigh, his other hand wrapping my arm around his neck.

His eyes on mine, I was close enough to enjoy all his beauty and that divine smell. "Now. Tell me what nonsense Polina was convincing you of." Oh, he came right back to it.

"Why do you think she was trying to convince me of anything?" My voice was barely above a whisper while Kirill looked me over like I was some work of art he was studying in a museum.

"Tell me."

"She's under the impression that you're the devil.

" Those words had no effect on him. "Looking exactly like what I've wanted.

But that men like you are deceiving. That you will play me, fuck me like a slut, give me what I want, promise the world.

And then break my heart." I rushed the explanation, wanting to get it over with.

Polina’s words echoed in my mind even as I melted into him, but I reminded myself what I was doing. It was just one night, just to get it out of my system.

"Hmm." His deep voice broke the silence of the moment between us. "And you believe her? That I will break your heart?" His serenity about her words sowed further doubt inside me, his eyes pure and sincere.

“Boys break hearts. Men shatter them.” Tiny goosebumps broke out on my skin from my own words. Kirill noticed when his gaze fell to my naked shoulder, his hands pulling me in closer.

“I’ll fuck you like a slut if you want that.

” Oh fuck, what did he just say to me? “But I have no intention of breaking your heart, Sunshine. On the contrary… I want to keep your heart in a safe place. Give it everything it wants and pepper it with light morning kisses.” Oh no, I was melting from his words and the gentle touch of his lips on my shoulder, satisfying a deep-seated desire.

“Who’s Polina to you?” The question left my lips involuntarily, and I hoped he couldn’t hear my internal screaming. “Why’s she always around?”

The small smile on his face perfectly translated that he enjoyed my curiosity.

“She’s a colleague. I’ve known her since we were teenagers.

” Unfortunately, that made me feel no better.

“And she has no idea how I fuck. ” At that, those green eyes jumped to mine again.

“So it’s peculiar that she is doling out warnings… never having had my interest.”

Our moment was fragile, but it was there. He said what I wanted to hear, and I nodded, my eyes half closed, ready to drown with him further.

“Now tell me what Jeremy said to you that you didn’t like.” Kirill pushed on.

“Everyone decided to use tonight to warn me… that you’re somehow not who you say you are.

” I desperately hoped that they we re all wrong when Kirill’s fingers ran up my arm, gliding around my shoulder and down my collarbone, as if he was savoring that first touch.

“They’re all wrong…right?” God, I sounded pathetic, holding onto some empty hope.

Kirill shrugged easily as if I were asking him the time.

“Ask me what you want to know, Sunshine.” His breath was warm against my ear as his fingers traced lazy circles on my thigh, a slow burn that left me aching for more.

“I want your heart.” Those four words fell off his lips with ease, like he’d been waiting to say them.

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know. ”

His gaze all-encompassing; all his attention was on me in the privacy of this dark corner, somewhere deep underground. All of a sudden, my mind was empty. I had so many questions before, but now only one remained: why hadn’t he fucking kissed me yet?

I shifted in his lap, turning toward the room and pressing my back into his chest, his low groan echoing inside me.

“Mmm, fuck, don’t grind on me, baby,” his breathless whisper tickled my neck. “Unless you want to end up on your knees right here…with my cock down your throat.”

To say I hadn’t fantasized about it would have been the biggest lie in the world.

I wanted it all with him. For the first time in years, I began taking birth control again a few weeks ago.

Just in case, I argued to myself, not because I so badly craved to be in his arms. I wouldn’t admit to that.

But now…now I was ready to admit anything.

“Tell me what you actually do. Who are you?”

This was fucking it. Kirill’s hands glided on my silk dress, the heat of his skin seeping through the material, right into my blood. He was a fucking drug, and like an addict, I always came back for more. In this dark basement and secret underground, I was trapped with him but finally alive.

“See that man over there, across the room, in the black suit, sitting with a beautiful woman?” Kirill directed my gaze to the right, slightly pressing into my cheek with his hot lips.

“That man is The Don. I’m meeting him next week.

He’s my…Italian co lleague.” I heard the words, but I wasn’t truly understanding anything, not with his right hand on my inner thigh, the other hand creeping in, lacing his fingers with mine.

“Dominic, The Don, has a lot of influence. And he’s not happy that I’m here.

” This story was suddenly beginning to weigh on me.

The don? Like the Mafia Don? “His wife is Alessandra. She’s his greatest love and weakness.

But also, his three daughters. He keeps very strict watch over them all, afraid that they will be taken from him and…

used to undermine his power.” I listened intently, afraid of what those words meant.

“But I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to take his wife or daughters, no.

I’m going to take his power in other ways, Sunshine. ”

Unsure of what my predictions about Kirill were, my brain only half processed the words, my carnal desires taking the lead instead. Every brush of his fingers pulled me into him, deeper, harder. I was sinking into his world, and fearlessly, I soaked it all in. “Keep going.”

Those lips, those hot lips that were on my cheek a minute ago, now pecked behind my ear, sending all my nerve endings into overdrive. “Mmm…you taste just like I re…like cotton candy, baby.”

Baby.

“See that man with the dragon neck tattoo? He’s part of The Triad.” In the dim lights, I was able to make out the man he was speaking about, still refusing to admit I understood.

“What’s The Triad?”

“So much to learn, Sunshine,” Kirill drawled and slid his fingertips over my neck, moving my hair to make way for his lips. “The Triad is the Chinese criminal organization, baby.”

At this, my eyes shot open. What the fuck?! But as if on cue, a ferocious kiss on my neck doused the shock, sending my hips into action once more. Kirill knew exactly how to play my body, getting what he wanted.

“W– what?” I breathed out a half-answer. “And he’s also your…your colleague?” Focus, Mia, focus .

“In a way. Our paths cross sometimes.” The truth was somewhere close by, and his words sank in slowly. The Don. The Triad. My pulse quickened once the picture was taking shape inside my head. What kind of world was I stepping into? No, what kind of world was I in ?

I should have run away. I should have jumped off his lap and walked out; that was the logical thing to do, but my body refused to move. Instead, I let his hand press me into him more—closer.

He was danger, fear, and desire all mixed into a cocktail that I was determined to drink to the last drop.

“And you? What’s the Russian word…for their criminal organization? For the mafia?”