Page 8 of Trapped by the Bratva (The Valkov Bratva #5)

DMITRI

I narrowed my eyes as Hannah’s mouth dropped open. Those luscious lips of her had cried so sexily. The memory of how she’d reacted to coming on my face would forever be etched in my mind. I already had a problem with dismissing her, but I had to now.

“Go,” I ordered.

But she already had. Before I could demand for her to exit, she’d run.

Watching her ass was a further tease I didn’t want, but I stared until she’d gone from my sight.

I squeezed my eyes shut tight and exhaled a long, hard breath. All the pent-up frustration remained locked in me.

“Fuck. Me.”

Uneasy with how suddenly that had happened, I wrenched my eyes open. I winced at how hard my dick was, full and primed to unleash my cum. It stood up, tenting the sheets, and I groaned as I shifted higher up to sit on the bed.

I wasn’t invalid. I fucking knew that. Dragging my ass up the bed seemed like a challenging feat, though. Every inch of my skin felt too tight. Itching with the need to come, I wryly mused that it was a lot like coming off the morphine they’d pumped into my veins at the hospital.

“That’s bullshit,” I grumbled, glaring at my dick.

Hannah was not a damn drug. She would not become an addiction.

I’d put her in her spot. When I pulled her onto the bed, that was my sole intention. To prove her wrong. All her high and mighty lecturing, boasting that I needed her .

“Yeah, well what do you think about that fucking equation now, Hannah?”

I shook my head, glad no one could witness how shaken up and off-kilter I was after eating her out.

God damn, her sweet taste was delicious. I licked my lips, chasing after the lingering flavor there. Then I dragged my hand down my face, hating that I'd enjoyed it.

Not as much as I could have.

I stared at my cock, lacking the energy to jerk off and finish this burning urge to find some kind of release.

“No.” I wouldn’t. Hannah would not be reducing me to masturbating in her honor. Or memory. I was a dumbass to play with her. I wanted to show her. I planned to teach her a lesson about who needed what.

She’d lusted for me despite not knowing how to express it. I saw the intrigue in her eyes. I felt the excitement in her eager touch.

She needed me to get off, and I was a fool to go that far to prove it. But that was all that would amount to. Mocking her, taunting her. I held the upper hand here, demonstrating how easily she could be putty in my hands. She held no power over me.

But as my dick stayed hard, I wondered how good it would have felt to give her a deeper lesson. To command her to ride my dick and milk me dry.

“No fucking way,” I muttered to myself.

That would be giving her power. Or she’d take it the wrong way and assume I wanted her. I couldn’t allow that connection to form. I wished I could fuck her hard, as I saw fit, but I couldn’t. My leg was still healing, too weak for strenuous activity like that.

“You wanna talk about exercise.” I huffed, realizing that pulling her over me and onto the bed was the most excitement I’d had since I was rescued. Guiding her to my mouth was the most I’d exerted myself lately, but I knew my limits. I lacked the strength to pound her pussy like I wanted to.

Even letting her straddle me, to fuck me, would be pushing it.

I was supposed to be resting, not screwing around with her. Except, now that I had a taste of her, I was hungry for more.

“Stop it,” I chided myself. It was pointless to desire her. She wouldn’t last. After my highhandedness to coax her like that, she’d realize what a bastard I was. She wouldn’t trust me enough to come near, even for therapy sessions or anything else.

Hannah would give up on trying to help me. She’d lose the willpower to care.

And that’s exactly what I need. I furrowed my brow. That sexy young woman had no place in my life. Not when I had other things to focus on. I could read the physical therapy instructions. I could rewatch the videos of how to move and stretch. She wasn’t required.

I couldn’t risk being distracted by her. Not when what I really needed was the opportunity to get Erik Avilov.

Your time is running out, motherfucker. Gritting my teeth, I let the familiar anger rise up and fill me with energy. I was comfortable here, envisioning how I could hurt him, how loudly he’d cry and beg for mercy that I wouldn’t grant him.

Thinking about my goals of revenge sobered me right up. My dick softened. My body eased up from the excitement of getting some.

I’d keep my mind off Hannah just fine if I concentrated on my reason for living. I texted Alek to come to my room, and I was surprised that he was available to do so. As the Pakhan of our large family, he was a busy man.

He made time for me, though, strolling into the room moments later. “Where’d she go?” He glanced around for Hannah.

“Probably ran off already.” I shrugged. “Good riddance.”

He sighed and shook his head as he came closer to take the chair. “Lighten up on her, man.”

“You didn’t say that about any of the other nurses and aides you’ve had placed here.”

“She’s Becca’s friend. Try not to be an ass to her. Or try to be less of an ass.”

I nodded, aware that I’d already epically failed there.

“She’s gotta be around here somewhere. I see her bags are set at the door to your guest room.”

Fuck. I didn’t want that information. Thinking about her sleeping on the other side of this wall… It’d be a wicked temptation.

“What’s the latest you’ve got on Avilov?” I asked before he could nag me about my new so-called nurse.

“Nothing. Not since we spoke yesterday,” he replied. “After Erik killed Lev, he hurried to make his claims on the Avilov Family. He was swift, killing off any loyalists to Lev and setting up his new hierarchy of bosses and crews.”

I knew all this. He’d informed us weeks ago.

“And as he took over and set up the organization how he saw fit, he hid.”

“No one can lie low that long,” I told him.

“It hasn’t been that long yet.”

“Six weeks,” I argued. “It’s been over six weeks, Alek.”

He nodded, frowning deeper. “And we have men looking for him. Others might be as well.”

“Like who?” I furrowed my brow. “Sergei Kastava?”

Alek rolled his eyes at the mention of the father-in-law he never acknowledged. The only way Alek would greet his in-law would be with a bullet in the head.

“Yes, I imagine Kastava’s pissed about his warehouse being burned up while the Avilovs stopped there. And we know they’re furious that they lost their hostages, like you.”

“Who else would be looking for Avilov?” I asked.

I had too much free time to lie or sit here and think.

If my brothers suspected other criminal families were looking for Erik Avilov, it would open up different avenues to search for intel.

We wouldn’t ever work together, not with just any old family.

But sometimes it was easier to discover rumors when many people were talking.

Alek winced, breaking eye contact for a moment. His reluctance to answer raised red flags.

“Who else?” I insisted on knowing.

“The Feds.”

I lowered my face at the same time that I raised my brows. “The Feds? Fuck no.”

He lifted his hand. “I’m not saying we’re cooperating with them.”

I barked an incredulous laugh. “Damn right, you won’t.” The Valkov Bratva had struggled with all sorts of bureaucratic bullshit. Mafia Families and the law enforcement agencies would never have a kumbaya moment of solidarity.

He smirked. “But I’m not saying we couldn’t cooperate with them, either.”

“Fuck. Listen to yourself, Alek. Do you hear the stupid nonsense coming out of your mouth right now?”

“If it weren’t for that agent Maxim encountered, we never would’ve found you in time.” He sobered up, serious as he stared at me. “We would’ve lost you in that fire.”

I groaned, rolling my eyes. “No, you wouldn’t have. I told Nadia to pull the alarms and start the fire. That wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t been there.”

He shrugged. “I’m not playing the game of what-if with you. That agent helped Maxim with the agreement to look the other way from what we did.”

I snorted. “Yeah, and that agent died. You think any of his coworkers at the CIA are gonna uphold a dead man’s unofficial promise?”

“No, probably not. And they haven’t even reached out yet. Maybe they won’t at all. I’m only mentioning that they will be just as eager, if not more, to locate Erik Avilov.”

I groaned. “Then it’ll have to be a race against time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll have to hurry to beat them to him. That man will die under my hand, Brother. He will know the agony of my torture upon his waste of a body.”

“Dmitri.” He shook his head slightly. “I understand how determined you are to exact revenge, but be realistic. The doctors advised us to count on up to a year of therapy to get you back to a fraction of your former strength. It’s a long process. A marathon, not a sprint.”

“I know that.” I rubbed my face, hating the reminders that I had to be patient.

“And if you want to get stronger and recover as quickly as possible, I urge you to leave Hannah be. Let her help you.”

It’s more of the other way around, brother… I had done her a favor. I assisted her in coming apart from a strong climax.

Just like that, I was reminded of her gritty mewls and surprised cries. Talking about business and arguing about Erik kept my mind off Hannah.

With one mention of her, though, I was back to thinking about her. Only about her.

Will she be too scared? Did I scare her off?

I didn’t ask for consent. I’d told her what to do and she’d obeyed me. She wanted it, but I was aware of how sexually inexperienced she was. I’d definitely taken advantage, and there was a fair chance that doing so might have frightened her away.

Maybe she’s already gone, running away.

As soon as that thought hit me, I disliked it. She still intrigued me. I wanted her to stop being here and nagging me. I preferred to be left alone in my peace and quiet. Yet, in the same stroke, I wanted to push her away from meddling with the bitter solitude I’d found as a beaten man.

I manipulated her to come. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I coerced her to realize her need for me.

It might have been too harsh. She’d run out of here without a single look back. In my mind’s eye, I revisited the memory of her startled expression when I told her that she was the one who needed me.

Shit. What if she is gone?

“Give her a chance,” Alek said as he stood to leave. “We’re looking for Avilov. You will get stronger. And I respect that you want to be the one to exact revenge on him. I will do everything in my power to ensure that you’re the one to serve him the justice he’s due.”

I nodded, glad that he understood me so well.

“All you’ve got to do in the meantime is recover. I’m confident you’ll have more success if you give Hannah a chance.”

A chance? It still felt too risky.

She was too good at slipping under my guard.

“Let her assist you,” Alek said. It wasn’t a direct mandate, but it may as well had been one.

“We need you fit and ready to protect the Bratva. You won’t do that on your own.” He raised his brows, then headed out of my room.

Left with that parting wisdom—or maybe it was a threat—I debated calling Becca down here to give me Hannah’s number.

I wouldn’t apologize for what I did, but it seemed that I would need to check that she was still around.

Just not in my bed. Ever again.