Arranged Bratva Love

Andrei

“This is rather small,” Ivan said.

This was his first visit to me since his supposed death and rebirth. He’d already briefed me on what caused the charade. I had only met Cara briefly. The woman had been one of Slavik’s brothel women, or something like that. She hadn’t seemed important to me.

I’m aware there was some kind of history between the three, but again, all of that was just rumors, and I’d never paid much attention to it.

“You didn’t seem to mind it when you visited my wife last,” I said.

Adelaide was out, again.

Since our episode, she’d been distant with me. Not that I could blame her. I expected her to cave soon, but she’d already tested me this past week. Other than dinner, which was a silent affair, she didn’t talk to me. Breakfasts were silent, as were the nights I made it home.

There was a distance now that hadn’t existed before.

“I know, but with you here, it does look small.” Ivan pursed his lips. “Do you think this is a good place to raise a family?” He shook his head. “I don’t know what it is with my men. You always seem to go for the penthouse option. Kind of boring.”

I wasn’t going to point out that he lived in a penthouse suite as well.

“Speaking of family, is Adelaide pregnant yet?” Ivan asked.

“No.”

I got to my feet. “Can I interest you in a drink?”

“You can, but you do know I’m not an idiot, don’t you?” Ivan asked.

I paused on my way to our drinks and turned toward him.NôvelDrama.Org content rights.

Ivan smiled. “Get me that drink.” He winked at me, and I poured us both a generous helping of whiskey. Adelaide had replaced the decanter on one of her many journeys out of the house. Ever since Leo had been given as her bodyguard, and I’d allowed her to leave, she was never home. I didn’t agree with this compromising bullshit. Adelaide was nowhere to be found.

Handing Ivan a glass, I took a seat, sipping at the dark amber liquid. It was the strong stuff, burning as it went down.

“Do you hate Adelaide?” Ivan asked.

“No. She’s my wife.”

“Ah, but you see, to have a true wife, you need to fuck her. Not drive her crazy until she’s happy with pathetic visits out. We both know you’ve not given her much of a life. At least Slavik did his duty.”

He’d never compared us before.

“Are you questioning my loyalty?” I asked.

“No, I’m not. I’m simply stating a fact. He got the job done. Aurora is very much pregnant, and you’ve not even taken your wife. Your marriage could be annulled like that.” He clicked his fingers. “Speaking of the charming woman, where is she?”

“Out,” I snapped the word, taking a large drink of my whiskey.

He chuckled. “I thought you were supposed to be good with women.”

I was amazing with women. The kind that wanted money for a good time. They were easy to handle.

Ivan sighed. “You know, I’m thinking that you and Adelaide might not be quite the good fit.”

“I will get her pregnant soon,” I said.

“I’m more than happy to take her off your hands. She’s more than a handful. I’m sure she’ll keep me entertained for plenty of months to come.”

My grip on the glass got too tight and it smashed within my hand. A couple of shards slid into my flesh, but I didn’t mind. The welcoming bite of pain doused me in a harsh reality check. I couldn’t kill Ivan. He was my boss. I was loyal to him.

Ivan smiled as if he knew what I was thinking.

“Those feelings rushing through you right now, I don’t know if you know this, Andrei, but they come in handy with women. It helps to bring them closer.”

“I know how to handle my woman.”

“Do you? Because from where I’m sitting, you seem to have a state of blue balls.”

My mind went back to the other night. Adelaide, naked, her eyes looking crushed as she watched me. I didn’t want her to look at me with anything other than pure heat. Spilling my release onto her chest had been a fucking waste, but I didn’t want to hurt her. She deserved more than that from me.

“You came here to talk about business,” I said, hoping to change the subject.

When it came to Adelaide, I kept fucking up, and I didn’t know how to stop it. Nothing I did was ever right.

“Ah, yes, I did. I want an update on everything.”

So I gave him a brief on everything that had happened. Since Ivan’s reappearance, my mafia problem had settled down. They had even handed me over three of their soldiers who they claimed had started the revolt against Ivan Volkov. It was all bullshit. I knew that and they knew that. They had played their true cards, and now I had to be on guard. It wasn’t like I ever dropped it. I was always cautious, always waiting for someone to strike.

Now, when it came to the Evil Savages MC, they were another problem. They had gone quiet immediately after Ivan’s rebirth, but they still plotted to take out my warehouses. My informant was more than happy to give me the details, but I had to be cautious.

My guy on the inside had never been so free with information. Demon would never allow it, and now as I sat with Ivan, I gave him every detail.

He sat back, running a finger across his lip, his gaze straight ahead. “Interesting.”

There is a long silence and rather than interrupt his thoughts, I finish my drink, get to my feet, and pour myself another one.

It was good having Ivan back. He pissed me off constantly, but he was a good man, a good boss. He took care of all of us, and he helped bring us peace, even if for a short time.

“Do you have any update on Oleg?” I asked.

“He claims to have known about the situation, which is highly doubtful,” Ivan said. “To make this work, I had to keep everyone in the dark. Cara needed to be assured of my death, and the only way to do that was for people to believe it.”

“I would have been by your side,” I said.

He waved his hand in the air.

“When I give an order, I expect people to follow it.”

The only person who’d been allowed to go was Slavik. I don’t know what the other brigadiers’ instructions were, but mine were clear. With the mafia and MC problem near my borders, I had to remain in place. Without my presence, they would have the ability to take over.

It would take them some time, but I knew those fuckers would do it, especially now that they had tried, and that was still with me here. This was one of the many things that made Ivan stronger. He was always one step ahead of the game, while the rest of us constantly played catch-up.

“How could he have known?” I asked.

“That’s the point, he couldn’t have.” Ivan frowned. “There’s something not right about that. A few of my men have gone missing from his territory. It’s what alerted me to the possibility of Oleg’s deception.”

“We need someone on the inside,” I said. “Someone he doesn’t know is working for us.”

“I know, but Oleg is smart, he’s aware of people on our payroll.”

I sat back, trying to think of someone who’d be able to get inside without any trouble, and no one came to mind.

I looked at Ivan as my front door opened and closed. The sound of Adelaide’s heels could be heard through my office door, which I’d kept open.

“Ah, we’ve had way too much business. I think it’s time to move on to other pressing matters.”

I wanted to stop him. He looked way too happy with himself getting close to my wife, and I didn’t want to share her. Leaving my glass on the coffee table, I followed him out to see Adelaide removing her shoes, wincing.

She’d started to wear the clothes I had picked out for her. They made her look too serious. Her long, beautiful hair had been pulled back into a tight bun. She’d not seen us yet, and I watched as she tugged out the pins, allowing the long length to flow freely. It had a natural curl to it. I imagined those locks wrapped around my fist as I took her hard and fast.

After the way I treated her the other night, I doubted she would have any time for me, and I couldn’t help but be a little pissed off about that fact. I didn’t say anything, though, admiring her instead.

“Aren’t you a charming sight?” Ivan said.

Adelaide spun toward us, shock on her face.

Leo nodded at me.

She’d gone to see this Nathan person again. I didn’t like him. I had tried to look for details on him, but his entire life read like a fucking saint, and I just didn’t believe it. There was something off about him. I wanted to kill him, but doing that wouldn’t win me any points with Adelaide. Not that I needed any.

Leo shared with me pictures of her with Nathan. This was the third time she’d seen him this week, and I didn’t like how close they were getting. She was my wife. She should be close to me, no one else.

“Ivan,” she said. The smile on her lips was forced. “It is so good to see you.”

I’d not told her the news of Ivan’s supposed death. She didn’t need to know every single detail. I clenched my hands into fists as the two shared a quick embrace.

“And you, as always. You’re looking so beautiful.” He pouted. “But I had hoped to hear some good baby news.”

Adelaide’s cheeks went bright red. “Will you be staying for dinner?”

“Only if I get the pleasure of your company?”

“Of course.” She kept smiling even as her face was flushed. “Please excuse me, I have to change.”

“I’ll order dinner,” I said.

She didn’t look at me. Gritting my teeth, I waited for her to leave before excusing myself, and going to Adelaide. She was at the doorway of our closet, looking in.

I grabbed her waist, spun her around, and pressed her up against the wall. “Your little silent game ends tonight,” I said.

She glared at me.

“Oh, I understand. You want me to play the doting wife, right? The one that can’t touch her husband.” She suddenly shoved her hands up above her head. “Don’t worry, I won’t give the game away that there’s no chance of us ever having kids, since that would require you to actually want my touch, but we know that’s not what you want. All you want to do is get your rocks off.”

She took a deep breath, and I hated to admit it, her fire turned me on.

We’d not broken Adelaide yet. This life wasn’t for weak women. It destroyed weak women, but as I stared at Adelaide, I wondered if I’d misjudged her.

“Are you done?” I asked.

“Yes. I’ll be out to entertain our guest soon.”

Her lips looked too good to deny myself, and so I didn’t. I slammed my lips down on hers, capturing her wrists, which were still above her head, and taking complete advantage of the situation, kissing her hard. At first, she protested, wriggling against me as if to ward me off, but it didn’t take long for her to give in and start kissing me back.

I broke the kiss first, stepping back, giving us some space.

“Don’t be late.”

I was being a dick, and I didn’t care. When it came to Adelaide, I’d take whatever I got.