Page 81 of Goodnight, Sinners

He’d already told their chef to prepare a large meal with their favourite dishes. Rather than eating at the large formal dining table, they ate in the kitchen with many of the house staff and Jozef’s men dropping in to the congratulate the couple. After greeting each of them, Shaun realized she had gotten to know many of the people who worked for Jozef… for both of them.

As the evening progressed so did Shaun’s exhaustion.

She’d had a long a day and wanted nothing more than the softness of her own bed at her back. Looking at Jozef though, she didn’t think she’d be allowed to sleep any time soon.

She felt a little like she was standing on quicksand with him. She could tell by the hard glitter in his eyes that he had not yet forgiven her for her transgression. Shaun had learned from Cooper that Dasha had been captured by Interpol. The relief that Shaun felt at hearing that told her that, while she shouldn’t have kept a secret from Jozef, her intentions had still been good. Dasha was safely behind bars, and Jozef wouldn’t be forced to make a grim decision regarding his aunt.

Still, the stiffness of his body and the way he touched her carefully, as though afraid to break her, told Shaun he had more to say about the incident.

It was around midnight that the last of the guests left the mansion. Jozef’s men went back to their barracks or into the city where they lived with their families. Cooper and Terek had offered to take Fatima home.

With a hand on her back, Jozef escorted Shaun up to their bedroom.

Her heart hammered with each step and she had to remind herself that Jozef would never hurt her, that he loved her and wanted to make her happy.

Still, he was acting stiffly formal as they entered the bedroom.

She turned to find him already unbuttoning his shirt, his strong veined hands flashing as he pushed each button through the hole.

“Can we talk first,” Shaun said, holding up a hand. They’d been intimate many times, but the coolness coming from him made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t ready to be intimate until they sorted through his anger.

He dropped his hands so he could sign,it’s time for me to show you what loyalty means.

“You think this is the way to get my loyalty?” she asked incredulously, backing away from him as he removed his shirt, tossing it aside.

His expression was blank, refusing to give her a hint of his intentions.

She bumped into the side table next to the bed. There was nowhere else for her to retreat.

She shouldn’t have to run from him anyway. This was her bedroom, in her house, with her husband. She shouldn’t have to feel afraid. She opened her mouth to tell him so, to tell him to back off until they’d sorted a few things out, but he grabbed her hand and lifted it.

“Jozef…”

He placed her hand over his shoulder.

She frowned, then realized she felt something. There were ridges of raised flesh on his shoulder, surrounding a new tattoo. Forgetting her fear of a moment earlier, she stepped closer to him, fingering the fresh ink of an eight-pointed star.

Shaun knew exactly what it meant. Karl, her former bodyguard, had taught her the ins and outs of the Bratva. Jozef was branded with the mark of the Vor. He had a matching tattoo over his opposite shoulder.

“What does it mean?” she whispered, looking up into his eyes. “Why now? What’s changed?”

It had been six weeks since the attack on Jozef’s club. As far as she knew, he’d claimed the title of Vor even before that, while he was still in prison. Why get the tattoos now?

You have changed me,he signed, then reached for his belt buckle.

She was no longer afraid he might try to have sex with her when she wasn’t ready. Now she was curious.

He dropped his pants, stepping out of them and kicking them away.

Shaun saw the new tattoos immediately. Two eight-pointed stars, one on each knee. Other than a serpent tattoo snaking across his hip and disappearing into his pubic hair, he’d had no tattoos on the bottom half of his body until now.

“You’ve pledged your loyalty to the Bratva, haven’t you? That’s what the stars mean.” She frowned. “What does this have to do with us?”

He shook his head.I haven’t pledged my loyalty to them. They are a means to an end. These stars are for you alone. My entry into their world ensures your safety. The higher I climb, the safer you are. You are my only motivation.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Shaun looked up at him wonderingly as he placed an enormous responsibility at her feet. She was his motivation for taking on a mafia empire. She was his captive, she was his love, and she was his reason for being. It was heady. It was exhilarating.

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