Page 16 of Sinful Union

But I don’t.

I can’t.

Because for the first time in six years, I don’t feel empty.

Chapter 7

Pavel

The wedding yesterday was nothing more than a spectacle, but what happened after was something else entirely.

Today we’re on our way to Nassau in one of my private jets.The engines hum, cutting smoothly through the sky, but my focus isn’t on the flight.My attention keeps shifting back to my wife.

Kat is curled up across from me, her body relaxed in sleep, her breathing deep and even. She’s exhausted. It’s not surprising, especially after how late we stayed up celebrating our nuptials.

I lean back in my seat, watching her, my lips curling in satisfaction. She’s exactly as I remember: curvy and soft, made to be touched, taken, ruined. The silk slip dress she’s wearing has ridden up just enough to give me a tease of her thigh. My jaw clenches. She still fits me like a glove.

Every minute of last night is still fresh in my mind. I knew she’d been uncertain at first. Her body was tense beneath mine, fingers digging into my shoulders like she wanted to shove me away—or claw me apart.

At least that’s how it felt until the moment I slid inside her. Then her nails dragged down my back as she wrapped herself around me, making me feel like she’d never left. The memories flooded back. I couldn’t believe it had been nearly a decade since we’d first made love.

“Relax,krasivyy,” I whispered against her throat, dragging my hands slowly down the curve of her hip. “I’ve got you.”

She nodded, but I knew she still wasn’t sure if she was ready for what came next, so I took my time kissing her, tasting her, dragging my tongue down her bare skin, teasing her with my fingers, coaxing out every sweet sound she could make.

When I finally pushed inside her, filling her in one quick thrust, her head fell back and she gasped. I held still for a moment, allowing her to adjust, but when she rocked her hips up, I gave her everything.

Now, as I watch her sleep, my mind is still tangled with thoughts of her, the way she broke apart for me all over again.

I shake my head to clear the thoughts. I can’t afford to get caught up in the memory of Kat’s body. I’m on a short timeline and I need to focus. Four days is all I have, four days away from the power plays, the shifting alliances, the fucking knives pointed at my back.

Kat sleeps while I work, my laptop open, messages coming in, calls being made. The Bratva doesn’t stop just because I’m on my honeymoon. Upon our return, Piotr and I will be sitting at the same table, finalizing the merger of our two families.

The deal should be solid, but doubts keep creeping in, not just in my mind, but in the minds of my men as well. I remember what Nikolai, my number two, said, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched me with a cold, calculating stare.

“You shouldn’t have agreed to this.”

“It was necessary.”

His jaw tightened. “Was it?”

I didn’t answer.

“They sprung it on you too fast,” he pressed. “I know you and Piotr have been close for a long time, but why all of a sudden is his sister ready to marry you after she ran away all those years ago? You know the rumors. The Andreev family blames you for what happened to Piotr’s parents.”

I shook my head. “Not Piotr or Vlad. They’ve remained loyal to me.”

“Have they?” Nikolai asked. “Or have they just been biding their time until you let your guard down?”

I exhaled slowly, refusing to rise to his bait. “They want the same thing we do,” I replied. “To take out the Novikov Bratva.”

Nikolai had laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “It smells like a setup. We both know it.”

I considered denying it, brushing it off. But I didn’t, because a part of me knows Nikolai is right.

Nikolai’s eyes had flickered with something similar to disappointment. “You’re letting your history with them cloud your judgment.”

I gritted my teeth. “I haven’t let anything cloud my judgment.”

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