Page 44 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

He lies down on the platform and tugs me over him. I bunch my dress up around my hips and close my eyes when I feel the head of his cock brush my entrance. Lowering down slowly, so slowly, I feel him stretch me to the limit.

The farther down I sink, the more of him I take, and that feeling of being full of him is incomparable. I know the hardwood beneath him isn’t comfortable, but neither of us cares. When I’m halfway down the length of him, he grabs hold of my hips and sinks the rest in, making me yelp.

But my body is slick and desperate for him, and after a moment, the only thing I feel is pleasure. At first, he lets me control the pace, and I move slowly, deeply, taking every inch of him from tip to base and back again. I bend and kiss him, our kiss frenzied, and pressure coils at the base of my spine.

His fingers roam up my hips to my breasts, flicking over my nipples until they’re achingly hard and sensitive. We break the kiss for his mouth to move, to trail down my neck, bites chased by tender kisses. When he reaches that spot along my collarbone, I shudder, clenching around him.

“Oh fuck, Ella,” he moans into the hollow of my neck, and his hands find their base, wrapping tightly around my hips to draw me down hard onto him. “You feel so fucking good.”

Speech is no longer something I’m capable of, and the sounds that come out of me are practically animal. He thrusts up to meet me, and suddenly, the pace is brutal. I grip his shoulders to hold on as he slams into me, and I arch to take him even deeper.

My knees will be bruised tomorrow, braced against the hardwood on either side of him, but right now, all I can think of is taking more of him. He’s filling every inch of me, and still, I need more. His hands on my hips pull me into every thrust.

“Come for me,” he demands, dropping one hand from my hip to rub circles around my clit, and that right there is all I need. I buck my hips up into the pressure of his touch, into the next thrust, and let go.

Bliss hits me in waves, but he’s not slowing, and all I can do is hang on. His body clenches, and he yanks me down, burying every inch, holding me in place as he comes. My thighs tremble, and when I feel the last pulse of him inside me, I collapse against his chest.

He’s as sweat-soaked as I am, and his heart races beneath my cheek. His arm coils around my waist, soft and gentle now that he’s sated. I press my lips to his salty skin.

Something other than pleasure floods my body. Something golden and warm and bone deep. Love.I love him.Oh god, I love him.

***

“Shit.” Anton hangs up and gives me a look that says more than words ever could. Something’s not right.

I sit up and put my laptop aside. It’s the day after the date on the beach, and we’ve been completely lazy all morning, lying in bed, taking breakfast on the balcony, and only just now starting to pick up the threads of work we dropped yesterday.

“What is it? What happened? Is everything okay?” In this new world I live in, things can go wrong on a level entirely beyond anything I’ve experienced before, so my heart starts to race at the thought of bad news. Is it mafia stuff? Business?

Anton’s jaw clenches, and he runs a hand over the stubble he hasn’t shaved off yet today. “Our lawyers are dead. Murdered.”

Suddenly, I’m glad I’m sitting because my legs turn to water. “Murdered?”

We had a team of lawyers drawing up permits for the new development, trying to move quickly on that undeveloped and unclaimed land. And someone murdered them for it.

He taps his fingers along his phone. “Murdered. Those bastards.” He looks more than upset. He looks furious.

I get up and go to him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him into a hug. My hands are shaking. If they went after the lawyers, are we next? He pulls me in tightly.

“How did they…” I trail off before I can say ‘die’ because, really, I don’t want to know. It will only become more fuel for the nightmares that plague me most nights. Those dreams I have, the ones where Anton is hurt or worse, keep me up for hours. “I’m sorry. I know you really liked those guys.”

I did, too. Anton hangs his head, slumping against me, and I realize he’s blaming himself for this.

“Hey,” I say, rubbing my hands in circles over his back. “This wasn’t your fault. I know I’m new to this, but there was nothing you could’ve done, okay?”

He pulls back and cups my cheeks with both hands and the look in his eyes is so haunted it breaks me.

Chapter 23 - Anton

“Call it off,” Viktor says, flicking an empty gum wrapper across the table. “We don’t need to expand in that area if it’s this dangerous. We have plenty of other spots. Plenty of other games running. Leave this one.”

I called a family meeting after what happened with the lawyers, needing to consult with the rest of the family on how far to take this. If we want to, if we let it, this could become another war. Another battle we have to fight. Another enemy.

At this point, it seems unavoidable. They might not have hit one of us directly, but an attack on our assets is practically an attack on us, and not retaliating would be a sign of weakness. If we flee now, our reputation takes a hit.

“We can’t afford to lose face,” I argue.

Right now, it’s a half-and-half split on who wants to fight back and who wants to withdraw. A few years ago, it would have been a unanimous call for retaliation, but I guess we’ve all softened with marriage and kids. This venture is my chance to prove myself. Ella and I have come this far; backing out now would be a serious blow.

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