101
Ive
TwoWeeks Later
Charlotte has slept in my bed for the last two weeks and as I wake this morning, I find her still fast asleep. Most mornings, I wake to find her staring at me.
Anyone else, I might find it a little fucking strange, but not Charlotte. I’d never shared a bed with anyone before. She was the first woman I had slept with all night long. Staring at her now, curled up facing me, she looked at peace. One of her hands was beneath her head, the other laid flat on the bed. Her face tilted downward a little and her mouth was slightly parted. I watched her breathe in, and then out. The sounds and motion seemed to calm me, which I didn’t expect.
I reached out and slowly pulled back some of her hair, tucking it out of the way. She let out a little moan and then groaned. I’d woken her up. Her eyes opened and she looked at me, offering me a smile.
“Morning,” she said.
“Good morning.”
“You’re awake,” she said.
“Yes, so I get to look at you thistime.”
Charlotte chuckled. “Please, don’t keep bringing it up.”
“Oh, you mean how you like to look at me, and watch me?”
“How do you make it sound so bad?” she asked.
“I don’t mind.” I rest my hand on her back. I noticed whenever I touched her, at first she tensed up, but then, she’d seem to move into the touch. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m fine.”
Neither of us spoke for several seconds and I just looked into her eyes.
I’d never enjoyed awkward silences with women. I didn’t want to have to read a woman’s mind, which was why in the past, most women knew I was after a fuck. I didn’t have time for their bullshit.
I looked at Charlotte, and I wanted to have all the time in the world to just look at her.
“What are your plans for today?” I asked.
Cassie still hadn’t returned to the MC, while Rage had left to deal with club business. The guy who’d been shot at the French restaurant had been a Demon supporter. A man who’d wanted to see the end of the Volkov Bratva, and wanted to take back more territory.
Rage had said he’d gone missing a couple of months ago. He didn’t suspect the guy turning traitor on the club, but here he was. I’d been so pissed off that he had put Charlotte’s life at risk, I’d punched him in the face. Rage had responded by hitting me back, and as we went to go at each other, Ivan stepped between us. He’d threatened to tear us both a new one if we didn’t shut the fuck up and deal with the problem at hand.
Hank still wasn’t talking, so I’d been giving him some of my special treatment for the past couple of weeks. Not only had we slowly withdrawn food, until I hadn’t fed him for two days. We were also depriving him of sleep. Vlad was taking turns with my men to keep the guy awake.
It wouldn’t be long before he cracked and told me everythingI needed to know. As for Benjamin, he seemed to have disappeared, the fucking coward. There was also no sign of the Irish. Now this was new. One of their men was dead, and they hadn’t come to retaliate. Did they not know that every time they didn’t react normally, it told us they were up to something?
Down at the docks, there was no suspicious activity. However, Victor Abdulov was arriving any day now, as he’d been dealing with the cartel as well.
I didn’t want Victor in my territory, not with Oleg’s still exposed. Ivan was in talks with The Butcher and The Beast, and I knew it wouldn’t end well if he decided between the two of them. They were equal when it came to kills.
“Cassie and I are planningto go shopping,” Charlotte said, drawing my attention back to me. “I, er, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Go ahead.”
“Ivan said I needed to start shopping for a honeymoon.”
This was news to me. Yes, Ivan did sayCharlotte and I were to take a honeymoon, but then shit hit the fan real fucking quick. I couldn’t leave my territory until I had resolved the Hank and Benjamin problem.
“He did?”
“Yes. Do you know where we’re going?” she asked.
I rubbed at my eyes.
“I’ve annoyed you?”
“No, you haven’t annoyedme. Ivan likes to meddle. I don’t know when we’re going to be able to go on a honeymoon. Do you even want to go or is this something Ivan’s cooking up?” I asked.
“I’d like to go,” she said. “I mean, if you’d like to go with me. I don’t want to go on a honeymoonby myself, but only when you’re ready, and of course, like I said, if you want to go. Do you want to go with me?””Yes, I do,” I said. Yeah, that was a realfucking surprise to me as well. I actually wanted to spend time with my wife. It was unexpected. I had started to look forward to seeing her. No woman had ever left me feeling that way. This was all new to me.
Charlotte’s smile lit up her whole face and she moved a little closer to me. Damn, did she even realize how pretty she was?
Why the fuck was I thinking this shit? I wasn’t the lovey-dovey kind of guy. I killed shit for a living. Maybe I just needed a good fuck. It had been too long since I last had one. Before I’d met Charlotte. Before we’d kidnapped her. No other woman appealed to me.
I figured it was because of work and dealing with all therepercussions and stuff. Charlotte was too young. I was a forty-year-old fucking man. I’d never been attracted to young women.
Charlotte reached out and touched my cheek. Why did I like this touch so much? Her caresses weren’t tutored. They weren’t sure. She was nervous, I understood that. She wasn’t used to being near men. She was still a virgin and that shouldn’t turn me on but it did.
“Can I kiss you?” she asked.
“You don’t need to ask permission.”
Her gaze dropped to my lips.
“Will you kiss me back?”
“If you want me to.”
She nodded her head and nibbled her lip.”I’d like that.”
I knew this girl was messed up. Her dad and the people who were meant to love her had done a number on her. Cassie had visited me at the casino and tried to tell me that Charlotte was falling in love with me but she was afraid. I didn’t know exactly what she was afraid of. There was no way anyone was taking me away. No one would ever take me from Charlotte. Just like there was no need to be afraid because she wasn’t going anywhere.
Charlotte leaned in a little closer, then a little closer. Her palm pressed against my chest. Staring up into her eyes, I waited. I’m not the kind of man who allowed a woman to take the lead but with Charlotte, I’d make the exception. She was the onlyexception I would make.
“I’m nervous,” she said, then smiled at me.
Reaching up, I slowly pushed back some locks of her hair. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. You can kiss me, or we can just stay here.”Her gaze dropped to my lips and I knew she wanted to be kissed. This had to be her choice. This first time at least. I’d kissed her for her birthday, but this was different.
She leaned down and her lips brushed against mine. They were so soft at first, if I didn’t have my eyes open to witness the kiss, I wouldn’t have realized one was happening.
I pushed out my tongue, and traced it across her lips. She jerked back, only a little, and then moved back toward my lips. Her tongue touching mine. Her touches were light, delicate, completely untutored, and I fucking relished tasting her, teasing her, showing her exactly what I wanted. Charlotte followed my lead. There was no reason to talk.
Sliding my fingers to the back of her head, I forced our lips together, and a moan filled my mouth as it spilled from her lips.
Heavenly. There was no other word to describe it. She tasted like pureHeaven.
Slowly, I pushed her to the bed. She didn’t fight me, but slid to her back, and I stared down at her and then began to explore her mouth. Tracing my tongue acrossher lips, Charlotte opened her mouth, and I plunged inside. I couldn’t help but imagine my cock between those plump lips, me teaching her how to suck it.
I ran my hands up her body, taking hold of her fingers, locking them together, and pressing them against the bed. She moaned again, and I was growing increasingly addicted to the sounds she made. I changed my position so this time I was rested between her spread thighs. My cock was rock-hard as I pressed against her core. There was no hiding my arousal, and I didn’t want to.
I’d been fucking pretending to myself, lying, that I didn’t want this woman. I don’t know what it was about her that called to me, but I did fucking crave her. That’s why I stayed away.
Work was nothing more than an excuse. Having her at my penthouse suite was so freaking hard. It was easier to try and keep separate lives than acknowledge I wanted my wife.
Charlotte thrust her pelvis up against me, and I pulled back just a little to stare into her eyes. She was a virgin. Did she haveany idea the fire she played with?
I had a feeling she didn’t have a clue, she was only responding to what her body wanted. I was what her body wanted. Fuck me, she was perfect. It was like she had stepped straight out of a dream.
I was about to kiss her again, but the knock at the main door came loud and fast. Charlotte gasped.
“Who could that be?”
Hubert went home every night. This building was locked tight and it was very rare for there to be an attack. No one who was going to kill you fucking knocked on your front door.
Pressing a kiss to her lips, I ordered her to stay here, and climbed out of the bed. The possibility of danger was like throwing a bucket of cold water over me. My dick was no longer hard, and I was focused on taking care of my woman.
I grabbed my gun on the way out of the bedroom, pulled the door closed to offer Charlotte privacy so she didn’t have to see if I ended up attacking someone.
Making my way to the door, I took my time, and then checked through the peephole to see that it was Ivan. Along with him was fucking Victor Abdulov.
I knew he was traveling to my territory, but now Iwas pissed off. Opening the front door, I kept the gun at my side and looked toward Ivan.
“What the fuck is he doing here?” I asked.
“It’s nice to see you too,” Victor said.
“You can put the gun away, Ive.” Ivan brushed past me and stepped into my penthouse.
They didn’t have a fucking clue they could have been interrupting shit.
Victor hadn’t been in my territory since the wedding, so I didn’tknow what the fuck he was doing here. Now I was pissed off.
I was finally exploring my wife, and I had every intention of going a little further this morning, but not anymore. Ivan was a cock block.
“Where’s your lovely wife?” Ivan asked, glancing around my penthouse.
“In bed,” I said, glaring at him.
“Well, get her. I want to see what she thinks of my suggestion.”
This made me tense. I looked toward Victor and for a fleetingsecond I wondered if he planned to swap us, give Charlotte to him. That shit wasn’t happening. I knew I didn’t want to get married to Charlotte in the beginning but that ship had sailed. She was mine, and now I had gotten used to wearing the wedding band, and he wasn’t going to take that from me.
The door to the bedroom opened. Charlotte had pulled on a dressing gown. Ivan was already doing the math, as he looked from me to Charlotte then back again. There was a massive smile on his face, which I didn’t fucking appreciate.
Again, I stayed silent. I hadlearned that when it came to Ivan, silence was a lot easier, and it meant I got to keep my shit together.
Ivan clapped his hands.
“Hello, Charlotte. Do you remember Victor? I’m not sure if the two of you were introduced.”
She stepped forward and offered Victor a handshake. Victor took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, which pissed me off. I wanted to slap him fucking silly for even daring to touch my wife. I kept my opinion to myself, of course. It was the only thing I could do. Ivan loved to wind me the fuck up.
“Nice to meet you,” Charlotte said, and I liked that she immediately stepped toward my side.
“So, tell me, Charlotte, where in the world would you like to go?” Ivan asked.
My wife looked toward me, and I saw the frown drawing her brows together. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s simple. Where would you like to go for your honeymoon? If you could go anywhere in theworld. You name it. A private island. The Caribbean. Even England. Wherever your heart would like to go.”
“I’d love to go back to … Ive’s country home,” Charlotte said.
Ivan frowned. “That’s it?”
She shrugged. “I … I like it there.” She wrapped her arms around herself.
Ivan was offering to take her anywhere in the world, and she wanted to go back to my country home.
“Okay, fine.” Ivan turned toward me. “Well, you heard her. I want you to take Charlotte, and go and enjoy your stay-at-home honeymoon.”
“There’s a lot to do.”
“I know, and everything will be waiting foryou when you get back, but I’m not going to keep having work get in the way of what is important to me. Your marriage is important. You are to go to your country estate, stay there, and enjoy a honeymoon.” Ivan wrinkled his nose. “Personally I’d have suggested a private island, but I think you can’t run away from the beach, and that makes it more of a vacation. Are you sure I can’t change your mind?” Ivan asked.
Charlotte smiled and then turned to Ive. “Where would you like to go?”
I’d take her anywhere.”My country home sounds good.”
Her smile was still wide and this time, it did in fact, reach hereyes. I’d say that was pretty good progress.”Fine, have it your way. You both may leave. I expect you gone by the end of the day. Victor is here to help take care of your territory while you’re away.”
“If I’m staying at my country home, I don’t need anyone else to take care of business.”
“You do, because I want you to focus on your wife,” Ivan said. “For the good of the Bratva.”
There was no arguing with the boss. He always had the final say on freaking everything.
****
Lottie
It didn’t take a genius towork out that Ive didn’t want to leave the city. Cassie wasn’t happy that I was leaving, but seeing as she now lived in the same building as me and Ive, she didn’t want to head back to the clubhouse either. Ive had told her she could stay for as long as she’d like.
I had a feeling she wasn’t ever leaving. I wonder what the club was like now that Dad was gone. Since he’d been killed I’d not been back home. Actually, since my kidnapping I’d not been back home. Being by Ive’s side was my home.
Ive wasn’t happy about that other brigadier being in his territory. We didn’t speak as we drove toward his country home. Ivan had given us orders that we were not to leave Ive’s estate. We were to treat this place as if it was a private island.
I know Ivan was upset with the place that I had chosen but it wasn’t like it was hard to figure out why I loved it here. For one, it was like a mansion all its own. The second reason was I truly loved this place. The third, it was the closest place I’d ever called home. Finally, this was the first place in my life that I’d ever been happy.
Of course, that could all be destroyed now, if Ive didn’t want me around.
Hubert was with us, and a few ofhis staff were there to greet us, including Michael, who pulled me in for a hug as I approached.
“I have missed your enjoyment of my food.” His accent had changed again, and now I didn’t have a cluewhat language he was studying.
Ive shook his hand.
“What would you like for this evening’s meal?” Michael asked.
“Steak and potatoes.”
I’d come to realize quite quickly that my husband loved his steak and potatoes. The only other meal he favored was a good burger and fries. Of course the cheeseburger was always a beef one, and he loved lots of cheese.
“And for my lady?” Michael asked.
“Surprise me.”
The chef winked at me and I smiled. In that moment, I felt like I had returned home, and that was a damn fine feeling. I didn’t want it to end, not ever.
“Come on,” Ive said, taking hold of my hand, and we entered his country home.
I noticedinstantly that my sticky labels were still in place.
Hubert took the lead as he made his way upstairs. Ive gave him a few seconds as he dismissed the staff. Once that was done, he kept hold of my hand as we made our way upstairs toward the main bedroom. This wasn’t the room I had stayed in before.
Hubert dropped the suitcases on the bed, and then turned to leave. He didn’t look at either of us.
“This isn’t my bedroom,” I said.
Ivan’s decision to send us on a honeymoon had been rather quick. I wasn’t prepared at all, but I didn’t freak out. I remained calm. Cassie got enough notice to say goodbye, and long enough to ask if she could stick around for a bit, and that was exactly what she did.
“I know,” Ive said, keeping hold of my hand.
I turned my attention toward him. Some of his blond hair had fallen across his eyes.
“We shared a bedroom at my penthouse, I figured we could continue to share a bed here.”
“Ask him if he wants to have sex with you.”
Cassie’s advice flittered through my mind. I’d stayed inIve’s bed at his penthouse suite, and the truth was, I loved having his arms wrapped around me, and I didn’t want that to stop. I had no problem sharing a bed, but I did want other things.
“I’d like to share a bed with you but I’dalso like for us to…” Why was this so hard to say? Staring at his chest, I tried to gain the strength to blurt out exactly what I wanted, and so I did, real fast. “I’d like for us to have sex.” I spoke fast, but clear.
Seconds passed and he didn’t say a word. That wasn’t good. I needed him to speak for me to know that my words had been registered. Lifting my gaze to his, I saw him staring at me.
There wasn’t much distance between us, but he closed the small gap. I had no choice but to tilt my head back to look at him. I was much smaller than him.
“You want to have sex with me?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Ive dropped his lips to mine. “Then I guess we’re both sharing a bed.”
I loved the feelings that traveled down my spine. This wasn’t fear. I’d felt that this was something else-pleasure. I didn’t want his kisses to stop.
I licked my lips as I looked up at him and then reached out, grabbed his jacket, pulled him down, and kissed his lips again. I loved his lips but I also loved his hands. It was hard to choose which I loved the most. His lips were hard and yet soft at the same time. They felt amazing against my lips and I couldn’t help but think how good they were going to feel on my body.
His hands were not soft, they were hard and yet each time he touched me, they only showed tenderness, and I liked that. I never felt the need to cower away from him.
Ive put one of his hands at my waist and with the other he cupped my cheek, slowly sliding back and sinking into my hair. I didn’t want him to stop touching me. I loved the feel of him so much.
The bedroom door was closed. No one would disturb us. We had some time before dinner. Michael always liked a lot of time to prepare and I was ready.
Letting go of his jacket, I slid my hands inside, and worked them up toward his shoulders so that I could push it off. Ive didn’t stop me. My heart was pounding.NôvelDrama.Org owns all content.
I’d expected him to stop me at any minute, but I was able to get his jacket off. Next, I worked on his crisp white shirt. They are always spotless, pure white. Working each button open, I stripped that away from his body, and ran my hands over his chest. This time, I stopped myself, pulling back and staring into his eyes.
“If you want to stop that’s up to you,” he said.
He was giving me control. My lipswere so dry.
I don’t even know how I kept going because the truth was, I didn’t have aclue what I was doing. I was going based on what I’d seen in the movies and just on instinct. Cassie had told me that worked a lot, but I had my doubts.
Itdidn’t take too long to remove his shirt, but now, it was his pants. I was still fully dressed. I felt myself start to panic, but I quickly dropped the coat I was wearing to the floor.
Ive, seeming to know what I was going through, released a chuckle, grabbed the straps of my dress, and pulled me close.
“How about I undress you?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, I’d like that.”
I loved the sound of his chuckle.
His body pressed to mine as he reached behind me to locate the zipper. The dress was larger than I needed it to be so I’d easily slipped it over my head, but I didn’t tell him that. He took care of the zipper, swiftly, easily, and the dress fell to the floor at my feet. I only had on a pair of sandals, my bra, panties, and then a t-shirt.
His hands curved around my waist and he spun me around so that my back was now pressed against his front. He teased the bottom of my shirt. He surrounded me and I loved the feeling.
Ive swiftly removed the t-shirt and it fell to the floor. Now I was more undressed than Ive. He took care of my bra, followed by panties. With the bra, he simply undid the clasp at the front, but with the panties, he completely destroyed them-there was no way I was going to get any kind of wear out of them. Crap.
My annoyance didn’t last for long because his hands, those glorious big, hard hands, touched my stomach. I know it’s not an arousal zone, but it felt so good. More than good. I loved the way he touched me. It seemed almost expert.
I couldn’t believe how much I wanted this man, how much I craved him. To think, when I first met him, I’d screamed and threatened. I must have been a sight. Now I was his wife, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.