Drying my hair with the towel, I sat down on my chair on the balcony. I rested my bare feet on the small table while my eyes studied the chessboard in front of me.
My white knight moved effortlessly on the board and with one swift, practical move, I blocked the king. “Shah mat!” I murmured, and flicked it away from the board as he fell to the floor and rolled under the furniture.“Sovietnik, you lost.” With that, I picked up the black queen, saluted her with my wine glass, and envisioned my future with Vivian.
The queen belonged to me now.
October 2017
Vivian
The light breeze touched my damp skin, creating goose bumps in its wake. My breath hitched as I listened for anything other than my rapidly beating heart.
Thump, thump, thump.
Licking my lips, swollen from bruising kisses, I tugged my hands one more time hoping to escape the cage he had created, but it was useless. As the tight rope dug deeper into my soft skin, I groaned in distress from the spasms of shooting pain. Why must he be so skilled at this, dammit?
The blindfold covered my eyes, heightening my other senses and forcing an adrenaline rush through my veins.
“You can’t get out of them, Vivian.” Sovietnik’s voice washed over me. His footsteps coming in my direction were the only sound in the otherwise silent space. “I told you to listen to me.” He stopped, right next to me; I could feel his breath fanning my cheek as his hand laced through my hair then tugged it back, making me arch into his touch. His lips nipped my neck, not enough to hurt but enough to leave a mark. I gasped from the slight pain, and he immediately soothed it with his tongue while bathing me in his masculine scent. “You forgot for a second you are mine.” His growl sent shivers through me, and my core became wet, desperate for his attention.
Liar.
Even though everything inside me rejected the words, I hissed at him. “I’m not yours.” My reply was met with a slap to my ass cheeks, burning my skin and no doubt leaving an angry red print. A jolt of pleasure awoke my desire, my nipples hardening as my betraying body reacted to his presence.
“Let’s see, shall we?” he whispered above my mouth right before capturing my lips in another bruising kiss. His hands slid down my ass and picked me up, forcing me to circle my legs around him so my pussy was in direct contact with his hard-on. He rubbed up and down my clit with his dick, driving me crazy with need. He didn’t enter me; he only allowed the tip to push into my opening. Letting go of my mouth and leaving me struggling for breath, he pinched the pointed peak of my right breast. I gasped, and he licked and sucked gently on it as jolts of electricity swept through me. “Vivian,” he murmured. Changing his focus to the other breast, he repeated his action while his hands slid lower and dug painfully into my hips. “I’m going to ruin you tonight.”
Oh, God.
I wasn’t sure I would survive his brand of torture.
Houston, Texas
April 2017
Radmir
The gates slowly slid open, revealing the dusty road and a lonely Jeep standing right in the middle, shining brightly in the sun—almost fucking blinding me.
A man leaned on it with a huge smirk on his face, his arms folded. He winked at me as though it was some kind of fucking joke. Apparently, the Bratva forgot our code; otherwise, Dima, our lawyer, wouldn’t have dared show me anything but respect.
The Bratva, or the Russian Mafia, was a crime organization that raised generations and generations of people with the same values and loyalty code. We lived, fought, and died for the brotherhood. There was a specific hierarchy that could never be broken or questioned, and everyone had to know their place.
The pakhan, the boss, was the head of the organization whose words were absolute when it came to the rules and orders, and anyone who dared break them would face his wrath.
Unfortunately, due to my mood, even the presence of Dominic wouldn’t have reined in the fury inside me.
“You’re free to go, Russian. Don’t do anything stupid.”
I barely restrained myself from flipping the guard off. Ben had the reputation for harassing the inmates as much as possible, getting some kind of fix from all the humiliation. I couldn’t count the number of times he had put me on toilet-cleaning duty or lonely nights in isolation after he beat me up till there was no unmarked place left on my body.
He never would have survived against me in a street fight or outside prison, but this place had its own special rules. No one would consider helping a prisoner who challenged the guards.
So, I bit my tongue every time and tried to focus on the bigger picture, like getting the fuck away from here. Back then, I had a reason to live.
Ben wouldn’t get any satisfaction from me; instead, I grinned at him and saluted with my hand.
“Fuck you.” Before he could say anything else, the gates closed as the dust under my feet blew into my face, but who the fuck cared? Inhaling deeply, my lungs welcomed the disgusting smells and desolate environment.
Freedom at last, Radmir. Freedom.
