Vicious Protector by Maggie Cole

27

Adrian

For months,I've patiently waited for my printsessa to come home to me. Unless I'm at the garage or taking care of some other Ivanov issue, I know her every move as it's happening. I tell myself it's for her safety. Dasha hasn't popped up anywhere. No matter how hard we search for her, nothing turns up. She could be in my backyard or across the world. Our lack of intel on Dasha makes me nervous. We didn't meet her demands, and we've not heard from her since.

I hate that Skylar is seeing other men. Each date she goes on never lasts long, nor does she get past the first one. It still doesn't bring me any relief. Every time she meets a new man, I refrain from showing up and trying to convince her to come home. I keep telling myself she'll eventually realize what we have together isn't replaceable. She won't find it anywhere else, and I need to give her time to come to terms with our situation while reminding her how much I love her.

As Sergey and Kora's wedding gets closer, I become antsier. It will be the first time we've spoken since our exchange about Bogden, and that wasn't really a conversation. Every text message I send Skylar gets no reply. By the time evening comes, I've convinced myself once we're in the same room, my printsessa will remember how much we belong to one another.

I'm one of the first people to arrive at the rehearsal dinner. Skylar arrives fashionably late. The room is full of guests, but everyone seems to disappear, except her. Our eyes lock from across the room. She blinks hard then turns away from me.

Not the best reaction to seeing me, but what did I expect?

She only gets more beautiful.

God, I miss her.

My pulse beats hard in my neck. I give her space, and when she leaves to go to the restroom, I make my move. Instead of trying to convince her to come home, a bomb hits me. I turn the corner and freeze.

"Are you moving to New York?" Selena asks Skylar.

I take a step back so they can't see me, but I can still hear.

"I have till Monday morning to give Marcus an answer."

Who the fuck is Marcus?

Has Bogden not given me the correct information? Did one of these guys from her dates pan out?

Panic fills my soul.

"And he's creating the position specifically for you?" Selena asks.

"Yeah. It's an amazing offer."

"Congratulations. I'm happy for you, but I'm also sad you'll be so far away."

Skylar's voice cracks. "Thanks." She clears her throat. "It's strange thinking about New York as home. I'm sure the girls will visit me, and I'd love for you to come with them."

Home? New York isn't home.

She belongs with me.

She's moving.

"Sure! I don't know a lot about New York. Jack took me once, but I ended up staying in the hotel most of the time. He was in business meetings and didn't want me wandering around the city by myself."

"God, he's a dick," Skylar says.

Selena cheerfully says, "Yep. I'm so grateful he's out of my life."

"Me, too! When you come to New York, I can be your tour guide."

Why does she sound like she's already made this decision?

"Count me in," Selena chirps.

"Do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

Skylar lowers her voice. "Don't tell the girls yet. Until I know what I'm doing, I don't want them to know. As happy as they will be for me, they will also be sad I'm moving."

"I won't say anything. Do you know a lot of people in New York?"

"No one, really."

"You're brave. I only moved to Chicago because of Jack. I would never be able to do something like that all on my own. Plus, Chicago is home to me now. I'd miss it."

"I will miss it, but..."

I lean closer as silence fills the air.

"You okay?" Selena asks.

"Yes, no, I don't know." Her voice shakes. "Sorry. I thought I could get through this...but... I keep telling myself New York will be good for a fresh start."

I close my eyes and try to regulate my breathing.

She cannot move. Not unless it's somewhere with me.

"There isn't any way to work it out between you and Adrian?" Selena softly asks.

"No. The ball is in his court. I..." Skylar sniffles. "It's taken a few months, but I finally realized something."

"What?"

"Adrian doesn't love me. He only thinks he does. If he did, he would see how he's killing me. He would trust in my love for him. But he doesn't. Instead, he assumes I'm like his ex-wife."

"What do you mean?"

"He thinks whatever he tells me that I'll react to it how she did. You know what hurts the most about that?"

I peek around the corner.

Selena has her arm around Skylar. "What?"

"His ex-wife is a snake. She's selfish, and while I don't know all the details about what happened in their marriage, what I do know is snakes don't love. They aren't loyal. They aren't trustworthy. Even Adrian insists she's one. He won't let me in because of how a snake reacted. So what does that make me in his eyes?"

My heart drops. I hide behind the wall again.

"Okay, enough about all this. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get into this. This weekend isn't about Adrian and me. It's about Kora and Sergey."

"Don't apologize. I'm always here if you need to talk," Selena states.

"Thanks."

They go into the women's room. My brain says to go into the bathroom and talk to Skylar, but I can't seem to move. She thinks I don't love her.

Obrecht approaches me. "Have you seen Selena?"

I point to the hall.

He studies me. "What's going on? You look pale."

"I think Skylar is moving to New York. I overheard her telling Selena." My gut flips so fast, I think I might get sick.

Obrecht shakes his head. "Stop playing the village idiot, Adrian. If you want her, tell her. Months have passed. She hasn't once wavered in what she needs from you."

I don't reply. I walk away from Obrecht with my mind spinning and insides full of rage. Two thoughts won't leave me the entire night.

She's moving to New York.

She thinks I don't love her.

Our seats are on opposite sides of the room. My guess is Kora intentionally designed it that way. I spend the rehearsal dinner hardly listening to any conversation. I can't even hide my obsession with Skylar. Obrecht kicks me under the table.

I scowl at him.

"You're staring at her," he mutters.

"Mind your own fucking business," I grumble.

"Don't know why I bother wasting my breath."

"Me, either." I refocus on Skylar. As if she can feel me staring at her, she blushes and glances at me, then turns away.

Toward the end of the night, I'm spinning out. She's going to put hundreds of miles between us, and I need to stop her, but I can't figure out how.

At the end of the night, she leaves. I go to follow her, and Obrecht steps in front of me. "Not tonight, Adrian. You're spinning out."

"Stay out of this."

"What happened the last time you went around her like this?"

I freeze, and my gut flips, thinking about what I did to her the first time we were together.

"Go home, Adrian. Get some sleep. There's no other option. Either decide to tell her or let her go," Obrecht insists.

"I'm not letting her go," I sneer.

"Then tell her."

Selena approaches us and assesses me. "Adrian, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." I spin and leave. I tell my driver to go to the hotel Skylar and the other girls in the wedding party are staying at. It's off Michigan Avenue not far from the River. Bogden confirms they are in their suite, and I sit outside the building for hours, debating what to do. My car door opens and snaps me out of my thoughts.

Dasha slides in, and my rage intensifies. Her overpowering rose perfume flares in my nostrils. I instantly feel nauseated.

Why is she outside my printsessa's hotel?

Where has she been?

What does she have up her sleeve?

"Dasha, what the fuck are you doing here?"

She reaches for my cheek. Her voice is cold like her hand. In Russian, she says, "Adrian, you intentionally ignored my directions."

I shirk out of her grasp and pull the gun out from under my seat. I point it at her. "You don't call the shots, Dasha. Now tell me what you've done."

She laughs and strokes my thigh. "You think I believe for one second you'll kill me? I'm a woman. Or have you crossed that boundary, too?"

I hate that she knows my limits and is right. "You're one to talk about crossing boundaries, Dasha."

She scoffs. "If you kill me, or this car moves an inch with me inside it, the two dozen men I have surrounding us will make sure you die along with me."

The pit in my stomach widens. "Why, Dasha? What made you turn to the Zielinskis?"

"Jesus, Adrian. You think you're the only person who should make a living?"

"Are you kidding me? You've really done all this just for money?" I seethe.

Her eyes turn to slits. "What else is there?"

A storm festers in the pit of my stomach. "Why us, Dasha? You could take from anyone in the world. Why target the Ivanovs?"

She throws her head back and laughs, as if I just asked her a ridiculous question. "You have what I want, Adrian. I held out for eight years to get what was owed to me."

"What in God's name—"

"The trucking company should have been mine!"

"I bought it before we were married!" I hurl back.

"And why do you think I married you?"

The air in my lungs thickens with my shock. My veins pulse with rage.

"That's right, Adrian. The moment the Ivanovs tried to build their empire, I was sent in."

"By Zielinski?"

A sinister smile forms on her face. "Zamir Petrov had an alliance with him. My mother is a Petrov. My father was a worthless no-name, not worthy or able to keep her in the life she was accustomed to. When I found out who we were, I went to Zamir. My mother was his third cousin. He promised me if I left you penniless, I could have it all. But then you had to go screw me over, didn't you?"

"I gave you sixty percent of our assets in cash," I bark out then clench my jaw, trying to control my urge to put my hand around Dasha's neck and never stop squeezing. She told me she was an orphan. My entire marriage to her was a sick game for Zamir to screw with another Ivanov.

She's a Petrov.

I loved a Petrov.

"So you're working for the Petrovs, and the Zielinskis were just a ploy in your game?" I spit out.

Her lips curl up. "Zamir disappeared. No one knew about our little deal. I met Kacper and everything fell into place." She leans closer and her rose perfume suffocates me. "By the way, thanks for killing him for me. No one knew about us, except his closest men. And they're now under my control."

Nausea fills me and I swallow the bile climbing in my throat.

Keep her talking. I need to find out everything.

"How many men, Dasha?"

Her face turns serious. "Adrian, it's over. You have until tomorrow at noon to transfer the company and bank accounts. And your delay has cost you. It's not an extra five million. Make sure you add ten."

I slide closer to her and put the gun under her chin. "You think you know me, Dasha. I can assure you, any notion you have of who I am or what I will do, you're underestimating."

She never flinches and smiles. Reaching up, she drags her finger from the side of my forehead down my cheek. "Do you know what I told myself when Lev died?"

Every ounce of willpower I have not to shoot her, I evoke. I keep the gun positioned under her chin, and in a deadpan voice, I ask, "What would that be?"

"I'm no longer stuck with you."

My chest tightens as potent anger swirls in my veins.

She leans closer. "You know what I'd let you do? For old times' sake?"

I stay quiet, grinding my molars.

She moves her hand to my crotch. "I'd let you fuck me one last time." She leans closer to my ear. "We always had a good time fucking your anger out of you, didn't we?"

My heart doesn't seem to beat correctly. I don't know who this woman is. I'm not sure how I spent so many years in love with her. How can the mother of my only child be so opposite of who I thought she was?

I hold her wrist in the air. "Don't ever touch me again."

"Or what? What will you do to me, Adrian?" she asks with wide eyes before a sinister smirk appears on her face.

Every limit I have, she's pushing. I'm already spinning, and if she doesn't get out of my face, I'm going to do something I'll never forgive myself for, since she's a woman.

Ivanovs don't kill women or children. It's one of the issues we've gone round and round about regarding Dasha. If she had a dick, I'd have my driver take us directly to the garage.

But she's a Petrov.

She's still a woman.

Dasha's admission that her relationship with Kacper Zielinski was on the down-low makes sense. He was married. Enough time has passed without anything happening after we didn't give her what she wanted last time. Now that Kacper is dead, we need to find out if she really has his men under her control or if she's lying. If they are, how many are there and who are they? No intel Obrecht or anyone else found on Dasha points to her having ties with anyone besides Kacper.

I release her wrist and lean over and open the door. "Get out. And if I ever see you around here again, there won't be any boundaries left for me. Are we clear?"

She pouts then glances at the hotel. "Oh. She still doesn't want you, does she? She couldn't handle who you are, could she?"

She's pushed all my buttons. I don't trust myself any longer. I roll down the divider window. "Seb, drag Dasha out of the car if you have to." I sit back and keep the gun aimed toward her.

She haughtily laughs. "If he touches me, you'll have dozens of bullets shot in here faster than you can duck. Noon, Adrian. Tomorrow. There will be no more warnings."

I grab her chin and push it up so she's staring at the ceiling. She gasps, and I slide closer. I press the barrel of the gun to her cheek. "The next time you threaten me, I will show you consequences. And don't think because you're a woman I won't treat you like a man. The thing about snakes, Dasha, is I don't give a fuck what sex they are. The only thing I do with someone like you is torture and kill them. I suggest you think real hard before you make your next move." I release her and kick the door open. "Get the fuck out of my car."

She takes a deep breath to recompose herself and gives me a final glare. She slides out. "Noon. Tomorrow. Don't disregard me, Adrian." She shuts the door, and I call Bogden.

"Boss," he answers.

"Where is Skylar?"

"In the hotel."

I already knew that, but I sigh in relief. "I want you stationed outside her hotel all night. If Dasha comes anywhere close, don't hesitate to do whatever is needed to protect my printsessa."

Bogden is silent for a moment.

"Do you understand me?" I firmly ask.

"Yes. Protect at all costs."

"Yes."

I message the trackers we have who are all searching for Dasha.

Me: She's in Chicago. I'm outside of the hotel the wedding party is staying at and Dasha says she has a dozen men watching us. I don't know if she's bluffing or not. Follow her, but make sure no one sees you.

I text Obrecht, Maksim, and his brothers.

Me: Dasha showed up. She's demanding 10 million and the company by noon tomorrow.

Maksim: Where is she?

I get another text from our tracker.

Vlad: I'm on her.

Me: Good, don't lose her.

Vlad: I won't.

I return to the group text.

Me: Vlad's on her.

Obrecht: Dasha came to your place?

Me: No, I'm outside the hotel. She jumped in my car.

Sergey: Did you talk to Skylar?

Me: No.

Sergey: You need to talk to her.

Me: You need to mind your own business.

Sergey: You're an idiot.

Boris: Lay off. She's not the one. If she were, he'd have told her by now.

Me: Shut the fuck up. Everyone. One more thing. Dasha pulled an Annika on me. It was all for money.

Obrecht calls.

"What?" I answer, annoyed and staring out the window at my printsessa's hotel. My heart's beating so fast, I put my palm over it.

"You okay?"

I snap, "If she comes near me again, I won't keep in mind she's a woman. And God help her if she lays a finger on my printsessa."

"Do you want to come over?"

"No. I need to go." I hang up and put my phone in my pocket. I instruct my driver to park the car across the street where I have a better view of the hotel entrance. All night, I watch for anyone suspicious looking walking into the building. My mind spins further and further into my obsession with Skylar, her possible move to New York, and my altercation with Dasha. Besides the disgust I feel over Dasha revealing she's a Petrov and all that means about my life with her, the thing I can't stop hearing Dasha say is, "She still doesn't want you, does she? She couldn't handle who you are, could she?"

When the sun rises, I reconfirm the men I have stationed around Skylar and meet the guys at the gym. I confirm all the security with Maksim and we go through possible scenarios with Dasha.

Noon comes and goes. Dasha's never left her hotel room, according to Vlad. When it gets closer to the wedding, my skin is crawling. I take a quick shower and leave. When I see Skylar, I can't handle it anymore. My spiraling thoughts include the engagement ring I bought her, her impending move to New York, and all the months I've spent obsessed over her feel suffocating.

My printsessa tries not to glance at me, but I don't give her much choice. I never take my eyes off her. She's mine. I've tried to be patient and let her come back to me, but it finally hits me. She's never going to, and I'm about to lose her.

There are no other options. I have to tell her and take the risk she won't want me.

If Dasha was always a Petrov, then did I really change her into the monster she is?

Did she ever love me? Did she ever love Lev or want him?

Everything I've tried to protect my printsessa from becomes cloudy. Dasha and my marriage were a sham. Was anything real?

I don't have time to dwell on what Dasha did to me. Every excruciating second staring at my stunning printsessa creates a deeper anxiety in my chest.

I'm going to lose her.

I can't.

The moment the photographer releases the wedding party, Skylar hightails it to the restroom. I follow her and wait for her to come out. My heart slams against my chest cavity.

She steps out, and her voice cracks. "Hi."

I don't think. I put my hand on her spine and steer her down the hall.

"Adrian, what are you—"

"Quiet, my printsessa."

God, I missed how good she smells.

She relaxes and melts into my body.

I lead her into an empty room andspin her into the wall. I cage my body around her. She gasps and stares at my chest with her lips shaking.

"Look at me, Skylar," I demand.

She swallows hard and slowly lifts her head. She tries to stop her tears.

"Stop ignoring me, my printsessa."

"What do you want me to do, Adrian?"

I brush my knuckles over her cheek. "I want you to come home."

She scoffs. "Home?"

Not in New York.

"Yeah. You belong with me."

Her eyes fill with tears. "In a house of lies?"

"I've never lied to you."

"No. You leave me in the dark. It's the same argument we had when we broke up. So unless you changed—"

I press my mouth to hers, no longer able to hold myself back. She's mine, and she needs a reminder who she belongs to. I fist her hair and tug her head up.

"We can't—"

I don't let her speak any more. I fuck her mouth with my tongue, not letting up. I thought I remembered how good she tasted, but my memory was nothing compared to now. I groan and pull her dress over her hips, quickly slide my fingers in her sex, and push my palm to her clit. She freezes, but I don't, continuing to manipulate her body with my mouth and hand. Within seconds, she whimpers and submits to me the way she always does. It only happens because we are meant to be together. Her flesh trembles against my frame and it about sends me over the edge.

So many things I missed about her.

I move my lips to her ear and command, "Unzip my pants."

She doesn't, so I push my tongue back in her mouth and grab her wrists, positioning her on my groin. "You're going to show me you still want me, my printsessa." I suck on her lip.

She unbuckles my belt and unfastens my pants.

Within seconds, I have her panties to the side. Using my fingers, I V her sex. Then I rub my erection against her clit.

Her mouth forms an O, and I shove my fingers I had in her pussy in her mouth. "Suck," I command and move my hips faster against her until she's moaning, sucking my fingers hard.

I watch her face, studying her every reaction until her eyes roll and her body shatters against mine.

Fuck, I love it when she comes.

"Good girl," I growl and reach for the back of her thighs. I wrap them around me as I thrust into her, wanting to detonate inside her tight, wet cunt that I've been dreaming about for months.

"Adrian!" she cries out.

I pet the side of her head, never taking my eyes off her, and murmur, "I've missed you. Tell me you've missed me."

"You know I have," she whispers.

Good. I haven't lost her yet.

I nod. "Agree you won't stay away from me anymore."

She closes her eyes, as if grappling with herself.

"Tell me, my printsessa," I growl, staying steady with my thrusts.

"Give me something. Anything to show me you'll let me in," she begs.

I slide my tongue down her neck until it hits her collarbone. She shudders.

"We'll talk tomorrow when we wake up," I mumble into her shoulder and thrust harder, not sure how much longer I can last.

She freezes.

I pick up my head and pin my gaze on hers.

"You're going to tell me things?" she asks.

I cock an eyebrow and nod. "Some. Not everything. Can you live with that?"

"What does that mean?" A tear escapes her eye.

I lick it, squeeze her hips, and move her faster with my thrusts. "I need you home, my printsessa."

"Adrian, what—"

"It means you'll know everything important. More than anyone knows about me or what I do."

She nods and whispers, "Okay."

I return to kissing her mouth, aggressively whipping my tongue around her at the pace of our thrusts.

Her whimpers get louder until she's limp in my arms and shaking. I grunt, bury my head in the curve of her neck, and fire my hot seed deep within her. My body shudders against hers.

Neither of us moves, trying to regain our breath. I finally pull out, release her legs, and take my handkerchief out of my tux. I clean her up then reposition her panties and dress.

She reaches for my cheeks. "Adrian, you promise you will tell me?"

"I don't lie to you, my printsessa. Tomorrow, we will talk. Not tonight. This is not the place to do it."

She hesitates but finally agrees. "All right. I can live with that."

I put her hand to my lips and kiss it. "Tonight, we have fun." I lean closer. "Don't ever forget you're mine, Skylar."

She tugs me to her lips. Our kiss is soft and slow, unlike the urgent hungriness of our other kisses. When she retreats, she admits, "It hurt so bad, being away from you."

"Then stop running from me."

"I need you to let me in, Adrian."

I clench my jaw. I gave her my word I would tell her, so I will, but I still don't like the idea. I'm still worried she won't be able to handle it. "You may not like what you see."

She cups my cheeks. "You don't need to worry about that. I promise."

I don't reply. I guide her out to the reception. The rest of the night, we're glued to each other's side, unable to keep our hands to ourselves.

During the bouquet toss, my mother comes up to me. She laces her hand around my biceps and puts her head on my arm. She tilts her head up and drills her icy-blue eyes on me. "It's nice to see you happy, Adrian."

"We'll see if she stays or runs after tomorrow."

My mother's forehead creases. "What happens tomorrow?"

"I have to tell her everything. I have no other options. But we both know what I did to Dasha when I told her."

My mother huffs. She releases my arm. "You didn't do anything to that snake." My mother knows what I've done to try and avenge Natalia's death. Dasha told her. I never planned on her learning about it, but Dasha didn't spare her from any detail.

"You know I did," I insist.

"No, Adrian. You don't become a snake. You're born one. We're the ones who were fooled by her." She glances at Skylar, who is next to Hailee on the dance floor, waiting for the tossing of the bouquet. "Skylar loves you. I saw it the first time I met her. Don't confuse what you thought you had with Dasha with Skylar. She won't react how Dasha did."

My mother's words give me more hope that my printsessa won't run from me when I tell her. I tug my mom in for a hug and kiss her on the forehead. "Don't get excited. I still have to ask her. But I bought a ring."

I don't remember the last time I saw my mother look so happy. "I'll be your first phone call, right?"

"No. I'll bring her over, and we'll tell you in person."

My mom's grin widens. "Even better. I get my bridal magazines out."

I chuckle then spend the rest of the night dancing with Skylar. Kora and Sergey leave, and I turn to my printsessa. "Ready to go home?"

She gives me a chaste kiss. "Yes."

I tug her back to my lips and kiss her until her knees wobble. I murmur in her ear, "When we get home, I'm using my teeth to undress you. And my tongue is going to get reacquainted with that throbbing little pussy of yours."

She takes a deep breath.

I cockily grunt. "It's throbbing right now, isn't it?"

"Yes," she whispers.

"You're already wet for me, aren't you, my printsessa?" I flick my tongue several times on her earlobe, and she whimpers.

"You're so fucking wet. I know you are." I suck on her lobe.

"Mmhmm."

"I'm going to let you ride my cock in the car while I watch you touch yourself. Do you want that, my printsessa?"

"Yes," she breathes and squirms against my erection.

I squeeze her ass and give her a peck on the lips. "Let's go home. Where you belong."

Worry enters her heavy eyes. "Tomorrow—"

"I will tell you everything you want to know." I firmly hold her face to mine. "Tell me again you'll still love me."

"I will always love you, Adrian. Nothing will change it. No matter how dark or evil your secrets are, it won't break us."

I take a deep breath.

Her eyes are full of so much love. It pains me to think of losing her again. She says, "Let's go home. I'll stay tonight. Tomorrow, after you tell me, you will still find me in your bed. And the night after that, I will still be with you."

I can't speak. She's so confident in her declaration. I put my hand on her back and lead her outside, not thinking about security or looming threats.

My driver pulls up, and we're almost to the car when bullets ring through the air, pain sears into my lower back, and I fall over. All I hear is Skylar screaming as everything turns black.