The Mafia and His Obsession, Part 2 Read Online By Lylah James - Read The Mafia and His Obsession, Part 2(38) Online free

Chapter 37

Valerie

Viktor nuzzled into my chest, as if seeking for my warmth. His body was heavy on me. Our skin gleamed with a sheen of sweat and we still fought to catch our breath after our morning…activities. Viktor woke me up with his head between my legs. Quickly afterward, I was shaking with an orgasm and then he found his way inside me.

He was insatiable.

And I wasn’t exactly complaining.

We were free and no longer hiding.

I guessed we could say this was the honeymoon stage of our relationship. Over the last few weeks, I started working at the Café with Maddie while Ayla was on maternity leave. Viktor started “courting” me. He dropped me off to my job, picked me up. Brought me flowers. Came over to have lunch with me during my breaks. Sent me flirty texts that had me blushing every second. He even took me out on dates, just the two of us. A normal couple. He was not an Ivanshov. I was not Solonik’s wife.

He was just Viktor and I was just Valerie.

I rubbed my palms over his back and his muscles clenched under my touch. “We need to get up. It’s Ayla’s birthday today, and I promised Maddie I’d help her with the surprise.”

“Hmm.”

“Viktor—”

“Ten more minutes. I don’t want to move,” he rasped, his husky morning voice causing my body to tingle in all the right places.

I felt something wet and warm between my breasts and then I felt him grinning against my skin.

When Viktor spoke, he kept his voice low, the sound rumbling through his chest. “You taste delicious, myshka.”

Heat spread through my body like an untamed wildfire. “Did you just lick me?”

I couldn’t see his face, but I could tell he was grinning harder.

Viktor lifted his head up and our gazes met. He was beautiful in the morning light. So beautiful it hurt to look at him and sometimes I wondered if this truly was real. That he was really mine and we were really free. Together.

It could all be just a dream and I would wake up one day to find myself back in Russia, trapped inside that room, behind four walls with a collar around my neck.

This could be a dream.

And I could still be living in a nightmare.

Maybe…maybe…

I felt his touch on my cheek. The rough pad of his fingertips whispered over my skin, so softly. Viktor bend his head and his lips touched mine. “Valerie.”

My name was a whispered prayer on his lips. I wrapped my legs around his hips and he enclosed me in his arms. “This is real, sweet myshka. I promise you.”

Tears filled my eyes, but I found myself smiling still. “You can read my mind now?”

“You are my woman. I can tell what you’re thinking and when you’re distressed.”

Oh God. There goes my little heart.

“Okay, Mr. Romantic.” His grin widened, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Get off me. We need to get up now.”

I pushed against his shoulders, and a deep, disappointed growl burst from him before he eventually rolled off me. I got off the bed and searched for my shirt. From the corner of my eye, I caught a lazy smile spreading across his lips. “Maybe we could take a shower together.”

“Umm, no. Don’t even think about it, Viktor. Not happening.”

He huffed but didn’t argue otherwise.

***

“Have you heard anything from Evaline?” Ayla asked from her seat across the table.

Maddie shook her head. “Not since I spoke with her a few weeks ago. Actually, that was more than a month ago, and we didn’t talk, we texted. Something is off with her. She said she’s busy with work but I can feel something is not right.”

“I felt it too when we spoke the last time.”

“When was that?” Viktor questioned.

“Maybe six or seven weeks ago?”

Evaline was Viktor’s half-sister. Same father, different mothers. Except I heard their mothers were sisters. I have heard a lot about Evaline. She was well loved by everyone, but I had yet to meet her or speak with her. The girls found it a bit weird since they assumed when Evaline found out about me, she’d take the first flight back home. But she didn’t, which had Ayla and Maddie worried.

“She never goes that long without contact, right?”

Ayla nodded at Viktor’s words. “I found that odd too.”

Viktor focused his attention on the man seated across him. “Nikolay, do you know anything about this?”

“No,” Nikolay deadpanned.

His dark, intense eyes narrowed on Viktor. He was really intimidating, with his height and big size. His scars made him look almost unapproachable. I liked to believe that if he smiled, he might look nicer, gentler.

But I had never seen Nikolay smile. I might have seen a ghost of a smile when he played with Maila or held Xander, but otherwise, he stayed expressionless. He was brooding man, and it unnerved me most of the time. Ayla told me Nikolay was a gentle beast, but I still kept my distance. I tried to talk to him once, but it was like speaking to wall. He only grunted a few times in response, said a word and then ignored me. I quickly realized Nikolay didn’t like to speak to people. Out of all the boys, he was the most quiet and reserved. He observed everything but rarely said a word.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see my man glaring. “Before I left for Russia, I personally asked you to keep an eye on my sister.”

“I said I would check in on her, here and there.”

“Then you should know if something is up with her.”

Nikolay’s jaw clenched and I swore I heard a crack. Oh dear, this didn’t look good.

“I’m not a fucking babysitter, Viktor,” he ground out the words. “Your sister is old enough to take care of herself. She is none of my business. If you care so much about her safety, why don’t you babysit her yourself?”

Viktor slammed his hand over the table and started to stand up.

“Sit down,” a harsh voice cleared through the family drama.

If Alessio Ivanshov commanded something, you do it.

“I want to have my breakfast without any drama,” he said calmly.

“Fine.” Viktor settled back into his chair, but he was seething. I placed my palm over his knee and squeezed. He exhaled beside me, and I couldn’t hide my smile. I loved how he could stay calm at my touch.

Once breakfast was over, with a lot of tension brewing between Nikolay and Viktor, we survived without any fight breaking out.

The table was cleared, and I went to Ayla. She handed me Xander, happily, without me even having to ask. “I just fed him. He’s going to be a happy boy for a few hours now before he grows hungry again. So you can have him.”

“He is grumpy when he is hungry.”

“Like his father,” Ayla muttered under her breath. I didn’t think she meant for me to hear that, but my lips quirked up nonetheless at her response. “Maila is with Mama Lena right now, but you know she’s gonna follow you all around once she escapes through Lena’s fingers.”

I wasn’t complaining. Maila was just as precious as her little brother. She stole my heart right from the start, and when she called me Aunt Val, I swore my heart melted.

“Holy shit!” Maddie swore loudly, making all our heads turn.

She was staring at the entrance.

Viktor let out a curse. Ayla looked over my shoulder, and she stumbled back a step.

Nikolay seemed rooted on the spot, his face draining of color.

I turned around to see a woman walking forward. Someone I had never seen before, except she looked strangely familiar.

I had seen her in pictures and the resemblance was uncanny.

“Evaline,” Ayla breathed.

My eyes widened.

Evaline limped forward, and once she grew closer, I noticed her disheveled and unkept appearance. Her cheek was bruised and turning an ugly shade of green and purple. Her body seemed thinner, weaker and she could barely take a step forward.

Maybe everyone was in shock. I sure was.

The girl I remembered from the picture looked nothing like this Evaline. The girl I was introduced to was lively and chirpy.

This one…she looked a bit broken.

And she carried a bundle in her arms, holding it close to her chest.

I heard a tiny hiccup sound. A baby’s whimper. My eyes went to Xander, whom I was holding. He was napping…

The little sound hadn’t come from him.

Evaline walked past us all of us. Maddie tried to reach for her, but Evaline ignored her.

She didn’t stop until she was in front of Nikolay.

Yes, I knew about their history. Ayla and Maddie shared it with me. Not everything but little bits. I knew enough to know that Evaline and Nikolay had a past.

Viktor let out a hiss under his breath and then a curse. He took a step toward them, but I grabbed his arm, stopping him. He looked down at me and I saw rage, mixed with a look of betrayal in his dark eyes.

But in this moment, his anger had no place and didn’t matter.

This moment…it belonged to Evaline and Nikolay.

She pressed her frail body against Nikolay, who remained stoic. He appeared like a statue and in shock. He didn’t move, didn’t hold her, didn’t speak. His arms stayed at his sides and his face remained emotionless. If I wasn’t paying close attention, I wouldn’t have noticed the way his hands were shaking at his sides.

The baby let out a cry.

No, not Xander.

The little bundle Evaline was holding.

Nikolay’s eyes grew darker at the cry of the infant and he looked almost pained.

That was the first emotion I had ever seen on his face. Pain. No. Deep agony was a better description.

Evaline let her head fall against his chest, and she slumped into him, as if all the fight had finally left her body.

“He is yours and I need you to protect us.”

A broken whisper.

At my side, Viktor tensed. And I just knew…

A line had been crossed.

Betrayal tasted bitter.

Brothers became enemies.