Bratvas vow, p.23
Bratva's Vow, page 23
Me:
You didn’t tell me about the housekeeper.
Maxim:
I love you.
I stared at the screen.
Shook my head. Spat out the mouthwash.
“You’re impossible,” I muttered under my breath but couldn’t help the smile tugging at my lips as I slipped my phone into my pocket.
Nik was waiting for me at the door, a strange grin on his face. As soon as I walked out, I saw why.
I whistled low. “Damn.”
Parked at the end of the drive was a car that looked like it belonged in a showroom with velvet ropes around it. Midnight black, all smooth curves and sharp edges. Not quite a sports car yet sleek enough to drop jaws. Mine had practically crashed into the ground. The rims gleamed. The paint caught the light like ink over water.
“Damn,” I said again because it was worth repeating. “You got an upgrade. Looks expensive.”
Nik grinned and pulled something from his pocket. “Catch.”
I fumbled and caught the fob midair, staring down at it like it might be made of gold. “You’re letting me drive this? Your brand-new car? Are you sure that’s smart? I have a license, but I don’t exactly drive much.”
Nik headed for the passenger side. “You’re not driving my car.”
“Then whose—?”
“You’re driving your car.”
I blinked. “Wait. What?”
Nik opened the door and slid in like this was routine. “Maxim bought it for you. I picked it up yesterday. He said you needed a little more freedom. Within reason. So congrats. She’s yours, but you only drive it if one of us is with you.”
I turned back to the car, heart thudding.
Mine.
It was a two-door coupe, glossy and gorgeous. The kind of car that made people stop and stare. Sleek black body, matte finish details, and that subtle glint of something that whispered money without having to scream it.
I opened the driver’s side door slowly, like I didn’t want to scare it off.
The seats were black leather with deep red stitching, the dash minimal but high-tech. A low-slung steering wheel. The faint smell of new leather and cedar.
“Nik, are you kidding?”
Nik chuckled. “Check the glove box.”
I slid into the seat. It hugged my body like it had been designed for me. When I popped open the glove box, there was an envelope. I took out the card. On it was scribbled in Maxim’s handwriting: I love you. Nothing else. He hadn’t even signed his name. Dammit, would he always use those three words to disarm me? To get his way? How could I react when he bought me expensive things simply because he loved me?
The registration document had my full name on it. Wren Alexander Holloway.
“He can’t be serious,” I muttered. “This is bananas.”
“This is Maxim for you,” Nik said.
I ran my fingers over the wheel and glanced over at him. “Nik, I’m shaking so hard I don’t think I can drive. Is it really mine?”
He rolled his eyes and gave a dramatic sigh. “You saw the papers. Believe it. And if I know Maxim, this is just the beginning.”
“Wait, what do you mean?”
“I mean cars—plural. Villa, yacht, trips abroad.”
“Oh my god, he wouldn’t.”
Nik’s blank stare said everything. Maxim most certainly would.
“He wanted you to feel a little more in control,” Nik said. “You drive. I ride shotgun. I’m your very professional passenger princess.”
I giggled. I couldn’t help it. I was the owner of a car. My name was on the registration and everything.
“Take a deep breath and let’s go. Buckle up.”
I needed more than one deep breath, but eventually, I calmed down enough to start the car. The engine purred to life so smoothly it felt like seduction on wheels.
As I backed out of the driveway, I tried not to grin like a hyena.
And failed.
Nik leaned back in the seat, resting one arm on the door.
“See?” he said. “It’s not so bad being the Pakhan’s lover, is it? So many boys would kill to be in your position right now.”
And they could all fuck off. Maxim would never stop being mine.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
MAXIM
Archie was still talking. Something about the quarterly financials, a new offshore holding company, or God knew what else, but none of it mattered.
Not right now.
I glanced at the time.
Wren should be on his way.
Nik had texted ten minutes ago. Leaving campus now. Kid’s glowing. Which meant everything was as it should be.
Stone was dead. Wren knew the truth and had forgiven me. And yet I felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to fall.
Who killed Stone? There was no movement from Aistov. I strongly doubted he was responsible, but if not him, then who?
Moreover, why was I still alive? Why did Stone’s murder take precedence over mine?
My phone buzzed. I angled the screen under the table and smiled. A selfie from Wren he must have taken earlier. He was all smiles on campus, posing beside the car.
Wren:
Love the car. Like, LOVE love. Thank you
I frowned, sending back a text.
Me:
I hope you’re not texting and driving.
Wren:
No, I had pity on Nik and let him drive my baby.
Before I could send a reply, he was typing again.
Wren:
That’s okay, right?
Me:
Of course. It’s your car. You can do whatever you want with it.
Wren:
What if I want to sell it?
He couldn’t be serious. Was he testing me?
Me:
Then sell it, but I’d be disappointed.
Wren:
I’m joking. You bought it for me. I’m going to cherish it.
I’m thinking your reward’s pending. How does a BJ sound? Office style.
Me:
Blow jobs seem a little expensive these days.
Wren:
Okay. What if I swallow?
Me:
You always swallow.
Archie cleared his throat from across the table. I realized I’d been smiling down at my phone for a bit too long. All eyes were on me.
Shit.
They were all waiting for some kind of response.
“So what do you think, Maxim? About the—”
“I’ll need some time to think about it.”
He frowned. “What’s there to think about? It’s a solid plan.”
I pushed back my chair. “We’ll pick up on it tomorrow, Archie.” Whatever the hell “it” was. “Good job, everyone.”
Not that I knew. I’d zoned out for most of the discussion. I escaped from the room before Archie could give me that knowing look. I glanced over my shoulder. Yup, there it was. He knew I was distracted because of Wren. A part of me felt a bit guilty, but I pushed it down. I was forty-two years old and had never been in love. I’d worked hard for the past sixteen years to get where I was. I deserved to slack off some to focus on my love life for a change.
Down the hall, Sergei stood outside my office door. He pushed it open and allowed me to enter ahead of him.
Everything was perfect.
The office had been cleared of paperwork and reshuffled into something soft, with warm lighting and fresh-cut flowers in a slim vase. A linen-draped table had been positioned right next to the glass wall so the city below would serve as a backdrop while Wren ate his overpriced lunch and smiled at me like I’d invented the world.
“Everything up to standard?” Sergei asked.
“Yes. It’s perfect. Did you pick up that present I asked you to?”
“Shit. Almost forgot.” He took out a velvet box from his jacket and handed it to me. I flipped it open and smiled. I was spoiling him rotten today. First the housekeeper and the car. Now the beautiful piece of jewelry that was a part of a set.
“You sure you want to go through with that?” Sergei asked.
“Yes.” I closed the box and nailed him with a stare. “Don’t tell me you still have doubts about Wren.”
“Let’s just say I don’t think he poses a threat to you anymore.”
Of course that was as much as he would budge on the matter. “You’re full of shit. He’s perfect for me, and you know it.”
His lips twitched, but Sergei being Sergei, he didn’t succumb to the smile. “It’s been just two months, Maxim. But he’s definitely made you happy.”
“What about you?”
Sergei scowled and backed up toward the door, almost walking into Archie, who entered behind him. “I have things to do.”
“Are any of those things getting laid?” I called after him, chuckling, but he flipped me off and didn’t look back.
I turned to Archie. The same frown from the conference room deepened as he surveyed the setup for my date with Wren.
“What’s this?” he asked. “You have a business lunch I don’t know of?”
“Wren’s almost here.” I checked my phone. He’d texted me five minutes ago that they were pulling into the parking lot.
Archie scowled. “This is why you had me cancel your afternoon appointments?” He closed the door behind him. “Maxim, one of those appointments was meeting the new brigadier.”
“It can wait. He’s not going anywhere, is he?”
“For god’s sake, Maxim, did you forget what happened, why he had to leave his internship? Why would you bring him back here? You hardly need an afternoon date at the office when you live together.”
“Technically, we never discussed the living arrangements. He just kind of stayed over permanently.” I frowned, scratching my nape. “I should probably bring it up, ensure we’re on the same page.”
“You’re not even listening to me.”
“I am. I just don’t care.” Shrugging, I walked over to the table and adjusted a tulip that was leaning slightly askew in the vase. “How’s the hunt going for a new PA?”
“It takes time.”
I looked at him sharply, raising an eyebrow. “You can find a brigadier in less than forty-eight hours, but not a PA?”
“Look, I was thinking,” he said. “Why not find someone else to handle things in Chicago, and I continue working as your PA. No one else knows your business—all facets of it—better than me.”
He had a point there, but that was the reason I valued him being in Chicago. He was the only one I trusted enough to run things there without me having to worry.
After a knock on the door, it cracked open. Wren poked his head in as if testing the waters, then grinned and sauntered in.
“Still lacking etiquette, I see,” Archie muttered, eyes flicking to Wren’s sneakers, his jacket. He had a casual confidence that came from being loved too well.
Wren faltered for a beat, his smile dimming as he glanced between us. “Uh… sorry. If it’s important, I can wait on—”
“You’re fine,” I said before he could shrink any further. I hadn’t built his self-confidence over the time we’d been together for Archie to destroy it. “Knock it off, Archie.”
I crossed the room and pressed a kiss to Wren’s cheek, then his lips. “You look incredible. Come in, solnyshko. I want to hear everything about your first day.”
That earned me a small grin, the tension easing from his shoulders. He pushed up to the tips of his toes, twined his arms around my neck, and kissed me deeply. It ended way too soon, and I kept my arm around his waist so he stayed next to me.
Archie cleared his throat, visibly swallowing whatever he wanted to say.
“Is there anything else?”
His eyes met mine. Cold. Tight. “No. Enjoy your lunch.”
He turned and left without another word, shutting the door a little too hard behind him.
Wren chuckled and drifted over to the table. “I think he meant to say he hopes I choke on my lunch.”
A sleek side cart stood next to the table, polished chrome and matte black edges framing its subtle elegance. Beneath the domed lid, soft heat radiated upward, keeping the dishes perfectly warm without drying them out.
I pulled out a chair for Wren, then went over to the side cart to transfer the dishes to the table. The spread was great: rosemary seared lamb, truffle butter vegetables, and a saffron risotto.
Wren’s eyes grew big as saucers. “Maxim, you didn’t have to go through all this trouble for me. I would have been fine with a burger and some fries.”
“Of course I have to. The day I make only half an effort with you is the day I no longer deserve you.”
“Are you sure you’re Bratva?” he asked as I took my seat across from him and raised the bottle of wine. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be emotionally unavailable? You’re so comfortable talking about your feelings.”
“Does that bother you?”
“No, I love it. It’s just weird sometimes thinking of you being a Pakhan.”
A laugh burst from me. “I hope you never see that side of me.”
But how could I prevent it? One day, someone would cross the line when he was with me, and I would have no choice but to let him see me at my worst. He’d already gotten a hint with Bradley.
“This has been the best first day of college that I’ve had.” He took the glass of wine I handed him but extended it toward me. “Let’s make a toast.”
“To what?”
“For making a nobody like me feel really special. Like I deserve all this.”
“Kroshka, you do.” We clinked our glasses together. “To us.”
While we ate, we chatted about his day. He wasn’t feeling too confident about one of his classes, since his campus friends, as he called them, weren’t taking those courses, so he had to make new friends. The other two were okay, although one of them was taught by a professor he had last term, who graded really hard. At which point I asked him if he wanted me to speak to the professor, and he laughed until he saw how serious I was.
“They all fawned over my car.” He giggled, a little flushed from the wine. “How much did you spend on that thing anyway?”
“You don’t need to know that.”
“Come on, tell me.” He reached for his phone. “Okay, don’t. I’ll just look it up.”
I plucked the phone from his hands and pocketed it. “No using the phone while we’re on a date.”
Wren beckoned me, and I leaned forward. “Want to hear something funny?”
“Sure.”
“I know this is just an office, but this is the best date I’ve ever been on. I like that it’s just us. I don’t suppose I’ll have much time for dating soon, given the semester has started.”
“You’ll have a lot on your hands. Let me know if I can do anything to help.”
Wren got up from his seat and came over to me. I pushed back my chair and gave him room to sit on my lap. He looped an arm around my shoulders. “You’re already being a big help. We have a housekeeper. I don’t think we need one, but okay.”
“If you don’t like her, I can get someone else although Archie is always spot on in hiring my people.”
“No, she’s great. She made me this tea that definitely calmed my nerves today.”
“Good.”
I nuzzled his neck, sucking on his flesh. “I believe you made me a promise.”
Wren chuckled, grinding his ass against my cock. “Thought you didn’t want it.”
“You don’t have to, but if you offer, I’m not going to turn it down.” I took the velvet box out of my pocket and placed it in his hand. “Maybe this will help to persuade you.”
“Maxiiiiim,” Wren groaned. “It’s too much.”
“You haven’t even opened it yet.”
“I already know it’s going to be too much. You already got me a bracelet I’m afraid to wear because of how expensive it is.”
“Can you at least open the box first?”
The way he exhaled, you would have thought he was removing the pin from a grenade. He eyed me and the box suspiciously, slowly peeling back the lid. The eighteen karat white gold full band ring set with diamonds gleamed under the afternoon light. His breath hitched as his face turned pale, and his hands shook. His gaze flew to my face, and panic flashed across his features. He opened and closed his mouth, no sound escaping as he glanced down at the ring, back to me, and then to the ring again.
“Relax, Wren, it’s not an engagement ring.” Or was it? My chuckle broke the tension as I took the ring from the box and took his hand. “It’s a promise ring.”
He blinked. “A… what?”
“It means I’m not going anywhere.” I slipped the ring on his finger. “It means that I choose you. That we make this—us—a vow that we’ll never break. To always be together. No matter what.”
Wren’s throat worked as he swallowed. “Oh…”
“Too much?”
“No. No, it’s just… Are you sure it’s not an engagement ring? It looks like one.”
“Would I get engaged to you without you knowing?”
He raised an eyebrow that had me laughing. He knew me all too well. Especially when that was exactly what I was doing.
“Everyone’s going to think we’re engaged when they see it.”
I raised his hand and kissed the ring. It was a perfect fit. “Promise me you’ll never take it off.”
