Until the End (Volkov Bratva #2)(31)

He felt whole for once in his life and he would kill anyone who tried to take this away from him.





Lauren sifted her fingers through his hair, enjoying the feel of the silky strands. The palm of his hand was resting against the curve of her hip. In the silence of the room, the vibrations from his cell phone were loud.

But neither of them paid it any mind.

All morning, they lazed in bed, just enjoying the peace and quiet together. She even noticed the difference in him when it was just the two of them.

Here, he let his guard down, allowing her to see the man beneath the surface.

“You would hate Russia,” Mishca was saying, idly stroking her hair, letting the strands fall between his fingers. “The cold would be unbearable.”

And they both knew how much she hated the cold. “Maybe we could plan a trip to like Spain or the Caribbean. I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“I could take you there tomorrow if you wanted,” he commented thoughtfully.

Lauren never really discussed money with Mishca since they’d gotten back together. She had never bothered to ask how much money he had, not that she cared, but she also wanted to do things with him as opposed to him always footing the bill.

She knew they would never be equal, unless she won the lottery or something, but as long as she wasn’t a ‘kept’ woman, she was okay with that.

“How about spring break next semester?” That would give her enough time to save for the trip.

“I’ll set it up.”

She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. “What do you want to do today?”

“Stay here.”

“In the room, you mean?” She asked searching his face.

“You’re all I need.”

And he was all she needed.





Mishca had ventured out sometime earlier, promising to be back shortly, but it had been a little over half an hour. Her first thought had been to be upset, thinking he might have been contacting Vlad or one of the others, but she understood that there might have been an emergency.

Alone, she’d undressed heading into the steam room, pouring water over the heated rocks, steam filling the room. Imitation tea light candles were placed in intervals along the benches, making the room glow.

Folding her legs beneath her, she closed her eyes, relaxing back. In the short time they had been together, she felt closer to him than the entire time they’d spent together previously.

Perhaps it was because there were no longer any secrets between them and now it felt like they could be honest with each other.

Of course he didn’t tell her everything, she noticed the way he carefully chose his words, but he shared more each day and she appreciated his effort.

More importantly, she wanted to take their relationship to the next level. He never pressured her to do anything more than she was willing, but she did want more, she just didn’t know how to go about it.

But that was the reason she brought him here, to experience it with him alone without worry that someone might interrupt.

A blur moved outside the sauna door, a distinctive shape. “How long have you been in there?”

She smiled, pleased to hear his voice. “Not too long. Where’ve you been?”

“Can I come in?”

She sat up on the bench, her question forgotten. Holding onto the front of her towel where it was tucked beneath her breasts, she looked at the frosted glass, where his hands were pressed against the door as he awaited her answer.

It was now or never.

“Yea.”

She watched him as best she could as he stripped out of his clothes, grabbing one of the towels from the counter. When he opened the door, steam billowed out, cool air briefly blowing through the room before they were enclosed together.

Even as he studied her, she studied him like it was the first time all over again. She remembered what he’d told her about his tattoos, but she had learned their true meaning later.

Twin eight-point stars were inked on either side of his chest, just below his collarbone, a sign of his station. As a Captain, he was rewarded those stars, the only thing she didn’t know was what he had done to gain them.

On both shoulders were epaulettes, similar to those found on the uniforms of Russian armed forces. They signified the same as his stars.

On his left arm was a rising sun, a mark for freedom, and this was the only one she didn’t doubt had another meaning. He’d told her it was for his mother and maybe it was a sign that she was free from his father. She had never asked.

Above that, written along his forearm was a line of script. A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi, Latin for ‘A precipice in front, wolves behind.’ His family motto for their surname.

All of his tattoos only enhanced his physique, highlighting his masculinity. Mishca only did mixed martial arts at a gym, but he had to do it often to stay in the shape he was in.

The towel he wore hung low on his waist, revealing the sharp V, a dark trail of hair disappearing beneath the material.

He was incredible, simply put.

She could only wonder what he saw when he looked at her.

Mishca didn’t sit beside her on the bench, choosing to sit across from her instead, his legs spread out before him as though he had not a care in the world, but the towel hid most of him from view.

The intensity of his gaze made her feel alive, her heart hammering in her chest. She couldn’t look away.