Claimed

CHRISTIAN ‘VICIOUS’ VOLKOV.

‘I was four years old, I think.’

‘I fell in love with him because he was the first guy to show me love.’

Her words were so distant I thought I was having a nightmare and she was trying to keep me awake.

I am not having a nightmare though.

I am not completely sure how we ended up in this situation but here we are.

Here we are after she disobeyed orders, walked out of this place, followed me and shot me in the neck.

Being alive doesn’t surprise me at the moment.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Like I said, I’ve given in when it comes to death only for it to leave me behind in this wretched world.

What surprises me this morning?

Her.

All of her on me. Too close for my liking. Too in my face to push her off.

Pain stings my body from all the joints. What pains me more?

Her hand wrapped around my length without a clue in the world.

I’m hard. Not morning wood but harder than I’ve been in my life.

Her blonde hair splays all over my chest, the top of her head touches my chin and the rest of everything is worse.

Our legs are tangled in a meshwork of a lookalike web.

Her tiny hands. Jesus Christ, her tiny hands are wrapped around my torso in a firm grip.

What has me stop breathing for a minute?

Her pussy.

Soft, lush, hugging my leg, gripping me in between her legs with innocence and not a care that a man like me could do the unthinkable in this situation.

Her scent fills my nostrils.

All I breathe is her.

All I see is her.

All I want? All I want is my little nurse with me like this on a freaking bed teaching her a few manners with my—.

“Damn it”, I groan.

She shot me and all I can think about is her in bed with me.

The bullet might have short-circuited my brain but I’m not sticking around long enough to let her get inside of my head.

I need to keep away.

Keep away from her mess, her beauty, her sassiness, that dirty mouth and everything that encompasses Alexia Green.

I give myself a few minutes to let her scent wash off of me but the few minutes are eaten by the sound of the knocking from the door.

“Demetri”, I mutter.

It was only a matter of time before he showed up. After all, we killed his men.

Taking her tiny hands from my waist, I try to pull them away from me but the brat not only squeezes my dick but my waist too.

“Alexia.”

Wake the fuck up.

She snores.

Her lips land on my chin.

Gently, the one thing I’ve never been, I take her small frame from me.

It takes a whole five minutes to get myself together.

Another five minutes not to want to jump back on that couch and have the best sleep I’ve had in my shitty life.

***

“You owe me eight men, Volkov.”

Demetri speaks to me in Russian.

“Two of them worked for Keaton”, I close the door behind me, the Russian fucker smirks at me like we are not rivals.

“You owe me six men then.”

“You here to get payback for the mess at the party?”

“I’m here to know why you have a goddamn cabin on my property and I’m learning about it now and why you sent your woman to distract me.”

She’s not my woman.

I chuckle, “You’re not as stupid as I thought, Sokolov.”

“I’m stupid with a gun, trust me. And right now my gun’s itching to be let out and finish you where you stand. Let’s try this again, shall we?”

“You arranged a conclave. Sent for every leader in the States and Europe to meet you. Why would the Bratva do that?”

“You thought I wanted to leave everyone dead? I’m unhinged but that sounds cowardly. I deal with enemies the way I deal with women, fast and direct.

If I wanted you dead, you would know. But it seems Dante Keaton wanted all of us dead huh? He blames the massacre at my house at you. The bastard’s already yapping that the Costa Nostra heir wanted every mafia head dead.”

Of course he is.

“Killing you would make me sleep like a baby at night but I wouldn’t need to resort to cheap antics to do that.”

“I thought so too. Everyone thinks so too which is why Dante remains a problem.”

“Why did you want all of us in Russia?”

“To strike a deal.”

“What type of deal?”

“It doesn’t matter. With what Dante Keaton pulled, everything is as good as dead. Which is why we want you taking over Chicago.”

I’m already in charge of Chicago, Dante Keaton has only ever been a loser thinking he runs the city when the truth of the matter is; I do.

I don’t give my answer.

The door creaks open.

Five feet of sunshine blonde hair comes into sight.

Her pretty blue eyes land on both of us.

My eyes are on that pretty face of hers that’s too damn distracting and at the creamy thighs peaking from her shirt.

I get to see that.

I get to see those thighs.

You slept on my arms naked for God’s sake, those thighs are mine.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

Demetri snickers. I can see his eyes peruse her like she is his next meal and I want to rip said eyes out of his skull myself.

She’s not mine.

Get your act together. She. Is. Not. Yours.

“The woman is awake”, the bastard next to me says with the worst English I’ve heard in a while.

I don’t return eye contact, I barely want to acknowledge her.

“Go back inside.”

Demetri is not going to look at those thighs while I stand here whether she’s mine or not.

But this woman?

This woman has a knack of surprising me every damn time.

Why?

Demetri demands to speak to her.

And they speak alright. Like they are lost lovers reuniting in the snow and discovering the moon is not made of cheese but rocks.

I’m seeing bright red stars by the time Demetri leaves and she returns to me.

“What did he want?”

“He wanted me to work for him.”

She lies.

That’s the thing about being close to people all your life. You see through their bullshit straight away.

And this one is just like any other average person I’ve encountered.

A bad liar.

Untrustworthy.

Not worth my time if she’s working for Demetri hard enough to lie to me.

Does she find him good looking? Is that the reason why she is lying?

Is he better than me? What did he promise her? Money?

Does money get your loyalty, Alexia?

I don’t ask that. I play daft.

“What did you say?”

“I said no.”

“Good because you are not leaving until you repay every damn cent your ex owes me.”

I don’t speak or look her way when we get to the jeep.

I only stare intensely at her when we get back to my mansion in Moscow and she practically flees the car to get to her daughter.

“Mommy’s home. I missed you too, baby. So much. Has Millie been a good girl for me while I was gone?”

“She cried for a few hours but our buddy Max here had her calm. Isn’t it Maxie?” Jagger wiggles his brows.

“Call me Maxie one more time and your balls will be grilled in a skillet.”

Alexia bites her bottom lip holding back from lashing at the language being tossed around near her child.

“Don’t cuss”, I warn Maximo.

“You got shot. By her”, he mutters loud enough for me to hear but not loud enough for the rest to listen in.

“Wipe that smirk off your face because it was a cheap shot. Didn’t see it coming.”

Didn’t catch her scent or hear her coming either.

“The Volkov I know sees cheap shots coming. The Volkov I know doesn’t get shot.”

“I was as surprised as you are too.”

“I’m surprised she’s breathing and Demetri let her live in the first place.”

Demetri didn’t kill her because she’s secretly working for him.

Why? How? I’ll find out.

Soon enough.

“Thank you, Jett, Jagger, for taking care of her”, she turns to us, her eyes at Maximo,”I know it wasn’t easy taking care of her but thank you too.”

Maximo pulls up a grin, “It was my pleasure, Nurse. Always my pleasure.”

What?

He doesn’t even like kids.

He hates them almost as much as I hate Jett’s stupid hair.

Little Nurse doesn’t look my way and I know I’m ignoring her but her ignoring my presence chews me raw.

“If you’ll excuse me gentlemen, my baby and I—.”

“Alexia”, I cut her off.

She stills.

She looks at the smiling baby but not at me.

“Take a shower, pack your clothes, I’ll stay with the baby.”

Millie is her kryptonite because Little Nurse’s worried blue eyes land on me.

“I have to feed her, she’s probably hungry.”

“You are in need of a shower, the baby will wait. In my arms.”

“Vicious I—.”

“Take the damn shower. Your child will be waiting for you when you are done. We’ll be heading home.”

She hesitates.

But she walks up to me, handing me her baby.

Then her feet stomp upstairs and I don’t know what’s worse?

The fact that I don’t want her to take my scent off of her body in that shower.

The fact that I want to join her in that shower.

Or the fact that I know all her features by heart.

Those boobs, heavy, full, supple.

That back. Ramrod straight. Could easily fit in my hands.

That hair; silky and long and fragrant.

Those legs. Creamy, toned, pretty.

“I want surveillance on the clubs, Dante might try something to ruin us because I’m not dead.”

“I’m taking that’s your way of telling us to leave?” Maximo asks.

Millie holds my thumb, smiling.

“Yes. Now.”

My men leave without a word but I don’t miss the look on Maximo’s face.

‘Go easy on the Nurse.’

I’m planning on nothing but easy after this Russia fiasco.

Everyone’s gone.

I’m standing in my living room with a kid so fucking cute it’s almost impossible to want to give her up.

“Believe it or not, I kept her safe for you kid. You need a mother to breastfeed you till you are big enough to feed yourself.

Your mother and father are cut from the same cloth, Millie. One is a coward who’s a dead man when I catch him and the other one? Your madre is a traitor, kid.

I show her kindness and she switches her loyalty to Demetri. I couldn’t blame her though I’ve been bad at being good since I was old enough to hold a knife.

The masks are off, Millie. I wouldn’t be a Vitello if I showed your mother mercy.”