TIMOFEI DOESN’T COME BACK to bed after our argument. I know because I don’t go back to sleep. I listened as he walked around in his closet, and then I listened as he closed the front door and locked it when he left. I waited for over an hour. When he didn’t return, I figured he wasn’t going to.
Taking a long, hot shower, I wash my hair before I root around for something to wear. I don’t have much, as my father hasn’t sent my clothes. Now I know why. He doesn’t expect me to be gone for very long.
I find a pair of shorts and a tank that are clean, pulling out the rest of my laundry to separate and start in the wash. The honeymoon is officially over, and my life is falling apart.
A knock on the door causes me to jump, and I walk over to look through the peephole, finding Konstantin standing on the other side. Wrapping my hand around the knob, I unlock and then open the door, my laundry still in my arms.
“Morning, little one,” he grins. Stepping aside, I mumble a good morning and walk back to the small washer and dryer that are in the hall next to what looks like Timofei’s office. “You okay?”
I dump my clothes in the washer with a little jump, not expecting him to be anywhere behind me. “I’m fine,” I whisper as I add detergent before closing the lid and starting the machine.
“You aren’t,” he grunts.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say with a shrug. “I’m not allowed to leave, but maybe I could give you a grocery list? I don’t know if there’s any food in here, but it’s been almost two days since I’ve eaten. I’m starving,” I say, changing the subject.
“I’m not supposed to leave you home alone, but I’ll order some takeout. What do you want?”
I don’t know what kinds of places are in the area or what they serve, so Konstantin gives me a list, probably of his favorites. I pick something from that. He orders, and then I sit on the living room sofa and stare out into the ocean as I wait for the food to arrive.
We end up ordering Chinese food. It’s not my favorite, but food is food. Konstantin and I eat in silence, but I see his eyes glance over to me every few minutes. He has questions.
All I can think about is Timofei, and how easily he negotiated to give me back to my father. I am exactly what he said I was, a business deal. I’m not a person—not his wife.
“You going to tell me what’s going on?” Konstantin finally asks through a mouthful of noodles.
Sighing, I lift my eyes and look straight into his. “Timofei needs my father’s help on something. Last night, he and my father renegotiated our marriage contract. Now, instead of a year to get pregnant, I only have three-months.”
“Or what?” he asks.
“Or Timofei has to give me back,” I whisper.
Konstantin’s eyes go hard and his jaw clenches as he sets his takeout container down on the floor. “He has to give you back,” he murmurs. It sounds kind of lethal.
“Yeah,” I gulp.
“I’m sure he had good reason, Devyn. Timofei isn’t a man who makes rash decisions,” he says around his food.
I run my teeth along my bottom lip and look down at my lap. Konstantin reaches out and wraps his hand gently around mine, giving it a squeeze. “Do you think that he would really let you go back?” he asks.
“I wouldn’t have a choice. I’m not the one who makes any decisions,” I murmur.
Konstantin releases me and stands before he walks over to the windows that I favor, watching the ocean. “I don’t think it’s right. The contracts, the forced arranged marriages and everything.”
“It’s the way it is,” I whisper.
“I know; it’s the way it’s always been. We did it for a purpose for a long time, but now? Now, it’s just to play games with people. I’ve seen so many people get hurt because of these games, these contracts. I’ve never seen one where someone was required to have a baby in a certain timeframe. I don’t understand why Timofei would accept this,” he murmurs almost to himself.
“Whatever he needs from my father must be important.”
Konstantin snorts. He mutters something under his breath, but I don’t hear him. I ask him to repeat it, but he waves me off and stares at the ocean.
I let out a sigh and go back to my food. I need to make the best of my situation. If Timofei doesn’t want me forever, then there’s nothing I can do about it.
The only thing I can hope is that I’m able to have our marriage annulled by the church. At this point, the baby thing and our marriage is completely out of my hands. It’s in God’s now.
After doing laundry and cleaning up around the house all day long, I lay down alone in my bed. Konstantin is on the sofa, and Timofei is at destinations unknown to me. I haven’t heard anything from him at all today, and I’m honestly relieved. It’s been nice not having to look at him and wonder. Wonder what he wants, how he feels, or if he even thinks of me at all.
I close my eyes, feeling completely pathetic, hoping that sleep will ease some of my tension, that maybe tomorrow won’t seem so bleak.
“Wake up,” Timofei rasps against my ear as his hand slides inside of the front of my panties.
“You’re home,” I whisper with a sigh as I wrap my hand around the back of his neck, not opening my eyes. He slips my panties down my legs before he whispers against my ear.
“Miss me?”
I hum my answer as I widen my legs. Timofei’s fingers slide through my center before two dip inside. His teeth nip my earlobe as his fingers curl and his palm presses against my clit. I shake in his arms, needing more from him, and not liking myself for craving his touch the way I do.
He moves his hand from my center and wraps it around the back of my knee, spreading me even wider before he shifts. His cock slowly enters me. “Don’t be angry with me, devochka. This is us, Devvy, don’t make what your father and I discussed cheapen what we have.”
“Please stop,” I whisper.
I shift my hips, pushing back against him to accept more of his cock inside of me.
He releases a deep groan. “Nyet, no matter what, you’re still my wife,” he growls as his fingers leave my knee and return to my center. He plays my clit like only he can, circling and applying the perfect amount of pressure while his cock slides in and out of me with gentled ease.
“Fei,” I gasp as my body locks up. I let out a cry as I come.
Timofei shifts so that I’m on my stomach and he holds my hips down. His cock never leaves my body as his knees press against either side of me. He’s straddling my upper thighs, before he slams inside of me. His tempo is fast, hard, and unyielding as he takes me. I’m completely helpless, useless, and still reeling from my climax as he wildly pumps in and out of my body.
His hand fists in my hair, and he arches my neck back. His eyes connect with mine as he lets out a long roar. I shiver as his body stills inside of me, and his dick fills me.
“This is my cunt, Devyn. If you think I’m going to just let it walk out of my life, you’re fucking mistaken. I’ll fuck you every chance I get, not just because you’re mine and I can, but so that you’re pregnant and it’s a non-issue of where your destiny takes you in three months. You’re mine.”
“Fei,” I whimper as he releases my head. He slips in and out of me a few more times before he climbs off of me and lays his head next to mine on his pillow. I turn my head to the side, unable to move the rest of my limp body. “It’s business, Fei, and there’s nothing you can do in three months if I’m not carrying your child.”
“Fuck that,” he snorts. I blink, staring at him. After a few beats, he continues. “I thought all day long. I thought about what my life would be like if you went back to your father. I thought about being Pakhan, fucking king of New York, and how that would feel without my sweet queen. Devochka moya, you will be queen, and nobody will take the queen from her king. If he tries, then it’s war.”
I don’t understand everything Timofei is telling me, but I’m smart enough to put the pieces together. Timofei is going to take over his father’s position, and I have a feeling it’s going to be very ugly. That’s what he’s been so worried about. While I don’t completely understand everything, and he wouldn’t tell me if I asked, I can understand that takeovers, shifting power, all of it can be brutal.
“Kiss me, Fei,” I whisper.
Timofei doesn’t delay. His mouth touches mine and he kisses me. His lips are soft and his kiss is hard, consuming, and owning all at the same time. When we break away, I look into his cool blue eyes and just stare at him. He does the same with me.
“Sleep, devochka.”