Honeypot
The lighting inside the flat was dim and illuminated by wall sconces, accent lamps, and spa-scented candles. Soft jazz music complimented the simplistic beauty of his home, and a series of flat screen monitors played a serene ocean scene, featuring beautiful saltwater fish gliding through the water. The evening ambiance of Maksim’s home was relaxing, possibly meant to be romantic, and I felt ill as I mentally replayed his sexual banter and the filthy proposal he’d offered me over dinner.
When we reached the end of a hallway that led to the guestroom, Maksim pressed his thumb against a sensor on the wall. An electronic beep sounded and a door opened. “I had a wonderful evening with you, Carter. Your accommodations are ready and stocked with everything you need. Should you require anything else, let the guard know. Get some rest and I’ll fetch you in the morning when your husband arrives.” Maksim kissed my cheeks and left me to Valentina’s charge. As he turned and walked away, she clutched my arm and steered me down a darkened hallway illuminated by a red light.
I had chills as we neared the bedroom. There was a slender figure of a man standing guard outside the door. Definitely too small to be Yuri, which was a good thing, I supposed. Probably some random guard Maksim had charged with guarding my room while I slept. The man opened the door, and I gasped when the light from the bedroom revealed my worst nightmare—Alexander.
He was the man who had terrorized me back home in Cincinnati and viciously attacked me. Vladimir had busted out his teeth and beaten him within an inch of his life when he’d found out Alexander had sunk his teeth into the back of my neck. Now that his natural teeth had been permanently extracted by the pakhan, he wore a creepy grill made to resemble the teeth of a wolf.
“Dobryy vecher, Carter Ivanov.” Alexander gnashed his false teeth and sneered viciously as I struggled to free myself from Valentina. Maksim was angry I had shut him down and had devised a plan to punish me in the worst way possible by serving me up to his guard dog as his personal chew toy.
“No, no, no.” I jumped back and tried to pull away from Valentina, terrified to take a step closer to the man who had attacked me in America. “Maksim! Help me! Don’t let him near me, I’m sorry—”
Maksim was nowhere in sight, and Valentina had no patience for my bullshit. She slapped her hand across my mouth to silence my screams and threatened to hogtie me and hang me upside down in her closet for the rest of my stay if I didn’t stop struggling. I didn’t mean to pick a fight with Valentina, but no one in the world terrified me more than Alexander. I held my ground and dug my heels into the rug to stop her from locking me in the bedroom with Maksim’s mutt.
Alexander stood behind her and growled, pushed my hair aside, and exposed my neck. He taunted me in Russian and scratched his nails along my jugular vein. My muffled screams brought a sickening smile to his face. He was going to make me suffer for my husband’s crimes against him. Valentina had my upper body locked up, but my legs were free. Instead of waiting for Alexander to tear me to shreds, I kicked him in the thigh to show I wasn’t easy prey.
“What the devil is going on?” Maksim came to my rescue and stole me away from Alexander before he could retaliate. I clung to Maksim as if he were a life preserver and whimpered like an abused animal. I didn’t want him to see me as a coward, but there was no way I could mask the terror Alexander evoked in me. After he’d hurt me, I couldn’t sleep soundly through the night for months and had horrific nightmares stemming from the psychological torture of my ordeal.
“Don’t leave me alone with him. He’s going to hurt me to get back at Vladimir.”
Maksim stroked my hair and whispered in my ear to soothe me. “Calm down, Carter. No one will hurt you while you’re with me. Want me to stay in your room and protect you?”
“Please don’t leave me. I’m sorry for the things I said.”
“Listen carefully. I’m going to ask you the question again.” Maksim held up his finger and pointed at me sternly. “Want me to stay in your room? Yes or no?”
“Yes.” What the hell is with the formality?
“So there is something you want from me.”
Terrified of being locked in a bedroom with Alexander, I nodded, not thinking through what I had agreed to.
“If you are going to spend the night with her, she’ll need to be restrained,” Valentina said in a heavy Russian accent. “She’s a hostage, not one of your weekend tarts.”
“Fine. Do what you must, then you are relieved of service for the evening. Alexander will remain at his guard post, and if anyone steps into this hallway that isn’t on my payroll, he may use any force necessary to subdue the perpetrator.” He paused and let the warning sink in before handing me over to Valentina. She shoved me into the bedroom, knocked me down on the bed, and used handcuffs to restrain my wrists to the metal headboard.
“Mrs. Ivanov and I need privacy,” Maksim said. “No one enters this room unless I give the order, understand?” Without waiting for a response, Maksim dismissed his crew and closed the door. Inside the dimly lit bedroom, there were no windows, and there was a faint smell of strawberry-scented lotion in the air. The walls were spray-painted with stylistic graffiti images featuring phallic artwork of skyscrapers and a rocket ship blasting off and penetrating a cloud. Besides the bed, the furniture was an oddly shaped collection of armless chairs and slanted ottomans covered with real fur throws—God, help me. This is Maksim’s sex room.
The alarming reality set in that he had orchestrated Alexander’s appearance, knowing he scared the life out of me, and took advantage of my vulnerability to force me into a compromising situation. He prowled toward me with a menacing glare, loosened his tie, and sat next to me on the bed. He removed his cufflinks and rolled back the sleeves of his starched dress shirt.
“Maksim, don’t.”
“What do you think I’m going to do?” He brushed my hair off my face and caressed my cheek with the back of his hand.
“You promised Vladimir—” As I lay there terrified and restrained to the bed, Maksim removed his suit jacket, unbuttoned his shirt, and slid it off, revealing a tattoo of a screeching eagle carrying a tattered American flag in its talons inked across his chest. On his shoulders, he had the telltale stars that represented membership in the Bratva and golden crowns inked on both shoulders, marking him as the pakhan, the boss, of his London crime family. His body was slim but tight and muscular, and his washboard abs were well defined.
“Like what you see, Mrs. Ivanov?”
My heart raced as he unfastened his belt and dropped his pants on the floor, leaving him naked except for a tight-fitting pair of boxers. Fear crept over me, knowing there was no one to help and no way to stop that arrogant bastard from forcing himself on me. I couldn’t defend myself as long as I was restrained, and I had no hope of leaving England without deep emotional and physical scars I might never recover from.
Maksim picked up a layer of my silky dress and rubbed the sheer fabric between his fingers. “Let’s get you comfortable.” The dress had thin spaghetti straps held in place with snaps. He popped them off first. Then he crawled on top of me, slid his hands underneath my back, and unzipped my dress. He tugged at the fabric and pulled it slowly down my body, admiring my breasts as they spilled out over the peach-colored bustier the stylist had stuffed me in before dinner.
He hummed a pleasurable groan as his fingertips slid across the satin cups and lacy tops of my bra. He fingered the tiny bow at the center and caressed the delicate skin between my breasts. I panted from fear, and Maksim placed his hand over my chest to feel my racing heartbeat. Turned on by his control over me, he pressed his lips over my heart and kissed me, scratching his bristly beard against my skin. He tugged the dress down further, and I turned on my side, trying desperately to hide my baby bump. He was hovering over me on his hands and knees, but not pressed down on top of me. I had room to move, and the only part of him touching me was his hands.
“Don’t be frightened, Carter. We made a deal, but I won’t force you.” He grasped my hips and pressed down so I couldn’t turn away. “I’m going to try a few things I think you will like, and when you’re ready, let me know. You like the wetness of my tongue? Want me to lick you somewhere else?” He slid the dress down to my waist and sat on my quads to immobilize me.
I lifted my legs to buck him off, but the weight of his body prevented me from doing any damage. Ignoring my attempt to fight him off, he slipped the dress over my hips, past my thighs, over my feet, and then tossed it on the ground.
“Your scent is intoxicating.” He ran his fingers along my silhouette and dipped down into the concave valley between my hip bones and lightly scratched my skin. Vladimir would shred the flesh off his bones with his bare hands for that offense alone. It was his favorite part of my body and whenever he held me, his hands always found their way to my special place.
“I want you to trust me, so I'm going to take off the handcuffs now. Don’t fight me, love. You’ll only get yourself hurt. Give me your word.”
“I won’t fight you. I promise.” I would’ve said anything to get free of those cuffs.
He rolled off me, retrieved the key from a hook on the wall, and unlocked my restraints. My wrists were covered with red and purple bruises from Yuri’s torture session earlier that day, and I had cuts and abrasions from the zip ties. When Maksim let me go, I curled my hands to my chest and rubbed them to soothe my aching bones.
I had been subjected to so much pain and a myriad of injuries since Boris had stolen me from the airport four months ago. Crying over sore wrists seemed about the weakest possible thing I could do, but my threshold for mental and physical torture had reached the end of what I could handle. Exhaustion, pain, and fear spilled over into tears and sobs of frustration.
“There, there. I’ve got you.” Maksim rolled me on my side and hugged me in spoon position. He picked up my hands and gently rubbed my wrists as he wrapped his legs around me and guided me into the contours of his body. He lifted my head and pushed my hair to the side so it wouldn’t pull underneath the weight of my body and covered our half-naked bodies with a red silky blanket.
He rested his head on my shoulder and kissed me, squeezing his muscular arms around me and whispering comforting words in my ear. I lay still and closed my eyes, pretending to come down from my panic attack. If I stayed still and stopped fighting against him, maybe he would be satisfied I relented and would stop terrorizing me. Wishful thinking on my part, but I had to be prepared to fight. I was troubled by Maksim’s rock-hard erection that was poking me in the backside, and it wasn’t time to let down my defenses yet.
“See what you do to me? I’ve fantasized about this moment since you crossed me in Ekaterinburg. You’re mine. I win.”
“Get the fuck off me.” I panicked and elbowed him in the ribs.
Maksim grunted from the force of my blow, and in retaliation, he flipped me on my back, pinned down my wrists, and straddled my hips. “I am doing everything in my power to make you comfortable in my home, and all I get in return is disrespect. What have you got to say now that you don’t have your bodyguard to protect you? Want to run your smartass American mouth now that I’ve got you in my bed?”
I struggled to free myself, but he was too strong. I crossed my ankles and locked my legs together. I held my breath, repulsed by the smell of his cologne mixed with the sweaty scent of his skin.
“You’re trembling, Carter. Now you understand the implications of your taunting. I can take you anytime I want you. Any way I want you.”
“Get off me!”
“I’ve tried to be a gentleman, but you’re begging for it, sweet pea. You need to learn what happens when you disrespect a Russian man. It’s taking all the self-control I possess not to drag you off the bed by your hair, bend you over a chair, and give it to you so hard, you won’t have the strength to walk for a week.”
My muscles burned from exhaustion, but I kept struggling to get out from under him.
“Calm yourself, Carter. As much as I want to punish you for your insubordination, I want to bring you pleasure. Slide my tongue inside your pizda and taste your sweetness, and when you’re ready for this,” he poked his erection against me, “I want to hear you moan my name as I slide in and out, slow and deep until I have you so hot and ready you’ll beg me to go harder and faster and deeper to make you come.”
“Let me go!”
Maksim hummed an erotic growl, hooked his finger around the lacy band of my underwear, and snapped it against my skin. “Name your poison, love. Pleasure or pain?”
I fired off every Russian curse word in my vocabulary and struggled against him with all the strength left in my body. Whatever I said must have worked, because he took his hands off me and rolled over to his side of the bed. He cradled his head in his hand and smiled like he’d won an imaginary game only he was playing.
“If you don’t like my company, you’re free to leave.” He motioned to the door. “Go on, walk out the door. I won’t stop you.”
My attacker had delivered the ultimate power play. Knowing who was on the other side of the door, Maksim was daring me to take my chances with Alexander rather than stay the night in bed with him. I knew he was setting me up for a disastrous mistake, but I took him up on his offer and hopped out of bed. I wrapped my arms around my waist to conceal my baby bump and glanced around for a weapon I could use to defend myself. The only furniture in the room was the bed, the sex chairs, and a small side table against the wall. No lamp, books, knickknacks or blunt objects I could hurl at his head.
On the ground, however, his clothes were rumpled up in a heap, and I spotted a thin leather belt. I snatched his pants, yanked it off, and held it in my hand like a whip. Boris had threatened me with his long, heavy belt on more occasions than I cared to remember, but at least my experience with his brand of correction had taught me how to use a leather strap as a weapon.
Maksim’s lips curled into a smarmy grin and he raised an eyebrow. “What can I do to entice you to use that on me, Mrs. Ivanov?”
I checked behind me and noticed light spilling in under the door. I dropped down and peeked under the crack to see if there were feet in the hallway. Maybe Alexander had left his post or was sleeping and I would have the element of surprise on my side if I flung open the door and made a run for it.
Maksim watched me as I paced the length of the room and tried to decide if opening the door was worth the risk, or if curling up with that disgusting dirtball was the smarter choice. Protecting the baby was my priority. Facing off with Alexander or Valentina or possibly Yuri was absolutely the wrong decision for us, but if I had a chance to get away from them, Vladimir wouldn’t have to surrender. It was my fault Maksim captured me. My fault Vladimir had to trade his life to save me. I couldn’t accept his fate without doing everything in my power to change the outcome.
“Come back to bed, love. You don’t want to go out there.” He opened the drawer next to the bed and pulled out a collection of sex toys. A thick pink vibrator modeled after a porn star, a rubbery glow-in-the-dark butterfly with an attached battery pack, a fringy leather whip, a black mask, and a half-empty bottle of lubricating oil. “If you’re a good girl, I’ll be gentle.”
Acid came up my throat. No fucking way would I get back in that bed. Win or lose, my dignity was worth fighting for. I had come to my senses and talked myself out of leaving the room. That was a no-win game plan. I was staying in there with Maksim, but I was not getting back in that bed, and I was not going to let him touch me. I would fight to protect myself, and if I was going down, I would go down swinging.
I looped the belt in my hand and snapped it, daring that cocky shithead to make a move. But instead of sounding off a blood-curdling crack like Boris’s belt, it made a light, wispy snap that was barely loud enough to be heard on the other side of the door. When Boris took off his belt and threatened me with his hefty leather strap, it was a threat. Maksim’s wimpy belt was about as dangerous as a stray hair.
“I’ll give you to the count of three to come to your senses, love. If I have to get out of this bed to collect you, I promise you’ll regret it. One…”
I stood there, my brain running through all the scenarios, and I came to the realization the only choice I had to avoid violence was to crawl back in that bed. No fucking way. I stayed in my ready position, unwilling to bow down to his belittling demands. If Maksim was dead set on hurting me, I would do everything I could to stop him.
“Two…”
My family had taught me how to defend myself. If he decided to hurt me, it didn’t mean he could, it meant he would try. I would come out strong on offense and strike first with a swift kick to his crotch. When he doubled over, I’d—
“Three.” Maksim sprang out of bed and came at me with the quickness of a rattlesnake. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around the baby to protect him from the impact. When his body collided with mine, I stumbled back and he pinned me against the wall. He gripped my upper arms so tightly, I screeched from the pain.
“Are your panties wet now, or do I need to knock you around a bit more to set your loins on fire?” He dragged me back to bed and pounced on top of me.
I screamed and struggled to push him off, but I wasn’t strong enough to outmuscle him.
“My strength excites you, doesn’t it? I know your type, love. You want me to control you until I force you to relent. When I slide inside your pizda, I’ll find a honeypot of your nectar pooling inside you. The harder I push you, the wetter you get.” He turned my head so I couldn’t bite him and sucked on my neck.
The weight of his body on my abdomen sent a ripple of panic through my nervous system. I screamed and thrashed to free myself, but my resistance made him press down on me harder. “Please, let me go. Izvinite. I’m sorry.”
“Vladimir spoiled you. This is his fault as much as it is yours. He failed to teach you what happens when you disrespect the pakhan.”
“Maksim, please don’t hurt me—I’m pregnant.” My eyes flooded with tears as a rush of fear and regret pulsed through my body. Boris was adamant I was not to tell Maksim about the baby, but mercy was my best defense. In the world of the Bratva, the knowledge that Vladimir had an heir was as lethal as any weapon his enemies could use against him. I regretted revealing my secret, but I feared for the baby’s safety. Maksim was so angry with me, I couldn’t allow my punishment to spill over and harm my child.
The weight of Maksim’s body lifted, and with an inch of wiggle room, I turned on my side and curled into a ball. His hand moved to my stomach and his fingers glided over my baby bump. “How far along are you?” His threatening tone had been reduced to a whisper.
“Fifteen weeks,” I said, choking back sobs.
He shook his head and let out an exacerbated sigh. “You are a walking, breathing, disaster, Mrs. Ivanov. How could you keep this from me? Do you honestly believe I would’ve let Yuri put a hand on you had I known you were pregnant? Carter, please. This war is between men. It’s not in my nature to harm an innocent child.”
That was rich coming from a guy who had slammed me against a wall and threatened to assault me, but instead of calling him out, I acknowledged I should’ve been honest from the start. He had calmed down, and I was relieved Maksim had spared me, but a nauseating feeling was swirling in my gut about revealing my secret and how Maksim would use that information against my husband. Maksim knew there was nothing Vladimir wouldn’t do to protect us. Revealing my secret was as deadly to him as putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger.