Page 33 of The Bratva's Hostage

I wanted him to touch me again. I needed to feel his touch on my skin as he teased and pleased me over and over again until I begged him to let me go as I couldn’t feel certain parts of me any longer.

I jerked into a seating position.

What am I doing? Have you forgotten who he is and why you’re here? Remember why you married him, Elena.

I groaned, feeling guilty as something snapped inside of me. I wasn’t supposed to be fantasizing over the enemy. Everything I did should be cataloged in my mind as that was my duty. To protect my people and avenge the one I couldn’t protect.

My marriage to him was for so many varied reasons but none of them involved fucking him or thinking about it so much even if I couldn’t escape fulfilling my marital responsibility.

I shut down the part of me that tried to convince me sex with Maksim had nothing to do with marital responsibility and everything to do with enjoying the way he made me feel.

There was something much more important that I had to take care of. I needed to find out the truth behind Marco’s death and make sure the person behind it paid for their actions.

I snugged out of bed, to not wake him up with my movement and tiptoed to the work desk in the room. I slid my laptop to the side and opened his. I looked back at the bed to make sure that he was still fast asleep, letting out a relieved sigh when I saw that he was still in the same position he’d been in when I got out of bed.

I angled the laptop away from him so that the light wouldn’t wake him up and hacked into his computer, the ease with which I was able to do so surprised me.

Although I knew how to hack into computers, I had thought, considering who he was, he would make it a little more difficult.

I looked back at the bed once again, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the minimal light after staring at the bright screen. My body tensed when instead of finding him in bed, it was empty. I looked around me in a panic, stopping when I felt his presence next to me.

My heart dropped as I realized I’d been caught. Maksim’s hand wrapped around my wrist before I could make a run for it, not that I planned to, considering it would only put my family in danger if he couldn’t find me.

Unlike the last time when he didn’t know who I was until later, now my identity was no longer a secret.

“What are you doing?” he asked me, his tone neutral.

“Let me go,” I said, embarrassed with how shaky my voice sounded as he glared at me, the soft look in his eyes from the changing room to our date at the restaurant and even back here was gone, replaced with disappointment and disgust.

I gasped as his hand tightened around mine instead of releasing like I’d hoped that he would.

“You’re hurting me, Maksim. Let me go,” I said more forcefully, pulling on my hand.

His strong grip tightened even more for a moment and then he released me, watching with a blank stare as I stumbled back before catching myself.

I held the stinging in my other hand, twisting it to send circulation back into it. His eyes fastened on the dark bruise that was quickly beginning to form on my skin and his jaw ticked wildly as he closed his eyes, sighing.

“What the fuck were you looking for on my laptop, Elena? I think it’s about time you told me why I’ve caught you twice, searching through my property.”

This time, I knew I had to tell the truth. He was in no mood for games, that much was clear. His eyes bore into mine as he waited, and I exhaled before telling him the truth.

“The night I broke into your office, and now, I was looking for the same thing. You have a man named Vadim Kozlov in your records. He’s one of your people and I want to find him,” I said, keeping my shoulders straight as I spoke.

“Vadim Kozlov,” he mumbled the name before looking back at me. “What do you want from him? What has he done that you risk your life to look for him?”

I looked away, sadness falling upon me. “I would risk anything to find him. He killed Marco and I need to find him and take revenge for his death. I cannot rest until I do so.”

“What the hell? You would risk your life to avenge that of another man,” he said with a sarcastic smile and a scoff. “Who was he to you? A boyfriend?”

My eyes shot to him as he crossed his arms, waiting for an answer.

Is he jealous?

I scoffed. Of course, he was. I was his property, and he didn’t want to compete with anyone even if that competition was dead.

“Marco was my brother,” I said, and he raised a brow.

“Don’t lie to me, Elena. I had you investigated. Don’t you think if you had a brother, I would’ve found out about him?” he glared at me viciously.

---