Page 80 of The Lazarov Bratva

“I like to drink.”

“That hardly counts.” Alena laughs. It’s a tinkling, warm sound that settles in my chest.

Standing, I offer my hand, and she takes it immediately. Arm in arm, I lead Alena out of the bay doors and into the garden where the tall trees and thick bushes keep some of the late-evening heat in. Slowly, we wander down the cobblestone path that takes us past marble fountains, carved stone statues of elegant women, and some unkempt bushes.

“Do you have a gardener?” Alena asks, sticking out her free hand and running her fingertip over leaves as we walk.

“Ivan likes to garden, although time has been short lately.”

“So, Ivan likes to garden. Nastja likes fashion and dancing, and you just… kill people?”

“What can I say? I enjoy my work.”

Alena laughs and her arm tightens around my elbow. “You need to find a way to relax.”

“I have you.”

“Other than me,” she teases softly. “I know. I’ll find you a book to read.”

“I hate reading.”

“Even if I ask you to?”

When she looks up at me, the word no vanishes from my mind. “Fine.”

“Awesome.” She beams, and for a moment, this feels normal. Like we’re two normal people on a normal date, wandering through the garden. My heart clenches faintly as a warm, unfamiliar sensation floods my chest.

“If I’m going to read for you, that’s new for me. What’s new for you?”

“Everything.” Alena sighs, and she skips a little alongside me. “Despite how you kidnapped me, this is the freest I’ve ever felt. The food I’ve tried, for one thing. Mara would kill me if she knew I ate McDonald’s twice in a row. I’m… I don’t know. I’m excited to keep trying new things.”

“If there’s anything you want, anything you need,” I tell her, “you ask me, understand?”

She nods, smiling wildly, and the unfamiliar sensation swells further inside me like a balloon.

Near the end of the path, the cobblestones split. One path loops back through the garden toward the house. I take Alena down the other path where the stones fade away to grass, and we approach a collection of thick trees. On the other side is an embankment framed by a stone wall with a single wooden bench, and the twinkling city spreads out at our feet like a sea of glitter.

“Oh, my,” Alena breathes, and she steps half an inch away from me. “The city looks so beautiful from up here.”

I only have eyes for her. “Alena?”

She turns to me, a stunning silhouette against the city backdrop. “Yes?”

“Strip.”

25

ALENA

The power in his voice sends a shiver through my entire body. I slip the straps from my shoulders and unclip the collar chain from the belt. The dress slides down my body and pools like water at my feet. Kristof’s eyes rove over me as I step away from the dress and stop in front of him.

He makes a single appreciative noise, then strides toward the bench facing the city. A small black bag rests on it. He must have planned for this, and that excites me as much as being near him does, as much as the toys filling me do. Whatever his plan is, I’m here for it, and wetness already beads between my thighs as my core throbs.

Things have taken such an exciting turn, and my earlier doubt melts away like sand caught in the wind. I have my own room. He’s promised to bring me everything and anything I ask for, and I have access to more books than I could ever hope to read. It’s a certainty now in my heart that I will do anything for him to show him that I want to make him as happy as he makes me.

Kristof returns to my side with a length of rope in his hands. He moves around me, working in silence as he binds my arms together behind my back, forearm to forearm. The rope is soft and firm, and he binds me firmly then lightly brushes my shoulder with his lips. Back in front of me, he snaps his fingers and points down.

I sink to my knees immediately, but before I can rest back on my ankles, he pushes me fully down into the dirt. Cold seeps into my arms, but the excitement pattering in my heart sends warmth cascading through me, so the chill of the ground becomes a distant afterthought.

---