“Well, if you say it like that….”

“I worked my ass off every day for the past four years to get to where I am. I saw myself through school, and I got a job, all while simultaneously raising two kids. Do you really think that I’ll throw all of that away just because you want me to be less productive?” The words burst out of me in an angry rush.

I watched him grow soft in an instant, and with the look in his eyes, it was obvious that he understood the pain I had to go through all on my own.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” he said defensively, his voice calm and tender. “Look.” Daniil took gentle steps forward. “I just want you to spend quality time with our children; that’s all.”

Our children.

I sure loved the sound of that.

Who are you, and what have you done with Daniil Wolkov?

Daniil was super nice and understanding, and that was weird—extremely weird.

“You don’t wanna be idle. I get it, and I respect that,” he said. “How about you become the official Bratva financial analyst?” he proposed. “Trust me, you’ll earn more than you ever thought possible. I can guarantee you ten times whatever your old job was paying you.”

The offer was mouthwatering and very tempting, but it was also fair and quite comfortable. Honestly, this was the best offer I had ever been given, and I wasn’t going to turn it down.

“You’re really good at what you do,” he said, coming close to me. “I saw your work firsthand, and I must admit: I was very impressed by your performance back at the meeting. It takes guts for a woman to pull off what you pulled off.” He halted before me, gazing into my eyes.

Shit. He’s too close. He’s too close.

His cologne was turning me on, and he was too hot to resist. I was trying to stay composed, to remember the fear I’d felt for him not so long ago, but I wasn’t sure if I could continue to hold back this feeling.

He touched my hair, caressing it softly as I struggled with my breath. “I’m certain that you’re more than capable of adding value to the business,” he muttered.

I didn’t know which one had more effect on me: his words or his touch.

“This way, we’ll always be around each other and even have meetings in the bedroom,” he whispered into my ear.

My body tensed at the sound of that, and I felt my pussy tickle.

“Oh, yeah?” I managed to speak, pretending to be unbothered. “And what would you do to me during or after these meetings?” I was burning with desire, longing to hear him say something dirty.

“I can think of a few things,” he replied, his hand traveling up my thigh.

I shivered at his touch, and a slight moan escaped me when he pinned my back against the wall. My eyes searched his for a moment as his hands traversed my body, my contours.

His thumb reached my mouth and trailed my trembling lips for a moment.

“You act like you haven’t been with another man since you left,” he said, his tone dripping with jealousy.

“That’s because I haven’t,” I replied faintly, already weakened by his touch. “No man has touched me but you.” I stared into his brown eyes.

Daniil smirked and inserted his thumb gently into my mouth.

“You haven’t fucked anyone else after me?” he asked.

I shook my head, enjoying his thumb and the way I licked it slowly.

I couldn’t wait for what was next.

Chapter 24 – Daniil

Being a father wasn’t something that I’d dreamed about or allowed myself to ponder much on in the past. I’d never really thought about how it would feel to be a father, to have kids. I was all about my business, so diligent and dedicated to building the family name and upholding the legacy.

That was it for me: business, business, business. Sometimes, there was a little bit of pleasure here and there, you know, like sprinkles to make my life less serious.