Page 19 of Sinful Betrayal

I’ve never experienced family like this. There are no happy pictures littered around my home, except old ones of me and my mother that were taken before she died.

My chest tightens as I look at the smiles on each of the faces of the Koslov family.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so alone.

6

ANTON

My reasonsfor keeping Nina close aren’t entirely innocent.

Of course, I want to make sure she’s safe while I figure out why the hell two men attacked her barely a hundred yards away from my bar. But I also like having her around.

It took me a while to place the familiar feeling I had as I stared into her pale blue eyes, but as she sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at me, it all came flooding back.

She reminds me of a girl I once dated when I was eighteen. A girl I thought I was going to marry and settle down with. Who I would wake up to every morning wrapped in my arms…

That dream was shattered abruptly.

It’s something I try not to think about very often. I’m surrounded by disgrace every day, which is one of the main reasons I decorated my home like I have.

I wanted a place that was filled with warmth and light. It’s such a contrast to my actual reality that it helps me to disconnect from my real life and forget the past.

I’ve also read that plants and earthy tones are calming to people with Alzheimer’s, and I’ll do whatever I can to help my mother feel at peace despite her illness.

I’m so lost in my own thoughts as I drive back to the city that I barely register the fact that I’m almost at Nina’s apartment. She lives in an upscale apartment block on the Upper West Side, and I can’t help but be intrigued as to what I’ll find inside.

Parking across the street, I hurry inside the building and take the elevator up to the sixth floor.

The place seems safe enough to any regular civilian. But it is lacking, big time.

For one, no one stops me from entering and heading wherever I want to go, nor do they check my identity or if I’m even armed.

And for two, a few pin pads and some security cameras won’t be enough to keep out Igor Ivanov.

Stepping out of the elevator, I turn left and make my way to apartment 6B and punch in the code for the lock.

The moment the door swings open, I’m immediately hit by Nina’s floral perfume.

My eyes close as I inhale deeply, imagining her waiting for me back at home, sprawled across my couch in that skimpy little outfit.

I was hoping to get her back to my place tonight, but I had figured we’d head to my penthouse in the city and in the morning, we’d part ways, both satisfied after a long night of pleasure.

What I wasn’t expecting was to be in her apartment, packing her an overnight bag.

Closing the door behind me, I glance around the small open plan living space.

It’s exactly what I expected, except every available surface is covered in clothes.

“How the hell does she find anything in here?” I reach into my pocket for my phone and open up the list.

I head straight into the bedroom, grabbing an overnight bag from the closet and getting to work stuffing it full with copious amounts of athleisure wear and pale pink tights and skirts. Once I’m finished with all of her clothes, I head to the dresser that is beside her bed and open up the top drawer.

I groan as I look at all the lace panties. “I should have sent someone else to do this.

The last thing I should be doing is imagining what it would be like to get on my knees before her and sliding the lace over her toned thighs, but I can’t fucking help it.

She’s intoxicating, and my cock is begging me to take her to my bed.

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