Page 15 of Slipping into the Dark Side

“I don’t need to force you into submission, Miss Nevsky. Do you know why?” Yakov’s hand landed on her ankle, and she watched it glide over her calf and up to her knee. Her breath hitched with every inch.

But he stopped, and she yearned for him to go higher.

“Because with or without it, you will come to me.”

She swallowed hard, trying not to move, to ‘accidentally’ force his hand to drift further. “What makes you think that?”

He shrugged, his eyes sinking down her long neck to the dip in her cleavage. “If it is the long game you wish to play, then I am here for it. But if, at any point, you want to give up this farce ofa dutiful daughter and doting fiancée, I will be more than happy to rescue you.”

Tatianna couldn’t breathe with him so close. His words were sinking into her as if she were a dying ship in the ocean heading straight for the bottom of the abyss. His eyes were a Siren’s song, drugging her, pulling her. The word ‘rescue’ was a spear to her heart because, for so long, all she wanted was to be saved.

To saveherself, Tatianna pushed out, “I’m marrying Fedor.” She pulled her leg out, fixed her dress, and stiffly maneuvered her back to him.

Yakov smirked, impressed by her withdrawal. “Then what are you doing here?”

Tatianna snapped to her feet, a ship breaking the waves, returning to the surface. “I should go.”

Yakov sat back and watched her fiddle with indecision. He was disappointed but not surprised. She was loyal and obedient—everything a woman of her birth should be. He didn’t want to break those values in her. He just wanted them for himself. He wanted her to be loyal and obedient to him.

“My sister Luerna is celebrating the birth of her twins,” Yakov interrupted her departure. “I know she would love more female friends, and since you are such a great conversationalist about senseless things, I’d like to extend an invitation. The gentlemen will be having a much more interesting time. I’ll send an invite to Fedor. No doubt, he would love to celebrate. I heard he is now the new head of the Utkins’ household. I should call to congratulate him.”

Tatianna wasn’t sure what she heard in his words, but there was something hidden in the depth that made her pause. “What are you planning for him?”

Yakov took up his drink. “It doesn’t concern you.”

“I’m marrying him, it does concern me. He is a good man.”

“Yes. I’m aware.”

“He won’t see that you are playing him to get to me.”

“As grandiose as your ego is, Miss Nevsky, I’m sad to report it is not about you. I had plans long before I met you that the Utkins had potential. Fedor is my way into the rest of his family.”

“Killing his father wasn’t the best way to go about it.”

A smile paused him. She could see his faults better than anyone. “No. Unfortunately, I am impulsive. It is a family curse.”

Tatianna didn’t know if she believed it, but she doubted Yakov lied often. He didn’t seem very good at it. “Fedor likes you. He wants to be just like you.”

Yakov stood. He looked squarely at her. They both knew the impossibility of such a thing. As she herself said, Fedor’s a good man, and good men don’t become mafia leaders. “Should I tell him, or should you?”

Chapter eight

Weakness

Yakov sat on the windowsill. The party was well underway, and the hall was full of gentlemen. Gambling was currently illegal under the Soviet Government, but here in his household, he dared any KGB to tell him he couldn’t do something.

Speaking of, several KGB soldiers sat at a round table drinking his liquor and smoking his cigarettes. Their table was rigged to help them make the most money. Keeping members of the KGB happy was the only way to survive in this decade. Little did they know that the men they were playing with were listening for any juicy detail that could help Yakov blackmail them in the future.

Luerna’s husband, Novo, was the center of attention. Having healthy twins was a miracle, and they made sure he was celebrated for doing absolutely nothing with drinks, drugs, andwomen. Novo was nearly forty and a captain in the army with an attitude to match it. Yakov never liked him much, but now that Yakov was the boss, Novo was very accommodating. It could have been the threat to cut off his balls if Novo ever beat his sister again, or they just understood each other better now.

Fedor entered the room, a little taken aback by the amount of people. Yakov tried to see it from a virgin’s view, and he could say it was a little overwhelming. Women were walking around topless while others gyrated on a makeshift stage. Yakov hid his scoff with a quick drink. Fedor’s innocents annoyed him but Yakov raised his hand in greeting, and Fedor gaily approached him.

Fedor held out his hand in greeting and said, “This is very extravagant, Mr. Morozov.”

Yakov shook his hand. “How many times must I ask you to call me Yakov?”

“I’m sorry. It doesn’t feel right.”

---