Page 33 of Slipping into the Dark Side

Did he sometimes want to be someone else?

Who didn’t?

But where did those thoughts get him?

“She failed. And got bit. Whose fault is it really?”

Boris chuckled. He twisted in the chair, putting his feet on the floor, and tried to get the ashes of his cigarette in the ashtray, but he missed by several inches. “No one messes with the Morozovs.”

Yakov heaved up from his chair. “I’m going to shower. See yourself out.”

“I’m gonna pass out on your couch if you don’t mind. The freaking baby won’t stop crying.”

Yakov stared down at the man. “Fatherhood not as wonderful as you thought?”

Boris waved a tired hand. “Just wait. Our sons are going to be best friends, just like us.”

Yakov sneered at the idea. Last week, the thought of having a child didn’t seem as terrible. Tatianna would be beautiful, pregnant. But now, a family caused bitterness on his tongue. Perhaps it wasn’t in the cards for him. He could take one of Luerna’s children as his heir. He would never have to deal witha child’s unconditional love or try to be a father who actually cared.

As he walked to his room, he could hear Lunera’s kids playing in the backroom, but he didn’t want to see her. She was disappointed in him. Luerna truly thought he was falling in love. It was a woman’s simple mindset that made her believe such things. If she was logical, she would have realized what he was doing the whole time. He needed others to believe he was feeling something, so if Tatianna were ever alone with them, they would do nothing but rave about his yearning. Deceiving was one of the main things he was good at. How was it his fault that Tatianna believed in it so easily? She wanted to be loved. She wanted to be desired. Her ego was what destroyed her, not him.

But Yakov wasn’t completely heartless. Nevsky wasn’t allowed to disown her. That should be enough to warrant him some forgiveness.

Not that I need any.

Undressing, he stood in front of the stall, watching the water pour out. Tatianna’s touch still lingered on him. When he closed his eyes, he could still feel the way she gripped his cock. But it wasn’t only her touch that he was craving. Her voice, her presence, everything she was, lingered like a ghost that didn’t know it was dead.

With determination, he flung himself into the boiling water and hissed as it burned his skin. It was better to get her off, to pretend she never was. He had burned that bridge for more than one reason. He knew what she could have been. And weaknesses were not tolerated in the Morozov family.

Chapter sixteen

Curse

Yakov hadn’t thought this through.

When he made Fedor his second, it was all with the intention that Tatianna would be his mistress. It would have been easier for them to see each other and sneak away when Fedor was kept busy, but now, her presence was like meeting someone with the plague.

Yakov clenched his hands behind his back as he spotted her entering the club. She was always well-dressed despite coming from a low-bred family. She wore a plaid pencil skirt and a long black blouse. Her blond hair hung in layers.

What bothered him was not how she was dressed but how she looked. She had a brilliant smile on, as if she had just won the war. It was bullshit. He didn’t know what he had expected,perhaps a gloom in her stance or a harsh glance in his direction, but she did none of this as Fedor led her over.

If anything, her eyes glittered upon seeing him.

It made him weary. What had she done to be so happy?

Yakov glanced behind him, double-checking that his security was still in place.

Fedor hailed from across the club. “Yakov! I love this place. It is so lively.”

Yakov smiled as he walked up to the man. “Is this your first time at my club?” Yakov asked, barely meeting Tatianna’s gaze. Her cheery disposition made his stomach sour. He should have had security search her. No doubt her knife is still attached to her delicious thigh.

Yakov swallowed, turning away and showcasing his building. “It is a great location for business.”

“We don’t have things like this where we are from, do we, Tati?”

Tatianna shook her head. “No, my father would never allow it. He’ll be convinced you are trying to ruin me, Fedor.”

Yakov flicked his eyes to her. Was she playing with him? Was this a fucking mind game? Yakov glanced around for a server. He needed a drink.

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