Page 88 of Scarred (Russian Sinners 2)

Looking at this man that exhibited power and luxury all around him, it was hard to imagine he had to go without. But it made it even more evident how strong he was.

“I’m sorry you and your brothers had a hard childhood. If you’d rather not talk about it-” I cut myself unsure what to say. I couldn’t imagine going without. We had always had unnecessarily too much. My father was greedy and while my grandfather took mother and father out of his will, he didn’t do that to my brother and myself. Too bad my father manipulated his way through the system to obtain sole management of our assets and blew through it by the time we were legal age. But one thing I had was people that loved us and willing to help. I had my mother and brother, I had Anastasia and her family. I reached out my hand and placed it over his. He took my hand and brought it to his lips.

“It was a long time ago,” he retorted. “We survived it. Dimitry was the oldest so he quickly learned the only way we’d get fed consistently was by stealing. So we started stealing at a young age. Sergei was the youngest and he had a hard time staying healthy during cold winters without appropriate heat and clothing in the orphanage. Dimitry secured us a roof over our heads, heat, and food in turn for joining the Russian mafia.”

I couldn’t blame them. Without many options for survival, they were pretty much forced to join a life of crime.

“I killed a man at a young age and many more since,” he retorted and somehow, I wasn’t surprised. There was a dangerous air about him, the way he carried himself. But despite it all, there was nobody else on this planet that could make me feel safer. “We have done some bad stuff.”

He glanced over at me as if he was waiting for my rejection. Or was it that he kept testing me?

“It sounds to me you were trying to survive,” I spoke softly and squeezed his hand. “Who could fault you for it? I certainly wouldn’t hold it against you or your brothers.”

Surprise flashed in his eyes. “I didn’t expect your understanding,” he admitted.

“Why?” I was curious why he thought people wouldn’t understand that.

“Let’s just say people from your social circles don’t have broad acceptance,” he retorted dryly.

I couldn’t contradict him on it. He was right. People in the social circles Anastasia and I were born in were hypocrites and only forgave people from the same social standings with a pedigree.

“Well, if you’ve hung around them long enough, I am sure you have figured out that they are hypocrites,” I told him. “And they’ve done worse for the mere pleasure of entertainment or getting what they wanted. You did it to survive, so I’d say it puts you and your brothers on a higher level than them.”

“Initially, yes,” he replied. “But as we got older, we also did it to secure our financial future. I don’t want to lie to you, Olivia, or pretend I am something I’m not.”

Observing him, I wondered if his warning was for his benefit or my own.

“I don’t want you to pretend to be something you are not,” I told him, and I meant it. “And I’m not delusional about your history. You have been honest with me since the first day we met. But you also told me you got your scar while protecting an innocent man. So that tells me more than anything what kind of man you are.”

He didn’t seem completely in sync with me but we’d have to agree to disagree here.

“Now, let’s just shift this conversation,” I commented lightly, changing the subject, “and tell me about those singular tastes of yours.”

His baritone laugh echoed in the car. “That is a subtle way to change subjects,” he spoke through his chuckle.

“I thought so too,” I replied smiling.

“I’ll have to show you,” his voice was deep, laced with an exciting promise, “because we are home.”

I turned my gaze ahead of us and an automatic iron gate slid open in front of us, opening a vast property. All I could see were trees for miles. He drove through the gate, and I curiously observed. The estate was large and afforded privacy with the trees surrounding them. We drove for a while before a home rose in front of us.

There was nothing extravagant about the home but I loved it. It had a simple charm about it and its wrap around porch with a swing set. I could just envision a family having quiet days and long nights when winter came, children playing in the snow.

“I love this,” I muttered.

“Not too simple?” he asked.

I glanced at him. “No, it is perfect.”

And I meant it. It was what I had always envisioned in those rare instances I thought I’d have a small family of my own. I never wanted a large mansion, staff waiting on me and my family. I wanted a home where all members of the family did it together.

He parked the car, and we both exited the vehicle.

“Tasha is already here, probably running to the little beach in the back of the house,” he commented, seeing my eyes searching. He was right, I was wondering where she was since Ilya’s vehicle was already here. He took my hand. “Let me show you the house.”

Half an hour later, we were finishing up the tour of the inside. The house ended up being bigger than I initially thought or the way it looked from the outside.

“And this is our bedroom.” We were on the top floor, and there was only one room here. The room was large, airy and bright. There were two walk-in closets on the right and a large luxury bathroom on the left side of the room. I have seen large bedrooms in my lifetime but this superseded them all. There was so much natural light coming in, I was sure there was no chance of sleeping in. “The family that owned this house before used this top floor for sewing, so they ensured it was bright and there was plenty of natural light. The mother did sewing professionally. I had automatic shutters installed; otherwise, it gets very bright with the sunrise.”

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