Page 19 of Brutal Loyalty

“My mother…is alive?” she whispered. The pain of the realization gripped her heart in a vise and she felt tears on her cheeks before she even knew she was crying. A few dry swallows and a deep breath helped her pull herself together a bit, but not by much, and her mind was still stumbling forward, ricocheting between thinking he had to be wrong, or that she really did, still, have her mother.

“You didn’t know,” Roman said blankly. It was a statement rather than a question, and Elena saw a pained expression tighten on his handsome features. She didn’t bother to respond, focusing on reining in her tears as he continued. “She was admitted to Croft Estates about eight years ago, according to Niko’s research. That…that would have been about the time you believed she died, right?”

“Yes.” Elena looked up at him, bleary-eyed and dizzy with shock. “Niko’s research…does it say how she was admitted or why?”

Roman’s mouth twitched and uncertainty played over his face, but his features were rapidly blurring as Elena’s tears continued to fall. With a curse, he moved to sit on the bed next to her and offered a comforting hand. Elena took it without question and squeezed his fingers for reassurance. Only after her tears slowed did Roman speak.

“Your father admitted her,” he said.

The bottom fell out of Elena’s stomach, and the room spun anew. She began to shake now, violently, and the tears began again before she could even think to hold herself together.

“My father?” she asked in a hushed tone—it sounded more like the voice she’d had as a child than the confident one she was known for now.

“Yes.” Roman tilted her chin up with a finger and looked into her eyes. Within those dark gray pools, she saw calm patience, shared pain, and the need to console her—it was a new distraction, and her eyes got lost in his. His mouth pursed, as though he couldn’t find the right words, and a long silence passed between them before he finally spoke again.

“I’m so sorry, Elena. I didn’t realize. I thought…I thought you were trying to deceive me. I never imagined that you really didn’t know.” The remorse in his voice was genuine, and Elena instantly forgave him.

Her father, on the other hand, was a different story. When Elena had been fourteen, she and her sister had gone on a trip to Europe with a chaperone while her parents stayed home, preparing to move to a new house. Then, her father had called, and that was when she’d found out her mother had died. Since she and her sister were away, and their family was between homes, they’d put off having a funeral for her mother. It wasn’t until now that Elena realized exactly why her father had been so adamant about focusing on their move instead of having a funeral for her mother.

“I can’t believe…he would do that.” Elena sniffled and wiped her eyes before continuing. “My mom dealt with MS for years and was starting to really struggle back then, but I can’t believe he would just put her in a nursing home and lie to us! Who does that?”

“I apologize for you finding out this way. Given that she’s still here in Boston, I just assumed you knew,” Roman said quietly.

Elena shook her head, still trying to wrap her mind around what he’d told her. “I didn’t know, Roman. I swear to you. But how could I have not known about this? All this time and she was so close.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight to him. The heat from his body helped to calm her shakes. “You can’t blame yourself. You were deceived by someone you had every reason to trust. As painful as that is, especially when it was someone so close to you who hurt you, it isn’t your fault. All you can do is continue doing what you believe to be right, in this moment, here and now.” He swept the hair out of her face, his touch leaving pinpricks of tingling sensation on her skin.

Before he could pull away, she clasped his hand to the side of her face, relishing the contact.

Roman’s words about deception and betrayal were a cruel reminder of what she had been sent here to do. But after learning about her father’s own deception, she worried about what this might mean for her if her father found out she’d uncovered the lie. There were worse things than dying.

“Stay with me,” she said softly, turning to face him. Their gazes locked, and pleasure spread through Elena’s chest and down her spine like dainty, glimmering diamonds spilled across a table.

Roman’s mouth met Elena’s. The hand on her face slipped downward, to her neck, as the kiss deepened. She let go of his fingers and wrapped her arms around his neck as she opened her mouth to his.

She was hungry for him now. They both shifted on the bed, their bodies closer than ever. With her only wearing a nightgown, and him in those sweatpants, she could feel the delicious warmth rise from their bodies. So near, she smelled the spiced, masculine aroma of his skin and delighted in the taste of his mouth.

CHAPTER15

Elena

Memories of how calm and controlled he had been during their terrifying flight coupled with the intensity of the punishment and orgasm he’d given her outside that strip club joined his soothing embrace now, giving her more insight into the man kissing her than she was prepared to handle. Nevertheless, Elena felt her heart lift despite the shocking news about her mother. He’d brought her that gift, that news, and now he was here with her, closer than ever.

As though sensing her need, he pressed against her in turn, deepening the kiss. Her breath caught in her throat as arousal flooded her. She’d been turned on when he’d spanked her, but that was nothing compared to the fire growing inside her now. With one hand on the back of his neck, she tangled her fingers into his hair, scratching lightly at the base of his scalp and enjoying his answering shudder. With her other hand, she trailed her fingers down his strong chest. His answering groan intensified her arousal, and when she reached the tent in his sweats, his cock throbbed under her questing fingers, growing harder under her touch.

He moaned against her mouth, mumbling endearments to her in Russian. Elena felt powerful—which felt especially good in a time where her life seemed so completely out of control. She wrapped her hand around his cock and squeezed, tugging lightly. His mumbling morphed into a growl.

“Fuck, Elena.” Before he could say more, she pressed their mouths together, teeth clacking against teeth as the kiss intensified.

The motions of their lips grew almost frenzied. With her eyes squeezed shut, Elena’s world was all sensation and no vision. She sucked against his mouth and he against hers. While her hands traced the outline of his cock, his roamed downward from her neck, along her sides, to grasp at her hips and pull her closer still. His motions were controlled and steady, just like his demeanor—everything about him a far cry from the handsy, somewhat clumsy flings she’d had in the past.

Elena broke the kiss to whisper against his neck, “I want you, Roman.”

This man who had so vexed her and annoyed her had quickly become a source of strength and calm for her. She needed him desperately to soothe the anxiety that was threatening to bubble over.

She glanced down between them to tug his erection from the confines of his sweats.

Her hand worked a slow, teasing rhythm. Roman’s hips began to work in time to her movements. She leaned down to taste him and moaned at the spicy flavor of his precome. Roman grabbed her hair, stilling her movements.

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