Page 80 of Bratva Queen

He seemed so apprehensive and worried that I quickly started laughing, and Lev himself chuckled too while he ate his food. Aleksei dipped his eyebrow in question and I told him with a shrug, “Greg has a whole safe filled with cash. It was something we got out of him during the…thirdbroken finger, I think?” I asked Lev, and he nodded. “He didn’t want me seeing the money he was making through his drug supply business, afraid I would do the math and figure his secret out, so he hid it instead. During the torture he tried to bargain his freedom with it, so we have the combination.”

Alek shook his head. “Thedurak… Well, the more the better. I made promises to my cellmate too, since he’s going to be on the run for a long time.”

“There’s more than enough,” I said.

“What about Maxim? Wouldn’t it technically be his inheritance?”

I shook my head. “On one hand, Maxim has already made a fortune of his own. And the other, he’s refusing to touch anything of Gregori’s. He feels very betrayed.”

“Greg was like a father to him,” Aleksei said frankly. He didn’t show much anger, but I guessed it was due to the years of training himself to not show any emotion at all. That shot to the head told me everything I needed to know about how he felt toward his brother.

“Yes,” I agreed. “But I taught Maxim to be like you, my love. He’s nothing like Gregori, and that’s why he hates him so much.”

His eyes lifted to mine and I realized I was wrong. He was able to show emotion, hearing about his son seemed to bring up worry and possibly guilt.

“You think he’ll want to know me?” He asked.

I shrugged. “He’s full of confusion about his childhood and how you stayed away, but I think he understands why. He’s also grown into a man. He’s married, with a baby on the way.”

“Really?” Alek asked, sitting back with a smile.

“Yeah. You’re finally going to be a true papa, and a grandpa all at once!” I laughed.

Lev stood up and collected our plates, explaining, “Look, I’m going to get out of the house for the night.” My and Alek’s eyes quickly met, realizing his implication. “Tomorrow, I’ll come back and we can spend some more time together, yes?” He nudged Alek who gave him a grateful smile.

When he walked out the room I leaned in and whispered, “He’s finally got himself a girlfriend.”

“Oh,” Aleksei said, nodding as he turned his body to face me. “And me?” He touched my cheek and tilted his head to the side. “Do I have you?”

I sighed, reaching out to drag my thumb across his bottom lip. “Forever, baby.”

Once I’d walked him upstairs and into the bedroom, his eyes didn’t leave me. With the lights dimmed, I kicked off my shoes and for the first time in ages, felt self-conscious.

“Alek… it’s been a long time.”

He chuckled in a sarcastic way. “Isa… I felt every minute go by. I know that.”

I shrugged. “What I mean is… My body isn’t what it used to be. I’m in my fifties.”

He nodded with understanding. “Firstly, I didn’t expect to come home to a perfectly firm and rounded dancer,” he joked and I laughed, covering my eyes momentarily. “I expected to come home to my love. And she’s right here, looking sexier than I can even explain.”

I looked down at my jeans and loose shirt, stained with smears of blood and continued laughing.

“See? Look at that smile…” he said as though mesmerized. “Now me, on the other hand.” He walked closer and began to unbutton my shirt. “I might have firm muscles, yes… but I have a few more scars than before.” His finger dragged lightly across the scar on my neck. “And none of them are as pretty as this necklace of yours.”

“I want to see,” I said. “Everything.”

“If you insist…” he said with a naughty smile and a bite of his lip, then lifted me onto the bed.

He pulled his shirt over his head and I was met with his defined, hard torso. Love handles, a six pack, and bulging, sexy pecs below his wide shoulders. His biceps were balls of muscle and his forearms thick and veined with strength. My eyes took in every inch and at the same time, discovered his new markings. I could only guess what left them there: stab wounds to his abdomen, deep cuts sliced across his ribs, a gunshot wound on his shoulder. Could it be cigar burns across his chest? They were too big to be cigarettes. Still standing at the foot of the bed he turned around and showed me his back—it was filled with long scars from whippings. I sat forward and ran my fingers down the rippled skin.

Alek turned around and smiled softly. “One of Greg’s buddies at the prison liked to get a little medieval sometimes.” I closed my eyes and sighed. But, before I could even let that pain and guilt seep in, Alek pushed me back and kissed my neck. “Now it’s my turn.”

He unbuttoned my shirt all the way and let it fall open to reveal my black lace bra. Of course, I still liked to wear sexy lingerie even if I didn’t know he would see it tonight. It was a luxury I gave myself. He kissed the swells of my breasts and moved down, kissing my soft stomach as he unbuttoned my jeans. When he shimmied them over my hips and down my thighs, he found the matching panties.

“Hmmm…” his voice grumbled and while shaking his head, he grinned devilishly. “I saw this body in my dreams every night, and baby… it never looked as good as it does right now.”

“Yeah, sure,” I joked and tried to wiggle free of my jeans. Aleksei leaned over me and locked eyes.

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