Page 6 of His Disobedient Bride

His raw, savage power always compelled and drew me, even despite myself, and he knew it, knew the dark streak in me that writhed and twisted, despite me trying to stifle it.

I spent a relaxing morning at the beach with some of the other women who rotated through the Petrovic Bratva, pleasuring the Pakhan until he tired of them and sent them off with a generous pension. The Black Sea beach wasn’t anything like beaches in the United States, with hard pebbles instead of soft sand. But I loved it! The water was a pretty blue and the sun shone warmly on us.

I looked back at the beach house and caught a glimpse of Frederik in the windows working, his silver head bent over a stack of books.

“Is anyone having sex with Frederik?” I asked. “What do you think he likes in a woman?”

A few of the other women laughed, stretching tanned glistening limbs in the sun.

“He’s like any other man,” Yevgenia said, wrapping her long wet hair up in a bun. “They only want one thing: a good fuck and a wet pussy.”

I worried my bottom lip as the other woman laughed in agreement.

I didn’t think that was true.

Frederik was different. There was something keeping him from allowing himself the pleasures of a wife.

As the sun started slanting closer to supper time, we went inside and I changed into another light sundress, this one white with pale pink roses. I pulled my long dark hair into a braid and gently touched my cheeks, also pink with the warmth of the day.

I walked into the big kitchen to make myself a cup of tea when I heard the unaccustomed sounds of shots in the distance, out where there was a protective wall and guards around the Petrovic summer home. Then I heard the loud, insistent blaring of an alarm. I glanced out of the window and saw dark-clad Bratva lieutenants running toward the easternmost barrier that protected the house from the Bratva’s enemies.

Shit. I knew what that alarm meant. One of the surrounding walls had been breached.

What the fuck.

The sirens blared and I heard Andrei’s lieutenants bark sharp, quick commands. I knew what I was supposed to do in an emergency. I’m the highest-ranking woman in the Bratva with Andrei’s grandmother on a trip, so it is my primary job to make sure that all of the other women in the house are safe and accounted for so we can be driven to a nearby safe house.

I started calling loudly for the women by name, forcing my panic down.

Why would we leave? Why wouldn’t it be safer to remain? Then I smelled smoke and I realized that the beach house had been hit with something flammable.

I shouted out orders to the women, directing them out the big front door to the SUV that would be waiting for us. Then I felt firm, unyielding hands on me and it was two of Andrei’s lieutenants, propelling me outside to the SUV assigned to take me to the safehouse. They knew protecting Andrei Petrovic’s wife was always the number one priority to their vicious, violent leader.

If the men wanted to survive the day, they’d keep me safe.

I counted heads, quickly. 9 women. Surely that was the right number? I counted everyone again. Was anyone missing? There were a lot of fucking goddamn women here all the time. What if I missed one and the intruders broke into the grounds and made it to the house?

No, 9 was the right number. We were all here.

It didn’t take much persuasion to get them in the car. They were all inside, looking around with big, nervous eyes. The noise of the shooting sounded louder in my ears as the smoke from the house began to choke me.

I saw Frederik heading to one of the other SUVs, and we locked eyes and nodded at each other. We knew what had to be done.

I took another look around the grounds and was about to hop in the SUV myself when I felt a big arm grab me around the waist.

I twisted around and it was Dmitri.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I protested angrily. “This car is ready to go.”

But he completely ignored me, slamming the door on the other women and tapping the glass to tell the driver to go. The SUV spun off down the driveway.

Then he threw me over his shoulder and jogged over to his own sleek, dark armored limousine.

“Dmitri! I’m supposed to go in that car! It’s in the safety protocol!” I cried, wriggling and trying to get down.

But like every other goddamn Petrovic, he didn’t listen for shit.

He only put me down when were at the car.

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