18. Ivan

CHAPTER 18

Ivan

T he scent of apples is what makes me up. And the weight of someone in my arms.

I don't think it's something I've ever experienced, having a person so close to me the moment my eyes open in the morning. As soon as they do open, though, the first thing I see is thick brown hair, which belongs to I think the only woman I would ever let myself be caught in this position with.

"You know, for someone who's supposedly not a cuddler, you're kind of cutting off all my air circulation right now," Lucia murmurs, tapping on my arms, which are wrapped around her as I hug her from behind.

I chuckle softly before slowly releasing her. I'm really not a cuddler, but my body must have sought out hers in my sleep. Which means I've grown more comfortable with her than I realized.

"I'm not a cuddler," I state.

She turns around to look at me. "So… last night was fun," she drawls.

"Was it?" I ask, unable to stop a small smile as I look at her.

She's a vision in the morning, her face clear and her eyes bright.

"Yeah." Lucia nods. "We should do this again sometime."

"Or all the time. You could always move your things in here, krasavitsa . We'll be married soon."

Her eyes narrow. "Exactly. Soon. Until then, I think the proper thing would be to sleep in separate bedrooms, Mr. Volkov."

"There's nothing proper about what I did to you last night, milaya ," I state, my voice gruff.

My entire body heats with the memory and the urge to take her again hits me with full force. Images of her body writhing under mine flash through my mind. The sounds she made. Fucking hell. My eyes narrow onto her lips and now I'm imagining them wrapped around my cock, while I grip her hair in my hands.

Lucia makes a small sound. "Oh god, do I even want to know what you're thinking about right now?"

I chuckle. "Probably not, sweetheart."

"Did you know your accent comes out more in the mornings?" she asks, her cheeks a little red, no doubt because she's conjuring images of her own. It's cute.

I nod. "Yeah, that's because all my guards are down. I lived in Russia for the first eighteen years of my life. Russian was all I knew before I came to the States. It makes sense that I can't completely get rid of the accent, nor do I want to."

"It must have been hard, navigating a foreign country with a little boy to look after on your own," she says sympathetically.

"It wasn't easy," I agree.

"It's nice that you're still so connected to where you're from. My parents gave birth to me in Italy. According to what Rory's told me, my mom wanted a vacation to Italy for a couple of months with the entire family. My parents met in Milan, so the city has always been special to them. When they realized she was pregnant with me, they stayed there the entire time. They were really happy," she says with a soft smile, like she's trying to imagine memories she could have only been a part of when she was in the womb.

"My family never got to go back, though," Lucia continues. "Mom got sick about two years after. And then she passed away. I guess Italy reminded my Papa of her, and after she died, he seemed to be doing everything not to think of her. He pulled away. Became the Don soon after her death. Everything changed after she died."

"What was your relationship like with your Papa?" I ask, because from the way she's speaking, it seems like she bears him no ill will.

The rumors were that he kicked them out of the Cosa Nostra. Sent them into exile for their own protection.

"My relationship with my Papa was pretty straightforward. I grieved him when he died, but by the time it happened, I didn't have any relationship with him at all. When we still lived together, we would speak once in a while. I could tell he loved us, but I don't think he knew how to express himself with our mother gone. He pulled away. But I admired him, his strength and the way he led the family. He's a lot like Aurora, actually. I think that's why they were always at loggerheads, because their personalities are so similar. Rory always says I'm a lot like our mom, though," she says sadly.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to know her, milaya ."

She blinks and the sadness in her eyes clears up. "Okay, this is really depressing talk for seven in the morning," she says with a small smile. "Can we talk about something else?"

She reminds me of the sun sometimes. The sun rises every day without fail and it never fails to brighten up everything it touches. Lucia's my sun.

"What would you like to talk about?" I ask her.

She thinks about that for a couple of seconds. "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask. Can I go home today? I miss my sister and Ale. They're the reason I came to Chicago, after all."

Her words remind me of something I've been meaning to talk to her about.

"Of course you can visit them, Lucia. You're not my prisoner. Despite what you may think," I tell her with a smirk.

"Thank you."

"Also, we need to talk about your job in New York," I start. "I know your original plan was to come here for a visit, but you've been in Chicago for a while. And now that we're getting married, I'm not sure how we're going to navigate it. Should we move to New York after we get married?"

Her mouth drops open. "What? Wait, are you serious?"

"I know how important your job is to you. And it doesn't matter much to me where we live. My work with the Bratva can be handled remotely. I also have a private jet that can bring me here whenever I want. I'm sure we can make it work. What do you think?"

I'm not sure why, but she seems a little paler, her eyes shadowed.

"Um… so the thing is, Ivan?—"

She doesn't get to finish her statement, though, because there's a sudden knock at the door. I arch an eyebrow, climbing out of bed and putting on some clothes before walking over to open the door. Ruslan's on the other side, his expression tight.

"What is it?" I ask, wondering why he's bothering me so early.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but I couldn't wait to tell you this any longer. Last night when we were taking your brother to the hotel, we were ambushed by some men in black vans."

My brows hitch up. "Where's Alexei?"

"He went with the men. Willingly. He asked me to inform you that he didn't need saving. And he said not to look for him. He's going to make a name for himself on his own. He also said to tell you that he doesn't need you anymore. I tried to stop him, Mr. Volkov, but we were outnumbered and fighting would have led to a bloodbath."

I take in a calming breath as several thoughts run through my head.

"What did the men look like? Any ideas where they're from or who they could be working with?"

Ruslan shakes his head. "I think they're hired mercenaries. I already went to the intelligence team hoping to identify one of them, but so far we've got nothing. Whoever your brother is working with, they've got a lot of power."

My jaw clenches. "He asked me not to look for him?"

"Yes, sir. The men seemed to be answering to him, as well. He wasn't in any danger."

"You can't find any trace of him? His phone?"

"None, sir."

There aren't a lot of people that could help Alexei pull this off. And I know for sure he's not doing this alone. Someone has gotten to him, and that could be dangerous. For him, for me.

"I don't like this," I tell Ruslan. "Look into anyone with enough money and resources to hire mercenaries that aren't in our database. I'll make some calls as well. Give me a few minutes to get dressed."

"Yes, sir," he says inclining his head before leaving.

I shut the door, turning around to find Lucia already on her feet with one of my shirts thrown over her head. I blink, distracted by the sight of her in my clothes. The black shirt flows down and stops at her mid-thigh. I feel a touch of possessiveness at the sight.

The haze of lust clears at the look of worry on her face, though.

"Is Alexei okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, I think so," I mutter, wondering what could be going on in my brother's head. "This is probably just another one of his temper tantrums."

Or at least I hope it is.

"Are you sure? He was pretty angry yesterday," Lucia says, biting down on her bottom lip. "I feel like I'm responsible somehow. Like this is all my fault."

My eyes narrow and then I'm stepping forward, placing a hand on her cheek.

"Hey, hey, look at me," I say, tilting her head up. "None of this is your fault. You did nothing wrong. This is on me. I think all of this has been building up for a while. Somewhere along the line, my brother started to resent me and I had no idea."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Lucia states. "You did your best."

"Well, I need to find him. And you're right, I never should have let him go on believing I killed our mother. It was wrong."

Lucia nods. "Do what you need to do, Ivan."

"I really wanted to make you feel good this morning," I say regretfully, trailing a couple fingers over her cheek.

A teasing glint appears in her eyes. "Oh yeah? How?"

"Well, first, I'd get you all worked up with my tongue," I begin, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "You'd come all over my face, and after, I'd let you return the favor. These pretty lips would wrap around my cock. I'd let you swallow it all the way to the back of your throat. And then I'd fuck you so hard, you wouldn't be able to walk."

Lucia swallows, her eyes twin pools of lust. I'm hard as a rock under my boxer briefs. Fuck me. I'm starting to consider just throwing her onto the bed and fucking her hard and fast.

"That's, uh…" she trails off.

"Did I really just make you speechless, milaya ?" I ask on a laugh.

She punches my arm, a playful smile on her lips. "You're awful, Ivan. And while I'd like very much for you to do all of that. You need to find your brother. If you're good, maybe I'll let you fulfil those fantasies tonight."

"I'll have to do my best to be good, then," I murmur, leaning down and kissing her.

It's slow and sweet. I take my time memorizing the feel of her lips, the way she tastes, until we're both gasping for air.

"You need to go," Lucia says, moaning into my mouth.

"I know, krasavitsa ," I mutter. "What will you be doing all day?"

"I'm going to see my sister, remember?"

"Oh, right," I say on a frown.

In light of recent events, I'm not sure it's a good idea for her to leave the villa. I don't know what Alexei's plotting or who he's plotting it with.

"No," Lucia says, pointing a finger at me. "I know what you're thinking and I am not staying locked up in here. You said I wasn't a prisoner, Ivan."

"You're not," I assure her. "But I need you to be safe."

"I will be. I'm just going to see Aurora. My family's home is the safest place I could be."

I sigh. "Alright. I'll ask Ruslan and a couple of men to accompany you."

"Ruslan?" she says in confusion. "Isn't he your personal guard? I'm not taking him away from you. I'll be fine with Mika."

My jaw tightens at that. "Unfortunately, milaya , Mika's unavailable today. He's currently receiving punishment for what happened yesterday."

"What? It wasn't his fault," Lucia exclaims. "How was he supposed to know Alexei would attack me like that? He went outside because the guards at the gate told him that your brother was around. He was going to ask Alexei what he wanted when he was knocked out. He did his best."

"Uh-huh," I say blankly, barely listening to her. "That doesn't really matter me. He let you get hurt. He failed."

She must see in my face that I'm serious about what I'm saying. She crosses her arms over her chest, her expression stubborn.

"What are you going to do to him?"

"Right now, he's cooling his ass in one of the cells. Tonight, I'll let Ruslan loose on him in the ring."

"Ring?" she asks, brows furrowed.

"A fighting ring. We have one at the building in the back. It's where the men train and occasionally fight against each other. I fight as well, sometimes."

She smiles. "Now, that I'd like to see. I bet you look really hot when you're fighting. Are you good?"

"No one has beaten me yet," I tell her.

"Not even Ruslan?"

I shake my head in reply and her eyes brighten.

"Now I really have to see."

"Maybe one day I'll let you," I assure her.

She shakes her head, probably remembering our previous discussion. "Wait, stop distracting me! You can't let Ruslan fight Mika. Ruslan's a hulk! He'll decimate him."

"Don't worry, baby. I'll make sure he doesn't kill him."

Lucia sighs. "It really wasn't his fault."

"Maybe, but his action or inaction has consequences. Mika's aware of them, as well."

"Fine. But you'd better make sure he doesn't die," she states.

"I promise. I'll see you later, okay? Ruslan will take you to your family whenever you're ready."

"Okay, thanks. Bye."

She kisses me one more time before letting herself out of my bedroom. As soon as she's gone, I direct all my focus onto the problem at hand.

Like I told Ruslan, there aren't a lot of people who could help my brother stage a disappearance like this. He's disappeared before in the past, but I've always found him eventually. For him to go to these lengths means trouble.

And right now, my main suspects are the Pakhan and his sidekicks, Yuri and Damien. And as much as I don't like the thought of it, the Don of the Italians has enough power to pull this off as well, Nicolas Ramirez could be staging some kind of revenge against me for taking his sister-in-law. And he could be using my brother to do so.

I have a lot of enemies, which means I have to keep my eyes peeled. And I have to be ready for what's coming.