4. Mikhail

4

MIKHAIL

" Fuck !" I yell out as the sound of my G Wagon roaring to life fills the air, and it drives away.

The spoiled brat left me fucking naked and stranded on the beach in Coney Island.

I thought running out of the water naked was just another part of Lucia's game. That it was her way of enticing me to follow her back to the car so we could continue our evening of fun .

Her plump ass wiggling with every stride she took toward our pile of clothes had my mind focused on taking her from behind, feeling that luscious backside pressed up against me as my cock pounded into her.

It was why I barely noticed that she was not only grabbing her clothes, but mine too.

Running my fingers through my wet hair, I let out a roar.

I glance around to see if she's at least left me my boxers, but it seems she's taken every item of clothing I had on. Even my socks.

This is exactly why I don't like having fun. Because you end up naked and stranded on a beach while some chick steals your two-hundred-thousand-dollar car.

But then a few feet away, I spot my phone half buried in the sand, and I let out a sigh of relief.

At least she left me something.

I open up my contacts, my thumb hovering over Dimitri's name.

He's the last fucking person I should be calling. Between him and Danil, I'll never hear the end of it. And if I called Alexei…

No. I can't call any of my brothers. Especially Alexei.

I'm meant to be showing him that I've grown up, that I'm ready for more responsibility within the family.

Having him pick me up after a skinny-dipping incident does not exactly scream responsible.

So, I scroll down until I see my cousin's name.

Despite the late hour, he answers on the first ring.

"Anton? I need a favor."

By the time my cousin pulls up to the beach, my body feels like a block of ice. My teeth are chattering so hard that my jaw aches, and my balls have practically crawled their way back inside my body.

"Oh, shit." Anton climbs out of his car, a huge shit-eating grin on his face as he takes in my naked form.

"Part of me thought you might be kidding."

"You think I would kid about something like this?" I growl.

Anton's body is shaking with silent laughter as I stalk toward him, my hands cupping my junk to try and keep it from freezing off.

"Don't make me regret calling you."

"Oh, believe me, I'm so glad you did." Anton laughs, tossing me a clean shirt and pants. I scowl at him, and his grin only widens.

My cousin is the same age as me, which means we grew up together. I view him as my fourth brother because that's essentially what he is.

Many people assumed that we were twins growing up due to the similarities in our appearances. Like me, Anton is partial to some ink though most of his tattoos are contained to his arms and ribs. While he has the slight curl to his hair that Dimitri also inherited, the rest of him is nothing but hard lines and rippling muscle.

It's the Koslov blueprint.

"What the hell happened?" Anton asks as I try to button up my shirt, but my fingers are shaking so badly from the cold that I soon give up.

"Nothing," I grumble as I walk around the car and climb into the passenger seat.

I keep my eyes forward, if only to ignore Anton's grin as he slides in behind the wheel and turns up the heating.

"I came all the way out here. You've got to give me something."

"Fine," I mutter. "I met with Lucia Conti this evening."

" That's who left you out here?"

"Yeah."

That fact only makes Anton howl with laughter.

I ball my hands into fists as my ego takes a battering from my cousin. Though it's nothing compared to what my brothers would do if they found out.

"Why am I not surprised?" Anton shakes his head. "How the hell did she get you out here in the first place? "

"She had a condition I had to meet in order to go ahead with the marriage."

"And that condition was to see your dick shriveled up to the size of a cocktail sausage?"

"It's still bigger than yours, even if it is currently shriveled," I retort. "No, she wanted me to complete a bucket list with her and if I refused, she would tell Massimo I was being difficult."

"That's actually genius." Anton looks at me sideways. "Well, at least you know your marriage won't be boring."

"Trust me. After this little stunt, there's not going to be a wedding."

"How so?"

"All she wants is to party and have fun, so I'm going to do everything in my power to make her life as miserable and mundane as possible. She thinks Massimo is controlling? She's in for a rude awakening. By the time I'm finished with her, she'll be begging her daddy to free her from this deal."

Anton only huffs a laugh.

"Good luck with that. You underestimate Lucia. Nothing is going to make her want to give up her trust fund that easily."

"We'll see…"

Anton drops me back at my townhouse in the heart of Manhattan's financial district. After Alexei made me CEO of our family's distribution company, I bought the property to be close to the office.

It was a lavish investment, considering it's just me that lives here.

There are more than enough bedrooms for my entire family to stay, including my three nieces and nephews.

A small smile tugs at my lips at the thought of my growing family .

I make a mental note to drop by Dimitri and Zara's place soon to check in on the newest additions.

I close the front door behind me and glance around at the empty foyer.

It's quiet, just how I like it.

When it comes to my work life, I love nothing more than being in the center of all the noise and the action. It keeps me motivated. I thrive on the fast-paced lifestyle it offers me.

But my personal life is a different story. The rare evenings that I get to spend at home rather than the office, I usually kick back on the couch with a drink and ESPN.

Deciding that drink can wait a little longer, I head up to the second floor and into my private bathroom.

Though my body is no longer shivering with cold, I turn the shower onto the steam setting, eager to wash off the evening.

I let the scalding hot water cascade over my tense muscles and close my eyes, trying to not picture Lucia's luscious body as I do so.

She might be a spoiled brat and a party girl, but she's also the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. And she knows it too.

Her smooth, tanned skin is begging to be explored, and the way her brown eyes turn molten with desire has me gripping the base of my cock.

I silently curse myself for letting her feel just how turned on she made me. I put all my cards straight into her hand, and I'm not going to make that mistake again.

If I'm going to make Lucia Conti back out of this deal, then I'm going to have to be the one with all the control, not her .

And fuck if that thought doesn't make me almost spill all over my hand.

Grunting, I drop my hand from around my cock and turn off the shower, ignoring the dull throb my denial has left me with as I wrap a towel around my waist and stalk back into my bedroom to get dressed.

I pull on some workout shorts and a black T-shirt and head back down the stairs, desperate for the drink I passed when I got home.

It seems the lack of alcohol does nothing to keep my mind clear. If anything, alcohol would have helped the situation. Because then I would have had an excuse as to why I was naked and stranded on a beach.

Lesson fucking learned.

Just as I'm sitting down on the couch, my phone vibrates in my pocket, and I groan as I pull it out to see Alexei's name flashing on the screen.

It's almost two in the morning, but time means nothing to my brothers and me. If there's work to be done, it gets done, regardless of the time.

"I heard your date with Lucia went well," Alexei says when I answer.

I frown.

Did Massimo call him?

"You did?"

"I heard you made quite a splash ."

Well, that answers that question.

"Fucking Anton." I run my hand through my hair.

"You really thought he would keep something like that quiet?" Alexei laughs.

"Clearly, I was wrong."

Fuck, this isn't good.

The last thing I wanted was for Alexei to find out that Lucia Conti manipulated me like this. It makes me look weak and gullible, two things that a Koslov cannot be.

"Next time, perhaps don't go skinny dipping with such a flight risk."

"What do you want, Alexei?" My patience is finally running dry.

It's been a long day and an even longer night, and I had hoped to at least wait until the morning to share the details of my night with Alexei.

I stalk over to my drinks cabinet and make quick work of pouring myself a triple vodka.

The fact that Lucia Conti managed to get me into this situation practically sober is a feat in and of itself.

I can't risk that happening again.

"I don't want this little incident getting back to Massimo, brat. "

I bristle at his tone, knocking back my drink in one before quickly pouring another. "And you think I do?"

"We need you to not fuck this up."

"I have no intention of fucking this up. Besides, I don't think it's me you need to worry about."

"I know Lucia can be a handful."

My mind fills with images of her cupping her full breasts, and my cock starts to stiffen in my shorts.

She's more than just a handful.

"It's nothing I can't handle."

"I know." Alexei sighs. "We just can't afford to piss Massimo off again. It's a miracle that Dimitri is still breathing after what he did."

"It's a miracle that Dimitri's still breathing, regardless of Massimo Conti."

Alexei lets out a breathy chuckle, and I know the worst of his lecture is over. "Massimo needs us just as much as we need him, Alexei. Remember, regardless, he is the one who asked for this alliance, not us."

My brother is silent for a moment, and I know his thoughts drift to Igor Ivanov as mine do.

He's the reason I'm having to do this. He's the reason that the Koslovs and the Contis are having to join forces. It's the only way we'll be able to take down the infamous bratva Pahkan. Though my stomach twists at the thought of my plan.

If I succeed, will Massimo still stick to his end of the bargain?

"This is all going to work out, Alexei." I'm not sure if I'm telling this for his benefit or mine.

"I know. If you go through with this, you'll be rewarded for your efforts."

"You have nothing to worry about. I have no intention of backing out of this marriage." But with some luck, Lucia will.

"Good. Because we're counting on you, Mikhail."

As if I need reminding.