Epilogue - Max

Three months later

There was no doubt in my mind that my wife was the most beautiful in the room, whip-smart, and bestowed with many talents, but cooking wasn’t one of them. The woman could barely cook bacon without incinerating it, and her few attempts to surprise me with a homemade dinner had been inedible, leaving me laughing and Brooke wiping away frustrated tears before she started cracking up at the fiascos herself.

So, why we were hosting Thanksgiving dinner was beyond me, but I couldn’t say no to her.

“Smells great,” Katie said, taking a big sniff as I let her, Aleks, and my niece Alina in.

“That’s because it’s catered,” I admitted, just to wipe the look of worry off of Aleks’s face.

He’d been invited over for lunch a few times when he was down to inspect some of the new bars I’d invested in, and he knew if Brooke had been slaving over an oven all day, he wasn’t in for a good time.

“Oh, you should have just told me, and I would have arranged everything,” Katie said, getting her feisty little daughter out of her jacket so she could toddle off to find her half-sister, who’d arrived with our younger sister, Mila. It was a full house.

“You’ve met Brooke, right?” I said jokingly. “When she puts her mind to something, there’s no arguing. “She’s determined to be the best hostess there is, so play along.”

Katie swiped me in the arm. “I’m sure it’ll be amazing. It’s awfully brave to host Thanksgiving as a newlywed, especially for the whole family.” When Aleks loyally reminded her she did Christmas the year before, she only rolled her eyes. “I’m a professional caterer, though. I can cook for a crowd with my eyes closed.”

She went into the kitchen to help out, and I led Aleks to the deck where the rest of us siblings were enjoying the cool weather and a few beers. Even though the dinner was catered, Brooke had drawn the line at having servers, intent on having it be a traditional family meal she brought to the table herself, even if she didn’t cook it.

God, I loved that woman.

Dima, Lev, and Mila were in the middle of an argument about the best detonators while Katie was trying to keep the swearing to a minimum, with Alina playing on the sand just below with Nataliye. It was hard to believe Nat had once been furious to the point of almost cutting her father and his new wife off completely with the way she was doting on her half-sister. It was a testament to how everything seemed to work out for all of us.

I smiled as Brooke came out, laden down under a huge tray of appetizers, and jumped up to take it from her. She sighed with relief as everyone dove into the artichoke dip and veggies, then hurried back into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder that the turkey was just about heated up.

“I mean, ready,” she said, blushing to her hairline.

“They know,” I shouted after her. “Or else they’d all run for the hills,” I said much more quietly, making Ivan crack up.

“She’s brave to have us all, even if she didn’t cook,” he said.

“Yeah, that’s what Katie said,” Aleks added. “We can be a handful.”

He was right about that, but my wife was nothing if not brave. While I was busy setting up a new empire for us, she had been toiling at her studies and had finally chosen a major. Crisis counseling was the last thing I would have guessed, but she drew so much strength from speaking to Luca Ross’s other victims, and had been so grateful to my assistant for lending an ear when she was having trouble getting past his crimes, that she was going to do her best to be that ear for others.

I had been so proud when she explained it all that I nearly burst. There was no way I could ever express to Brooke how much she impressed me. I tried my best, though, lavishing her with gifts she always insisted she didn’t need. That only made me want to spoil her more, and I finally got her to admit she needed one of those gifts when the baby blue convertible was delivered just a week ago.

She had been working so hard, always hunched over her computer with her online classes, then tagging along after me to soak up the family business she was determined to be a part of. I wanted to give her that last bit of freedom. The ability to go wherever she wanted on her own, without having to ask anyone.

Yes, I still had guards following her, but they sat in the passenger seat now. My girl was in charge of her own destiny, and I was so damn grateful she chose to be with me.

The only thing that came close to giving me as much happiness was the fact that all the permits were finally in order and I could start rebuilding the diner in Hollywood. And plans were well under way to get the second branch open down here, but for the moment, I wasn’t in too big of a hurry since Brooke, and I were planning a real honeymoon for Christmas time. Our first one together was going to be just us on a European river cruise.

The doorbell rang, and I heard Brooke squeal through the open glass doors that let in the cool breeze and the delicious aroma of roasted turkey.

“Oh, that must be Jenna and Lev,” Mila said, scurrying into the house.

The rest of us followed to greet our newest nephew, Artem Andrew. Brooke had already met him, having taken the jet up to San Francisco for his birth, but for the rest of us, it was our first time seeing the tiny tyke in his mound of blankets despite the mild weather. They had gone back and forth about traveling so soon after the baby’s birth, but in the end, they couldn’t resist showing him off.

I watched Brooke peering down at him with an angelic look on her face but no real hunger in her eyes.

“When will it be your turn?” Dima asked me, and the others all inevitably chimed in with, coaxing us to add a new member to the family.

“We’re taking our time,” I said, wrapping my arm around Brooke’s shoulders. “This one wants to finish college first.”

“I don’t have to finish,” she piped in, surprising me. “Just get a little bit further, that’s all.”

I gave her a look promising we could start working on that whenever she was ready, and in the meantime, I was happy with practice runs.

Now that everyone had arrived, we all sat down to dig in, talking over each other, laughing and joking around. Ivan stood up, waving one of the turkey legs he fought for, and declared it was the best Thanksgiving he’d been to since the last one.

We all cracked up, but I caught a glimpse of Brooke’s eyes welling with unshed tears. Ignoring all the noise, I leaned close.

“He was only teasing. The food’s great, and you really hit it out of the park getting everyone here.”

She shook her head. “I’m not offended. I’m just…” she gulped and smiled at me so brightly I had to blink. “This is everything I ever wanted. A big loving family of my own.”

“Well, you’ve got us,” Dima said from her other side, overhearing her.

When she gave him a hug, I no longer felt any stirring of jealousy since I knew she was truly mine, but still reached over and lightly slapped my younger brother across the head for hanging on a second more than necessary.

The party went on for far too long after that, with second helpings by the small bonfire that Ivan and Dima insisted on building and setting ablaze. I almost wished the county cops would bust in and nail us for some sort of safety violation just to get everyone out so I could have Brooke to myself.

But I couldn’t begrudge her the time to bask in her new sister and brothers-in-law or those two babies she couldn’t seem to get enough of. It was past midnight when Jenna dragged Lev away, turning down my invitation to spend the night with the excuse that Artem might wake us up when he hollered for his three o’clock feeding. I gave her a grateful smile, and she winked at me before leaving. Everyone else seemed like they weren’t going anywhere until Dima got a message from our crew saying there was a problem at one of my new bars.

“Hell no, let it burn,” I said, even as I got up to take care of it.

Dima and Ivan shoved me back down in my seat. “We’ve got this. Enjoy what’s left of your first Thanksgiving with your wife.”

Aleks took the hint at that, and he, Katie and Alina headed home. Brooke was about to tell them there was no way they could drive all that distance so late at night, but I gave her a look that had her pressing her lips together. As soon as we were alone, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her body close to mine.

“God, I thought they were going to move in permanently,” I said, nuzzling the soft spot above her collarbone.

“After all the times they had me as a guest, I can’t believe you…” she trailed off when I found the place near her ear that always drove her crazy.

“Aleks owns a hotel about twenty minutes from here,” I said, licking her earlobe. “They’ll be fine.”

“Well, in that case, keep going.”

Her leg rose to wrap around my hip, and palming her ass, I lifted her so that her heat ground against my middle. Backing her toward the deck, I settled her on the edge of the wide railing, then found her mouth with mine.

“You taste just like the apple cobbler,” I said, licking her lower lip while I slid my hands up her back.

“And you taste like pumpkin pie,” she said, moaning when I nudged her legs apart and moved between them.

My cock was as hard as steel and straining at my pants as I tugged her dress up around her hips to get to her heat. Her arms locked around my neck as she ground against me, already as wild as I was. We had a spark that could never be put out, always glimmering in the background and waiting to become a flame.

“Max,” she sighed, nipping at my lip. “Touch me.”

I had one hand tangled in her hair and the other pulling her zipper down the length of her back, but I knew just what she was pleading for. Holding her as she leaned back over the sand below us, I slipped my hand between her thighs and found the damp fabric of her panties.

“How are you so wet for me already?” I groaned as I shoved them aside to sink my fingers into her tight pussy.

“I’ve been wet for you since you ran your hand up my leg during dessert.”

“That was nothing,” I laughed.

“Everything you do makes me wild,” she said, hungrily grabbing at my hair to bring my mouth down to hers.

I eased my fingers out of her, reveling in the sound of her moans and the feel of her sigh on my lips, then circled her swollen clit until she was writhing in my arms.

“Just a little longer,” I said. “You don’t know how much I love playing with your sweet little pussy, my love.”

She jerked against my fingers, clamping her teeth into my shoulder as I inadvertently tipped her over the edge. Wanting to feel her tight channel spasm around my fingers, I thrust into her, making her cry out and whip her head back. I kept a tight hold around her waist, not letting her fall, and marveled at her trust in me.

Slowing my movements, I eased her back from the heights I sent her to, watching her eyes go darkest midnight blue as she straightened up. That wild hunger that only I could sate danced in them as she reached for my pants, popping the button and jerking down the zipper.

“Oh, hell,” I groaned.

Her grip on my cock had me almost losing my hold on her, but she slid down off the railing to her knees. Before I could take another breath, she had me in her mouth. Her slippery, wet lips dragged along my length as she dug her fingers into the sides of my thighs. I watched in frozen fascination as her tongue darted around my tip, lapping up my dripping juices as eagerly as if it were the finest wine.

Her hair fluttered behind her in the breeze from the ocean and I closed my eyes, taking in the sensations from her luscious mouth as I breathed in the salty scent from the sea she loved so much. So many nights we’d spent naked in the sand as the edges of the surf licked at our feet. I would have taken her down there if it weren’t just starting to get too cold.

Trying to distract myself from the magic she was working on my cock didn’t last long, and I reached down to pull her up.

“No, it’s too good,” she whined.

“I’m about to come down your throat,” I said, voice ragged from need. “I’d rather fuck your perfect little pussy.”

She pouted for a split second, but when I had her turned around and bent over the rail with my hand between her thighs to work her clit from behind, she nodded.

“Okay, this is good, too,” she said.

As she shuddered under my palm, I lined up my cock with her opening, teasing her up and down until she reached around and grabbed my arm, snarling, “Now. Fuck me now, Max. Please.”

“I can’t say no to you,” I said, my chuckle cut off when she raised her gorgeous ass in a pleading invitation, her pussy slick and shining and needing my cock.

I was deep inside her a second later, pounding hard and fast as I held onto her hips. She pressed back against me to help drive deeper, a growl rising up from her throat to turn into a scream as she spasmed around my cock.

We were a reasonable distance from our nearest neighbors, but she still slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the next cry. I laughed, full of joy, never, never wanting this to end. But her tight body clenching onto me had me spilling my seed inside her within seconds of her orgasm, and we finally fell into one of the deck chairs.

Gasping and sweating despite the cool night air, I could only hold onto her as she held onto me. Her face lifted to reveal eyes full of love and the same happiness that coursed through me.

“Tell me,” I said, heart beating out of my chest.

She nodded, knowing exactly what I wanted to hear. “I love you,” she said.

“What else?”

With a deep breath and a heart-rending smile, she pulled my face close to hers. “I’m yours. Now you tell me.”

Anything she wanted, for the rest of our lives. “I love you,” I told her. “And I am most definitely yours.”

*****

THE END

Hi! I hope you enjoyed reading “The Bratva's Forced Innocent Bride”. The next part in my “Fokin Bratva” series is “The Bratva’s Sold Bride”. Check out the book and grab your copy below:

The Bratva’s Sold Bride

I was sold off as a bride to a much older Bratva guy…

He’s my Bratva boss’s brother, and gives me possessive looks in the office.

When my family needs to settle a debt, he cruelly takes his chance.

He buys my curves like they’re property and forces me to become his Bratva bride.

I’ve tried to be the perfectly professional assistant, but he wants to break me.

He hauls me away in his private plane with just the clothes on my back.

He puts me in a wedding dress and walks me down the aisle like a good little bride.

I’ve been well and truly sold, and there are no refunds.

His stormy, ice-cold eyes freeze the blood in my veins.

His hard muscles overpower my weak curves with no chance to escape.

He whispers I’m his, and that nobody takes what’s his.

And all the while, he makes my body fall apart in his capable, cruel hands.

Should I give my body and soul to a Bratva monster?

Read “The Bratva’s Sold Bride” now