Chapter 20 - Ivan

We lay like that for some time before it was time for the second bit of my lesson. I didn't bother moving Adley. There was no need, and I bushed her hair off her back to stroke down her spine, getting her attention.

"What do you want to know, Adley? I'll answer your questions honestly."

She scoffed lightly, jostling me as I was still warm inside her. "Now? You want me to ask you now?"

Pulling her chin up so that she looked into my eyes, I nodded. "Yes."

Her brow furrowed, but Adley sighed after a moment, still lying on top of me with her arms pulled into her sides.

"Okay. Well, I guess the easy on first. You work for someone named Vadim you said. Is that the mob?"

I had to chuckle, the simplified breakdown of everything that the Vadims were making me roll my eyes.

"Basically. It's not like the movies, but yes. Sergei Vadim is the Don, and I work for the family. The whole lot of that crew of assholes."

Adley nodded against my chest. "Do you…do you kill people?"

That was the big one—the one I was expecting and the one that would be the most difficult to fully explain.

"Only when necessary. If someone poses a serious threat to the family, me or my brothers, I won't hesitate to take them out. But I do try to find other ways through the situation. Killing is messy, and I don't always have the time or tools for clean up."

There was a long stretch of silence. I wasn't about to break it, either. Adley could take as long as she wanted getting used to that one. I was in no rush.

"What do the Vadims do? I mean, what are there ‘jobs' as far as mob people go?"

That one made me laugh, and I smirked as Adley looked up at me, still stroking my hand up and down her soft skin.

"Mostly, they sell recreational supplements and own clubs where people can use and get shitfaced. They're not big on selling arms anymore. They used to, but it was too risky."

"Oh." Adley's voice was quiet, and I made her look at me again.

"Oh?"

"I just thought…it would be worse, I guess." She shrugged against me, and I still held her chin, making eye contact.

"It's not peachy, but sure. Most of the trouble comes in the way of other families trying to take over Vadim territory or hinder the supply. But yeah, the ‘company motto,' so to speak, is to sell to the rich assholes who can afford it. Their dumb asses can sort it out when they have a problem."

"Ha, well, they tend to have good lawyers, so…"

She let that one hang, and I could sense the contempt from her. "Not a fan of the rich, Adley?"

"Not particularly," she admitted, shrugging again. "They've tried to push out the bodega for years. Rich folk are the reason my family struggles, and I've yet to meet a wealthy person who didn't step on anyone and everyone they could to get to the top."

I laughed, wrapping my arms around her. "You're not wrong."

Stillness crept back in, and after a few moments, I could feel Adley's body relax completely, giving up to the exhaustion as I ran my thumb up and down her arm.

I wasn't especially tired, but I wasn't moving either. So, I just closed my eyes, content to stay right where I was until I couldn't anymore.

***

When morning came, I told Adley I had more business to attend to. Donovan needed tracking, and I needed more information about what he was planning. He would be in the city "running errands" today, which meant he'd be making the rounds among his allies and either guaranteeing their support or cutting off the fat.

Adley seemed to understand and promised not to do anymore snooping while I was out with my brothers. As I finished pulling on my leather jacket, I stopped Adley before she got into the closet and fetched clothes. Now that she'd showered, I pulled her up against me.

"I mean, you could. I'd just have to punish you again."

Her cheeks flushed that delicious pink, and she looked down at the floor for only a moment before her eyes found mine again. The bath towel wrapped around her pressed against my shirt, making it damp.

"I'll ask you if I have a question. I said I would. But…" Adley leaned backward, putting space between us even as I chased after her. "Maybe I'll go to that library of yours and rearrange all the books. They really should be color-coded and then arranged by size. Don't you think?"

I laughed, nuzzling into her neck and kissing her smooth skin. "Hmm, if you're looking for a punishment from me, I wouldn't start with the library. That's Vlad's domain."

"And yours?" She asked breathlessly.

"Oh, between your thighs."

A tiny squeak left her as I reached around her ass to play with her slit, teasing the skin where I could get at it under the towel.

"Ivan!" She giggled, and holy fuck, we were not supposed to be doing this, teasing and toying with each other like teenagers.

But I couldn't help it.

"Get out of here. Before you're late and that Donovan person eludes your expert tracking."

A solid spank on her ass made Adley jump, hissing as the pain played over the sore flesh.

"Be naked when I get home."

"Ivan," she eyed me, "I'm not staying in this room naked all day. If you want me naked, I think you're perfectly capable of doing it yourself."

I glared playfully. "Barreling toward another spanking, sweetheart."

"Oh, so that's what does it? Hmm…"

Yanking Adley against me, I narrowed my eyes at her. "Don't get any ideas, sweetheart. Unless you're ready to accept the consequences."

She blushed, and from down the stairs, I heard Abe's voice call out. "Pull out or finish, fuckface!"

Adley flinched back from his words, and I rolled my eyes. "We'll continue this later."

As much as I wanted to stay, I really did have an Irishman to track, so I pulled her to my lips for a claiming kiss and then left her to get ready for the day.

Tracking people has always been equal parts interesting work and highly tedious. Right now, it was more annoying than ever because I had something I'd much rather be doing.

Or someone as the case was.

***

As far as long ass days went, this one had been top tier. My bones ached from perching on a roof across from Donovan's warehouse, the only place he used for his most covert meetings.

Thankfully, the surveillance equipment had been effective, and I'd been able to listen in from a crumbling, dingy rooftop to an out-of-commission water tower nearby. Donovan had chosen a decent spot as far as security went. There were no other buildings around aside from the defunct tower that had been a severe risk to climb—both from falling injuries and tetanus.

"Ugh," I groaned, coming up the stairs to my room.

Adley would be inside after a day of not doing much, and I envied that. Still, she was about to work for me a bit. We were going right back out, and I needed a date to improve my cover.

Pushing open the door, I found Adley wandering through the bathroom with a watering can. She paid attention to each of the many plants, letting the shower run a bit to get the ones near the balcony.

Huh. Well, I guess she wasn't just sitting around.

I could also tell that she'd cleaned up the place a fair amount, and there was another sketch completed on her easel. This one depicted a woman lying in bed, some invisible figure tending to her and eliciting a look of bliss.

Recognizing the inspiration behind the image, I smiled. This one was certainly my favorite so far.

"Hey, you're back." Adley's voice pulled my attention to the bathroom again, and I watched her walk over to the shower and turn it off.

"I am. But," I took off my jacket, hanging it on a chair near my door along with the bag of clothes I'd picked up for Adley, "I'm not finished. And you're coming with me."

Her eyes flared wide. "I'm sorry, what?"

Stalking toward her, I started pulling my tee over my head. We both needed to change.

"Donovan will be at a boxing match. He doesn't go to that kind of shit often. I know he's meeting with someone there. I need you to come with me as arm candy."

Adley scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can't be serious. I'm not a mob-type person. What would I even do?"

Letting my shirt fall to the floor, I enjoyed how Adley couldn't keep herself from eyeing my chest. Still, we didn't have time for that, unfortunately.

"You don't have to do much. I just need you to be there to keep eyes off me. If I walk in with you looking like a million bucks, the crowd will be less concerned about who I am."

Her brows were still raised, and I could see the tension locked in her muscles from my position a few feet away. Adley was clearly freaked by the idea, but she didn't have a choice. This was my best way in.

"Look," I stepped forward again, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward me, "I don't plan on killing him or something right there in the club. I just need to see who he's meeting with. Get an ear on their conversation if I can. Okay?"

Eyeing me, Adley sucked in a deep breath. She was still rigid, but her stare flicked down to the floor as she closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, Adley met my stare hard.

"You promise. I…I really don't want to be there for an assassination."

Rolling my eyes, I nodded. "Yes. Now, would you hurry up? I need you to get changed."

Adley shook her head, pretending to search the room. "Into what, Ivan? I don't exactly have club clothes."

"I'm aware." I pulled her forward, leading her back to the bedroom and the bag I'd hung up. "That's why I picked something up for you. Get changed. I need to swap out the jeans for a monkey suit."

Patting her on the ass made Adley yelp as she reached for the bag, and I just smirked, walking off toward the closet to don my suit.

When I came out of the closet, decked out in my only suit—a simple black one with a sleek tie that gave off serious John Wick vibes—I found Adley smoothing her hands down the shimmery wine-colored satin of her gown.

My heart skipped around under my ribs, and my cock roared to life. Adley's slim figure looked like it had been painted with the shiny fabric, every curve accentuated by the tight, form-fitting dress.

"Oh, you're changed. Okay, how does this look? Do I look ridiculous?" Adley asked nervously.

I had to clear my throat before speaking, and my mouth suddenly felt very dry. "Not the word I'd use."

Her expression melted into a small smile, her cheeks turning pink. "Oh. Well, good, then."

Approaching her, I smirked, so fucking tempted to pull up that dress and fuck her right then and there. As it was, I sauntered closer, dragging my fingers down her bare arms and admiring the deep cut of the gown's neckline.

The exaggerated V-shape dipped between Adley's breasts, the tension from the strings holding up the top giving her excellent cleavage. Tracking down the rest of her body, I took in how her waist looked especially small compared to her round hips. The dress put the focus on her ass and tits, and fuck, it was doing an excellent job.

"Good, indeed." I spun her around slowly, pulling her hair off her back.

The crisscrossing strings that wove through the back of the gown tied right at the small of her back, and the fabric covering her ass was ruched right in the middle. I'd had to ask the clerk what that was called, but seeing it in action, the slight bunching of the fabric did not disappoint.

God, she looks like a goddamn snack.

I was straining behind the fly of my slacks, my dick rubbing against fabric when all I wanted was to bury it inside Adley as far as I could.

"You should do something with your hair. The back of this dress…well, you need to show it off."

Adley looked beyond flustered, her blush creeping down her neck and across her chest. "Yeah, I was planning on it."

I toyed with the string over her shoulder, lowering my lips to her skin. "How'd you even get this tied up?"

A small laugh left her, and Adley pulled away to walk to the bathroom. "I don't exactly have anyone helping me back home, now do I? I got good at it after a few proms."

Calling out after her, I grinned as I watched her ass in that gown. "Couldn't your mother or sister help?"

"My sister is too busy with her own shit, and my mom's hands aren't great. She has fibromyalgia."

Nodding even though she couldn't see me, I waited for Adley to come out with her hair finished. I expected her to come out with her long waves hoisted up into a ponytail, and to an extent, that's what Adley did. Still, there was a lot more going on than I would have thought possible in just fifteen minutes or so.

Adley's flowing honey-blonde waves were piled up into a swirling bun high on her head. Whispy pieces of hair fell naturally into her face, which had shorter layers. At the back, several long strands tumbled down in a random pattern, trailing down her back and drawing the eye downward to the straps.

When she got closer, I realized that part of the section at the front was actually braided into a wide plait. She'd also swiped on a bit of makeup, her lips shiny from gloss and her eyes sparkling against the subtle smoky eye.

"Damn. I'm impressed."

"One bathroom, five people. Time was always in short supply."

I laughed, holding out my arm for her so that we could leave. Abe and Vlad were staying behind, and the thought that I'd have Adley like this all to myself was more than a little appealing.

"Oh, umm, would you help me quick? I can't really reach in this dress."

Following Adley's eyes, I looked down to see her holding out her foot. The strap of her heel had come undone, and I smirked. I got down on one knee, patting the top of her to get Adley to put her little foot there.

She did, that blush swirling again, and I smiled as I held her eyes, tossing the long fabric of her gown up over her knee. I buckled up the strap easily, making sure it would be secure for her. When it was in place, I hiked the dress a hair further and pressed my lips to the inside of her thigh as my hand slid up.

"Ivan, I—"

But her words stopped as I reached her bare slit. Adley let out a low moan as I swiped my finger across it, and I chuckled darkly.

"No panties? You naughty girl."

"You tell me how panties would work in his dress. You can see everything with how tight it is."

I placed her foot back on the floor, straightening up and kissing her lips briefly. "Oh, I don't mind. I'm going to be thinking about that all night."