Chapter 12 - Raisa

I sleep more peacefully than I have in a really long time.

I thought sleeping next to him would be difficult, something I struggled with, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was so comfortable and so peaceful that I just fell right asleep.

I dream about him all night, though.

Just the scent of him was intoxicating enough to filter into my dreams and all night I dreamed that he made love to me in the most beautiful ways.

In the morning, as the sun filters through the open curtains and into my pillow, pulling me awake with its warmth, I get a little fright—realizing that I am lying on his chest, my hand resting on him.

I don’t want to move too suddenly and wake him up because I am embarrassed that I ended up in that position.

Slowly, I roll away from him, onto my side, but he mumbles something in his sleep and rolls with me, wrapping his arm around me and pulling my back up against his chest.

That’s when I feel his cock.

Rock hard, pressing into me.

I swallow hard.

My body begins to tingle and heat builds between my legs. I fight the urge to arch my back and push my ass into him.

He’s asleep and there is no knowing what he is dreaming about. He might be as embarrassed to wake up and be in this position as I was to wake up sleeping on him.

I close my eyes, too nervous to move, and try desperately to go back to sleep.

I can’t, but luckily by the time he wakes up, his cock is calmer and I pretend to still be asleep to not make any of this awkward.

He rolls onto his back and stretches, groaning softly.

I roll onto my back and look over at him.

He grins at me, making my heart flutter wildly.

“Did you sleep well?” He asks.

I nod.

“I’ll make us a coffee,” he says, sitting up, throwing the blanket off himself and swinging his legs off the side of the bed. He isn’t wearing a top and his muscles are flexing as he stretches his arms over his head. I struggle to tear my eyes off him.

I’ve never woken up in the same bed as a man before. I guess I’ve never spent the night in the same bed as a man before either.

I almost don’t want him to stop cuddling me. But that’s ridiculous. I need to pull myself together. I can’t allow these kinds of thoughts.

When he is out of the bedroom and downstairs in the kitchen, I quickly get up and pull my dress on from last night. All I slept in was an oversized t-shirt from the closet. There really weren’t that many other options.

Dressed, as best as I can be, I walk into the kitchen.

Oleg hands me a creamy cup of coffee. It tastes delicious.

“Thank you, this is perfect.”

“I did pay attention. I know how you like your coffee now.” He says with a smirk.

I look down to hide my grin.

“Are we headed back today? To your house?”

“To our house,” Oleg corrects me. “Yes, we are headed home as soon as we’ve had our coffee.”

I don’t think I can think of it that way. It’s not my home. Not by choice. I still believe that once this is all over, I can somehow end the marriage and carry on chasing my own dreams.

Am I being naive thinking that?

Are those dreams over now that I have married him?

My stomach knots and I take a deep breath to stop the sadness that threatens to overwhelm me. I am not ready to give up my dreams of being a doctor.

Those are my dreams. I never wanted to be a wife.

I deserve to chase my dreams.

When we arrive home, I do feel at least some sense of relief for the familiar environment. I have clothes here—and my own space.

After a shower and changing into some fresh jeans and a white jersey, I walk downstairs to find Oleg talking to a woman. She looks close to my age, very pretty with her long dark hair and she’s full of smiles and laughter.

“Yes, but how can you do that behind my back?” She says with a note of tease on her voice.

“It wasn’t something I discussed with anyone.”

“Well—Oleg—I definitely shouldn’t be the last one to find out. I didn’t even find out from you. I heard from my friend’s brother just because he happened to be at that party. Oh, my word— is this her ? “

The woman sees me walking into the living room and turns to face me.

She has the most gorgeous smile.

Oleg practically rolls his eyes at her. “Raisa, this is Anya, my sister.”

Oh.

Is that really his sister?

“Are you ok?” she asks, stepping towards me. I realize I am just staring at her, not saying a word.

“Oh—yes. sorry. I was—I wasn’t expecting—“

Fumbling over my words, I feel like a complete idiot. But I really wasn’t expecting someone like her. After everything I’ve heard about the Dubrovs, I was picturing his sister to be a bratty, spoilt bitch of a woman with overdone makeup and a sour expression on her face.

“It’s really nice to meet you.” She ignores my weirdness and drags me into a hug, which I receive with awkward stiffness.

“You too,” I finally reply, pulling myself together.

“I can’t believe Oleg didn’t even tell me I had a new sister-in-law. I would have been around to say hello already.”

I chuckle. It’s not the most normal of situations. That’s for sure.

Anya declares that we have to have cocktails by the pool, sitting in the sunshine. I glance nervously at Oleg, expecting him to tell me we have to work on the agreement we made last night —that I need to start talking to my brothers right away. But he doesn’t.

“Alright, you girls go get comfortable outside and I’ll make something pink for you.” He laughs shaking his head as he walks towards the kitchen.

“Your brother knows how to make cocktails?” I ask, surprised.

Anya nods. “Oh yes, I made sure all of them learned it’s the best way to impress girls.” She gestures for me to head out onto the patio.

The sun is warm so I pull my jersey off, feeling a little exposed in my crop top, but the sunshine feels amazing on my skin.

Anya flops down onto the poolside lounger and stretches her feet out in front of her. I do the same, still confused about why she is nothing like the rumors led me to believe she would be.

“Do you help your brothers—I mean with the business?”

“Oh gosh, no. I’m not really interested in that at all. I just recently started my own little side business. I’m really excited about it. It’s a perfume company. I get to have scents made from scratch and it’s so much fun. Next time I come visit, I’ll bring you a bunch of samples.”

“That does sound fun. You can always smell exactly how you want to smell.” I grin.

“What do you do?” she asks, rolling onto her side to look at me.

“I am studying—um—I was studying to be a doctor. I got accepted into the university here in the city and the lessons start in two months.”

“Wow. Are you kidding me? A doctor? That’s so impressive. So, you must be pretty smart then.”

“I guess. I don’t even know if I can still study with everything that’s happened. It’s a real dream of mine. One I really don’t want to lose.”

Oleg arrives with two long glasses, filled with bright pink icy liquid and strawberries. I’m really impressed.

“Gin and vodka,” he says, handing them to us.

“It’s really pretty,” I say, admiring his presentation.

“And they taste amazing,” Anya nods, releasing the straw.

“Listen, girls, I need to do some work. Are you two ok down here?” He is looking at me even though he’s talking to both of us. I nod. “I’m fine down here.”

“Me too,” Anya says. “As long as you left all the stuff out so we can make another one of these later.”

“It’s all there,” Oleg says, grinning as he walks off.

Anya turns and waits, watching until he is out of sight. Then she spins towards me. “I could not believe it when they told me he was married. I was so shocked.”

“Why?” I ask, curious as ever.

“Because Oleg is so responsible . He’s the most level-headed man I’ve ever met. He’s the dependable one of all my brothers.”

“Really?” I guess I never really saw him that way.

“Yes, for sure. He never gets into any trouble, and always takes care of the rest of us. He also hates violence—so I guess that’s one of the reasons he avoids trouble. He’s the complete opposite of my other brother, Alexei. Alex was born in trouble!—“she laughs loudly.

It’s so strange sitting here chatting to Anya. I am learning more about Oleg from her than I do from him. But it makes me think, and I realize that I never really bothered to even try and get to know Oleg.

It has been a really weird situation and I was really angry.

I still am, I mean, it’s not like I chose to be here, married to him. But seeing as I am here, maybe I should at least try to find out more about him.

The way Anya speaks about him—she really loves her brother. She looks up to him and they have a good relationship.

Anya is also very similar to me. She isn’t interested in the Bratva lifestyle at all. It sounds like she has been very sheltered from it by her brothers. She has an innocence about her that suggests she really doesn’t know much about it at all.

I know enough to know that I don’t want to know.

All afternoon, Anya and I sit together talking by the pool.

We have three pink cocktails—the second one we make ourselves and the third one Oleg comes downstairs from his office to make for us although, I think he just wanted to check up on us.

He seems nervous to leave me alone with his sister for some reason.

Maybe he’s worried she will spill his secrets.

When we are alone again, I ask Anya, “why wasn’t Oleg married? Aren’t all of your other brothers married?”

“Yes, they are. Oleg didn’t even really date. He just wasn’t interested in women. I think he was too focused on the business and making sure the family was ok. I think that’s the only reason he is so good at what he does, he does it for his family. I guess he never gave himself the time to meet someone or to fall in love. I thought he was never going to get married.”

I smile, staring out across the garden.

But here he is. Married to a girl he kidnapped.

“I guess he changed his mind about marriage when it became about business, too,” I shrug, sipping my cocktail.

Anya laughs, shaking her head vigorously.

“Sure, it might have started as a marriage of convenience, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you. My brother doesn’t look at people like that. You’ve definitely caught his attention.”

Anya stays until it’s almost dinner time. Oleg invites her to join us for dinner, but she says she already had plans with a friend.

When she is gone, I am still feeling a little giggly and happy from my afternoon in the sun having girl time.

I’ve been really missing my own sister, so it was lovely that I got to spend the day with Anya.

“You got on well together,” Oleg says, his eyes narrowed towards me as though it is a question rather than a comment.

“I love her. She’s great.”

He smirks, nodding as he pulls the chair out for me at the dinner table. “Well, that’s good to know. Do you want another drink with dinner?” He is standing right behind me as I sit down and he leans over me to ask the question. A wave of his cologne washes over me and my body tenses, eager to reach out and touch him. I really shouldn’t drink anymore. I might do or say something embarrassing.

“Oh, no. I’m not much of a drinker. I’ll wake up with a headache tomorrow.”

“I’ll get you a glass of water then.”

He gently places his hand on my shoulder before he leaves. His fingers warm against me. His touch is welcome and when he walks away, my skin feels cold.

Oleg sits down next to me for dinner. His leg brushes against mine beneath the table and is a constant distraction.

“I think she liked you too.” He smiles as he dishes up for us.

“Are you close with your family?” I ask boldly, with the bravery of someone who had a few drinks.

“I am. We are all close, but—“

He falls silent for a moment and I find myself staring at him. Tracing my eyes over his profile. I want to trace my fingers over that sculpted jawline, down his neck and over his collarbone where his tattoo starts.

“But what?” I ask, once I get impatient.

“But I am different from them. This lifestyle—it’s not what I would have chosen for myself. I love them, and I would do anything for them. But I wanted something different for my life.”

He looks lost in thought when he speaks, even a little distant, so I decide to change the subject.

“I had a fun day today.” I grin.

He narrows his eyes towards me curiously.

“Is that so?” he grins.

I love that cheeky smile of his. I bite my lip when my mind begins to race over how gorgeous his body is and how badly I want it pressed against me again.