“Is it?” I sucked on her clit.
Stirring under me, she groaned in pleasure.
I lapped at her pussy, relishing in the taste of her. My cock went back to erect. I planned to ram it back into Ava once I made her cum from my mouth.
“Oh shit!” She squirmed under me.
I held her in place and wrote my name on her clit with my tongue, capitalizing each letter.
I roared, “Say my name!”
“Misha.”
“Who’s the boss?”
“Misha!”
Twenty minutes later, after more licking and fucking, Ava snored next to me. She’d had her hair in a nice bun for the meeting. Now her hair was splayed all over the pillow and some strands stuck to the side of her face. The black jacket was still half on. And sweat coated her whole body.
Smiling, I watched my gorgeous ballerina.
Don’t worry, my love. Now that I finally have you, I won’t get myself killed.
My phone rang. I hurried to grab it so that Ava wouldn’t wake.
I picked it up. “Yes?”
A man’s deep voice spoke. It had an accent that I couldn’t catch. “Mosquito.”
Yawning, I rose from the bed. “Who is this?”
“You shut down the power in my country, but do not know my voice?”
Someone from Japan. No wonder I didn’t get the accent.
He continued, “You helped my enemies take something precious from me. Therefore, I will help your enemies take something precious from you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories and folktales. Their purpose is to teach moral truths.”
Is this Kenji—the Dragon?
“Moral truths?” Pain hit my temples. “Do you intend to give me a lesson in moral truths?”
“Not at all. I just wonder if you have ever heard the story of the Mosquito and the Dragon?”
“I have not.”
“That is because none exist. If a foolish mosquito were to ever make war with a dragon, the tiny creature would be dead in seconds.”
The phone call ended. Annoyed, I stared at the device, wishing I could charge into it and grasp onto the Dragon’s neck.
I knew that helping the Xecutioners could make an enemy with the Dragon. The only problem is if he thinks the whole Brotherhood is against him too. I don’t need to give Kazimir more problems.
I headed back to bed, but the phone rang again.
This time I checked the screen and relaxed. “Give me some good news.”
Naveen spoke. “We’ve got a problem.”
“Of course we do.” I gripped the phone hard. “What is it?”
“Leonid took his sister underground. She hasn’t been to class in three days. Maxwell and I broke into her apartment. All her clothes and personal items are gone. She definitely packed and disappeared.”
“So, he anticipated my next move.”
“Leonid knows that it’s only a matter of time before the Xecutioners finish out their contract. What’s next, Misha?”
“We fight the Xecutioners.”
Naveen sighed. “We can take them. Of that, I have no doubt. My only problem is will you still be alive afterward.”
“That would be my goal.”
“We have to think of something else. One never goes to war unless their guaranteed they could win. A 50/50 chance of survival doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Me either. But for now. . .come home. We will need our rest.”
Shutting off the phone, I walked over to the bookshelf and sat down by the small table, that displayed all my 3D chess boards. Exhaustion poured over me. All this time I’d been fighting for Ava and me to stay alive. And still, I had the matter of Kaz’s nukes playing in the background, far off in Paris. Not to mention, I would still need to hold some sort of funeral for my father for all those mourning him.
And also there’s my little girl. To deal with Valentina, I’ll need no other distractions.
I studied the 3D chessboard. I’d commissioned an Italian artist to create this. It took him over 4,500 hours to design and handmake the chessboard and pieces.
My father thought it was silly to spend half a million on a game. I disagreed. Through the years my playing this board helped me strategize life in the most beneficial moments.
In some ways, these boards helped me get Ava. The first night I saw her, I immediately came here to play 3D chess, wondering the best moves to take to make her mine.
Instead of running around with my head cut off, I should have been sitting here playing this game.
Sometimes the best moves in war arose from sitting down in deep thought.
How do I fix all of my problems?
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the elegant boards.
Legendary German chess master Lionel Kieseritzky created the classic three-dimensional design in 1851. It was the largest chest board in existence. There were eight layers and each was a standard 8×8 chessboard. This presented 512 spaces for players to battle on and was considered one of the largest chess boards in existence. Many believed the game reflected modern warfare where enemies could attack from the air and the sea.