CHAPTER 17
Naomi
A Week Later
I dove under the water, holding my breath and pushing myself in the direction of the wall. Under the water, everything was muted, and it was easy to forget where I was or what I was doing. For someone who had been forced to be extremely busy all her life, I was struggling to find things that made me happy. I had no phone, no computer, nothing to entertain me during the long days except working out and swimming.
If nothing else, I was going to be in the best shape of my life.
Cresting the surface, I pulled in a deep breath, the air fragrant with the numerous flowers that were blooming in the midafternoon sun. The garden was easily my favorite place in the mansion, that and the study. At my request, books and writing materials had been brought in to keep me entertained, and I had selected a comfortable leather lounger as my own.
Other than that, my nights were filled with my husband.
A shiver shot through me despite the warmth of the day, and I knew it wasn’t because I was cold. Ever since the night at the restaurant, something had changed with Gavril. No longer did he come in to fuck me.
No, he took his time, either initiating or having me initiate. But he always made sure I had an orgasm before he started penetrating me.
The end, though, was always the same. Gavril never stayed, not once. His smiles were more smirks when he didn’t look so intense, and I had yet to hear him really laugh as if he was enjoying himself.
There was so much more that I wanted to see and hear him do, so many layers I wanted to peel back, but he wasn’t letting me.
It was like one wall was down, and I had come upon twenty more.
Why did it mean so much to me? I really didn’t know. Maybe it was because I felt safe, protected with Gavril.
I knew I shouldn’t. He was a dangerous man, someone who could snap his fingers and kill someone just because he wanted to. That alone should have me scared to even spend time with him.
Yet I found myself looking forward to the evenings, waiting with bated breath to hear Gavril’s low voice downstairs, the nervous pit of my stomach having me rechecking my clothing or lack thereof.
I was…well, I was happy in that moment.
Sighing, I pushed through the water to the other side, smirking as I saw the tips of a familiar pair of boots at my eye level.
Looking up, I caught Gavril crouching down, his hands on his thighs. “Enjoying a swim?” he asked lightly in Russian.
Always in Russian. “I am,” I answered, resting my forearms on the side of the pool. “Care to join me?”
He arched a brow. “I don’t have a swimsuit.”
My fingers drew little circles in the concrete. “I doubt the lack of clothing has ever stopped you, Gavril.”
His eyes lit with challenge and a slow smile crossed his handsome face, causing my stomach to tighten in response. “You’re right,” he said, tugging on his coat. “It’s never stopped me before.”
I swallowed hard as he pulled off his clothing piece by piece, his eyes never leaving mine, and by the time his tanned skin was glistening in the sunshine, I was nearly panting.
My husband was gorgeous. I didn’t care if he wasn’t truly my husband, but Sveta’s on paper. He was mine. It was my hands that touched that body, my lips that caressed that cock that was already rising hard and ready from his body.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
Or at least I didn’t think there was someone else. When would he have the time or the stamina to keep up with two of us?
Gavril entered the water and I pushed away from the side, watching as he stalked toward me. “You are frowning.”
It wasn’t a question. I shook my head. “Sorry, I was thinking of something unpleasant.”
A smirk appeared on his face. “I can’t say that I have ever had a woman frown at me when I’m naked before her.”
That big ego. Rolling my eyes, I fell into his arms, winding my own around his neck. “Perhaps you should have more frowns thrown your way. Then your ego wouldn’t be so huge.”
He grabbed me hard and I let out a squeal of laughter, surprising us both. “Do it again,” Gavril said softly.
I cocked my head to the side. “What?”
“Laugh.”
His soft request warmed my insides. Had that been the first time I had laughed with him? Probably so. There hadn’t been much to laugh at these days. “I can’t just laugh on command and have it be normal.”
His fingers trailed over my skin until he found a particularly sensitive area over my ribs. “Let’s see what I can do then,” he stated before he was tickling me.
Oh my God, Gavril was tickling me! A burst of laughter escaped me, and I tried to push his hands away. “Stop!” I ordered between the laughs. “Gavril, please!”
A true grin cracked his normally hard expression, and I felt my insides melt. He looked younger, smiling like that. “All right,” he finally said, ceasing his assault. “Since you asked so nicely.”
My laughter subsided, and we stared at each other, his cock pressing into my stomach. I knew what he wanted, and heaven help me, I wanted the same thing.
I couldn’t get enough of Gavril either.
Something feral came over his face and he captured my lips, and I instinctively tightened my hold on him. This was where we were our best. Moments like this didn’t happen often. They were fleeting reminders that I wasn’t in this marriage for the right reasons, and neither was Gavril.
But when his lips hit mine, I forgot about the stupid plan or the fact I was pretending to be a dead woman.
And in this moment, we weren’t Gavril and Sveta.
We were Gavril and Naomi.
His lips tore from mine and latched onto my neck instead, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he backed us up toward the steps. Our touches became frenzied. His hand found the tie on my bikini top, loosening it and letting it fall into the water. I grasped his cock between our bodies. “Sit,” I gasped as his lips trailed kisses over my shoulder. “Sit, Gavril.”
He stopped long enough to do so and I shucked my bottoms, rising above his waiting cock. We hadn’t done this position before and I waited for him to stop me, knowing he preferred dominance in the bedroom.
When Gavril didn’t, I lowered myself onto his cock, groaning as he filled me to the core.
“Yes,” I heard Gavril growl, his hands going to my hips. When I was seated, I opened my eyes, seeing the same burning intensity in his. “Give yourself to me, Sveta,” he said roughly, his hands reaching up to mold my breasts to his liking.
I whimpered and pretended that he’d called me Naomi instead. He had done it that night after the restaurant. And never again since.
It stung. No doubt about that. But I also knew I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t pretended to be Sveta in the first place.
I started to move against his cock, rocking back and forth as the pressure built in my lower stomach. Every scrape of my sensitive regions over his hard planes was like torture, but I kept doing it, crying out his name as the orgasm hit me hard and fast.
“Fuck,” Gavril growled, lifting his hips as he drove into me, the water slapping around us. In that moment, I didn’t care who was watching or how much noise we were making.
It was too good not to. “Please,” I begged as I met him thrust for thrust.
His hand moved down the length of my body. “What are you begging for, Sveta?” he murmured as he tweaked one of my nipples, sending sparks of want spiraling through my veins.
“I want you,” I gasped as he slammed into my core, achingly close to my G-spot. “I want you to come inside me, Gavril.”
He leaned forward, his teeth grazing my chin. “Your wish is my command, wife.”
Gavril picked up his movements, and soon we were both crying out into the afternoon as he poured into me. I collapsed against his chest, my heart beating rapidly in my chest as I tried to pull myself back together.
Good Lord, at this rate, I was surprised I wasn’t already pregnant.
“Well,” Gavril murmured, his hand coming up to stroke my wet hair. “I think the pool has become my second favorite place in the mansion.”
“What’s your first?” I asked drowsily, too drained to even lift my head.
“Your bed,” he said simply, and my heart melted even further.
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