CHAPTER 3
Gavril
I speared the asparagus on my plate with my fork and broke off the head, popping it into my mouth. The rich flavors burst on my tongue and I chewed slowly, savoring every bite of my victory dinner.
At least that was what I thought of it as. Today had been a big step in the right direction. I was on the right track. All my plans, all my actions up until this moment, were paying off, and while I reveled in my successes, I was cautiously waiting for the other shoe to drop. One did not have success in one area without things falling apart in another.
In my line of business, things could turn on their head in an instant.
For now, I felt like the merger had been successful. The brigadiers seemed satisfied for now with the shipments. And though I knew some were skeptical that I could lead them, it was only a matter of time before they realized I was stronger than Orlov ever hoped to be.
I wasn’t one who lived in the past, who relied on old-world connections to reach my goals.
I was fully immersed in the future and what the Bratva was going to look like once all the pieces fell into place. The times were changing; the ways that business was done would change too. In a few more years, there would be those that would stand out as the powerful ones.
I would be among those. No, fuck that. I would be the one who stood out above the rest. Soon no one would know the names Orlov or Marchetti.
No one.
Reaching for my wineglass, I stole a glance at Naomi, who was pushing food around on her plate with her fork. Normally she ate with gusto, devouring her food unlike any woman I had ever encountered before. I had resorted to teasing her about it lately, and she had only challenged me to help her work the calories off.
I had been glad to fucking do so. It wasn’t just all about sex, however. Over the past two days, she and I had made use of the fully functional gym in the mansion, though I had spent half of my workout staring at her ass in those stretchy yoga pants she preferred.
My cock pushed against my trousers at the thought and I took a sip of my wine, quelling it for now. She brought a calmness to me that nobody else ever could, and time spent away from her drained those feelings from me. Even a few hours apart from Naomi, and I felt the warmth seeping out of me.
Now that I was back in her presence, things felt right. She settled the beast inside of me.
Settled might have been a strong word. She dampened it, made me feel like just a normal man. My mother would likely shoot me on the spot if she knew that I was embracing a soft spot for my wife, but I didn’t give a shit.
I fully intended to keep my personal life and my business one separate.
“Is your food not good?” I asked lightly, leaning back in my chair and regarding my wife.
My fucking wife. Despite the fact I had been duped, my inner alpha roared at keeping Naomi in that position. She was truly my equal, and my life without her, well, I didn’t want to think about it.
I didn’t want to think of her at all, yet here I was, worried about her, worried about whether or not she ate her supper and what might have her so withdrawn from me tonight. There was no teasing glint in her eye, no secret smile.
Her manner of dress told me that she wanted to be fucked, but her demeanor worried me.
I, the fucking Pakhan of the Belaya Bratva, was worried about his wife.
In another life, I would have laughed at the thought.
“It’s fine,” she said quietly, choosing water over wine tonight. That was another small detail I noticed, even though I had chosen one of her favorite reds for the meal.
“Would you rather I order you some tacos then?” I asked in a teasing tone. It had been her request yesterday to have tacos delivered from some hole-in-the-wall place in the city. I had, of course, indulged her, and fuck if she hadn’t been right about how addictive they were.
That got a small smile from her.
“No, I’m all taco-d out.”
That only added to my bewilderment at what was wrong.
Reaching across the table, I took her hand in mine and found her touch cold.
“Are you sick?” I asked, feeling panic rise in my chest. “I can have my physician come and check you out.”
The very fear of having something happen to Naomi caused my chest to tighten unbearably. And as much as I hated to admit it, I had let her in. Rather, she had burst through walls that I had thought to be impenetrable.
She shook her head, her throat bobbing. “I’m fine, Gavril.”
Her words didn’t soothe me. After my success with the Krasnaya Bratva today, I wanted to shrug off the nagging feeling that something was wrong. I wanted to move on and let Naomi have her off day.
But I couldn’t. Everything I had learned about my wife over the last few months was that she didn’t hide her emotions like she was now.
I rubbed my thumb over the back of her delicate hand. “You can tell me, you know,” I said in a low voice. “I will get whatever you want, whatever you need. Your requests are limitless.”
Her eyes widened and for a moment, I saw a glimmer of tears in them before she furiously blinked them away.
“Please,” I added, my voice bordering on desperation. “Just tell me.”
I could fix whatever was wrong. I could make her smile at me again, banish the coldness that wrapped around her heart. The words that came out of my mouth weren’t things I would say to just anyone and sure as hell wouldn’t feel the need to do so, but this was my wife, my Naomi, my one small slice of happiness outside the Bratva.
I needed her. I fucking needed her to be whole. The thought squeezed my very soul. I shouldn’t give a shit, but I did.
Her lips parted. “I’m pregnant.”
For a moment, her words didn’t register, and I just stared at her. I had imagined how I would feel the moment she told me she was carrying my child.
No thoughts, no imagination could have prepared me for the sudden rush of emotions that spread throughout my body or how my throat suddenly tightened and I was at a loss for words.
A child. I had done it. I had successfully completed my plans.
And today of all days!
But my excitement was short-lived, and another feeling took its place. I wanted to take Naomi upstairs and lock her in my bedroom for the entire pregnancy, to hide her away from my enemies and make sure that she was fucking safe.
That had never been the plan. In my thoughts before I had ever taken her, I had planned to flaunt Sveta to the Bratva, to show them that I had the future, their future, right in my hands.
It never was to be the future for Naomi, but right now, that was all I could think about.