Regency Romance: The Rake's Fake Marriage (Historical Arranged Marriage Romance) (19th Century Victorian Romance) (34 page)

“I thought you were in the secret service,” I asked solemnly.

“I was.  If you wish to move up, in this country, you serve your country as a protector.  I lost interest in politics after I saw my fair share of shady deals.”

I walked back inside, stepping lightly on the cold floor. “I wouldn’t mind hearing some stories about these
medals,
if you would like to tell some.”

He joined me
indoors
and plucked a medal from the dresser.

“This
medal
instills the title ‘Hero of
Russia.’
It might be
simple,
but it’s one of the grandest honors you can receive.”

I took the
simple
painted gold star and examined it
closely
. “How did you get this one?”

“I doubt you’d believe me, even if I told you.”

“Try me,” I said with a grin.

“I stopped a terrorist threat against the state and had to disarm a bomb beneath the
Kremlin
while being shot at by radicals.  They say I saved around 5,000 lives that day.  Anton received one as
well. H
e held the enemy at bay, which gave me enough time to disarm the bomb.  I will give it to our child someday.”

Then I heard something I didn’t think I would hear ever again. 

“Viktor, are
a congratulations
in order?”

I turned, only to see Anton sitting in a chair in the corner of the bedroom, gun in hand.  He clicked the light on, illuminating several cuts and bandages covering most of
the exposed
skin.

“The bandages are new. I’d thank the men who gave them to me, but they won’t be hearing much ever again.”

“You killed them,” I uttered.

“How else do you escape that many armed guards?”

“Anton, I should have just had them kill you.”

I leaned over the dresser as they talked, covering it slightly with my blanket, and edged the gun out from under the medals, staying as silently as I could.

Viktor’s fists
were clenched
so tight that they were beginning to turn white. 

“So, what’s this I hear about a child?” Anton stood from the corner and began to move closer.  I stepped back, hoping to avoid having him touch me again. 

“It was nothing, just a bit of speculative talk,” Viktor said, his voice cracking a bit as he spoke.

“Viktor, we worked together long enough, I always know when you’re lying.”

Viktor lost his temper and attempted a charge at Anton, but Anton was too quick.  He pointed his raised gun at Viktor and pulled the trigger, piercing his shoulder.

“Tsk, tsk, Viktor.  Unless you want to lose your progeny,” Anton said, pointing his gun at me, and it wasn’t just me; it
was pointed
at my unborn child.

“Anton, don’t.  Whatever anger you have, take it out on me.  Don’t touch her.”

Anton let out another chortle.

“Viktor, you always did know how to make me laugh.  Considering the position you’re in, you shouldn’t be demanding anything.”

Anton reached out a hand toward me.

“Hand me the medal.  I would like to see Viktor’s reward.”

I dropped the brass star into his waiting palm and took another step back.  I felt the gun in my hand getting heavier as I was becoming increasingly nervous and worried about the life of my child.  I knew I only had one shot to do
anything,
and I had to make it count.

“Viktor told you he got this from disarming a bomb.  Which is true, but do you think he would
tell you
that he knew the person that planted it?”

I shook my head ‘no’.

“His
own
father did it.  He was
a true
Russian, through and through.  Always wanted everything back to the old way, and was willing to go
to any lengths
to get it.”

It was shocking to think that Viktor’s father was capable of doing such a thing.  I could see
fear
in Viktor’s eyes as the story was
being revealed
.

“I wonder if Viktor would have told you about what happened after he stopped that bomb.”

I once again shook my head.

“I drove to his father’s house, walked in the front door, and shot him straight
through
the skull.”

Anton was beginning to tremble while telling the story. 

“Of course, seeing as how his old man was still quite high up in government, his death would mean a trip to the gulag for anyone that took the blame.  Your
wonderful
man, Viktor, my partner, decided that his guilt was too much to bear.  Not even a month after we received our medals and he turned me in.”

He threw the medal at Viktor.  Viktor looked toward the ground defeated.

“You murdered my father,” Viktor said.

“And, you destroyed my life!” Anton shouted back.

I continued to back
away. I
t might not be
much,
but it was something to keep me from going mad from being so close to his rage.

“Viktor, have you ever spent a winter in a Gulag?  There is no heat; you hope that the next day will be your last, while simultaneously planning your revenge, holding out for the slim chance you might have it.”

Anton leaned against the dresser and sighed deeply.

“I’m not a bad person, everything I’ve done has been for my country.  I am here for my one piece of respite, and it’s almost too perfect.  I killed your father, and now I get to kill your child.”

Anton raised the gun again to fire; I was shaking from fear so
much,
and tears were streaming down my cheeks. 

Viktor stood up, holding his shoulder to staunch the blood loss.

“Anton,” he said.

Anton wheeled around and looked back at Viktor.

“Viktor, there’s nothing you can say that will change my mind now.  I need this.”

“Anton, I will pay you anything, I will give you whatever you want, but leave Brandy and my child out of our feud.”

Anton lowered the gun for a moment, but I caught a gleam of sudden rage in his eye as I saw him quickly turn toward me. 

I was ready for
it,
though.  As he began to turn, I whipped off the blanket I was wearing and threw it at him as quickly as possible. 

A gunshot rang out and deafened the room.  I whipped the gun in my hand up and pointed it at Anton.  My hand shook so much I didn’t think I’d hit anything. 

My thoughts flooded into my head all at
once. This wasn’t
just for me; this was for the future
and for
my child.  I found a sense of calm in the depth of my being that I never
felt,
and suddenly everything seemed so easy.

I aimed the gun and pulled the trigger.  A shot echoed around the room
again, then
another, and another.  I kept pulling the trigger, over and over, until Anton fell to the floor.  I kept the gun trained on him and kept pulling the trigger for everything that had gone wrong over the course of my entire life.  I kept pulling the trigger for every time I felt weak and for every time my nerves got the better of me.  I pulled the
trigger.
I killed him, and a piece of me died there with him.

I dropped the gun while tears flowed from my eyes; while pain wracked every last inch of my body.  I didn’t want to open my eyes again and see the sight that would
be forever burned
into my memory.

Viktor was on me, quickly.  He covered me with kisses and checked every inch of me to make sure I was alright.  Thankfully I was
unharmed,
not a single scratch showed itself. 

“You’re alright!” he shouted at me, I could hear him crying out of joy or sadness I couldn’t tell.

“I killed him,” I said.

“Yes, yes you did.”

“I killed him,” I repeated.

Viktor nodded and hugged me closer.  I heard the doors to the room
open
and a
couple
of security men stormed in with guns at the ready.

“We’re alright,” Viktor proclaimed.

The men lowered their weapons.  I still stared at the blanket, now covered in blood.

“I killed him,” I
repeated again
, sobbing into my hands.

Viktor picked me up and carried me from the room.  One of his guards
handed
him another blanket
that
he took and threw over me.

He took me down the hall to another room, quite a bit smaller, but still quite cozy.  He sat me in a chair just inside the entrance and got down on his knees in front of me. 

I finally realized how badly he was bleeding, running my hand over his wound on his shoulder.

“Viktor, you’re hurt.  You need to see a medic.”

He tensed in
pain
and pulled my hand away from his shoulder.

“I’ll see one
soon. T
here’s an ambulance on the way.”

“Viktor, I killed Anton.”

“I know,” he replied. 

Viktor took my head between his hands, grasping it hard and staring directly into my eyes.  I could feel his intensity again.

“You saved our child,” he said.

All thought left
me,
I hadn’t considered that.

“With your
actions,
you have given our child the chance to live, to grow, to love.  You made that happen, and you will make that happen.”

I could feel my tears beginning to dry up.  Thinking about saving a life, rather than taking one was helping.  I stared back into Viktor’s eyes and smiled.  Not all my anger and frustration
was
gone, but I could feel them
dulling
.

The medics found us inside the building briefly afterward.  And, it took a bit of coercing to pry Viktor from me for a while so they would be able to have a look at his shoulder wound.  With their examination they discovered that it was a deep wound but didn’t hit anything major, expecting him to make a full recovery.

I looked up at the wall in the room we were in and noticed something familiar.

“Viktor, is that the painting you bought from me when we first met?”

Viktor sheepishly nodded.

“It is. I hid it in here during the party to keep it from drunken guests.  I prefer
it
to be hung
in my bedroom.”

It was a pale blue piece, with concentric circles flowing in and around each other in so many colors; it was impossible to keep track of them all.

“I remember when I sold it to you
I
thought it was hideous, but now I might be turning around on it.”

Viktor laughed.

“It’s a funny thing, that, how our opinions can change so quickly.”

We bought plenty of art over the years, but that first picture never left our collection.  And, we never met anyone else like Anton. 

*****

THE END

A Dangerous Game – A BWWM Football Romance

“He’s
lookin’
a bit rough today, Angie,” I heard Jim saying behind me. 

“Everyone has their off-days, Jim,” I replied. 

“It seems
it’s been
more of an off-season.  The kid threw
three
interceptions this game alone.  If he keeps this up, he won’t be on the roster next season.”

He was right; this was a rough situation that Jake got
himself into
.  His numbers were
really
low,
and it was going to set me into
a difficult
position for negotiating his contract for next season. 

Monica was here watching as well; I use the word watching very loosely because she preferred to spend her time nursing a glass of wine and talking to the other wives. 

She was quite gorgeous, slim-figured
and tiny; just the way Jake seemed to like them.  I never really cared, quite honestly.  She was the kind of girl I avoided; easy to look at and hard to please.  The only real conversation we had was about money, and how much her boyfriend was going to make her. 

They were talking so loud that I couldn’t help but overhear a bit of their conversation.

“He’s making good money, are you going to make him put a ring
on
it?”

Monica replied, “There’s only one sure way to get him to ask me, and I don’t know if I should talk to him about it, or just surprise him.”

“You’re not thinking about having kids, already.”

“I always wanted a family, and I don’t want to have to wait to start one.  He’s taking his sweet time proposing.  I thought maybe if I had a bun in the oven he might man up and ask.”

“You’re terrible, Monica.”

Monica giggled along with her friends.  I couldn’t figure out how someone could talk about having kids in such a cavalier attitude. 

I tossed back the rest of the scotch in my glass and made for the bar nearby.  This game was beginning to look like another
loss,
and I knew that my boss would probably be ready to yell at me on Monday, and I didn’t want to be sober for that.

Monica gave me looks as I walked by, and I could feel the disgust coming from her friends as well.  It seemed like they’d never seen a hard working black woman before; as though all they wanted me to do was bring them a serving tray.

“Another Scotch, Angie?” asked Devlin, the barman.

I
nodded,
and he poured me another.

“You better make that a double, Devlin.  It’s going to be a long night.”

He added more caramel liquor to the glass while I reached for my wallet.

“I think this one is on the house.  Maybe it’s high time to start buying something to eat before you make yourself sick.”

“Thanks, Dev.  It’s going to be another one of those nights.  Are you going to be working tonight, again?  I can swing by and give you a hefty tip.”

He smiled.

“If you’re drinking then I know I won’t starve for the next month.  I got a few rumors flying around, though.”

“What have you heard, Dev,” I asked.

He leaned
over the bar
to whisper.

“Some of the players are planning a night out.  A couple
of ‘em
just fired their agents, and might be on the market; If you come with
a straight
head,
then you might just bag one.”

I pulled out a large tip and shoved it into Devlin’s hand.  He tipped his
hat,
and I returned to the game. 

There was almost no shock at all from me when I noticed that we were behind
in
the scoreboard.  I plopped down in my chair and nursed my drink.  It was going to be a long afternoon.

2.

I’m a classy dresser when I want to be, and for a night on the
town,
it was rare.  If you’re going to be dropping it on the bedroom floor
anyway
, it’s best
just to dress
light and wear as little as possible. 

I didn’t have that intention tonight, but I still wanted to drink to forget Jake’s abysmal performance today.  Devlin was
right,
though, it would be
a great
opportunity to cheer my boss
up
by signing a new client. 

Working with athletes and spending so much time around attractive people was an
amazing
inspiration to eat right and exercise regularly.  The last thing you want to be is the ugly person in the corner trying to sign a new client. 

Still, no amount of exercise will cure genetics.  And, as it was, I was stuck being curvier than most.  I did enjoy the compliments from men that I
slept with
.  They said I had nice breasts, not too big, not too small.  But, I always thought my best feature was my legs, they were long and toned.  To compliment my
figure,
I wore a long black gown that scooped low in the
back
and showed off my small amount of muscle.   

Upon arriving at the trendy little club I made sure to tip the bouncer well, he always let me in when I came by, now. 

You can get anything in life if you’re willing to spend the right amount of money.  But, sometimes, a friendly smile is worth more.  I walked towards the bar after I got in, and
I
could already see a
couple of
players that I recognized from today’s game.  One of the
players
was celebrating victory over our local team with some women of the evening.  I rolled my eyes at how easy some of these players were.

“Devlin, I think I’ll have another drink.  Send one over to that player with the girls as well, would you?”

Devlin nodded and started pouring. 
Once the drink was delivered, it was easy enough to ingratiate myself into the group of women.
 

I worked my subtle charms for about an hour before the player agreed to come in for a visit tomorrow before returning home.  I handed him my card and got his number before buying his group another drink and walking off.

I tend to get tunnel vision when I see something I want, and it becomes easy to trip over things you didn’t see coming.  This thing happened to be a man.  My drink slipped from my hands and covered his shirt in my third drink of the evening.

“Oh, excuse me.  I can get clumsy after a few drinks.”

I could already see the bouncer looking at me, hoping that I wouldn’t make a scene. 

“It’s fine,” he said.

I grabbed a nearby cocktail napkin and started doing my best to clean him off.  He did the same.  His shirt didn’t look cheaply made in the slightest, and I didn’t think that any amount of dry cleaning would take out the stain I’d just caused.

“Angie?” he said.

I looked
up;
it was Jake.  I couldn’t believe I hadn’t recognized him earlier.

“Oh wow.
Hi
Jake,” I responded.

He took the napkin out of my hands threw it on the table.  Then yanked the button-up over his head; revealing a tight white shirt underneath.  He was rippling with
muscle,
and I rather lost my train of thought.

“What are you doing at this hole in the wall?” he started.  He tossed the shirt to the table, and I took a second to compose myself.

“I come here pretty often; my place is a block away.  I got a good tip on some talent looking for representation.  What about you; I thought you never went out after a game.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Oh yeah, that,” he said.

“I guess, there’s only one way to celebrate a loss,” I replied.

He shuffled back into his seat.

“You know, you owe me a drink.  How about you get me a Jack and
Coke,
and I’ll tell you about it.”

I sighed, I would have preferred meeting the other player instead of listening to Jake talk about how sad he is about losing some game.  But, when it comes to being an agent, your time is client time.

I ordered a drink for the two of
us,
and Devlin shot me a look of empathy, I think he knew what I was in for, so he made my drink extra strong.

“Alright, what’s on your mind, Jake, I know it’s a tough loss,” I said, pushing the beverage across the table.

“Loss I can deal with, its women that drive me crazy,” he replied before taking a large sip of his drink.

“Women?  I’d think you’d be more concerned about your prospects for next season.  If you throw up another loss this
season,
there’s a good chance you won’t be back next year.  And, we’re only half way in.”

“I know.  It’s
Monica. S
he’s driving me crazy.  She came to me with an ultimatum after the game.  It was either get married to her so she can start a family or she was going to leave.”

“That’s rough, what did you do?” I asked.

“I opened the door for her,” he laughed, “she just walked out and said she’d be back for her things.”

I giggled. “Wow, that’s rough, pal.”

“She’s been harping on my since the beginning of the season, it’s driving me insane,
it’s been
all I could
think about
.  I don’t want kids, not right now.”

I took another sip from my drink.  He did the same.

“So, what are we going to do about it,” I asked.

“I’ll probably meet up with some random girl and fuck her brains out tonight,”

I spat out more scotch, soaking his shirt for the second
time tonight
.

“This is going to make it difficult to meet someone. 
Thanks,
Angie.”

He sighed and wiped what he could off the shirt.  I leaned back, and could tell the alcohol was starting to affect my judgment, but I was drunk so what did I know.

“Give me one minute.” I walked to the bar and paid my bill.  Devlin shot me a wink; I think he knew what was going to happen.  I gestured for him to keep his lips sealed.  He nodded, but I knew that there were plenty of other people that came to him for gossip.  I tipped him well, hoping that it would give me a day before any word got around.

Upon returning to the table, Jake was taking his other shirt off. 

I swooned.  He had that
V-shaped
chest that got me wet just
thinking about
.  I bent over and leaned in close to him. 
It must have caught him by surprise because he leaned back, trying to avoid me doing more damage.

“If you want discreet and fun, I already said my place was just down the block.”

I rubbed along the length of his leg, and I could see a smile devilishly form on the edges of his mouth. 

“Come to my address in ten minutes.  Don’t get up until after I leave.” 

I wrote my address down on the back of a business card, slipped it into his hand, and left.

3.

It was a busy night out
for
a Sunday.  Being a block away made getting home pretty easy, even though my heels weren’t helping in the slightest.

I was on the 12
th
floor, it was the second highest floor
of
the building, and my neighbors liked
to constantly remind
me of that.  The view was still excellent.

I always liked to keep things tidy, but it was rare for me to spend more than a couple hours at home, so being messy was difficult
anyway
.  Once inside, and with the door shut, I sloughed my dress.  I hadn’t expected to be this excited. 

Jake was one of my first clients, which was probably why my boss always had me watching out for him. 
He was always so intimidating to stand next to, his large and well-built frame made me feel so small.
  That was part of the allure, though. 

I picked up my dress and
hung
it nicely in the closet, taking the chance to throw my heels in there as well.  I had barely closed the closet door when I heard a knock at the
door
. 

I hopped my way across the cool floor, only realizing I was topless when I came to a stop in front of the
door
.  I threw a hand over my exposed
chest
and pulled the door open enough to see who was outside.

Jake was wearing his soiled shirt, now a little wrinkled, but I didn’t care.  The person under it was
gorgeous,
and he was all mine tonight.  I gestured him in, and he entered.