The Score (12 page)

“The trial?”

“Again, kind of.”

Viviana was terrified of the trial. “You keep telling me everything is going to be okay. Do you actually mean it, or are you saying it to make me compliant?”

“I say it because I trust the people around me. That’s all,” he replied. “As far as the other things that were bothering me, well, it’s worked out. Demyan will be back in daycare within a couple of weeks. Rory is going to be around more to keep the media away from our home. I’m going to get back to work as soon as I can get the go ahead for Seven Lights. It’s handled. I’m good, now.”

“Ivan?”

Anton grinned, rolling his eyes. “He’s a cocky fucker when he wants to be.”

“I wonder who he picked that up from.”

“At least he learned something good from me.”

Viviana sighed, glancing down between their bodies. “Eva told me about Chrissy today.”

“You didn’t know?”

“No.”

Anton frowned. “She’s the only one of the three girls with brown eyes and an English name, Vine. She got them from her mother. Besides that, she doesn’t even look like the other two, and she really doesn’t take much after Ivan, either.”

“I never thought to question her eye color or features, Anton. And if I had, I certainly wouldn’t have thought Ivan was the one who stepped out on his wife. He adores her.”

“And she adores him. Eva is a good woman,” Anton stated firmly. “Always was.”

“Seems complicated.”

“I imagine it was, but they’ve worked it out privately.”

“I love you,” Viviana whispered.

Anton smiled a genuine sight. “I love you, too, baby. Now, one more thing …”

“One more—
oh
!”

Viviana let go of Anton’s cock at the same time her head fell back to the wall. He’d released her hip only long enough to get his hand between her thighs, spreading her sex with two fingers while his thumb pressed to her heated clit. Then, Anton was lowering down to his knees. Viviana blindly hit out at the shower head to move the direction of the spray. Instead of drowning Anton in water, it rolled off his back as he looked up at her with a sexy smirk that had her insides quivering.

In a swift movement, he was grabbing her ankle in his palm and hooking her leg over his shoulder. Heated kisses landed on the inside of her thigh. Anton’s breath washed along the seam of her exposed sex, close enough to make her ache, as he stared up at her. Already, Viviana could feel her limbs beginning to shake and he hadn’t even started, yet.

“I said I’d be good,” he muttered darkly. “I didn’t say good at what, Vine.”

“Jesus—”

“I’ll accept God or Anton only. Thank you very fucking much.”

No, her husband would never let her get on her knees for him, but she couldn’t count the amount of times he did it for her. Instead of the dominant, commanding man he could be, demanding from her body, working it to a sweat, to tremble, and to release, like this, he became the submissive one of the two, giving her what she needed and wanted.

Anton never fucked her with his mouth; he loved her with it. Worshiping every part of her sex slow, soft, and gentle. Tender kisses along her folds, flicks of his tongue that tantalized, and nibbles of his teeth that teased. Taking his time to explore, to make her nerves snap with need, and her mouth beg with want. She became the feast and he was a starved man.

Viviana loved it.

Anton kissed Viviana’s waxed sex, keeping his gaze locked on hers. Then, his mouth was encasing her swollen clit, his tongue striking out to sweep through her folds. The deep, dark hum building in the back of his throat confirmed what Viviana already knew—Anton loved the taste of her in his mouth. Suddenly, blinding fast flicks of his tongue licked along her entrance, teasing her further, breaking whatever resolve and sanity she had left.

“Oh, God,” Viviana breathed.

Anton released his mouth’s hold on her pussy just long enough to grin his smug smirk up at her. “That’s acceptable. A little louder, though. Let’s see if I can get you screaming it, baby.”

“Anton—”

Viviana was going to tell him their house wasn’t fucking soundproofed, but she didn’t have the damned chance. Before she could even think to breathe another word down at him, Anton’s attention was back on her sensitive sex. Every nerve in her body seemed to wake up, jumping alive when his tongue struck her clit with repeated strokes.

The quiet cries escaping her quickly turned to gasping octave. Over and over, his name fell from her lips. Viviana felt her hips rolling into the rhythm of his tongue without her even realizing it. Anton slid his palm along her raised thigh up under her ass, holding firm to keep her still while his other pressed to her hip, pinning her to the cold wall.

Viviana felt trapped under his want in the best way.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she chanted, the burning coil in her womb tightening with pleasure.

God, he did that so damned well.

Something hot and heady swept through her blood, making her feel dizzy and drunk. Wanting to move or have some control, Viviana reached down and weaved her fingers into the damp strands of Anton’s hair. Chuckles rocked against her sex. The buzzing hum of ecstasy rolled over every inch of her body.

As close as she was to her orgasm under the speed and skill of his tongue, Anton slowed his tempo down. Like she knew he would, he took his time to explore her pussy, licking along her fleshy folds, kissing her inner thighs, and whispering her name so sweet and loving while he did so.

Finally …
finally
… he gave her what she needed.

The hand holding firm to her backside let go and two of his fingers slipped through her folds, entering her sex with one thrust as his tongue went back to her clit. Scissoring his digits on the withdrawal, Anton stretched her sensitive tissues, making her feel so full all the while, urging the rest of her to orgasm with spearing strikes of his tongue to her quivering nub. Viviana’s fingers tightened in his hair as she came, crying out so loudly the sound of her voice bounced back several times over. Pleasure fell over her in crushing waves.

While the tremors of the orgasm subsided, Viviana met her husband’s blazing gaze.

“I have a favor to ask,” Anton murmured before laying a kiss to her mound.

With an arched brow, Viviana managed to ask, “Hmm?”

“How do you feel about a dinner, with the Jersey boss?”

Viviana’s grasp in his hair gripped harder and she might have enjoyed his flinch just a little. “Anton Daniil … I swear to God, if you did this to convince me—”

“No, I did this because I’ve been thinking of tasting you all fucking day, Vine.”

She chose not to push him on that end. “We can’t afford for us to be seen mingling with people affiliated with the Bratva right now, Anton. It won’t look good. That’d be all we need is for some goddamn photographer catching us having a sit down.”

“We’ll be careful. Ivan thinks I should do it.”

Anton was still on his knees with Viviana’s leg slung over his shoulder. She might have been extremely pissed off at the idea, but she was highly aware of her husband’s weakened position before her, too. Instead of standing up as her equal to discuss it, he was giving her the power to decide while he was on the ground.

Viviana took a breath, willing away some of her frustration. “I’m not playing games at this dinner, Anton.”

“I’m not asking you to, and I don’t expect you to be anything more than my beautiful, respectful wife,” he assured quietly. “Also, he requested our family, not just you.”

It took her an entire minute to figure out what Anton meant. “Demyan, too?”

Oh, no way.

“I don’t think so,” Viviana stated fiercely. “He’s a baby, Anton. He has no reason—”

“Adrik will be coming alone. No bulls. No men. Nothing. It will be a dinner, Vine, with our son. I would say that’s a trustworthy show on his part, no?”

Viviana clenched her teeth and stared at anything but the man below her. “Do you trust him as a boss?”

“I don’t know him well enough to give you an honest opinion.”

“Well, that’s a fucking problem, isn’t it?”

“Viviana,” Anton said, warningly.

“Is his wife and child coming, too?” she bit out.

“As far as I know, he’s unmarried. I don’t know about any children, either.”

Yeah, now Viviana was even less impressed. “Move, Anton.”

“No, you listen. I know it’s not the best time. I’m not real pleased about including our son in on it. Believe me, I’m not,” he insisted at her snort. “But, I have to think about my business and Bratva, too. Like it or not, you’re my wife and sometimes you have to show face. Adrik may have an offer for me, something I need. I’m going to give him the chance to offer it. I would like if you were there, also.”

Viviana sighed. “Fine, but can he at least wait until spring to make the trip?”

“Vine, that’s a month or more away and a lot closer to the trial than I’m comfortable with.”

“Spring, or no me.”

This time, it was Anton who sighed. “Fuck it. Spring it is.”

Chapter Ten

“Ready?” Anton asked, holding out his hand to his wife. Viviana met his palm with a cold stare and allowed him to help her step out of their SUV. “Smile, baby, please.”

Viviana did, but she didn’t look all too happy about it.

Winter had melted into spring with its usual slowness and storms. Before they knew what happened, March turned into May. Viviana was still sour about the dinner with the Jersey boss Adrik. In fact, she was so aggravated about it, she barely spoke to Anton all damned day leading up to the event. He was dying.

The valet at the restaurant waited patiently to take the keys for the Mercedes while Anton spoke to his wife. “Vine, you know how much I appreciate you, right?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

Viviana flicked a look in his direction, one that stung. “Did I dress appropriately for this?”

The grey dress, knee-length, V-neck, with sleeves reaching to her elbows, was perfectly fine for the dinner. The silver studded heels she wore gave that usual spice and hint of sexiness while keeping it appropriate. Silver bangles hung from her right wrist and a dainty chain with a small diamond rested below the hollow of her throat. Even the little bit of makeup she wore was flawless and not overdone.

“You look beautiful, Viviana. Like always.”

“Good. Let’s hope your toddler son can make it through this dinner without messing up his suit.”

Demyan, still sitting in his safety seat with his matchbox car in hand, was dressed similarly to his father in a black suit with a white shirt underneath, and a tiny black tie to match. He was terribly sharp looking for a nearly three-year-old boy. It helped that he didn’t fight too much to get dressed up, given his father pointed out he looked just like him.

Anton thought he was cute as hell.

“I don’t think anyone cares if he stays clean, Vine. He’s a kid.”

Viviana waved at the restaurant. “You do realize this place is not kid friendly, right? It’s four-hundred dollars a plate, Anton.”

“I know. I also know the upstairs, reserved for VIPs, is whatever the hell we want it to be tonight.”

That caught her attention. Anton barely held back his smirk at her surprise. “Really?”

“Really,” he confirmed. “Actually, Ivan let me know Adrik suggested it for the private conference dining space upstairs. He arrived about an hour ago. My guys are already downstairs.”

“They won’t be up there with us?” Viviana asked.

“No. I don’t think they need to be, given this is more an introduction and not a business meeting where opinions need to be involved. Smile, let Demyan run around, and enjoy the food, baby. That’s all you need to worry about.”

Viviana sighed. “I hope so.”

Anton stopped to speak with one of the bulls who met with Adrik and the man assured him that as promised, the Jersey boss arrived alone without his people. Well, Anton begged to differ, considering the small girl dressed in a pink chiffon dress with her hair in ringlet curls and a bow holding tight to the man’s hand as they entered the upstairs dining room. She looked to be at least Demyan’s age, if not a little younger. She was blue-eyed and blonde, much like Adrik.

Adrik Vasin, like Anton, was a commanding man without having to do or say much. It was the first thing Anton noticed about the man. He exuded confidence, and sported an easy smile, though his eyes constantly swept the room, looking for oncoming trouble. That was something Anton knew all too well, also.

“Anton Avdonin, it’s a pleasure to finally meet the man who paved the way for my position.”

Anton glanced down at the little girl, keeping his son balanced on his waist while holding his wife’s hand. “Who’s this?”

Adrik bent down to one knee, tipping the girl’s chin up under two fingers. “Sofia, say hello, baby.”

Bright blue eyes blinked up at Anton, shocking him at how clear and sweet she looked. In her features, Sofia was the feminine, child-like version of Adrik, telling Anton the man was obviously her father, or very closely related. Anton was positive he was told Adrik had no wife, and there wasn’t a woman in the room other than Viviana, so little Sofia’s mother clearly wasn’t invited to the dinner. Why hadn’t he been told about this child?

“Hello,” Sofia whispered.

Demyan grinned and wiggled at his father’s side. “Hi. My name is Demyan.”

“She just turned three last week,” Adrik informed. “So these two should get along just fine.”

Anton allowed his son to climb down his side to the floor. Once the two children acquainted themselves, they disappeared under one of the many tables, childish giggles following their wake.

“She’s beautiful,” Viviana said with a smile.

“Thank you. Sofia is the one thing that keeps me sane most days.”

“She’s your daughter,” Anton assumed.

“Yes,” Adrik replied.

Anton crossed his arms, taking on a more defensive stance. “Funny, I was told you weren’t married and you’d be coming alone. Somehow, I feel duped or lied to.”

Viviana used her hand, tucked inside Anton’s elbow, to pinch him through the jacket of his suit. “That’s enough.”

Adrik waved it all off. “My apologies. My daughter’s safety is my first concern. After I started making the move to take over Sergei’s spot once he was gone, my life was in constant danger, as was hers. Let’s be honest, it still is. She was only a baby. I keep as much about her to myself as I possibly can.”

“And her mother?” Anton asked.

“She didn’t want Sofia. I did. We had an arrangement of sorts, now we don’t.”

The answer was so frank, it took Anton by surprise. He struggled for an appropriate response. “That’s …”

“Unfortunate, and her loss,” Viviana finished for him. “Sofia seems like a sweet child.”

Anton could hear the sadness in his wife’s voice for the motherless girl.

“She is,” Adrik agreed. “Can we allow the servers up and order?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

A little under a half an hour later, Anton was pouring a round of vodka into a shot glass. Quickly, he slammed the liquor back, dropped the glass to the table, and slid it towards Adrik who grinned as he plucked it up to take his own. Usually Anton wouldn’t drink while out with his family, but this was more of a traditional thing than to get drunk.

To the start of a friendship, and that sort of thing.

He had to admit, in just the small amount of time he knew Adrik, he liked the man. Frank and honest, Adrik said it how he witnessed it. It was clear he also had a magnetic personality, so it was no wonder why the men in Jersey took to him like they did for a boss.

After Adrik dropped the shot glass to the counter, he said, “You have a beautiful wife, Anton.”

Anton coughed away his shock at the blunt comment. “I’m aware.”

Adrik chuckled. “Don’t be offended or worried. I’m not interested, simply stating a fact. She’s …” Trailing off, he turned to nod at Viviana as if in explanation. Currently, she was chasing both Demyan and Sofia around and around the tables, smiling brightly. As if she didn’t care about her eight-hundred dollar dress or the shoes she’d kicked off earlier. “Fascinating,” Adrik finished quieter. “I never intended to have a wife. I wasn’t in the business for one.”

“And yet you have a child.”

“Ah, well, I didn’t plan her, either.”

Anton smirked. “That’s how they usually come along. I was a bit more careful about my … activities … before my wife, however.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why was that?” Adrik asked.

“It would have disappointed my family,” Anton answered honestly. “I wasn’t in agreement about the arrangement they made for me and Vine, but I also knew there was only so much rebellion they would accept from me, too. At eighteen, I had pretty well decided on Viviana all on my own. The rest is history.”

“Seems as though an arranged marriage worked for you two,” Adrik said, not hiding his surprise in the least.

“If you want to call it that. The agreeing parties were long dead, so I could have just as easily let it go and continued with the way I was. Viviana and I chose this after, not them. We did so because we wanted each other. She’s mine, that’s all there is to it.”

Anton realized how easily Adrik seemed to get the most personal information from him without even trying. It was unsettling and interesting at the same time.

“People must find it’s easy to allow you close, Adrik. I can’t help but wonder how they felt when you killed them for it.”

Adrik cleared his throat and rested back to the bar’s top. “I’m not interested in killing you, Anton. Unlike the old boss, I don’t want Brighton Beach. I wasn’t raised there, it’s not my home like it is yours. I’m a Jersey boy through and through.”

“I should hope your interest in being here isn’t to scope me out. I can assure you if you tried to come after me, at any point, my Bratva would not be an easy target.”

“Point taken. I’ll remember that. However, I did what I had to. I refused to work under men who were no different than Sergei. No one suspected me, Anton. That’s why it was so easy to do it. I was the young brigadier, just a captain. Not at all important and they certainly didn’t fear me to make a move to take the boss position.”

“I was told you were ruthless about it,” Anton murmured.

“I was,” Adrik confirmed, nodding. “I needed to make a point. They were either with me, or they weren’t. If they weren’t …” He made the sign of a gun with his forefinger and thumb, pulling the trigger. “There was no reason or need to talk about it. Simply finishing it.”

Anton said nothing for a short while, instead turning to stare at the young girl who had climbed up on his wife’s lap, chatting animatedly with Demyan still on the floor. “If you can ask me personal questions, surely I can ask you one? We’re becoming friends, after all.”

“Go on.”

“Your daughter … the same question goes for you that you asked me. Why? You said it yourself, you didn’t want to be married, and her mother didn’t want her. It would have been easy to let her mother get rid of her and move on.”

Adrik sucked in a harsh breath, sending Anton a look he couldn’t decipher. “You have a son, so surely you must understand what it's like to have a child.”

“I always wanted children eventually, just not when I was younger. I think it’s a different situation we’re talking about here, Adrik.”

“Fine, that’s true enough,” Adrik said a little begrudgingly. “I always knew I was going to make the move someday to take what I wanted. Being boss, I mean. I also knew in doing that, I didn’t want to have someone I loved in danger because of my position. That was why the idea of marriage and children turned me off. But, when I found out about her, it was different. I knew that child might very well be my only one. That was why I wanted her so fiercely, why I did everything I could to force her mother to keep her and give her to me.”

“And she did, just like that?” Anton asked.

“Nothing is ever simple,” Adrik replied. “But yes, just like that, in a way.”

“The arrangement you said you had with her mother—what was it?”

Adrik smirked, cocking a brow. “I don’t imagine it’s any different from the one you have with your wife in bed, except for the fact that I didn’t need to share any part of me with her. That’s not what she was looking for, either. We fucked, that was all. There were times we weren’t as careful as we should have been, but I can’t find it in me to regret Sofia.”

“Someone should have told me about your daughter, Adrik. I’m extremely offended they didn’t. I would have appreciated you bringing her as another show of your trust for me.”

“Don’t be too angry with them, Anton. Most of them don’t know.”

Anton barely held back his scoff. “She’s three!”

Viviana’s head popped up to look in their direction at her husband’s raised voice. A simple glance asked a million questions, but Anton dismissed her concerns with a shake of his head. With a frown, she went back to conversing with the kids.

“Fascinating,” Adrik said again, watching Viviana. “Most women would get up and insert themselves into a conversation they’re aware isn’t for them to be included in. She looks to you first.”

“Of course she does,” Anton snapped. “She’s my wife. She trusts me, and besides that, she was raised with Cosa Nostra values by a Don for a father. Viviana takes her concerns about my business to me, and me alone. She doesn’t feel a need to voice them publicly.”

Once more, Anton realized he’d blurted out personal information about his family to a man he barely knew.

“About my daughter—”

“She’s three-years-old,” Anton repeated lower, turning to face Adrik. “Please don’t insult my fucking intelligence by saying people don’t know about her. That’s ridiculous and you know it.”

Adrik shrugged, waving at Viviana. “What’re your biggest weaknesses, Anton? The first people someone would go after to hurt you, to get to you? I think we both know the answer to that question. You don’t hide your affections well, not that I blame you. In fact, you’ve kept your eyes on your family all night. It might seem like I’m slighting you, but really, I respect you for it. You’re confident in your position and in the trust you have for your men. I am not.