Aurora was my wife.

A few hours ago, I’d kissed her.

I wanted to do it again.

Cupping her face, I traced my thumb across the plumpness of her lip. It looked slightly sore from where she’d been nibbling it, but I wanted to taste her again. Enemy or not, I felt like I was drowning in the very essence of who she was, and I couldn’t stop.

Before I got a chance to worship her mouth, the car came to an abrupt stop.

We were here.

I hadn’t even noticed we’d arrived at Ivan’s secure location. He liked to live outside of the city. He moved around a lot. It was one part of keeping himself alive and confusing his enemies. He was never in the same place long enough, which meant if there was ever an attack, they never had time to prepare and were always so fucking sloppy with it.

I opened my door as Sergei did the same. I offered a hand and I watched as Sergei struggled with opening Aurora’s door.

She took my hand, sliding out of my side of the car.

I was going to have to have a talk with my wife. For a woman who didn’t have many prospects, she seemed to be taking one of my most loyal men and turning him into her little pet.

The very thought of Sergei touching my wife. Loving her. It awakened the beast within me that needed to lay his claim. To show the world who Aurora belonged to.

Holding her hand, I walked up the steps, nodding to the guards. No one stopped us as we passed.

Aurora kept up with my pace, and when I entered the dining hall, I saw Ivan was waiting.

It was rare for him to want to talk to someone like my wife. I imagined it was down to the peace treaty that he broke protocol. Then again, Ivan never followed the traditional brotherhood of the Bratva. He paved his own way. Fulfilled his own path.

With my wife before him, he stood, and I had no choice but to press Aurora into the chair that had been left in the center of the room.

“Leave us,” Ivan said.

The soldiers each left, one by one, filtering out. Sergei had followed us in, and I made him aware he was to leave too.

His gaze landed on Aurora one last time, but he didn’t save her.

Instead, he left.

“Aurora, you’re looking good.”

“Thank you.” Her hands rested on her thighs. I saw the slight shake in her body.

I couldn’t resist reaching out to her. I placed my hand on her shoulder, not that it gave her any comfort. If anything, it appeared to make her more nervous, which only served to piss me off.

“I had nothing to do with this, I swear.”

“The man you saw, he was in employment with your father, correct?” Ivan asked.

He dragged a chair over, and I felt Aurora try to jerk back.