Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Thankfully, she had finally gotten back to going to her sewing room, or sitting at her vanity table. Although, she didn’t take as long to put makeup on at the moment. I noticed she tried to fight the sadness. My wife was a lot stronger than I could have imagined.
She smiled at Rafael and then laughed at whatever joke he told. I wanted her to be happy, to smile.
I never thought I would wish for The Butcher to be back, but I did, every single day. That woman had saved my life.
Stepping out onto the lawn, Rafael greeted me and then gave an excuse to leave.
“You always seem to be scaring him away,” she said.
“I don’t mean to, and I don’t scare him away. He’s the one with all the tools, remember?” I asked.
“That is so true.” She let out a little laugh. “But I doubt anything could take you down.”
“You think I’m that strong?” I asked.
“I know you are.” She leaned in close and I felt her breathe in deeply. She loved to do this, and I held her. “So, when do we have to leave?” she asked.
Ivan had requested all the Brigadiers as well as their wives to The Beast’s new home, as part of a welcome as the final Brigadier. I had to admit I was shocked. None of us got a welcoming ceremony, but then, we were all pretty much decided quite quickly.
“Tonight,” I said. “Your bags are already packed.”
“Do you think we have to stay? Couldn’t we just go, and you know, attend the dinner and leave?” she asked.
Freya didn’t like to leave the house much. I figured this was down to what Harris had done to her.
“I wish we could, but that is not going to happen.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to make it up to me. I just miss this place,” she said. “It is home.”
“I knew that was true, but I also knew my wife was hurting.
By going to see The Beast as the sixth and final Brigadier, it was also acknowledging that The Butcher was gone. We still hadn’t had a ceremony to let her rest in peace. I had a sneaky suspicion Ivan didn’t believe her to be dead.
Whatever he had said to my wife, it had gotten her out of the depression that had gripped her, so I didn’t care what he said. As long as he didn’t give her false hope. The Butcher was gone, and I would do anything to have her back. Anything. My wife wanted to see her friend again. I had tried to encourage her to get to know the other wives, but she didn’t.
I glanced down at her wrist, and it held the ink that made her a Volkov Bratva, delicate ivy surrounding a V. Ivan had insisted she have it. Freya had already proven her loyalty to the Volkov Bratva, but also, she was Ivan’s sister. That gave her a bit of a free pass, but it also meant I had to take care of her, which I loved to do.
Stroking my fingers down her cheek, we hadn’t made love since before she was taken. The doctor had advised to give her a chance to heal. I knew she had plenty of time, but I also didn’t want to rush it. We would be together when Freya was ready.
She kissed me and wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her body against mine. Okay, this was proving to be a little harder than I wanted it to be. I felt the mounds of her breasts, pressing against my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her, not wanting to let go. She was like a breath of fresh air.
“Victor?” she asked, breaking the kiss and slowly moving toward my ear.
“Yeah?”
“What do I need to do to show you I want to have sex?” she asked.
This made me pause and I pulled back to look at her. Was I now imagining things I wanted to hear?
She had this wicked smile on her lips. There was a glow to her eyes.
“You want to?” I asked.
“Yes, I do. I’ve been trying to get you to see what I want, but you’re being a pain.” She then took my hand, and she started to walk us not to the house but to my shed. She came and sat with me while I worked in the shed.
Freya let go of my hand, and I locked the door so no one would even dare disturb us. With the door locked, I focused all my attention on my wife. She had moved to my workbench.
I had finished one of my projects, it was a crib I had started to build before we’d lost the baby. For a long time, I was tempted to not finish it, but I knew that was just me throwing a tantrum, so I forced myself to finish it, and it was now in the attic. I made sure Freya didn’t see me moving it. I didn’t want her to be upset by what we had lost.