Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Bogdan frowned and she was pretty sure he physically pulled back. “You want to know about my parents?”
“Yeah, of course I do. They’re part of you, aren’t they?”
That frown seemed to deepen between his brows, which she didn’t quite like but knew she wouldn’t have any choice if he decided not to tell her anything.
Bogdan looked past her shoulder at the people in the bar dancing the night away. They looked so happy and carefree.
“Is it that bad?”
“It’s not bad,” Bogdan said. “It made me the man I am today, and I don’t mind who I am.”
It was her turn to frown, because she wasn’t quite sure what he was implying. She watched as he ran a hand down his face.
“The truth is, I don’t remember much of my mother. She died when I was five.”
“She did?” Anastasia asked.
“Yes. It left my father and me alone. It was a hard time. My father was not a loving man, nor was he a cold man. We were both similar in temperament, and he told me from a young age that I had a gift, and under him, he taught me everything I knew about surviving. He worked for the Galkin Bratva as well. There is always a man they need like us, and at the time, my father was the best.”
“What happened to your father?” Anastaisa asked.
“He stopped being the best,” Bogdan said.
She noticed there was no emotion, nothing. “Do you miss him?”
“No.”
“Do you even think about him?”
“No.”
This surprised her.
“I guess it beats having a father who wants you dead?” She shrugged.
Bogdan cupped her face and tilted her head back. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She stared up at him, and she knew he spoke the truth, or as close to the truth as he could. Smiling, she nodded her head. This man was not going to let anything happen to her.
“Bogdan?”
“Yes.”
“Dance with me.” She held her arms open to him.
Part of her expected him to decline, and another part hoped he wouldn’t push her aside claiming to be busy. Bogdan closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, and she breathed a little easier. The scent of him was intoxicating. She pressed her face against his chest and breathed him in.
“This is not dancing, if you’re sniffing me.”
She burst out laughing. “Sorry. You smell good.”
He leaned down and inhaled her hair, and this only served to make her laugh even more. “You smell good yourself.”
“You’re mocking me.”
“Never.”
His grip seemed to tighten around her, and it felt even better than before. She didn’t want him to stop holding her.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
Anastasia knew there would never be anyone else to hold her. Bogdan had a touch like no other.
****
Taking Anastasia away to his private island was part of his plan. With her father’s desperation mounting, Bogdan had a horrible suspicion the man was going to get sloppy. Something wasn’t adding up.
He’d finally bitten the bullet and looked into Dante’s financial background, and the man was not hard up for anything. He wasn’t wealthy, not like Evelyn had been, but he also wasn’t hurting for cash. So, in his quest for answers, he was able to locate all past transactions, and what he found curious was the fact Evelyn had never once paid her husband a single penny. There was no money transferred to her husband. It had all gone into a private, offshore account. Now, he assumed this was Dante’s way of stealing money from his own boss. Every Capo within their Italian mafia family had to pay a percentage of the money they earned to the boss.
Dante had never accounted for any money in the offshore account. After doing more digging, the account was not even registered to Dante. Again, this made no sense. To top it off, Gustov had also contacted him, asking if they could have a private meeting.
Bogdan did not know what the man wanted, and once he spoke to Galkin, his own boss didn’t like the way this was going.
He had his suspicions, but as he stared down at his wife, who he had insisted come out to their private beach naked, she was currently pressed against the blanket. Her nice voluptuous ass was in the air, and she made him ache. Tracing a finger down her back, he moved toward the curves of her ass, and then he got to his knees and straddled her legs.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m having my fun.” He gripped her ass, pressing the cheeks together, and then parting them to give them a little slap. She let out a gasp.
“What do you know about Gustov?” he asked.
Anastasia groaned. “You’re seriously going to ask me about my mother’s best friend right now?”
“They were best friends?”
“Yes, they were.”
He leaned over her, pushing some of her black hair off her shoulder, exposing her neck. Pressing his lips to her delicate skin, he traced his tongue across the pulse. “Is that all they were?”