“Viktor. Let me go. You know you won’t get any sleep if you don’t let me go to the other bed.”

“You’re staying here. If you wake me up, then oh well.” 

“Viktor, you need your sleep.” I groaned. 

“Sooner you get to sleep, the sooner I can too,” he said, pulling me back against him. “Maybe the reason you didn’t have nightmares here was because I exhausted you properly and you went right to sleep.”

“Viktor, I’m not that desperate yet.” I muttered, grabbing a pillow and tucking it under my head. 

“Good boy,” Viktor said. 

“Yuck. I’m not into that.” I sighed.

“Go to sleep, Nikita.”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

I closed my eyes and fell asleep. Viktor’s warmth played a good part in being the reason I did. 

It was still dark when I woke up from a nightmare. Viktor was still fast asleep beside me. I woke him up when I snuggled back into his heat. 

“Nikita?”

“I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”

“Are you sure?” He muttered and closed his eyes for a short few seconds before he opened them again and looked right at me, his eyes searching mine, maybe he was looking for something that said I wasn’t fine or I needed him to help me. “Nikita, are you really sure that you’re ok? I don’t want to go back to sleep if you need me, even it’s just to tell your you ok.”

“Viktor, go to sleep. You can’t sleep like this. I knew I should have slept in the other bed.”

“Don’t leave or I won’t go back to sleep at all, Nikita. I’ll make sure that I don’t—---”

“Are you seriously gaslighting me right now, Viktor? Christ, it’s three in the morning. Don’t start your shit. I do not have the time or energy to fight and argue with you.” I hissed, rolling over away from him, only to have him pull me right back into his space, worse than before. The bit of space that was there really was non-existent now. 

“Viktor!”

“Calm yourself Nikita. You just go back to sleep, and I will too.”

“And if I can’t, then you won’t, and that won’t do any of us any good!” I hollered at him, losing my patience with this crap he was pulling. 

“You don’t have to keep yelling, Nikita. I’m less than a foot away from and I’m not deaf.”

“I’m going to deafen you if you keep it up.” I snapped and rolled over until I had him pinned to the bed. “Do you understand now that I’m not in the mood to play with you, Viktor?”

“You could have fooled me with this action. I thought you weren’t this desperate, Nikita.”

“I’m not! You’re the one who is taking this out of context and making it seem dirtier than what this actually is!” I bitched, raising my voice at him again, and he rolled us both over and pinned me to the top of the bed. His hands were mindful of my broken limb. 

“I told you that you didn’t have to keep yelling at me, Nikita.”

“I got that, but you pissed me off and I’m going to keep yelling if you don’t get off me.”

“I could put you to sleep easier. I just have to tire you out,” he said, lowering his voice to a whisper, and grinding his hips into mine. “Tell me you want me, Nikita.”

I nodded, but Viktor didn’t move. Why was he waiting for me to say the actual words? Did my voiced consent mean that much to him now? 

“Carry on Viktor. Before I change my mind.” I muttered. 

Sex with Viktor wasn’t terrible, not in the slightest. Sex with Viktor was just that to me, but to him, he would surely try to use it to get closer to me in the long run. 

He muttered something and then moved away from me. 

“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed. 

“Moving so you can take exactly what you need from me.”

I scrunched my face up and gave him a stupid look. What the hell was he doing? He reached into the nightstand and produced a box of condoms and a brand new fresh bottle of lube. I didn’t bother asking why he had them. I just really didn’t want to know if there was someone else he was sleeping with, too.

“Viktor, this is just sex, nothing more.” I muttered. 

“I figured,” he huffed. 

His phone started vibrating on the nightstand, and he ignored it. I could see his jaw twitching, and I knew he didn’t want to answer it because he would miss out on sex.

“Just answer the damn phone, Viktor.”

He snatched the phone, and hit the call button in the dark, and put it on speakerphone. “Speak.” he snapped. 

“Christ. You could be nicer.” Ilya snapped. 

“What the hell do you want at this—---”

“There are strangers inside the house,” he muttered. 

“Strangers? Are they armed?”

“No. They aren’t.” 

“Hold on. Here I come.” Viktor huffed and hung up the phone, quickly dressing. “Stay here.”

“I don’t think so.” I said and fixed my clothing, and Viktor looked me over.

“Get the fuck back in our bedroom. If anyone else sees you like this, I’ll have to remove their eyes, Nikita.”

“Knock it off.” I hissed, shoving past him. 

Viktor grabbed me and forced me behind him. “Just keep your distance until I know what the hell is going on,” he said and went down to the foyer, me right behind him. Ilya was pointing a weapon at the people inside the foyer and Vito was, too.

“Oh, thank god. Viktor, tell them to put their weapons away.” It was a woman, and her voice made me look up right away. I couldn’t hide the disgust on my face at just hearing her voice. I couldn’t see her because Viktor was in front of me, but I knew her voice anywhere.

Klara. 

“Ilya, Vito, you can return to bed. I know her. She’s safe.” Viktor said. Ilya and Vito were gone before you could even snap. But that didn’t surprise me in the slightest. I looked around Viktor finally. And it had to be my bad day.

“Nikita… funny seeing you here.” She muttered darkly. The smile on her ruby red coloured lips disgusted me even more.  

Klara was an enforcer for Viktor and the Russo family. But she was also the bitch that ‘employed’ me to look into Viktor. Or rather, pretended to employ me for Viktor, so I played right into his hands. I hated this woman with a bitter passion. She was skilled in fighting, and could easily drink me under the table any day of the week. I got well acquainted with her while I got cozy with Viktor. 

“Klara, what is the meaning of this?” Viktor asked, and she actually looked uncomfortable. 

“I have important news regarding some investments—-”

“Why did you cause such a disturbance?”

“Oh, right? So the front door was locked, and I forgot my key so I snuck through the back door, let the guys in and that’s when the little blonde and the Italian daddy caught me and pointed guns at me.” she said, before she started taking off her jacket, and pulling out a thumb drive. 

“The blondie is Ilya Russo, and the other man was his partner, Vito.” Viktor said, as he took the thumb drive from her. “About my investment. What news do you have to share?”

“Am I permitted to speak about such subjects in front of Nikita?” She asked, and Viktor chuckled, grabbing my hand and holding it up. “Nikita is a Russo now,” he said, rather pleased. 

“When? I really didn’t see that coming,” she muttered, and actually got closer to have a good look at the ring. “Was I not invited to the wedding?”

“We didn’t have a public wedding.” Viktor said and waited for her to take her shoes off at the door. “Come, we can look over whatever’s on here in my office.”

Following behind Viktor, Klara grabbed me and whispered. “He forced you to marry him, didn’t he?”

“Actually, it was Nikita’s idea. But it came with conditions, of course.” Viktor said, letting us both know that her skills of whispering needed a lot of work. Viktor and Klara seemed to watch a security video, but I couldn’t see it that well from where I was. 

“And how was this man dealt with Klara? He openly cheated in my fucking casino. I want him brought to me,” Viktor snapped, and he was in a bad mood now. 

“He got away with twenty grand, but I have men out looking for him using any means necessary to find him. It will take me some time, but I’ll have him found and brought to you. You have my word, Don Russo.”

“Where the fuck were the men that I pay to watch for this fucking shit!” he yelled, pulling his hand through his hair and glaring at her. 

“The men were changing shifts. This man knew when our shift change was and used that time to cheat.” 

Getting up off the couch, I looked over Viktor’s shoulder as he played the video again repeatedly. 

“Send me that. I’ll get you a location pretty easily. But it will cost you, of course.” I said, into the silence. This was a simple job for Yuri, and he wouldn’t charge a hell of a lot for me, about five thousand. 

“Just how the hell will you do that?” Klara snapped. 

“Nikita, what will it cost me?” Viktor said, and Klara crossed her arms. 

“Five grand, and a trip to get me regular clothing.” I said firmly. 

“Cash, or check, or transfer,” Viktor said, looking at me. 

“I’ll think about it. Let me make a call.” I said and left the office, heading to the bedroom to get my phone. I hit Yuri’s number, and he was, as always, quick to answer my call. I walked around the bedroom with the phone up to my ear. 

“Nikita.”

“Yuri. Good morning.”

“Is it? I hardly noticed. What do you need from me?”

“I’m sending you a video. The quality is questionable, but I need all the details about the person in question, right down to last known whereabouts.”

“And here I thought you actually had something good for me.”

“I have five thousand dollars fresh out of the Russo family accounts for you. But it will come through me, of course.”

“I’ll get it done, send me the video, and next time charge him extra for the bullshit he’s done to you, Nikita.” Yuri said, before hanging up the phone. 

I sent him the video once I got it from Viktor, and he sent me back an ok to getting the video. Setting my phone back on the nightstand, I plugged it in. Heading back to Viktor’s office, I opened the door. 

“So?”

“I sent the video to my friend, and he will get back to me shortly. I’ll send you the information and then Klara and her men can get this guy for you, and I’ll take my payment in cash.”

“We will settle our money in the morning.” Viktor said, before he looked at Klara and crossed his arms. “Klara scram.” Viktor hissed. She left the office pretty quickly, and Viktor exhaled. “This is bullshit. What the fuck do I pay these idiots for?”

“Good question. You can think about it when you wake up. We are going back to the room and you’re going to bed.” 

“We are going back to bed, Nikita.”

“I disagree, but sure.” I muttered, following him out of the office and back to the bedroom. He closed the door behind us and flicked off the light. 

“Get into the bed and go to sleep.” Viktor said, getting undressed. I obeyed, feeling his anger still radiating off him. He lay down next to me, and I felt his body giving off heat. I could feel myself calming down as I drifted off to sleep, pressed right against his body.