Arranged Bratva Love

Lottie

I felt a little guilty. My back was being massaged as was my sister’s, and Hubert stood in the corner of the room. There was no way he could be enjoying this, and I hated that I was. It felt nice, even though I was a little tense.

As for Cassie, she was very vocal with the sounds she made as the woman worked on her back. She had asked for a couple of strapping male massagers, but Hubert had been clear. No men, only women.

And so, my back was being worked, and it felt good. It was rather strange, though, because I wasn’t used to being touched, so each time her hands brushed across my skin, that first initial touch always made me jolt, just a little bit.

“This is so good.”

I couldn’t agree more.

“Why didn’t we do this more often?”

We didn’tneed to go there. We both knew the answer.

“Shit, forget I ever said anything.” Cassie’s arm raised in the air and she lifted, turning her head to look at me. “Well, what do you think?”

“It feels great,” I said, smiling.

“Good. It was hard to think of what to get you. You don’t have any hobbies and we’ve not spoken in so long.” Cassie pouted. “Rage told me he gave you a cell phone.”

“I don’t have it.”

“Why not? I’ve been texting you, wanting to meet up, so we can do all kinds of shit together.”

I was about to answer when Hubert’s cell phone went off.

“You can’t have cell phones in here,” one of the women massaging our backs said.

Hubert took the call. He spoke in hushed tones, and then looked up. “I just have to step out a moment. Both of you, leave,” he said, pointing toward the women.

They looked like they wanted to protest, but Hubert gave them a look, and neither of them argued.

“I’ll only be a minute,” Hubert said, following behind them a couple of seconds later.

“Wow, he’s like … intense, isn’the?” Cassie asked.

“He’s … I don’t know.” I sat up and pulled the towel around my body.

“Why did you give the cell phone up? Rage didn’t know what life was going to be like for you and he promised me I could always contact you,” Cassie said. Licking mydry lips, I tuck some of my hair behind my ear. “Think about it, Cassie. Think about who I’m married to and what I’m married into. A secret cell phone is a sure way to get me killed.”

“No, no, that’s not possible. Rage wouldn’t have done that.”

“I know, but this is the Volkov Bratva. I can’t have secret cell phones or any of that.” I nibbled my lip. “You understand, right?”

“Yeah, I understand, and I also know I’m going to yell at Rage, which is always a lot of fun to do. Crap, I had no idea a secret cell phone would cause you trouble. I’m so sorry.” She reached out, offering her hand, and I took it, giving it a squeeze. “Us being here for your birthday isn’t causing any issues, is it?”

“No, none at all.”

“I’m glad.” Cassie winked at me. “I’ve missed you.”

“What has it been like back home? Apart from Rage, having to earn the club’s respect and all that?” I asked.

“Oh, you know, the same old, same old.”

“How do you mean?”

“It’s business as usual.” Cassie sighed. “I don’t know what else to say. Not a lot has changed. The club goes on. The club pussy is always around. I’m not … Rage … he, er, he always put up with me, you know, because of who I was. After Dad and everything that went down, I guess you could say I’m not everyone’s favorite person.”This was ashock to me. “You’re the club princess.”

“Iwasthe club princess, Charlotte. Now, I’m just … no one. Rage takes care of me.”

“I had no idea,” I said. “Do you miss Dad?”

“Hell, no, him being dead and seeing you actually happy, that’s everything.” Cassie sighed. “If anything, this has made me realize that I didn’t stand up enough for you.” She lifted her head and I saw tears in her eyes.

“Cassie, don’t cry.”

“I’mtrying not to. I don’t want to cry, and it will totally spoil my makeup.”

“We’re going in a sauna, it’s going to ruin your makeup,” I said.

She chuckled and then allowed the tears to fall. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t cry.”

“You can cry. Everyone can cry.” I wanted to pull her into my arms and hug her. I didn’t know if it was possible for me to tell her it was going to be all right, but I wanted to. Instead, I stayed silent and watched her.

“I’ve been going through all the things back home, and along with that place are the memories, and I’m so sorry, Charlotte. The beatings he gave you. I tried to stop so many of them, but I was a coward.”

“Stop it,” I said. “It’s a goodthing you didn’t try to intervene. He’d have started on you as well.”

“I’m older than you. There had to be something I could have done to protect you.”

“No. You tried to do something, remember?”

This made Cassie sob more. We didn’t do this. Whenever we went shopping in the past or had a girls’ day, we didn’t talk about the giant elephant in the room. We just talked about everything and nothing.

“Dad was too powerful,” I said. “He had too many connections, and there was nothing any of us could do. You tried and we made the most of it. You always tried to give me something.”

“Charlotte, this was the first birthday I was able to get you something without fear, andit wasn’t even something you could own.” She pointed toward my neck. “Look at that. Ivan got you that, and your husband got you that.”

This made me laugh. “Ive had to give me the wedding ring and I think Ivan insisted on the engagement ring. They’re part of the deal they made withRage. As for this.” I pick the necklace up between my two fingers. “Ivan scared Dad, remember? He was the only person who had ever put fear in our dad’s eyes. As for this, I love this. You and me, finally at a spa, and at the end of the day, we don’t have to pretend that I didn’t have a good time. I don’t have to look miserable or sad. I can be happy.”

Tears filled my eyes now and Cassie climbed off the table and moved toward me. I stepped down and with the towels between us, we hugged tightly.

“I am so, so, so happy you are finally getting to live a good life.”

I didn’t know if I should tell Cassie that Iswore my loyalty to Ivan Volkov. Instead, I just held my sister and thanked whoever was watching down on us, and asked them to take care of her.

She’d been as good of a sister as she’d been allowed to be. I knew she had always wanted to stop everything that was going on, but there was no way for her to do so. When Dad was on a warpath, there was no stopping him. I was gladly the target.

“I love you, Charlotte.”

“I love you too.”

We climbed back on themassage tables and stared at each other, laughing.

Hubert entered the room with the two women following him.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“It’s fine,” I said.

The ladies came to finish our massages. Cassie wouldn’t let go of my hand throughout. After the massages, we opted to use the sauna, which I didn’t like. Cassie loved it, for me, I hated it. Sweating in a hot room was not my idea of a good time, and it made my nose wrinkle. All the stress the women had worked out of my body was back. After the sauna, we took long showers, and then got changed and headed up to the restaurant.

Cassie ordered some kind of fruit concoction drink, and I asked for their energy shake. It sounded nice. When it came tothe table, it was green, and I stared at it.

My sister chuckled. “I don’t think it’s poison.”

“It’s green,” I said.

“That just meansthere’s a vegetable or something in it. Like kale or broccoli?”

“Ew,” I said.

“Are you going to take a sip?”

“I will.”

Holding the straw, I leaned forward and wrapped my lips around it, sucking some of the liquid into my mouth. The moment it touched my throat, I stopped and sat back. I was pretty sure Hubert laughed behind me.

Cassie couldn’t keep a straight face. “This is why you always opt for something fresh. Here, try mine.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Charlotte, come on, stop being sodifficult.” She slid her drink toward me. “Try it.”

I tried my sister’s drink, and it was indeed a lot fresher and nicer, slightly sour, but I liked it. My sister ordered me the same drink and asked them to take the green drink away. I was tempted to ask Hubert if he wanted to try, but it was already gone before I could.

“Have you had a good day?”

“Yes,” I said.

Hubert stepped close. “We need to leave, Mrs. Yahontov. Ive is expecting to pick you up at seven.”

“He is?”

“Yes, he’d like to take you todinner.”

Should this make my heart race? My husband taking me to dinner like every other time, but this was after the kiss we had shared. Did he like the kiss? Crap, what the hell was I thinking? Ive didn’t like me. He’d been forced to marry me. Ours was not nor would it ever be a love match, and I had to get my head on straight. It wasn’t going to happen.”We’ve got to leave,” Isaid. “Unless you want to stay?”

“No, no, it’s fine. We can leave. I’m tired anyway, and I can’t wait to explore the apartment Ive’s prepared for me.”

We followed Hubert out of the spatoward the waiting car. Climbing in the back seat, Cassie kept pointing out places she hoped to visit during her stay. I sat in silence and watched her. Cassie was always so animated. She took everything in and just tried to live, and I found that addictive.

The journey came to an end rather quickly. Hubert took control ofthe elevator, and stopped it at the apartment for Cassie. There was no time for me to explore with her, and Hubert took us back up to Ive’s penthouse.

I missed his country home. This penthouse didn’t feel like home. I left Hubert to go to the main bedroom and I saw the dress already laid out for me. It hadn’t been there this morning, so I imagined Ive must have stopped off at home after lunch or something. Cassie and I had been out all day. This was a sky-blue dress. I wriggled into it, and slid the side zipper up, hoping it would fit.

Stepping in front of the mirror, I gasped. It was very revealing. The bodice was that of a corset, and it certainly did feel like it pushed everything in. My tits looked huge. They were big anyway, but they looked even more so within the tight confines of the dress. Even my waist looked small. My hips certainly didn’t, and the dress flared out to accommodate them.

Grabbing a brush, I ran it through my now frizzy locks. The sauna hadn’t been kind to my hair. I attempted to keep it confined and grabbed a clip, pulled some back, and slid the clip right in. Checking the mirror again, I knew there wasn’t a lot more I could do. I never practiced with makeup, and I hadn’t trained since being married to Ive.

I stepped out of the room and Hubert was waiting.

“Is Ive coming back here or do I have to go and meet him?”

“He’s coming back here,” he said.

I nod. “I’ll just wait.”

There hadn’t been any shoes with the dress, so I still wore my sneakers. I didn’t mind, as they were comfortable. The dress was long enough to hide my footwear. I had to wonder where we were going, though. Taking a seat, I sink back into the sofa and rest my head along the back of the couch, closing my eyes so I don’t stare up at the ceiling. My life was so strange.

I had spent many years imagining how my life was going to be once I turned eighteen and finally got away from my dad. After turning eighteen, I had to wait until I graduated high school, just before I was taken. That was so unlucky. I had all these great plans, most of which I couldn’t do because I had no money. I think my dad knew what I planned and he tried to do everything in his power to destroy it, to stop me from living. That was the kind of man he was.

My father had been a complete fucking monster. I hated him. He constantly showed me how much he hated me, how he didn’t love me. The beatings, the humiliation.

I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and opened my eyes.

“How did you do it?” Hubert asked.

I turned to look at my guard andfrowned. “How did I do what?”

“I know some of what you went through. I’ve seen some of your scars. I know … bits and pieces and I listened to you and Cassie today. A lot of people would have struggled with what you went through.”

“It wasn’t all bad,” I said. “Most of the time, he did ignore me. I think that was the hardest part.” I licked my lips. “Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of beatings. Some slaps, some kicks. He’d throw stuff at me, but again, I’d do something, I think. I don’t know. I’ve kind of just blacked it out.”

“Did he ever show you any kind of affection?” Hubert asked.

“No.” I didn’t even hesitate. This made me smile for some odd reason. “He never hugged me. Never gave me a goodnight kiss. Never promised to take the monsters away. He hated me. He told me that all the time. That I wasn’t lovable. Rage hugged me when he could. Told me he’d take the monsters away. Sometimes he gave me a goodnight kiss. He was my father.” I wave my hand in front of my face. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Thankfully, I didn’t have to because Ive stepped into the apartment. I don’t know if he’d heard any of what I said, but I forced a smile to my lips and got to my feet.

“How do I look?” I asked.

Ive looked me up and down, and I expected him to ignore my question. He had so many other times.

“You look stunning,” he said. “But it’s missing something.”

I hadn’t realizedIve had his hands hidden behind his back until he suddenly brought them forward. He held a matching pair of shoes to go with the dress. The heel wasn’t too high either.

“They’re lovely.”

“I was also told that they’re comfortable,” he said.

This made me laugh.

He moved toward me and knelt down at my feet. I kicked off mysneakers, and he picked one up, holding it in his palm. “Seriously?”

“Stop it. Yes.” I rolled my eyes and he chuckled.

I slid my foot into the heel and it felt lovely, like it was meant to fit on my foot. Once both shoes were on my feet, Ive stood up andtook my hand.

“How do they feel?”

“Nice,” I said. “Does that make me weird? Are women supposed to like the feel of heels on their feet?”

“I imagine at the beginning of an evening, they love it, but by the end of the evening, they don’t.” Ive tucked my hand against his side. “Come on, our dinner reservations are waiting.”

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“A brand-new restaurant that I think you’ll enjoy.”