When I Love (Vassi & Seri 3: Russian Stepbrother Romance) (12 page)

C
urled against Vassi’s hard
, naked body, Seri thought about how much life had changed in the past six months since Vassi’s big legal victory.

Even now, Seri could still remember all the days they had spent in court. What should have been a simple case of proving Daniela Martin’s history of blackmail and extortion had turned into a nationwide controversy when a well-known feminist group had decided to champion Daniela.

In the end, however, the other girl had brought about her own downfall. Even though her legal counsel had explicitly warned her not to take the stand, Daniela had gone against them and in so doing had allowed Vassi’s lawyers to expose her true nature. It had only taken several minutes before her lies started to unravel, and when she felt the tide of sentiment turning against her favor, the enraged Daniela had hammered the final nail in her coffin when she blew up and showed her true colors, screaming about the years she had painstakingly spent studying Vassi’s every move and strategizing every step so she could become his perfect bride.

When she then revealed the reporters she had paid and the mob she had hired to harass Vassi, the feminist group that had tried so hard to crucify Vassi through Daniela immediately washed their hands of her.

When the trial concluded, it had taken the jury less than an hour to convict her.

Beside her, Vassi stirred. “Why aren’t you still sleeping? You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

Snuggling closer to him, she admitted softly, “I was just thinking about Daniela.”

Lying on his side and propping himself up on one elbow, he asked her incredulously, “We’ve been fucking all night, and she’s the first thing---”

“Sssh!” She hurriedly covered his mouth. Even though everyone knew they were dating now, Seri didn’t think everyone also had to know that Vassi came to sleep in her bed every night.

Taking her hand off, he asked in a slightly lower voice, “Why are you even thinking about her?”

“I just feel bad for her, I guess.”

Vassi gave her a pained look. “You’re being too soft,
solnishka moya.”

“
I know she’s done a lot of things---”

“Not just plain things,” he reminded her dryly.

“Okay, evil things,” she agreed, “but she’s also criminally insane. The tests prove it without a doubt, Vassi, and I think it’s sad. There’s no need to get even when she’s already suffering---”

“Speak for yourself,” he said. “I still prefer her locked behind bars. Having her confined in a mental institution is too good for her.”

“Retribution,” she said righteously, “is only for God to extract.”

But the next day, Seri ended up eating her own words.

It was the official launch of the brainchild of the Rockford-Grachyov merger, and the commercial Seri had shot for it was also premiering on the same night. A red carpet had been rolled out leading to the ballroom, and as soon as Seri and Vassi appeared, fans and reporters alike surged forward.

Yet another thing that had changed for Vassi and Seri was the fact that they had been chosen to lend their voices for the iconic roles of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in an anime adaptation. The one-season series had been a shocking success all over the world, stunning analysts and critics, and since then, Seri and Vassi had become overnight sensations.

If Vassi had been already famous before, he was a hundred times more now, and Seri couldn’t help smiling at the way girls screamed and threatened to swoon as they managed to shake hands with their idol.

After posing with a couple of teenage girls, he returned to her side and continued with their walk down the red carpet. He felt her stiffen all of a sudden, and Vassi asked, “What is it?”

“I see them,” Seri hissed.

“See who?” Then he followed her gaze. “Ah.” She was staring at a group of reporters – the very same group that had been there on the night he had been accosted outside The Avenue. But since that was also the same night he and Seri had gotten back together, Vassi was in the mood to be lenient.

“Forget about them,” he told her.

Seri took a deep breath. “I’ll try.”

Turning his back to her, he started signing autographs again. A moment later, the crowd started to laugh, including the girl in front of him.

He asked curiously, “What’s so funny?”

“Your girlfriend, Mr. Grachyov.”

He spun around and to his shock, he saw a furious-looking Seri throwing anything and everything she could get her hands on. Tickets, pamphlets, canapés, and when she ran out of small objects, she actually tried lifting one of the barrier posts of the velvet ropes holding the crowd back.

Realizing that she wanted to throw that, too, he quickly finished signing the last autograph and, returning to Seri’s side, he curved an arm around her waist and drew her away.

“They deserve it,” she told him, cheeks flushed. “I can still remember---”

“Whatever happened to retribution only being for God?”

Without missing a beat, she said, “God couldn’t make it, so He told me that I should cover for Him.”

Laughing, he placed a kiss on her mouth, whispering against her lips, “Liar.” He smiled down at her. “But I love you anyway.”

When they finally made it to the ballroom, Vassi and Seri were immediately surrounded by well-wishers, congratulating them for their successful tandem. With all the gushing flattery, it was almost hard to believe that just six months ago, the world had believed Vassi was a rapist.

And it hadn’t even ended there
, Seri thought wryly. When news of their relationship broke out, numerous advocacy groups had condemned them for supposedly promoting incest. Even Fyodor, Sergei, and Misha had been affected by the scandal, but in the end, everyone had weathered the storm just by being themselves.

They were a family, and they would stay as one, through thick or thin.

Happiness swelled inside of her, and unable to help it, she gave Vassi a quick hug.

He looked down at her in surprise, but Seri had already moved on to the other members of their family. She hugged Misha, Sergei, and Fyodor as well, and when they turned to her with perplexed looks, she said simply, “I’m just happy I’m with you boys.”

Her gorgeous boys grinned.

“So are we, little dove.” Misha ruffled her hair.

“I only wish you weren’t going out with someone like Vassi.” Sergei’s tone was pained.

“They’re not married yet,” Fyodor pointed out mildly. “They can still break up.”

Vassi scowled. “Dammit, Papa, can you at least take my side once in a while?”

“I always will,” Fyodor promised him, “as long as it’s not against my baby girl.”

When it was finally time to premiere the product commercial, the host called for Seri to join Misha and Max on the stage.

He kissed her on the cheek. “I’m proud of you,
solnishka moya.
”

Even now, Vassi being sweet could still take her by surprise, and blushing, she said shyly, “T-thank you.”

He watched her go, saw the way just about every man in the room stared at his woman in lustful admiration, and Vassi took a deep, calming breath. He saw Max offer his hand as Seri made it to the stage, the other man’s arm curving around his woman’s waist.

Vassi took another deep breath.

Damn American asshole. One of these days, he would end up cutting off Maximilian Rockford’s hand if the damn man didn’t stop making the moves on Seri.

“I need a drink,” he muttered before swinging away.

The lights went out as he made his way to the refreshments table, and as he took one of the glasses from the champagne pyramid, he overheard two women gossiping.

“I heard they used to go out.”

“Who?”

“Seri Devereaux and Maximilian Rockford?”

“No kidding? I thought she had been in love with her stepbrother since she was a kid?”

“I have it on good authority that they really did date, and if you ask me, I think she
should
be with Maximilian. It’s just creepy, her and her stepbrother together. And then there’s Vassi Grachyov being a rapist---”

“But wasn’t it proven that Daniela Martin was insane and just made up all those lies about him?”

The other girl snorted. “Oh please. He’s a Grachyov. He probably paid off every member in the jury to get Daniela convicted.”

The women’s conversation stayed in Vassi’s mind even as he did his best to shake them off and dismiss it as unimportant. That night, he found himself holding her more tightly as he asked broodingly, “Will it ever bother you?”

Seri sleepily turned around in his arms to face Vassi. “What would?”

“What the world thinks about you…about us.”

It was so unlike Vassi to show concern that she gazed at him searchingly. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head.

“Vassi…you’re my dream come true. How can I ever be bothered when you’re something I wished for?”

His lips formed a crooked smile. “I used to remember a time when you would rather die than say something like that.”

Oh.

She turned red. “Why did you have to remind me?” she wailed. “Now, I do want to die!”

“Thankfully---” He suddenly rolled Seri onto her back. “I know the perfect cure for embarrassment.”

As his mouth trailed down the side of her neck, she couldn’t help arching against his body even as she stammered, “W-what is it?”

He lifted his head to smirk at her. “I’ll keep you so busy with fucking you won’t have time to be embarrassed.”

“Vassi!” But in a few moments, he had proved himself correct, with Seri losing herself in the addictive pleasure of his touch.

The next day, Seri, accompanied by Davey and the other boys, paid a surprise visit to Vassi on the set of the movie he was shooting.

He was obviously stunned to see them but soon enough, he was grinning and the moment they finished shooting a sequence, Vassi gestured for them to join him. He introduced them to the cast. “Fyodor, my father, and these two are my brothers. This is Seri and her friend Davey.”

Oooookay,
she thought. He could have mentioned that she was his girlfriend, but whatever. She shouldn’t be fussy. When the introductions were done, she tried catching his attention, but Vassi actually pretended not to notice and instead engaged his director in a conversation with Fyodor and the other boys.

This continued for the rest of the morning, which finally forced Seri to admit that something was wrong.

Very wrong, and it was making him extra circumspect with her, almost like he was
just
her stepbrother---

Oh.

She remembered last night’s strange conversation. Was that what this was all about? Was that why Vassi suddenly seemed allergic to standing next to her and making eye contact?

She turned to Davey, hissing under her breath, “Come with me.” Drawing him to a quiet corner at the set, she asked, “You noticed it, too, don’t you?”

“Vassi being less than touchy-feely?” her friend guessed.

“I knew I wasn’t imagining it!”

“You weren’t, and frankly it’s kinda creepy when Vassi’s being such a gentleman.” Davey paused. “But then, it could be he’s a late bloomer.” At her bemused look, Davey explained with a sigh, “It takes time for things to sink in for some people. I think that’s true in his case. You almost lost your life, he was almost convicted as a rapist, then having to convince the world that you two aren’t incestuous---”

“But we’re not,” she protested irritably.

“It’s a judgmental world we live in. Deal with it.” Davey shrugged. “But you get my point, right? It’s only now that he finally has some time and space to think things through, and it’s probably just now Vassi’s questioning himself whether he did the right thing, going public with you.”

She shook her head in sheer disbelief. “Vassi
can’t
be so insecure---”

“Seri, the man’s head over heels in love with you. That will make him insecure for the rest of his life.” Davey’s eyes widened. “Oh my God, did that make you happy?”

“Umm, no?” She fought back against smiling, but it was hard.

“Who would’ve thought you have a sadistic little streak in you?”

“Shut up.” But she couldn’t stop grinning. Davey had just made her day, saying that Vassi was head over heels in love with her. However, if Davey also proved right about the other thing, and he usually was when it came to relationships---

She had to do something about that.

Seri whispered, “Can I ask you for a favor?”

S
eri was probably
mad as hell with him now. Without trying to be obvious about it, Vassi had tried to looking for her all over the set the moment he realized he hadn’t seen her in the past fifteen minutes. But when it became clear that she had either disappeared or left, Vassi knew he was the only one to blame. Had he really thought she wouldn’t notice the way he had tried to be different with her?

Excusing himself from his family, who were seriously considering investing in the director’s next film, Vassi made his way to his trailer. At least there, he could be assured of some semblance of privacy while he made his call to Seri and performed some light groveling over the phone.

Unlocking the door, he stepped inside---

“Surprise!” A naked Seri jumped out from behind the sofa.

He managed to kick the door shut just as Seri launched herself at him. “What---”

“We’re going to
fuck
,” she announced with a grin. “But first---” Reaching behind him, she tapped on the button activating the trailer’s sound system. She had already preset the playlist, and a second later,
Dangerous Woman
by Ariana Grande
started playing.

When he raised a brow, she confessed, “I set a playlist so we won’t run out of music while we…you know. Also, I didn’t want everyone to hear me make, you know.”

“Not that I’m complaining about…you know---”

She made a face.

He grinned. “But…what made you think of doing this?”

“Well…” Avoiding her gaze, she said, “I had a sudden feeling that you were having second thoughts about us, and you were thinking about being
selfless
again, and---” She shook her head firmly at him. “We are not going back to that again. We agreed to be selfish and love each other. So, I thought you needed a reminder of how g-good it is to be selfish. Also, I thought it was adorable, the way you seemed insecure---”