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"I swear, the two of you are like a
bunch of rowdy farm animals!"

- Aleksandr
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Chapter 27 - Sin Of Omission 

▪️S E R G E Y▪️

My feelings for Natasha were stronger than I had expected.

I knew that I was falling for her, but fuck me it would seem that I was already in love with her and had not realised it.

That was until I saw Karl fucking Speckhahn put his damn lips on her cheek and dare to touch her hand in front of me. Although, what really set me off was him insinuating that he had slept with Natasha.

What a fucking rat bastard!

I planned on messing that pretty face of his up for causing that look of distress that had carved its way into her expression when she thought that I would have believed his word over hers.

As if!

I know that I could be a little dense at times, but I was no fool.

Of course, I knew that Natasha had been honest with me about her celibacy. The way her body had eagerly moved against mine coupled with the look of wonder in her eyes as I brought her to orgasm had let me know that no one had ever properly taken care of her before.

It took everything in me to leave her behind the half wall.

Honestly, with the way I was feeling, I had wanted nothing more than to lower my zipper and hastily lift her dress up so that I could bury myself deep within her. There was a ferocious need to take her right then and there, officially making her mine.

I had already planned on consummating our arrangement tonight, but with all the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I just hoped that I could wait until later when we were back in the privacy of my home.

Hell, when I had told her that I was going to fuck her so good that she would not need to think of any other man except me, I had lied and left out something very important.

By sin of omission, I had purposefully withheld the part where I wanted to say that I would be the last man she would ever be intimate with.

Not meaning to sound arrogant, but by the time I was done with Natasha, I planned to ravish her so thoroughly that she would only crave my body and no one else's. I knew what those words were implying and I found that I was willing to see things through.

When she had responded and said that she already only thought of me, I could not help but be rendered speechless at her shocking words.

I knew that she had panicked, not wanting to reveal how emotionally invested she was already. But truth be told, I was right there beside her, my own feelings for her growing more and more each day.

A part of me felt guilty.

Being the older and more experienced one between us, I should just come clean and express my emotions. What stopped me was the fact that even though Natasha had her own feelings for me, she seemed intent on keeping us a secret.

It was for that reason only that I held back.

In time I would find out why she wished to keep things between us hidden; if she was doing it for me, I would quickly tell her that she needed not. But a part of me got the impression that Natasha did not wish to share her feelings with anyone just yet as the excitement of others would probably force her to move at a pace that she was not yet ready for and I would respect her wishes.

Shaking my thoughts clear, I refocused on the blond German who sat a few metres away. Walking over to the table where Dominic and Vincent sat, I called out.

"Karl, a word..."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I was already standing behind him and I slapped my right hand down onto his shoulder. My fingers curled into his flesh through the fabric of his jacket as I basically hauled him up to his feet while politely excusing us as I all but dragged him out of the restaurant and into the parking lot.

"Sergey–"

"Shut the fuck up!" I growled and pushed him up against the side of the building, purposefully scuffing the fabric of his white jacket.

With a hesitating smile on his face, Karl began, "Listen, it's not what you think–"

This time, I silenced him with my gun, which I now had pushed firmly under his jaw. I thought about how good my black Lebedev PL15 pistol looked against his skin, no doubt leaving a bruise.

It would be so easy to kill him, I thought, while my finger gently caressed the trigger.

As though sensing how on edge I was, Karl stiffened against the wall. His blue eyes locked with mine, all traces of amusement on his face gone.

Just as I was going to say something, I heard my name being called.

"Sergey! Put the gun down!"

Aleksandr walked up next to me, a frown on his face as he asked, "What the fuck are you doing? Are you both being serious right now? It's my engagement celebration for crying out loud!"

"He started it!" I muttered before lowering my weapon.

"I swear, the two of you are like a bunch of rowdy farm animals! What did you say to him this time?" Aleksandr enquired, after sighing, his eyes looking over at Karl.

Running a hand over the area under his jaw, his smirk returned as he answered, "You know me, Sasha, I was just trying to get our boy Seryozha here–"

"You don't get to call me by that name anymore!" I snarled before slamming my fist into the side of his mouth.

Aleksandr, quickly pulled me off Karl and hissed into my ear, "Prekrati!"

Him telling me to cut it out made me growl even more as he held my body close to his. I watched Karl grin while spitting blood out of his mouth; his eyes had a naughty gleam to them as he observed the way Aleksandr held me.

In theory, Karl might be the only person who actually knew how close of a bond I had with my best friend and I grumbled at the thought.

What most people did not know, was that the three of us had attended the same boarding school together.

Karl always had this air of sophistication about him, and given the fact that he had a mature-looking face, people often mistook him for being older than he actually was. But at forty-one, I hated to admit that he looked great for his age.

We all met during our first year and had become great friends during that time.

I was ten years old when I first met Karl, who had started school a year late. Aleksandr and I had snuck out of bed to explore the school grounds when we stumbled upon Karl being bullied by a group of boys for being a German.

They had been stamping on him while he lay on the grass curled into a ball, calling him "Baconcock" while hailing other Nazi-related taunts at him. Which made no sense as Karl's family were famously known for helping many Jewish families evade capture and as a result, had been persecuted by the government of the time and labelled as traitors, barely escaping the war themselves.

Nonetheless, Aleksandr and I had not hesitated to step in and we kicked those boys' asses.

We then helped Karl clean his wounds and had remained the best of friends, becoming almost inseparable since that day. But six years later, Karl had done something for which I could not forgive him.

Karl was bisexual and had ended up becoming very popular.

I had no problem with what he did with his cock. The problem came when he tried swinging that long slender appendage of his towards the boy I had claimed as mine

During one of our drunken sleepovers, Karl had tried to kiss Aleksandr.

Naturally, I had taken great offence to that, especially since Karl always had a suspicion that there was something more going on between Aleksandr and myself.

As a result, I figured that he should have respected that. Obviously, Karl had no evidence of my feelings for my best friend, but I did not care, he should have followed his gut instinct and stayed the hell away.

Was it petty of me to hold on to such a grudge?

Perhaps.

Did I give a fuck that it happened over twenty years ago?

No.

To fuck was with Karl and his Baconcock self!

Aleksandr had played it off and remained friends with him. He had stated that Karl would have been a great ally to have when we all became adults and were running our individual empires.

Karl may not have inherited a mafia, but due to his lineage, he was now in charge of a string of businesses that connected him to all corners of the globe. Even though I understood the importance of having the German as an ally, that did not mean that I had to like it.

Now, all these years later, here came Karl again, trying to take something that belonged to me.

Fuck that handsome blond fucker!

Natasha was mine and I would be damned if I let him charm her away from me!

Refocusing my attention, my nostrils flared as I watched Karl pull a black handkerchief out of his jacket pocket, cleaning the red smear off his chin.

"It's alright, Sasha, you can let him go," Karl said.

"Are you sure? Because he feels extra murderous tonight and he'll probably punch you again the moment I let him go. What the hell did you do anyway? I told you not to tease Sergey, you know he doesn't like it."

I could feel the skin of my face flame as they talked about me, "I'm right fucking here, you know!"

Karl's soft laugh made me rumble, but his words had me trying to lunge for him again, "I was just trying to get him to claim the beautiful Natasha, so I may or may not have insinuated that there was something going on between us. Which reminds me, I need to text her and apologise..."

"Fucking hell, are you insane?" Aleksandr asked while tightening his hold on me.

"As if you haven't been itching to do the same, you've seen the way they look at each other. I was just trying to play Cupid," Karl confessed.

Twisting my body violently, I forced Aleksandr to let me go, my voice coming out in a sneer, "What the fuck? Did you two fucking plan this? Why did you not tell me that he would be here tonight?"

I could not believe that Karl had purposefully tried to bait me and I hated myself even more for falling for it.

Sensing my rage, Aleksandr shook his head quickly, "No, I had no idea Karl would do something like this. But he did have some interesting intel, so I figured why not let him come to the dinner. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you going ape shit on me, but clearly, I should have known better."

"Fuck the both of you!" I grumbled, tugging on my jacket lapels.

Putting the handkerchief back into his pocket, Karl commented, "You really do care for her, don't you? I thought for sure that you would have shot me tonight..."

"Don't worry, I still might," I said, my eyes focusing on him, happy to see his lips and the side of his face was bruising already. In a low voice, I promised, "I swear to fuck, Karl, if you touch Natasha, it will be the last thing you ever do!"

I did not care if I had just exposed the depth of my feelings for her, the man needed to know that she was off limits!

Raising his hands in surrender, he replied, "Don't worry, Sergey, I've only ever been interested in her friendship. I know that she's been through a lot and I could tell that she was comfortable with me, so excuse me for enjoying the pleasure of her company. Besides, she clearly only has eyes for you."

"I've been trying to tell him that for months..." Aleksandr quipped in before continuing, "It's his biggest sin lately, neglecting his feelings via blatant omission."

Nodding in understanding, Karl said, "Yes, Sergey is one of the most intuitive people that I know, so imagine my surprise to see him all possessive over Natasha tonight, I honestly just could not help myself."

Frowning at their attempt to tag team me, I growled out, "Okay, we're not doing this! Karl, you can fuck right off with your match-making shit! Now, tell me what's been going on in Nicaragua!"

Karl and Aleksandr filled me in on the latest news coming from Central America.

There had been a slow destabilisation of the sex rings operating there as we had been working closely with Cristiano Morales. From what Jade had told us, the plan was to eventually kill his father, José Hernández García, and once that was achieved, he would gain complete control over the biggest cartel in Mexico.

Cristiano had vowed to do everything in his power to put a stop to the abuse of young children and women and so had been going behind his father's back, undermining many of his deals.

I was glad that Jade had convinced Dominic not to kill Cristiano all those years ago, for he was proving himself to be a most formidable ally.

Not to mention, with all the work we had been putting in on American soil by hindering the trafficking of young females out of the country, we were finally beginning to have the desired effect in curbing some of the largest rings on this side of the hemisphere.

What I was not expecting to hear, however, was Michele Lombardo's name being mentioned. As if we did not have enough shit to deal with.

My eyes blinked as I sputtered, "Hold on a minute! Is he getting into trafficking now?"

I could see Aleksandr's eyes darken at the mention of Litizia's old fiancé.

"From what my sources gathered; Lombardo's just been trying to find a new heroin source. Even if he was interested in the skin trade, there's thankfully not enough movement being generated to conduct much business right now. I know we said that we would talk more on the issue but, in my opinion, I have no doubt that a few of the bosses will be reaching out to Aleksandr and perhaps Dominic as well to help provide them with some girls from Aelbank City," Karl said, cringing at the thought.

Scoffing, the Russian mafia boss retorted, "As if! We don't deal in the skin trade, never have, never will! They know this though..."

"Yes, but with the success of your brothels and now with this new sex club, some of the men are thinking about asking you to loan them some girls, for a sort of buffer if you will. The terms would be different, of course as they know that you would kill them if they harmed any of the women. But I think, this would be a great way to infiltrate their organisations–"

Interjecting, I said, "Fuck no! It's too dangerous!"

My mind immediately went to Natasha, thinking about her being in the midst of men that were similar to those she had escaped from years ago.

"Don't worry, Seryozha. I would never send Natasha on such a mission..." Aleksandr stated then added, "I was thinking more so some of the girls that Jade had trained over the years. Not to mention I would send a few of our men with them. But tonight is supposed to be a joyous occasion, let us go enjoy the festivities and we can talk more about this tomorrow."

"Fair enough," I agreed.

Nodding his head, Karl apologised, "I'm sorry if I almost ruined the evening. I can leave if you want?"

"Yes!" I quickly said.

"No!" Aleksandr simultaneously responded before continuing, "Go back inside and enjoy yourself, Karl. I'd like to have a word with Sergey."

My eyes never left the German as he excused himself and left.

"What's wrong with you?" Aleksandr asked, while pushing me back against the wall.

Being at the side of the building and away from prying eyes, he focused all his attention on me as he crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for me to answer. Deciding to be stubborn, I bit the side of my bottom lip while I remained quiet.

"Oh, you're going to be a brat tonight, are you? Seriously, Seryozha, what has gotten into you? Pulling a gun on Karl? It's not like you to lose your composure like that."

Exhaling deeply, I finally spoke up, "You heard him! He was purposefully trying to bait me!"

"And it clearly worked! I don't understand what the problem is, I mean, if you have feelings for Natasha why not do something about it? It's obviously making you act crazy! I don't know why you keep trying to hide it. I'm not stupid, I know that something is going on between the both of you, why don't you just tell me?"

"Because, by me not confirming your suspicions, it means that you won't have to lie to Litizia. Trust me, she's going to ask you what's going on and this way, when you say you don't know, it will be true..."

Chuckling softly, Aleksandr shook his head before moving to run his fingers through my hair and I sighed at his touch.

"Speaking of my future wife, I'm going to need you to stop teaching Litizia those bad words," he said, his grip on my hair tightening almost painfully.

Groaning softly, I replied, "How do you even know it was me? It could have been Jade or Natasha or even Viktor for that matter."

"I heard you back at the bakery..."

Licking my lips, I admitted, "What can I say, I know what you like to have whispered in your ear. Besides, you'll thank me on your wedding night. Although, I feel like such activities may be happening sooner."

Letting go of me, Aleksandr said, "Wow, glad to see you have such faith in me! I'm not a total pig, I can wait thirteen days, you know."

"I wasn't talking about you..." I grinned then glanced at my watch before adding, "I need to go use the bathroom, I'll come join you in a bit."

"Alright," he said before we both walked back into the restaurant.

Quickly scanning the room, I did not see Natasha and I figured that she was waiting for me in the bathroom as we had discussed. Or rather I hoped, seeing as I was about five minutes late. Not wanting to look too suspicious, I took my time as I headed towards the restroom area.

Entering the men's bathroom, I saw that it was empty.

Locking the door behind me, I called out, "Natasha? Are you in here?"

I heard some shuffling in the last stall, the sound of heels hitting the tiled floor seemed to echo before her soft voice was calling back out to me.

Natasha walked out, her eyes immediately widening as she saw me, "Is that blood?"

Glancing down at my right hand, I noticed that there was blood on my knuckles. It was no doubt Karl's but in the heat of the moment I had not realised that I had gotten some of it on my skin.

"I hadn't noticed..." I replied and walked to one of the large sinks to quickly wash my hands.

With our eyes locked in the mirror, she asked, "Did you hurt him?"

"You should know me better than that," I answered before going on to say, "of course I hurt him!"

"Sergey!"

"Relax, it was just one punch; his face can take it..." I muttered then said, "I know he called or texted you just now, what did he say? Did he apologise? Because if he didn't, I'll go back out there right now and punch him again!"

Natasha was clearly shocked by my knowledge, but she quickly composed herself and replied, "Yes, he apologised. He said that he was just trying to make you jealous and that he'd explain more when we saw each other next week. I didn't know that you two were friends since you were children."

After drying my hands off, I turned around to face her, "Ex-friends! I have half a mind to cancel all your future appointments with him!"

"But he's already paid!"

"That's fine, I'll reimburse him..."

I watched as the skin of her cheeks flushed, and I could not help but say, "I told you Natasha, you're mine."

"What does that mean exactly?"

Taking a few steps forward, I gently held onto her upper arms while backing her up against the nearest wall, "It means that I want you to quit your job as an escort."

Gasping, she whispered, "But what will I do then?"

"I don't care, I own many businesses, choose where you want to work. I know that you've been keeping up with your ballet classes and that it was your dream to be prima ballerina, perhaps you can resume pursuing such?"

"Oh, Sergey..."

The way she said my name almost broke my heart. There was such a sadness to it that I wanted to do anything in my power remove that dejected tone from her voice. She deserved to be happy and I vowed to try and do anything I could to achieve just that.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm too old to pursue such things, I've literally lost over a decade of what could have been put towards building a career. Honestly, it would be too hard to catch up now–"

Gently cupping her face, I whispered fiercely, "Nonsense! You're amazing, you can do anything you want!"

Natasha's eyes suddenly glazed over with unshed tears as she smiled, "And you call yourself a monster, you're so good to me."

"Only you..." I declared, not caring that I was exposing my feelings.

Her blush intensified as she fumbled to reply, "I mean, recently, I have thought about the possibility of owning a dance school someday. But I'd need to work a few more years first to save up for the building space and everything."

Smiling, I kissed her softly then said, "I'll pay for it."

"You can't!"

"Why do you always forget that I do what I want, when I want?" I stated then said, "But I know you wish to do this on your own, so think of me as an investor. You can pay me back as time passes."

"Can I get back to you on my decision?"

"Of course, take all the time you need!" I urged while moving my hands down to entwine our fingers together.

Beaming up at me, Natasha said, "You know, people always say that you're so discourteous and unapproachable, but I always knew that there was a softer side to you."

"It seems to only come out around you..." I admitted, before adding, "So when you're seeing me being my usual asshole self to others or witness me doing something violent that may frighten you, I want you to remember how I am with you. I would never do anything to purposefully hurt you."

Fuck, I basically just confessed my feelings.

So much for sins of omission, I thought. But I did not care, for the way Natasha's face lit up at my words had my chest swelling while she nodded in understanding.

I had planned to indulge myself in the taste of her, and maybe give her an orgasm or two depending on how horny she was. But seeing as we had spent the last few minutes talking, I knew that if we stayed in here any longer, we would no doubt be caught by someone.

Reluctantly, I said, "We should head back out now."

Natasha made a soft noise that sounded like something between a whine and a whimper. Sensing how turned on she was, I groaned while angling my head so that I could gently brush my nose against the side of her neck. Taking advantage of our position, I allowed my hands to slide down her body pulling her against me even more while my palms cupped her ass.

"Later..." I promised huskily then sucked on her ear lobe.

Tilting her head to the side to allow me better access, she gasped, "I thought we came in here to do something..."

Chuckling softly, I replied, "We did, but I'm pretty sure that I saw Jade pulling up in Quintin's Porsche when I was coming back inside. So unfortunately, we don't have much time before she starts looking for you. But trust me, I want you so much that I'm fucking aching!"

To prove how turned on I was, I grinded my erection into her stomach.

"Will you kiss me one more time?" Natasha said in a voice that almost brought me to my knees.

Staring down into her pale blue-green eyes, I realised that I could never deny her anything and that I would do everything in my power to see her happy. Moving my hands back up, I gently cupped her face once more, my thumbs slowly caressing the line of her jaw.

Leaning my head down towards her, I whispered, "Of course..."

Then I kissed her again.

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A/N: Aww... 🥰

The Russian word, "Prekrati" means to 'stop it' or 'cut it out' and is used when you don't want to listen to another person or see what they are doing.

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