The black phoenix of Russia

by Linvn89

Anastasia Grekov's world came crashing down when her family got murdered. Now her only mission in life is getting to the one responsible so that she can avenge her family's death by killing him. The only problem is, that he is the most feared mob boss in all of Russia, and getting to him will not be easy. "In order to get to a snake in its own habitat, you have to become a snake".

25. Chapter 25

Hi everyone and welcome to the weekend! It is officially spring time where I am and soon the rains will be coming and I cannot wait for it as I absolutely live for rain and heavy thunderclouds. One of my biggest dreams is to become a storm chaser and to travel all over the world in order to record huge thunderstorms as it is a rare beauty on its own, every lightning different from the other one.

Anyway, enough babbling for now. I have a little announcement at the end of this chapter, so check that out; it is in regards with the next three updates. Also, this chapter is the last chapter of Ana's training, it has finally come to an end! This is also THE longest chapter so far, and after putting this chapter and the previous one together, you guys can just imagine the original length of chapter 17, but now it is enough reading material for a while. I wanted to post this only tomorrow but something came up so I would not have had time for it, so lucky you :-D

Anywho, you know the warnings by now, so yeah, without further ado, enjoy!

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Chapter 17.2 – Kai's demise: Let the build up begin – Year 4 (Part IV)

"Bloody hell, Kai, since when have you gained so much weight?!" Alisia groans as she and Tala try their best to get Kai to bed without causing anyone too many injuries.

Kai is just smiling the entire time and it is clear that he has no idea that Tala and Alisia are carrying him to bed; Kai's feet are dragging behind him but he does not even notice it.

The three friends finally reach the guest room and with one proper heave, both husband and wife manage to get Kai onto the bed, and then turn him around so that he can sleep on his right side. Tala starts to undo Kai's belt so that he can remove his pants, and while he is busy with this, Alisia is fluffing Kai's pillows, but then all of a sudden, Kai takes hold of her wrist and smiles up at her.

"Ana," is all he mutters to her, Alisia and Tala quickly looking at each other upon hearing Kai mutter that name.

"What?" is all that Alisia manages to ask in a surprised tone of voice.

"You are here, Ana, you are finally where you belong," Kai continues to say while continuing to hold Alisia's wrist while he looks into her eyes.

Neither Tala nor Alisia knows what to make of this right now, because they have never heard Kai mention a woman with the name of 'Ana'.

Just then, Kai yanks Alisia to him where she falls on top of him and at once her lips meets Kai's lips as he wraps his arms around her as he continues to kiss her.

"Hey!" is all that Tala exclaims before pulling his wife out of Kai's embrace, and at once, Alisia plants a right hook on Kai's jaw, this hook immediately rendering Kai unconscious.

"You knocked him out, crazy loops."

"Serves him right, bastard. Tomorrow when he gets up, I am going to make him regret getting this pissed face. Just hurry up in removing his pants so that we can get the hell out of here," the tone of Alisia's voice being a very clear indication that she is not amused with what has just happened between her and Kai.

"Hey," Tala says as he gently takes his wife's hand into his, "Calm down, okay? I know he should not have done it, but I guess he thought you were this Ana woman. Yes, he will pay dearly for kissing my sexy wife, but cut the guy some slack."

"Whatever; let's just finish here and then go check up on the twins."

Tala just nods at his wife before continuing with removing Kai's pants; they figured he can sleep in his shirt.

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The heat that is being radiated from the fireplace is a welcoming feel to the married couple. Tala and Alisia are snuggled up close together, wrapped in a wool blanket as both just stare at the dancing flames, the two enjoying this blissful moment.

The baby monitor is next to them, but they are fortunate now a day because since the twins got a little older, they started to sleep better, and this meant that Tala and Alisia have more time for each other, hence why they are currently sitting in front of the fire place.

"Who do you think this Ana is?" Alisia suddenly asks, she still very curious about who this mystery woman is.

"I don't know, but somehow I suspect that this Ana is the reason why Kai is so broken. You said that he was fine when he went into the fitting rooms, but when he came out, he was in a state?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe that Ana woman was in there too and the two of them got into a fight?"

"But then I would have heard it, my love."

"Well, whatever happened in there must have been very bad for it to mess Kai up like this; I mean, just look at the guy, he practically became our third child."

"One that smokes likes a chimney and drinks alcohol like it is going to become extinct. I will ask him tomorrow, my love, about his Ana. Hopefully Kai will open up a bit."

"Let's hope so; and did I compliment you on that beautiful right hook, my wifey?" Tala asks with the amusement clearly evident in his voice.

Alisia just chuckles at that, "A couple of times already, but I guess I can hear it a couple of times more."

Both laugh softly at that before Tala kisses his wife on top of her head as she snuggles even deeper into his arms.

"I love you, Tala, you know that right?"

"Without a doubt, and I love you."

Alisia removes herself from Tala's hold and she sits up straight while looking at her husband with a very serious look, "If you ever dare to leave me alone in this life, Tala Ivanov, I swear to our God that I will use some type of magic to pull your soul back to earth where I will bind your soul until the day that I also die, and believe me, while you are all tied up, I am going to make your life hell for leaving me in the first place; you got that?"

Tala just grins at his wife because she is sometimes so silly with the stuff that is coming out of her mouth, "As long as you know that it works both ways, crazy loops."

"Of course, duh," Alisia says while she rolls her eyes, before leaning back into Tala's arms where the two continue to watch the flames dance as it devours and eats away at the logs, the married couple feeling content with life right now, despite their passed out friend being in some type of inner turmoil right now.

One thing at a time for now.

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'Never again' these being two words that so many people have uttered after a night of heavy drinking, and everyone knows by now that these two words are also the biggest lie that so many people tell themselves over and over again, because the moment they are out with their friends at a party, the alcohol starts to flow, and so starts the cycle all over again of uttering the words 'Never again' the next morning.

Kai is no different from those millions of people who would like to believe this little white lie that they keep on telling themselves.

The business mogul feels like crap, actually, he feels worse than crap; he feels like he can die any moment. He is too afraid to make even the slightest movement because every living cell within his body is screaming in agony, not even to mention his head. It feels like a sack of bricks has been dropped on to his head, and that they have gotten comfortable on top of his head; it is almost painful just breathing, and still, the words 'never again' has drifted into his mind a couple of times by now.

He is currently lying on his left side, and that is all that he knows. He has no idea where he is or who is with him.

'Did I even go home last night?' Kai thinks to himself because he can't even remember his last memory.

All he knows is that he was sitting on the patio at Tala's house, but everything just started to get more and more blurry by the minute until it was just complete darkness around him, and well, after that he cannot even try to remember.

With as much as energy as he can possibly muster, Kai manages to pry open his right eye, even if it is only half way, and he tries to take a look at his surroundings.

'I am definitely not in my bed, not in any of the manors, so where the hell am I? Am I still at Tala's place?'

Kai closes his eye and frowns as his head gives an extra pounding ache, like the light has just added to his already throbbing headache. He has no idea what time it is, but he does not care; the entire world can burn down and he could care less. With a lot of effort, Kai turns on to his right side, and he makes himself comfortable before allowing sleep to take him over once more.

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The laughter of giggling babies can be heard somewhere in the room, along with the chuckling of the parents who are with the giggling babies.

Somewhere in another room a soft groan is heard, it almost sounding like someone who is in some kind of pain.

Kai turns onto his back and he glances to where the window is situated and he sees that the sun is already setting. He is still confused, but it is better than earlier when he woke up for the first time, and his head does feel a little better, but he still feels like he needs to get admitted into the ICU or something.

"Never again" is all he mutters to himself before sitting up straight.

Kai manages to sit up straight and rest his back against the headboard of the bed and he rubs his eyes which he is certain is blood shot and puffy. His mouth his dry, it tastes fowl and he can even smell himself. He notices that he is only in his boxers and shirt, and that there are clothes set on the foot of the bed with a note attached to it.

Gathering all of his energy once more, Kai stretches out and picks up the note, and he immediately recognises Alisia's hand writing.

'Oksana sent this over for you' is all that the note says, with some sort of scowl looking animated face.

Kai smiles softly at the kind gesture of both Oksana and the Ivanov couple, and then as if a flood gate has been opened, all the memories starts to come back, the memories that have caused him to be this hung over right now.

"Anastasia Grekov," Kai says softly to himself.

His heart aches once more thinking back to how she was moaning and calling out another man's name, but him being Kai knows that he only lies down for a while before he shoves everything away and he gets back to his usual cold self.

And just like that, all hurtful emotions are put away, along with all the memories that ran through his mind over and over again yesterday.

"Time to get back to your normal self, Kai; you have a job, lots of money and a hot piece of ass, so stop moping around and man up. You have had your low moment, but now it is over. You are a Hiwatari, the fighting spirit flows through your blood, so get your ass out of here and start behaving like the man that you are."

Kai does not waste another second in bed and he immediately gets out of bed, ignoring his throbbing head and aching body because he knows that it will pass after a good hot shower, and also after consuming lots and lots of water.

He heads directly for the en suite bathroom where he starts the water up, and while waiting for it to get warm, he takes a look in the mirror to see the damage that he has caused himself.

And it is just as he has suspected: blood shot eyes, and it does not look very attractive on him, and yes, even Kai admits that he is a very good specimen of the male population, and that he really is a very good looking man. He will be an ignorant idiot if he did not admit it, or even recognise it.

Kai ruffles his hair and then drags his hand over his face, brown eyes meeting him once more. He has heard on numerous occasions that when a man looks hard enough into the reflection of the mirror, he will see what he really is and then it will be a matter of accepting what is staring back at him, or if a change is in order? Kai looks and looks and even though he knows exactly who and what he really is, he does not see it, nor does he see the need to change a thing about himself.

This is who he is, who he was born to be, and who he will die. The older he gets, the more heartless and colder he becomes, the stronger the hunger for power and blood becomes, the stronger the craving to take life gets, and he is not about to deny himself any of the pleasures that his heart desires.

Maybe there was a time where he may have had a conscious, but not anymore. He may have been in emotional agony, but that is also something of the past now. He is not about to pursue the sister of his dead friend, and she will remain where she has always been: in the past.

She is buried in the back of his mind, and she will remain there for a very, very long time.

The water is finally ready, and after removing his boxers and shirt, Kai steps into the shower where he welcomes the falling hot water on to his naked body, and he intends to enjoy this shower until the water runs cold.

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It is almost dinner time, and Alisia is currently busy with preparing something light for them to eat. The twins have been bathed, and after dressing them, Tala and she checked on Kai and they were very happy to see that he has finally woken up and that he is taking a shower.

'And speak of the devil,' Alisia thinks to herself when Kai comes walking into the kitchen.

He does not say anything, and he heads straight for the coffee machine. Tala and Alisia just look at him, but they both are trying very hard to keep their grins from their faces. Kai walks over to the table where he places a kiss on top of each twin's head, before taking a stand next to the counter where he has the entire family in the eye, and just then he sees how his two friends are grinning at him.

"What," is all Kai asks in a dull tone.

"Do you even know what day it is today?"

"Does it matter?"

"I am so happy to have the old Kai back, you know, the cold asshole that we all have come to love and loath at the same time," Alisia says while grinning like a maniac at Kai.

"Hn," that being Kai's only response to the subtle insult Alisia has just thrown his way.

Tala only chuckles while he gets up to put his empty cup in the sink.

Alisia is burning to ask who this 'Ana' is, but Tala has forbidden her from asking something so personal.

'When have I ever listened to my husband anyway?' Alisia thinks to herself.

Kai turns around to watch the life outside of the window, and he sees that the sun has completely set, 'I should probably start thinking of heading home.'

"Who is Ana, Kai?" Alisia suddenly asks.

At once the smashing of a coffee cup is heard, and Tala glares at his wife; little Marushka starts to cry because of the cup that has just broken, and Alisia picks her up while she keeps looking at Kai. Kai is not facing them, but they can see in his body posture that he is very tense.

"Where did you hear that name?" Kai asks in a dangerous tone of voice, a tone he usually uses when he is about to kill someone.

"You called her name when you pulled my wife towards you, and then you started to kiss her, Kai."

Kai's eyes suddenly widens upon hearing that little revelation, 'How could I have been so stupid?! Way the go, Hiwatari!'

Kai takes a deep breath and he finally turns around, and then he slowly walks towards Alisia where he takes little Marushka from her mother's hold. Alisia goes to work to pick up the broken pieces and to clean the coffee that has spilled. She did not expect Kai to have such a reaction to such an innocent question, but there you go, nothing is impossible with Hiwatari.

"So, who is she, Kai?" Tala asks, he now being the one to ask the burning question that everyone wants to ask.

Kai places a soft kiss on top of Marushka's head as he tries to comfort her, and he is surprisingly doing a good job at it.

"She was someone I had met a long time ago, when I was in New York City a couple of years back."

"I take it that she was not just some regular woman you took to bed?"

"We never slept together."

"What?!" both husband and wife exclaim at the same time.

Alisia stops at once with her cleaning as she is very interested in hearing about this unique woman.

"Yeah, but we did come close, but it never became a reality."

Both Tala and Alisia notices that Kai's voice has changed to a much softer and also kinder tone of voice, and they both find it very strange.

"So this Ana, what can you tell us about her, because it is obvious that she had left an impression on you."

Kai smiles softly as he thinks back to their first meeting in the airport, 'I will only tell them the necessary things, twist the truth a little,' Kai thinks to himself before turning to face both Tala and Alisia fully now.

"She is a one of a kind woman, toxic and carefree, with a mouth that knew nothing of filtering. When I was with her, I felt like a normal young man, a young man that has no responsibilities or a young man that has not killed anyone, a young man that only lives for now and loves to live for this moment. With her I was not Kai Hiwatari, business mogul of Russia, and leader of The Chernyy Feniks; with her I was no one, and I loved every second of it."

While still holding little Marushka, Kai pulls out a chair and he takes a seat, Alisia following suit.

"We did not know each other for very long, but we had spent every second we could together, we made the best of the time that we had together. However, I knew that we will never be, because she does not belong in my world. The moment I get back on to the plane, I will be Kai Hiwatari once more, the cold heartless bastard, the black phoenix of Russia, and there is no place for her in my world, and there never will be."

By now Alisia has taken Kai's free hand into her own because her heart is breaking for Kai right now. She has never heard him talk this way about a woman before.

"Were you in love with her, Kai?"

Kai knows now that yes, he was in love with her, he realised that yesterday and there is no denying it any longer; he had liked her more than he wanted to admit, but now he can admit to himself that yes, he was really in love with Anastasia Grekov, and he still is, but that will remain buried very deep within his heart, where she will at least be safe from his darkness and toxins.

Kai nods his head to Alisia's question, "Oh, Kai," is all she replies to Kai's answer.

"Did you two keep in contact after you left New York City?"

"No, and it was for the best; truth be told, she does not know me, she does not know Kai Hiwatari; she knows a guy with the name of Demyan because when I was in New York, I had gone under a false name and even with a different look: sleek black hair and blue contacts, and I had managed to keep her fooled the entire time. It was for the best that she did not know who I really was, just in case she wanted to find me. This way I knew that I could keep her safe."

Tala and Alisia are very confused by this, but they decide to not ask about that right now, and to let Kai finish his little tale.

"Did you ever think of contacting her and telling her the truth?"

"I thought of approaching her as myself, and somehow lure her into our world, but after coming to my senses, I knew that it will never work because then I will kill the Ana that managed to capture my heart, so the best thing to do was to forget about her completely, and to keep her safe within my memories of the past where she will remain forever."

A sudden silence descends on the kitchen table, not even Alisia knows what to say, because she has never seen Kai this way about a woman, so she honestly does not know what to say to it all.

Deciding that he does not like this silence, Tala breaks the silence by asking the question that he has been wondering since yesterday, "What happened in that fitting room yesterday?"

Kai just sighs at that, because he knows that he will have to tell them otherwise none of this will make sense.

"I heard her, I heard Ana, my bubbly blonde."

"But that's a good thing, right?"

Kai shakes his head from side to side, "No, because she was there with another man, and I heard them, how she moaned out his name. I even threw a condom into the room before I realised that it was her."

"Are you sure it was her, Kai? It could have been anyone. You did meet in New York, so what would she do here in Moscow?"

"She was born in Russia, she was only studying there, and yes, it was her. I will never forget that angelic voice of hers; I will recognise it anytime, anywhere, and there was no doubt about it being her."

"I am sorry, Kai," Tala manages to say to his best friend, but other than that, he has no idea what to say.

Kai only nods his head at Tala's somewhat type of condolence, before his mind wanders to Anastasia once more, wondering what she is doing this very moment. Is she in the arms of this Bryan, or is she alone? Is she truly happy after all that she has been through with the murders of her family?

'I guess I will never know the answers to these questions, my bubbly blonde.'

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She is bored out of her mind, and she has only been in this room since last night; she has never been a fan of a hotel room when she is alone in it, and right now Anastasia is all alone in her hotel room that she shares with her boyfriend.

Bryan has gone to the hairdresser some time ago and he should be back any minute now, and she can hardly wait. Her nails will be done tomorrow along with her hair and make-up because tomorrow is the wedding of her cousin, and she and Bryan have arrived here in St Petersburg last night after driving a couple of hours with her pick-up truck. She is the maid of honour and she has to be at the venue very early tomorrow morning to get all of her stuff done.

It is Friday morning right now, and she secretly wishes that she is already back in her home along with her boyfriend and their two cats, back in their cosy home with only themselves to keep them company.

Anastasia is currently lying on her stomach, arms perched up by the elbows, and she is busy reading a magazine, with her lower legs up in the air while swinging them about. She is so focused on the magazine and being bored, that she does not even hear the door to the hotel room open and close, and a black haired man walking into the room.

The moment Bryan walks into the room, he sees Anastasia lying on the bed and that her attention is not on her surroundings. The inner heating is turned up to the maximum and he knows that he will not be able to stomach this intense heat for too long. One good thing from this intense heat is that his very hot and desirable girlfriend is wearing very short shorts and a short crop top, and at once he is horny upon seeing her in that attire of hers. If it comes to Anastasia, not much is needed to get him horny; he just has to look into her direction and he immediately gets a hard on within a blink of an eye.

His hair is cut shorter and it has also been coloured back to his natural hair colour, black. His hair is cut into a faux hair style, and he is very curious as to how Anastasia will react to this new look of his.

He softly walks towards the bed and when he reaches the bed, he presses his hands onto the bed and he leans over Anastasia where he starts to kiss the exposed skin of her back, and luckily Anastasia does not get a fright and she just starts to giggle at Bryan without turning around and looking into his direction.

"I missed you," she announces.

"I missed you too, sweetness," he says, his lips tingling her skin as he speaks those few words.

Anastasia lifts her head as a sudden rush of desire goes through her body, and Bryan sees how she shivers under his touch. With his right hand, he slowly moves her top upwards so that he can have more skin to kiss passionately, to taste.

The magazine is forgotten for now as Anastasia relishes in what Bryan is currently doing to her now. Her skin tingles as Bryan brushes his fingers over her skin as he sensually lifts her top higher and higher, he already seeing the back of her deep purple bra. His lips brush over her skin as he kisses all along her spine, he taking in the exotic taste of his girlfriend, along with each and every reaction her body makes with his touches.

As his kisses moves higher and higher, so does his body until he is hovering over her entire body, his arms perched up next to her arms, and his kisses has finally reached Anastasia's shoulders and neck area.

Anastasia can only gasp from pure arousal, and she can feel Bryan's arousal press up against her ass.

"I see someone is in the mood," she says to Bryan in that seductive voice of hers.

Bryan just chuckles huskily into her right ear, but he says nothing. Instead he presses his erection harder against her ass to which Anastasia just moans at while leaning her head against Bryan's head.

He starts to plant sensual kisses all along her neck, when Anastasia suddenly groans and turns around, but the moment she looks up at Bryan, her eyes widen and she is unable to utter a single word.

Bryan can only look at her with an amused look, "What, sweetness?"

"Wha...what have you done to your hair?"

"You don't like it?"

"No, it is not that, but..." Anastasia runs her hands through the black hair and there is hardly anything to hold on to, and she does not like that, "what am I going to grab hold of whenever you take me on a table or up against a wall? I liked it when I could hold on to those lavender locks of yours."

"You can still hold on to my hair here on the top," he says and Bryan grabs hold of his own hair to illustrate it to her, "see?"

"That's not the same, Bryan."

At once Bryan's left corner of his mouth curls up into a smirk, "Want to try it out?"

Anastasia only sighs while rolling her eyes, "I guess we can try it out."

"Wow, sweetness, please don't be so enthusiastic, really," Bryan says in a sarcastic tone of voice.

Anastasia says nothing to Bryan's sarcastic comment, and instead she wraps her arms around his neck where she starts to kiss him passionately, Bryan taking this as a sign that the conversation has been ended, and that there will be no more talking until they have 'tried out' his new hair style.

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Elena and Dmitri are sitting alone at a table, the two siblings just taking a minute to gossip about everyone at the wedding. Some of the guests have already gone home; others are stuck at the bar, and some are still on the dance floor, enjoying the slow music that is still playing, although most of the people dancing are couples dancing closely with each other.

"This was really a gorgeous wedding, even if I have to say so myself."

"I agree, my dear sister; you looked like a true angel."

"Aah, thanks, brother love," Elena says while pretending to blush, "I can't wait to see the photos."

"I am sure that they are also going to look gorgeous."

"They have to because I am paying that photographer a shit load of money."

"We can always get Bryan to ruffle him up a little if he screws up, you know," Dmitri says with a cunning smirk to which Elena just sniggers at.

"The poor man might shit his pants and run off with all of my photos; that will just suck big time, and speaking of Bryan, just look at him and Ana."

The two siblings look on to the dance floor to watch their cousin dance slowly with her boyfriend. Anastasia has her arms wrapped around Bryan's neck and she is resting her head on his chest with her eyes closed; Bryan has his arms wrapped around Anastasia's waist and he too is dancing with his eyes closed, he resting his right cheek on top of her head as the two of them continue to be in their own world right now.

"She truly is happy with that man, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is. Bryan really is good for her, and she good for him. Have Ana ever divulged to you how the two of them met?"

"Nope; it must have been during that time when she was so scarce. All I know is that one day she was single, and the next she was living with a man that seems to make her very happy, and a man that has also given us our old Anastasia back."

"Yeah; do you think they will get married one day?"

"It will be a tragedy if they do not get married, like a very sad love story, and I hate sad stories, so I really hope that they do get married one day. Those two just seem like the perfect couple, even better than Misha and me. Hey, where is that photographer? I want him to make an album with just Ana and Bryan. That will make an awesome departing gift to the two of them."

"Definitely; I will pay half of the extra expenses, then it can be a gift from the both of us."

"Awesome idea, bro!"

Elena spots the photographer and she calls him over, and explains to him that he should take as many photos as he can of Anastasia and Bryan, and nodding his agreement, the man is off to the side of the dance floor where he starts to take all types of photos of the dancing couple.

The love birds of course have no idea that they are being photographed. They are lost in their own little blissful world, and Anastasia is still dressed in her bride's maid dress, which is a silk amethyst shoulder less dress, and the dress displays all of her womanly assets, to which Bryan can only smile at; her hair is still in its up style with the little purple and silver studs adjourning her hair, a few curled strands framing her face.

Bryan is dressed in his black tux which complements his black hair perfectly, and Anastasia has finally made peace with Bryan's new hair style as it was not too disappointing when they tried it out a couple of times.

The two love birds do not have the slightest idea of what is going on around them, whether the newlywed couple is still at the reception or not, because they are too caught up in their own moment of true love.

Bryan places a tender kiss on the side of Anastasia's head, and he gently calls her name to which she removes her head from his chest and she looks up into his eyes, and she sees that Bryan is smiling gently at her.

"I love you," is all he whispers to her, and Anastasia almost chokes upon hearing those three words, because she honestly does not know how to respond to that now.

They have been together for so long now, and up until now, neither one of them has uttered those three words to each other, until now. Anastasia just cannot help but feel a little shocked because of Bryan saying those three little words, and that he was the first to say them. She knows that they love each other, but she never thought that they will actually say it to each other. All that she can do is to look into those grey pools of her boyfriend, and she sees how the love radiates from him through his eyes.

Not knowing what else to do right now, she embraces him tightly and buries her head in the crook of his neck, "I love you too, Bryan, with everything of me," she says in a whisper against his skin.

Bryan says nothing and he just picks her up while holding her tight to him as his heart is bursting with pride and love right now. He has wanted to tell her those three words for so long now, but he never seem to get enough courage to actually say it because he has never said it to any other woman, and he did not know how she will react to it, but tonight, now, seemed like the opportune moment to tell her that he loves her, and he could not have been happier with the results.

While the two love birds are having their little moment, it all is captured on film as not only the photographer is smiling about this, but also Elena and Dmitri because they all can see the true happiness that is radiating from both Bryan and Anastasia, and Elena even watched the photographer to make sure he was capturing every moment.

Anastasia plants a deep kiss on Bryan's mouth and after pulling away, she just looks into his eyes. Life is radiating from those grey pools, and his black hair is just bringing out the colour of his eyes, giving the grey more depth, and she likes it a lot.

"You want to get out of here?" Anastasia asks Bryan, and he just nods at that while smiling at her.

He has wanted to ask her that a couple of minutes ago, but he did not want to sound rude; this is her cousin's wedding after all, but he is happy that Anastasia had been the first one to make the suggestion of getting out of here. Luckily for the two of them, the hotel that they are staying at is not so far away, because all he wants to do now is to get out of these clothes and to get into bed with this woman that he loves more than life itself; they don't even have to make love. He just wants to hold her in his arms, to love her and to feel her presence next to him, because that is all that his heart and mind is longing for and desiring for right now.

The two stop their dancing and walk hand in hand to go and greet the bride and groom, despite the groom being missing in action right now, and while they are making their way over to Elena, the photographer is still taking pictures of the lovely couple.

Bryan and Anastasia hugs and greets both Elena and Dmitri, and happily makes their way out of the venue afterwards, both having radiating smiles on their faces as the two constantly lock eyes to make sure that they are not in some type of dream, and that all of this is truly happening.

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The lights in the room are dimmed to give off a romantic atmosphere, with a few candles accompanying the 'romantic' atmosphere; there is even romantic music playing softly in the back ground to suit the overall mood in the hotel room.

The soft panting of a woman is heard along with the occasional grunt of a man, as the couple on the bed are making sweet passionate sweet love to each other.

When Bryan and Anastasia arrived at their room some time ago, they did not rip into each other like two crazed hormonal teenagers, but instead opted to dance one last time before slowly undressing each other, the two never breaking eye contact from each other once while doing the undressing of each other.

Anastasia is currently on top as she rides her boyfriend, her pelvic area moving up and down against Bryan's pelvic area as he thrusts into her, while he has his hands on her hips with Anastasia resting her hands on top of Bryan's hands. They have been in this position for quite some time now as Anastasia is already starting to perspire, but she is not complaining one bit because she is taking advantage of being on top right now.

Bryan does not object to Anastasia taking the top once in a while, but he is not a big fan of it because he has a very dominating nature, and he prefers to be in control with the love making of them; however, tonight he has decided to go against his nature and to allow Anastasia to be on top for as long as she wants to, as long as he also gets a chance to be on top later on.

Her heart is bursting with love, and her soul is floating somewhere in another dimension as she is literally floating on clouds of love. Just hearing Bryan say 'I love you' has just made her feel even closer to Bryan, something she did not know was possible, because she already felt so close to him.

She loves Bryan very much, and she loves the sex between them, and even though they do it a lot, thanks to their over hormonal sex drive, sex is not the thing that holds them together: it is their mutual respect, and the fact that they got to know each other before even thinking of pursuing a relationship.

In the beginning Bryan was so cold, but ever since they have started dating, he is a completely different guy; he is warm, friendly, loving, talkative and very affectionate, and he also tries his best to make her happy. Sure, they have had their fall outs, but in the end they talk it out like two grown adults, and they try their best to never go to bed angry with the other one, and so far it has just made their relationship even stronger.

With their sex life, she can't really describe it. There are days where they have this hot, intense, mind blowing sex, the sex being so hard core that even professional porn stars will blush with the things that she and Bryan does; and then there are days where they make the most passionate love to each other, that no erotic novel or romantic movie will ever be able to capture the true emotions that transpires between the two of them because nothing and no one will ever be able capture that true raw and untamed emotions between them, not in words and also not on film.

They have a very good and healthy sex life, and fortunately for the two of them, their relationship is not based on just sex because they had waited, more like Bryan had waited, for quite a while before they got intimate, but sex is truly just a bonus to their relationship. One thing that Anastasia will never deny is that Bryan truly does love his sex, and when he is in the mood, THEN HE IS IN THE MOOD, no matter where they are; and it is not like she is any different. They have had sex in quite a few bizarre places. Bryan does not even let her period prevent them from being intimate; when she has her period and he wants to do it, all he does is put on a condom and he places a couple of towels underneath them, and then it is time for action; Bryan truly is a man's man who is not scared of anything.

There were moments in the beginning where Bryan would ask Anastasia, or more like tell her, about a certain sex act, and how unbelievable good it feels, and then she would immediately lose all interest in sex because of that, because for Anastasia that means that he has done it with another woman, and she does not like the idea of other women being with her man in the past. She would then lose her temper, and then just leave him hanging.

Bryan quickly learned to never bring up things from the past, and now a day when he wants to do something with Anastasia that he has done in the past, he would go on the internet, search up details and images about what he wants to do, print it out, and then show it to her to hear what her opinion is about it all, and fortunately for him it has worked up until now. Bryan knows that he has had a lot of lovers in the past, but they were all just for sex, for his own urges, but with Anastasia, it is all about her needs and wants, and how he can please her the most and in the best way possible.

Anastasia is open to all things, but not anal. When Bryan had asked her what she thinks about it, she told him that she has never tried it, and she was never interested in trying it, because in her eyes the anus is not for screwing, only for shitting; however, she did add that she was willing to try it with him. Now, Bryan has had anal sex with quite a number of women, and although it is different from the usual sexual intercourse, it can be very pleasurable if it is done right. So, one afternoon, Anastasia had agreed that they can do it, and then Bryan started preparing the very tight hole by slowly and gently inserting a finger while he kept his eyes on Anastasia to see her facial expressions. She was not enjoying one bit of it as her face was constantly scrunched up, but Bryan decided that they were not going to stop until she has at least tried it once.

After a good portion of time had passed with preparing her hole, Bryan was finally ready to put his erection in; he lubricated his erection properly, and then it finally came: the moment to push into the very tight cavern.

However, the moment the head of his penis tried to push through the barrier, Anastasia yelped in pain, and started to cry uncontrollably. That was when he realised that she really is not for anal sex, and since that day he has never brought it up again, and he has made peace with the fact that he will probably never have anal sex again, and it did not even bother him. Bryan can still remember Anastasia's words after she had stopped crying, "This just proves it again that the a-hole is for shitting, not for screwing, and just the same, MY A-HOLE is also just for shitting, and NOT FOR SCREWING, BRYAN!"

After that afternoon, she did not talk to him for two days, she making it very clear that the words 'anal sex' will never ever be brought up in their house or in her presence ever again, and he had accepted it.

Anastasia also said that she will not have a threesome with him, because she will not share him with any other woman, and she also threatened him that if he wants to sleep with two women at the same time, he can get the hell out of her life and go die in some godforsaken place. Fortunately Bryan was never one for threesomes; he did have a few in the past, but it was never fulfilling for him.

This intimacy that he has with Anastasia is better than anything else he has ever experienced in his life. It makes him feel fulfilled with emotions, very strong emotions, and with lots and lots of love.

Bryan remembers some advice that Voltaire had given him one day, the advice regarding relationships and women. Voltaire told Bryan that should the day come where Bryan wants to take a woman and love her, and maybe even marry her, there is one definite sign which will show him that she is his true mate, and that sign is when he is scared shitless of that woman. Bryan remembered how he had laughed at Voltaire for suggesting that he should be scared of a woman, and that it will be a clear indication that he has found his true mate.

"We will see whether you will still laugh it off as a joke the day you find that woman, Sevastyan, when you find that woman that will tame you until you are as tame as a little kitten, and when that woman makes you as nervous as hell. If she does not scare you, Sevastyan, then she is not meant for you."

Now Bryan knows exactly what Voltaire had meant by that, because he, who is over two meters tall, can get very scared of Anastasia when she is in a horrible mood whenever he has done something wrong. Bryan never knew that he will ever be able to get scared of a woman, but Anastasia does scare him shitless on some days, and that alone is a good sign that she is his true mate, his soul mate, and he honestly cannot be happier about that.

Anastasia throws her head backwards as she starts to feel how her clitoral climax is getting closer, and so she starts to grind her pelvic bone harder against Bryan's pelvic bone, she unable to keep quiet.

Bryan takes her hips into a firmer hold and he grinds her pelvic bone harder against his own as he slightly lifts his pelvic area off of the bed, and he can only watch at how Anastasia's breasts bounces up and down as the grinding becomes harder and faster.

Anastasia digs her nails into the skin of Bryan's hands as she climaxes, and she moans out loud as the clitoral climax rushes through her body. It finally passes, but Anastasia keeps her head tilted backwards as she seizes with her movements and she takes deep breaths while her body comes to grips with the aftermath.

After composing herself, she tilts her head forward and she looks directly at Bryan, and the two of them can only smile at each other because they both are just so happy right now.

"I guess you want to take the top, my love?"

"Only if it is okay with you, sweetness?"

"I have no objections to that; you can take me in any way that you want to, how hard you want to, and as deep as you want to."

Bryan says nothing, and he only takes Anastasia's hands into his as he pulls her close to him so that her body can rest on top of his body, where he wraps his arms around her body while he takes in the feel of her somewhat sweaty and naked body against his own, he relishing in the feeling of her against him, because this is where she belongs, with him, in his arms as his woman.

The two lovers continue to lie in bliss while Anastasia gets her breath back, and while having her in his arms, Bryan kisses the side of her head sensually until he is certain that Anastasia can continue once more. He is very much in the mood to make Anastasia come as much as possible, and he is going to try and delay his own climax for as long as possible, and hopefully it will not be too difficult for him.

The first position Bryan does is known as 'The dolphin' in the Kama Sutra, and it is a personal favourite of his. The first thing Bryan does is to get out from underneath Anastasia and then he takes up the position of standing on his knees. With Anastasia lying on her back, he pulls her closer to him where he grabs hold of her ass and lifts the lower part of her body until it is level with his waist, and while looking deep into her eyes, Bryan slowly thrusts into her while keeping eye contact with Anastasia.

His thrusting picks up pace and depth as he holds on tight to Anastasia while looking down at her; he can see how her breasts bounce as he thrusts into her, and as if to add more ecstasy to the situation, Anastasia takes hold of her breasts and she starts to massage them very seductively while keeping eye contact with Bryan. This gesture of hers drives him insane as he thrusts even harder into Anastasia, but unfortunately he cannot stay too long in this position because he is becoming concerned with Anastasia's back which is in a somewhat uncomfortable position. She does not say anything, but Bryan does not want his woman to experience any type of discomfort while he makes love to her.

So, after a few more meaningful thrusts, he removes himself from her and he lowers Anastasia's lower body back onto the bed. While still standing on his knees, he holds his hands out to her which she takes and he pulls her up until she is also standing on her knees, this position a very intimate one between the two of them. The two lovers are face to face now, while Anastasia moves to straddle his right leg with her legs, but doing it in such a manner that Bryan still has access to her, and with her arms wrapped around his neck, and with Bryan's arms wrapped around upper body, Bryan gently lowers his legs and then when he moves back up, he penetrates her too which Anastasia just gasps at.

They remain looking into each other's eyes until they start to kiss once more, and they keep on kissing for quite a while until Anastasia pulls away to allow that orgasmic scream to fill the room as she has just reached a climax, one of many to come if Bryan has his way. He continues to thrust into her while he takes in the unbelievable feeling of her inner walls clenching around his member tightly, and Bryan can feel how her excretions flows freely from her as her orgasm passes.

Bryan only gives Anastasia a minute to come to her senses while he laces her neck and face with tender kisses, and the moment he is sure that Anastasia has recovered from her orgasm, he releases his hold on her and he lets her sit down crossed leg on top of the bed while he moves to the top of the bed where he places all of the pillows on top of each other because now he wants to take her in The Magic Mountain position, and with this position, he intends to make Anastasia come more than once.

Anastasia watches intently of how Bryan goes to work to stacking the pillows on top of each other, and after all of the pillows have been stacked on top of each other, he indicates to her to come over to the pillows. Anastasia takes her position on the pillows by kneeling in front of them, and then she leans forward over the pillows. Bryan takes his position behind her once more, and he is standing on his knees with his legs on the outside of hers, and then he also leans over her, and without any warning, he penetrates her from behind rather hard, but not too hard to cause her any discomfort.

Anastasia moans out the moment Bryan enters her, and the fact that his naked body is resting on top of hers, is doing unspeakable things to her. She knows that it will not be too long before she again moans out loud when another orgasm rips through her entire being.

Her thoughts have hardly been processed before the first orgasm makes its presence known, Bryan thrusting harder and harder into her as he grabs on tight to the pillows with his hands as Anastasia's inner walls clenches once more around his member.

Her orgasm passes but after a few more thrusts, another one comes, this one even more intense than the previous one, and with this orgasm, Bryan stands up straight on his knees and he takes Anastasia firmly by her hips and he thrusts even harder into her. Bryan cannot help but groan out loud while he continues to thrust into the clenching cavern, and he tries his best to take his focus away because he does not want to come now. He wants to make love to her a little longer. His body is also starting to perspire, but he is not going to allow it to prevent him from having a good time.

Bryan continues to take her in this position for a while longer before seizing with his thrusting, and then he withdraws himself from Anastasia.

Anastasia's legs are trembling from the orgasms, but she knows that Bryan is not done, and she is not about to stop him from continuing with his love making, no matter what other positions he still wants to take her in. She allows him to lie her down on her stomach, and Anastasia suddenly cannot contain her excitement as this is her favourite position of all time, the one where Bryan takes her from behind.

Bryan positions himself behind Anastasia the moment she is comfortable on her stomach, and again he penetrates her, and while thrusting into her, he lowers himself onto her where he takes Anastasia's hands into his, their fingers entwining as he continues to make love to her.

Anastasia lifts her head upwards as Bryan starts to breathe on to the skin of her neck, this just adding to the already explosive euphoric emotions she is finding herself in, and she knows by experience that it is just going to get more explosive with each thrust into her body.

The insides of her legs are already sticky from all of her excretions, and it is going to get even stickier and wetter from this current position, and she can hardly wait for it all.

Bryan picks up pace, and he thrusts as hard as possible into Anastasia and he can feel how he is getting closer and closer to his own peak, but he intends to hold out for as long as he possibly can. He is unable to hold his grunts and groans as he also gets lost in this euphoric moment while he continues to make sweet love to Anastasia.

Bryan's grunts that he gives every time he thrusts into her is like a sweet melodic song, easy on ears and soothing on the soul, and she cannot get enough of Bryan's manly grunts in her ear. His breathing has become somewhat ragged but it just adds to his already explosive manliness, that being Anastasia's opinion anyway. Her entire being shudders on the inside whenever Bryan grunts against her skin, especially if it is accompanied with his thrusting. She is already on the brink of experiencing another climax, and she can only scream to herself for Bryan not to stop, but it is not like he can hear her thoughts anyway.

"Bry..." is all that she manages to say through all of the love making, while her is orgasm getting closer and closer.

"Together," is all that Bryan whispers huskily into her right ear, and then he holds her hands tighter while he thrusts even harder and faster into Anastasia, and then it is as if a tiny explosion has just gone off, as all that Bryan can see is a bright light.

His orgasm assaults his entire body, both inside and out, and he feels how the life quickly drains from his legs. He gives out a loud moan, his own moan mixing with Anastasia's orgasmic scream as the two lovers ride each other's orgasms while their essences are mixing together. Bryan is giving Anastasia all that he can, and she is taking all that she can from him, she welcoming every little bit of Bryan's essence into her inner core.

Bryan finally feels how his crisis passes, and with one last final thrust into Anastasia and holding it there, he empties himself completely into his lover, and then he collapses onto Anastasia.

Both are heaving, and they both feel sticky from all of the sweat, and the inner parts of their upper legs also feel very sticky, and that is not only due to all of the sweat. Bryan and Anastasia are still clutching their hands together as they both try to stabilise their breathing.

Bryan cannot even seem to muster enough energy to kiss Anastasia's right shoulder because he is beyond drained, but he does not mind one bit because it was all worth it. This may have been Elena and Misha's wedding today, but he feels like the luckiest man alive right now because he has the most remarkable woman in the world by his side, and he has finally been able to tell her that he loves her.

Anastasia is aware of the heavy body on top of her, but she does not mind because it is the body of her boyfriend, of her lover, and that means he can lie on top of her for as long as he wants to.

Neither one of them is certain about how many minutes have passed, but by the time both of them have managed to gather their bearings, their breathing is normal and their sticky bodies have dried completely.

Bryan lifts himself off of Anastasia and he falls to the side of her, and he can feel that his legs are still trembling.

Anastasia does not move but she only turns her head to the side so that she can look at Bryan, who is now resting on his right arm after placing it behind his head, and he has his eyes closed; she also places her arms underneath the remaining pillow, and she just continues to watch Bryan.

Music is still playing softly in the background, and it can continue to play because neither Bryan nor Anastasia minds the music right now. The candles are also still burning peacefully and the mood is still that of a very romantic and intimate one within the room.

Bryan is aware that Anastasia is looking at him, and he can only smile at that," What is it sweetness?" he asks in a somewhat amused tone of voice.

"Can't I look at my boyfriend?"

Bryan cracks open his left eye, and then he turns his head lazily to the left so that he can look at Anastasia, who is only grinning up at him. He says nothing, and turns his head back to its previous position, but he chuckles while doing it.

"Would you rather stare at me, or cuddle with me, sweetness?"

Anastasia says nothing and quickly lifts herself, and then she moves closer to Bryan's body; she drapes her left arm over his stomach, drapes her left leg over his legs and then rests her head on his chest, where Bryan embraces her with his left arm, and with his right arm, he rests it on her left arm where he slowly and gently starts to caress the skin of her arm.

Now both of them are entirely content with life right now, and it cannot get any better than this for these two lovers.

"I really love you, sweetness, with my entire heart," Bryan speaks softly against the top of Anastasia's head.

Anastasia does not move her head, but only smiles, "And I love you, Bryan. I have never loved another man like this, and I never will love another like this, not ever."

Bryan pulls Anastasia closer to him where he plants a kiss on top of her head, and then he holds her close to him. Her hair is a complete mess, but that is how he likes her: a complete mess because then she is absolutely natural to him, and a true beauty which nothing will ever be able to compare to. The saying does go that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder', and in his eye, his blonde haired girlfriend is the most beautiful woman in the entire world, from all times: the past, the present, and the future.

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It has almost been two weeks since the official opening of Hiwatari Medical Care, and Russia is still in a buzz about the various hospitals that have been opened, and this buzz is for various reasons.

From the state of the art technology that has not been made available to the rest of the world yet, to how beautiful all of the hospitals look on the inside. Kai has made sure that all of his hospitals will be as environment friendly as possible, and the public can see that Kai has really put in a lot of effort in ensuring this as there are so many bio-degradable products available and how the hospitals are using water and electricity in an environment friendly way.

Kai is overall very satisfied with how Russia and the rest of the world has received this new venture of his, and since the doors have officially opened almost two weeks ago, all the hospitals that are situated all over Russia have been very busy, and there has been no negative feedback so far. The thing that has everyone the most excited about is the excellent health plans that have been made available for those that are unemployed and who simply cannot afford any type of health insurance. This health plan covers everything, except plastic surgery that is for only personal gain; if plastic surgery is needed to correct a flaw due to a horrible accident or a birth defect, it will be done.

Kai's own personal doctor that he has been going to since he was a teenager has also moved his practice to Kai's main hospital that is situated here in Moscow, and Kai is personally very happy about that.

Kai is currently sitting at his office desk and he is looking through his emails. His cell phone rings and he sees that it is Tala that is calling him.

"Yeah?"

"Beletski has called an urgent meeting for tomorrow."

"Did he say why?"

"We have problems, Kai, and I mean BIG problems. Beletski only said that we have some explaining to do, and if we do not want a blood bath on our hands, we better make time for him as soon as possible."

Kai just gives a deep as sigh as he pinches the bridge of nose in frustration and he closes his eyes shut, "Fine; I will be there tomorrow. Will the meeting be held at the Feniks manor?"

"No, because Beletski said that he does not trust us, and he would feel much safer if we could meet in a public place."

"What the hell?! What is going on, Tala?!" Kai is unable to keep his voice down because nothing of this makes any sense, and it is pissing him off a lot right now.

"[Sigh] I wish I knew, Kai, but whatever is going on, I am going to get to the bottom of this. Anyway, I offered to personally pick him up at the airport and he declined my offer, so whatever is going on, is real bad."

"Yeah, it looks like it; fine, send me the details of the meeting, and then I guess I will see you tomorrow."

"And, Kai?"

"What."

"Not a word to anyone about this, alright?"

"Hn."

"See you."

Tala is the first to hang up, and Kai tosses his phone on to the table after the call has ended. His anger levels are rising and his mind is racing, he thinking of what could possibly have gone wrong for Beletski to suddenly act like this.

Kostya Beletski, the head of Bratva since Voltaire's time, and the closest ally of The Chernyy Feniks. Bratva's main territory is Novosibirsk, but they also operate in the rest of Russia, but like Moscow is the main territory of The Chernyy Feniks, so is Novosibirsk for Bratva.

Kai cannot help but feel a little nervous as to why Kostya is suddenly so defensive towards them. There has always been a lot of respect between Kai and the elder man, Kostya being in his early sixties now, but he still operates like a young man, and he has the attitude to put fear into any person that crosses his path; Kostya is still old school mobster, the very cruel and cold kind. Even Kai will admit to himself that he does not want to end up on the bad side of Kostya because the elder man is another force to be reckoned with.

Kai rubs his eyes a few times before getting up and then walking over to his favourite window where he then removes a cigarette which he lights. While smoking his cancer stick, his thoughts cannot stop thinking of what could possibly have happened for Beletski to want to see them so urgent.

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It is almost two weeks after the wedding of Misha and Elena, and the love birds are back from their honeymoon, although they are currently in Moscow right now, because they still have a few things that need to be finalised before they officially become residents of St Petersburg.

Bryan and Anastasia is currently at home and they have the day off from training because Bryan is not in the mood for training, and he would much rather just rest and do absolutely nothing for the entire day, and that is why he is leisurely lying down on the couch while he scans through the channels for anything to watch. Both Mystique and Logan have made themselves comfortable right on top of Bryan, but he does not mind because he loves it like a proud father whenever his 'children' cuddles up to him.

Anastasia is sitting at the computer and listening to music while she is going through her emails, which she has not done in over two months, and she was rather shocked at how many emails there were when she opened her inbox. Luckily for her, about quarter of the mails were junk mails, but there were quite a lot to which she has to reply to, and fortunately for her, she has already replied to about three quarter of the mails. Since her school days she has learned to listen to her favourite genre of music while taking care of these 'type things' as she has dubbed them, because that way she does not see it as some boring chore because as long as she get to listen to her music, it turns out to be very fun, and that is why she does not mind doing all of these emails right now.

Bryan does not mind Anastasia shutting herself off from the world because even he knows that they both need to have their quiet moments every now and then, and even if the two of them are still in the same house, they are both still doing their own thing.

It is early afternoon and it is sunny outside for a change, but it is still very cold. Even though the day is short, neither Bryan nor Anastasia feels like going outside to enjoy the sunshine right now, even if it is only the second time this month that the sun has been shining the entire day without any sign of clouds forming and blocking out the sunlight.

December to March is usually the coldest time in Moscow, with December being the month with the shortest days and the longest nights, so Bryan and Anastasia do not mind if they spend the entire day in doors, or even in bed, because it is a short day anyway.

Anastasia has her earphones on while blasting the music in her ears and so she does not hear the car stop in front of the house, and two doors open and closing. Bryan hears it though and he immediately recognises Elena's voice when she laughs out loud while she makes her way towards the house, and no doubt that Misha is with her.

Bryan waits until he hears the knocking on the front door before forcing himself to get up to open the door. He is dressed in a grey washed up track suits pants, and an all white jacket with a hoodie, the entire attire of his rounded off with black socks. The cats only glare at Bryan as they are forced to also get up, and this while they were deep in a cat dreamland.

Bryan opens the door and he is greeted by the newly married couple, the two of them dressed in their fake fur coats, gloves, scarves and fake fur ushankas; they do not even dare to wear real fur because they know that Anastasia will skin them alive if they even think of buying real fur.

The two love birds are freezing despite being dressed warmly, so they rush into the house as soon as Bryan opens the door. The three friends head to the kitchen as soon as they have finished with all of their greetings, and Elena only taps Anastasia on the shoulder as she walks past her cousin towards the kitchen.

Anastasia is of course startled by this because she did not even know that anyone was here. So she turns off her music and then the computer, and then heads to the kitchen where the four start to enjoy a very pleasant time together.

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They are telling jokes, Anastasia and Elena try to embarrass each other by telling embarrassing tales from their early childhood, and the two cousins also embarrass the rest of their family by telling very horrid stories, all in the name of 'innocent fun' of course.

Elena accidentally spills coffee on her dress while snorting because she just wanted to burst out laughing once more when Anastasia tells them about the time Dmitri had a 'little accident' in his pants in the middle of the mall, and the accident was not a number one.

The entire part of Elena's light pink blouse is covered with coffee.

"Please tell me that you have something that I can borrow, Ana?"

"Yeah sure, just go look in my room; you know where I keep my shirts. You can also just leave your shirt in the bath. I will go wash it out as soon as I have finished my coffee."

Elena only grins at her cousin and then she makes her way up stairs, while the remaining three are left laughing because of Dmitri's shameful moment in the mall, Anastasia once again mimicking the movements of her cousin about how he struggled to walk towards the nearest bathroom because of his horrible accident in his pants.

All of a sudden Anastasia stops laughing because a dreadful thought just came up, "Oops," being the only word that she says about the unpleasant thought, and the unpleasant thought does not involve Dmitri, but rather Elena.

"What is it, sweetness," Bryan asks when he sees that Anastasia looks somewhat nervous right now.

Anastasia turns to face her boyfriend while only speaking two words, "The drawer," and just then all three of them hear Elena exclaim Anastasia's name in a somewhat hysterical manner.

Anastasia only gives a nervous chuckle while Bryan shrugs it off of what Elena have just discovered.

"Okay, now you have me very curious; did my wife just discover something that she should not have?"

"Yeah, a drawer full of sex toys," Bryan says in a normal tone of voice, like it is the most normal thing to have in the house.

Anastasia only sighs while getting up from the island counter, "Let me go see how big of a heart attack I have just given my dearest cousin," she says while walking out of the kitchen, but not before she smirks at Bryan and winking her right eye at him.

Bryan turns his attention back to Misha who is now looking at him with a very goofy look on his face.

"What," is all that Bryan says in a dull tone of his.

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Anastasia walks into her room and she sees how Elena is inspecting the drawer of sex toys, but she does not dare touch one of the toys.

"See something you like?" Anastasia asks.

"What the hell are all of these things, Ana? Some I know, but others I absolutely have no idea. You have to spill the beans, my dear cousin."

Anastasia only chuckles at her cousin, "I don't think so, Elena; and if you want to know what some of those things do, just go to a sex shop or something and buy your own."

"Aah, come on, Ana, please? You never breathe a word about your sex life with Bryan, like how he is in bed, how many times he makes you come in one session, who likes to be on top, you know, stuff like that. The guy is huge, so I really want to know if his size has more advantages than we know of."

Again Anastasia can only chuckle at that, "It is not like I pester you about your sex life with Misha, Elena."

"You can; what do you want to know?"

"Ha ha, very funny, Elena, but my lips are sealed. All that I am going to say to you is that if you thought he was a beast in bed, he is. It is only a miracle that we do not spend every day in bed because if I had my way, we would never wear any clothes, nor leave the house," and while saying this to Elena, Anastasia cannot help but grin because that is how she feels about her sex life with Bryan.

"You lucky bitch; so, do you guys also participate in S&M?"

Anastasia says nothing but the way her eyes light up, is a clear indication of the answer.

"Good gods, you two are hectic!"

"What can I say? We love being adventurous; Bryan also has a drawer in his room with other goodies."

Elena suddenly spots something in the drawer, and she carefully removes it from underneath all of the other toys, and then she sees that it is a strip on.

"What the hell are you doing with a strap on, Ana?"

Before Anastasia can answer her cousin, a masculine voice interrupts her, "We use it when we do the 69; while she gives me head and I give her head, I use the strip on with my hand. Need I say more, Elena?" Bryan asks in a smug tone of voice.

He is leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed in front of his chest, and Misha is also standing in the doorway while trying to get a glimpse of 'the drawer'.

"Holy shit! What is that like?!"

"Your cousin passed out a when she came, and it has happened on more than one occasion," and Bryan still sounds very smug while saying this, and he and Anastasia immediately lock eyes when he says this, and she can only smile at her boyfriend.

"Damn!" is all that Elena says, while Misha can only gasp at that little detail.

"All you need now is to make your own sex tape!"

Elena does not miss the look that is shared between Bryan and Anastasia, and she only throws her hands into the air from frustration, "You guys even have a sex tape?!"

Anastasia turns her attention back to Elena with that grin still in place, "Who said anything about a tape?"

"Plural?" Elena asks in a surprised tone of voice.

Anastasia just touches the side of her nose with her right index finger while winking at her cousin, the grin of hers not faltering once.

"That does it!" Elena exclaims, and then she stomps over to Misha where she grabs him by the hand and then she starts to drag him down stairs.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Anastasia asks as she follows her cousin and Misha down stairs, with Bryan shortly on her heels.

"My husband and I are going to go find a sex shop, and we are going to buy a shit load of toys, and no arguing, Misha."

"Yes, love," is all that Misha can say to his determined wife, while he follows her obediently to the kitchen. Elena has forgotten all about her coffee stained shirt as she puts on her coat.

Bryan and Anastasia can only watch with amused looks at how Elena is determined to go get sex toys at this very moment, and the two love birds can only smile at this.

The married couple is fully dressed in record time, and Bryan and Anastasia accompanies them to the door where they see them off, and the two continue to watch how Elena gets in behind the steering wheel and then proceeds to speed away from the house like the damned is after her and her husband.

Bryan chuckles at how hilarious the scene had just looked like, "Your cousin is really on a mission to get those play things," he says through his chuckling.

Anastasia starts to laugh at how Elena looked at her when she did not deny the sex tape, "And that is why I love my cousin so much. But anyway," Anastasia wraps her arms around Bryan's waist while looking up at him, "what are we going to do now?"

Bryan also wraps his arms around Anastasia's body and then he gives her a soft kiss on top of her head before making his suggestion, "Well, what do you say about me making us a little snack, you putting on a movie for us, and then we can be complete lazy asses on the couch?"

"That can work, my love. What movie do you want to watch?"

"I don't know; you choose."

At this Anastasia's face suddenly lights up, and Bryan can already guess which movie she is going to suggest.

"The notebook?" she asks in a very innocent voice, Anastasia even trying to flutter her eyes lashes like a very innocent girl, and Bryan can only snort at that, but in a playful manner.

Bryan sighs and then he rolls his eyes, but he is unable to prevent the smile from taking over, and Anastasia giggles when she sees him smile at her suggestion.

"Yes!" is all she exclaims before kissing him on the mouth, and then she releases Bryan so that she can go and get the movie ready.

Bryan shakes his head while he starts to make his way to the kitchen to put together some munchies for the movie, a movie that he has seen more times than he wants to admit, but he does not mind watching it again.

Now that he is a man who truly loves a woman, the movie absolutely makes sense to him, because he feels what both Noah and Allie goes through, how their love for each other never goes away, despite both moving on with their lives and finding other people. The first time that he had watched the movie, he did not really understand it; he never even reached the end because he fell asleep somewhere during the movie. The second time he watched it, he understood it a little bit more, but after watching it a couple of times more, he completely understood just how strong true love really can be, and how love can make one do wonderful things for the one they love.

The movie really does pull at the heart strings, but only if one has been in love, or is currently in love. For someone who does not know love, it will only be a stupid romantic movie where boy wants girl, but girl does not want boy, and THIS movie is anything but that. Bryan knows that he should also get a box of tissues ready because Anastasia will cry a good couple of times during the movie, just like she always does, but luckily he is there to comfort her through it all.

Bryan gathers a box of chocolate cereal because Anastasia would much rather munch on a pack of cereal before eating potato crisps, and along with the cereal there is the box of chocolate milk which she also loves very much; Bryan also takes two boxes of cookies and a large bottle of water. For himself he has taken the potato crisps with ice tea, and the moment he walks into the living room, he sees that Anastasia is already on the couch, remote in hand and ready to start the movie.

No one can miss the twinkling in her eyes from sheer excitement, the one she always gets when she is about to watch this movie, this and Titanic, and a couple of other movies, and fortunately for him, not all of them are romantic movies.

Bryan takes his place on the couch after placing everything on the coffee table in front of the couch, and then he gives Anastasia a quick kiss before telling her that she can start the movie, to which Anastasia only beams at.

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The credits finally starts to show and Bryan stretches his arms above his head as he glances at Anastasia. She is fast asleep with her head resting on the arm rest while she is curled up in a foetus position, and Bryan cannot help but smile at how innocent and cute his girlfriend looks right now.

While listening to the soft music that is playing with the credits of the movie, Bryan cannot help but wonder what will happen to him and Anastasia once she gets into the mob. Will their love survive her time in the mob, or will it disappear over time? Bryan can see himself grow old with Anastasia, and he can see himself love her until the day that they both close their eyes for the eternal sleep.

The Notebook truly is a very deep story, and it shows that true love truly does overcome all types of obstacles. The way Noah read to Allie every day, just so that he can have his true love with him, even it were just for a few minutes of the day; for Bryan that is true dedication, that is true love, and Bryan knows that that is what he has with Anastasia right now. He loves this woman very, very much; she is his Allie, and he is her Noah, and they belong together.

'Maybe we will have our own notebook when all of this is over,' Bryan thinks to himself.

And just like that, Bryan's heart is filled with dread because he has to let her go. He always knew that this day will come, but now that the day is so close, he is not certain on whether he wants to let her go or not, whether he even CAN let her go.

Bryan keeps his eyes on the sleeping Anastasia while his mind is thinking of what would happen if he had lost her completely.

'No doubt that it will hurt like hell, and what is worse, I will not be able to handle it because I have never coped with the loss of a lover; with the loss of a loved one like family, yes, but not a lover, not with a woman that I love with my entire existence. I should hold on to the fact that she had believed from the beginning that we had met for a reason, and even I had started to believe that, and just look at Noah and Allie; seven years had passed, and in that time Allie had learned to love another man, she loved him enough to get engaged, but her love for Noah never really disappeared. It just slept for a while, and after getting back together with Noah, the two of them stayed together and in love until the very end; they even died together, and I am sure that Anastasia and I will be like those two. I feel it in my heart and in my soul. We will grow old together, no matter what happens when she joins the mob.'

Bryan continues to look at his sleeping girlfriend until he feels that his eyes are also starting to feel heavy, and with both cats resting on his chest once more, Bryan decides to make himself more comfortable before finally drifting off to sleep, he sleeping soundly with the thought that the love of his life is right next to him, where she belongs, and where he also belongs.

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Kai and Tala are already within the main study at Feniks manor, the two men awaiting the arrival of Kostya Beletski who should be here any moment now. It has taken A LOT of convincing from Kai's part to convince the elder mobster to meet at the Feniks manor where it will be safe, and finally, the elder man has agreed to meet at the Feniks manor, although he had made it very clear to Kai that he was not happy with the meeting place, as he kept on saying that it feels like a trap for him and his men.

Neither Kai nor Tala has mentioned a word to anyone about Beletski coming to Moscow, and not one of the two has got the slightest idea of what is going right now.

At long last, the elder man along with four of his body guards comes walking into the study, and the two young gentlemen quickly gets up to greet Kostya and to show the elder man their respect.

"Beletski, it is nice to see you, and I welcome you here in Moscow."

The grey haired man just looks at both Kai and Tala with no expression on his face.

"Save the formalities, and take a seat. First off, is either one of you armed?"

Kai and Tala just looks at each other because they do not understand why Kostya has just asked that.

"No, why?" is all that Tala asks, the confusion clearly visible in his voice.

"And are there any other hidden weapons?"

"Enough, Kostya," is all Kai suddenly demands, his voice demanding immediate respect from all the occupants that are within the room right now, "We are not armed, we do not have hidden weapons, nor are there any of my men hiding around a corner, waiting to ambush you. Can we please move past this stupid little game and get to the bottom of what the hell is going on?"

Kostya only smirks at Kai, because this is how he knows the young Hiwatari, full of fire and determination, a quality that will continue to bring him very far in this life.

Kostya signals to his four body guards to leave, and after being certain that they are entirely alone, Kostya finally takes a seat, with Kai and Tala following suit.

"So what is going on? What did we do wrong?"

"Which one of you had made the call to slaughter over 40 of my men back in Novosibirsk?"

To say that they are shocked will be the understatement of the century as both Tala and Kai just look at each other with wide eyes, they not certain whether they had just heard correctly.

"What do you mean by 'over 40 men of yours have been slaughtered?'?"

"How much clearer can I make it, Tala? 43 of my men are dead, murdered, taken out, have been hit, how else should I explain it to you?"

"When did this happen?"

"About four days ago, and I know that it was your men, Kai, because they left one of my men alive so that he can deliver a message, and the message was, 'The Chernyy Feniks sends its regards'."

It does not even take a full second for both Tala and Kai to comprehend what has really happened, and the two friends look directly at each other as if they are reading each other's mind.

"Do you think it is the same person who stole the coke?" Kai asks Tala, he ignoring Kostya for now.

"I bet you all my life's savings that it is the same asshole."

"Do you two mind in including me in your conversation, please? What the hell is going on?"

Kai and Tala turn their attention back to Kostya, but instead of being all tense, the two friends cross their legs over each other and they both lean back into the chair, while Kai crosses his arms in front of his chest, but with no expression on his face; Tala on the other hand, looks very pissed off right now.

"We did not order the hit on your men, Kostya, I give you my word, but unfortunately we do not know who had done this, but it was not The Chernyy Feniks, well, not that we are aware of."

The two men can see that the elder man is starting to get somewhat restless and irritated about his entire situation.

"Please elaborate on this, Tala."

"Some time ago, we got our main delivery for the second part of the year, you know the one where we sell you in bulk, but while the cargo was being driven back to the delivery point, the small convey got ambushed; all our men that were on that trip got attacked, but fortunately no one died. However, one of the trucks was stolen, and up until now, there have been no clues, leads or any type of info on the stolen cocaine. We even told our guys to keep their eyes and ears open to see who is suddenly selling large amounts of coke, or who is selling more than they usually do, but up until now there has been nothing."

Kostya listens attentively to what Tala has to say, but he shows no reaction to it all until Tala finishes with his little talk, "With all due respect, Tala, what has this got to do with my men who got killed?"

"Everything, Kostya," Kai says, and his tone of voice shows the elder man that he is very serious, "Tala and I suspect that our attack has been an inside job, that a few of our men have gone rogue on us, but that they are still working for The Chernyy Feniks in order to benefit from it, to benefit from the name; that is why none of the men in the attack were killed, and now it seems like the people who had attacked us, is now attacking our allies, trying to turn them against us, against me and Tala. Someone is trying to bring down The Chernyy Feniks from the inside, and by the looks of it, it seems that it is starting to work."

Now Kostya does not look so expressionless like before, and he is actually looking a little concerned right now, "Now this is quite a turn of events, my boy; do you have any idea who it might be?"

"Maybe, but we need a lot more proof. Whoever it is, is covering his tracks exceptionally well, and unfortunately there is nothing we can do about it."

"I had no idea, and I apologise for being wrong about this entire situation."

"Do not be, Kostya; you did the right thing. I also would have done the same if I were you. I am just glad that we were able to sort this out before it turned into a blood bath."

"Me too, but you two better hurry in catching the culprit, because I am afraid that things may get even worse. They may start to target your other allies, and unfortunately not everyone will be as forgiving as I have been today, and who will also wait to first meet face to face before they declare war on you as I also have done today."

"We know; however, unfortunately for us, whoever it is, is not in a hurry to bring us down, so all that we can do is to wait for the next attack, and unfortunately you have been the second one now. Please allow The Chernyy Feniks to compensate the families who have been left behind after the death of their family members. It is the least that we can do for you, Kostya."

The old man quickly raises his hands in a defensive manner while he chuckles, "It is no need, my boy; they have already been taken care of. Rather focus on getting the bastard, or bastards, who is trying to take you down, because in all honesty, Kai, if they succeed in taking down the most powerful mob on this continent, what chance do the rest of us have? And I am not about to give up my territory to a new comer, because then I will for surely declare war on whoever wants to destroy us and who wants to take our place. Blood will water the streets of Russia if that happens, so do what you can to catch these assholes. I will see what I can do on my end, talk to a few people, and I will also try to do damage control ahead before any more surprise attacks comes anyone's way."

"Thank you, Kostya, it means the world to us, and I am sorry for the loss of your men, I truly am."

"Thank you, Tala. I know you mean it; well then," Kostya gets up, "I think that I will be on my way now."

Kai and Tala also gets up from their chairs.

"Don't, Kostya; stay the night, you and your men. That way we can all go out to dinner and relax after this horrible ordeal."

"That does not sound like a bad idea, Kai; thanks, I think I will do just that."

Kostya is the first to reach the door, but just as he is about to open the door, a thought strikes him, and he quickly turns to face Kai, "Whatever happened to Boris Balcov? I know you destroyed everything that he ever owned, but do you know what happened to him?"

"I take it that he died after he lost everything. Why?"

"Did you kill him with your own two hands?"

Kai reluctantly shakes his head from side to side, he quickly catching on what Kostya is getting to.

"What do you think the chances are that that old fart is still alive, and that he has somehow managed to get to a few of your men, that he has managed to convince them to destroy you, seeing as you took everything from him?"

Tala and Kai just looks at each other, and not one of them knows what to say to that, because in all honesty, that thought has never even crossed their minds.

"I think you two should start thinking about that asshole being alive, and him being determined to take The Chernyy Feniks down, in whatever means necessary. Hate and the desire to take revenge on an enemy is a very strong, dangerous and combustible fuel, which can destroy anything that comes in its path without even thinking of the consequences, and without showing any sign of remorse, and it will continue to destroy everything in its wake until it gets what it wants: ultimate revenge and victory."

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Two tattoo machines can be heard buzzing as two individuals are getting tattoos at the same time, the two individuals, a man and woman, holding hands and looking at each other while the two tattoo artists goes on with their work.

Anastasia and Bryan are keeping eye contact with each other while they are getting their tattoos. Anastasia is using the voucher that Bryan has gotten her for Valentine's Day, and despite it already being almost be a year since she has received the voucher, it is still valid seeing as the voucher is valid for a year, and she is has offered to pay for Bryan's tattoo today since he had gotten her the voucher; however, it was a rather heated argument when Anastasia told Bryan that she wants to pay for his tattoo, because even though Bryan loves his woman very much, he still hates it when she wants to pay for things when he can actually pay for it himself. Finally, Bryan agreed to it, but with a lot of reluctance on his part.

The two are getting 'couples tattoos', but not like two identical tattoos or something like that, the usual cliché couples tattoos; Bryan is getting a beautiful crafted hand knife, and Anastasia is getting the sheath where the knife has to go into.

"I am the knife and you are the sheath. I am the fighter, the hunter, and you are the protector. The sheath always goes to the battle, but it does not help with the fight. It is always at the side, waiting for the knife to return to it safely. When the knife has done its fighting, it returns home where it feels safe and at home, and where it feels protected, warm and loved, and that is why you are the sheath, and you will always be the sheath because I will never ever feel so at home and loved as I feel when I am with you."

Anastasia will forever remember those words that Bryan had said to her. Three days ago she had brought up the question of what she should get for a tattoo, and that is when Bryan had brought up the couples tattoos, and even though it may be very cliché, Anastasia did not mind. Bryan was the one who had suggested the knife and sheath, and after explaining to her why he thinks that these tattoos will work, she was left with tears in her eyes because to think that this hard man, this tough bad ass, former killer and mobster wants to get couples tattoos with her, and not just any tattoos, but real meaningful tattoos was just too much for her; no normal woman will be able to hold back the tears should she find herself in such a situation as Anastasia had found herself in with her lover.

Who would in their right mind ever decline such a beautiful gesture, and that is why she is here, with her absolutely stunning boyfriend, busy getting their couples tattoos, and she cannot wait for the end result.

Anastasia is getting her sheath on the left side of her body, the sheath beginning from where her false ribs are situated, and it will go down until above her hip bone; Bryan's tattoo is on his right side, and it is also in the same area as where Anastasia's is, and the two tattoos are going to be the exact same length so that they 'fit' perfectly when the two love birds are going to stand face to face, body against body.

"I love you," Bryan mouths to Anastasia while he still keeps eye contact with her.

"I love you too," Anastasia also mouths to him, and she cannot stop smiling while she says it, and even after having said it, she just has to smile, which also causes Bryan to smile constantly.

"I like it when you smile, my love; you look so cute."

Bryan only snorts at that, "Cute? Are you trying to tarnish my reputation, sweetness?"

Now Anastasia is the one to snort, "What reputation? Dude, your reputation blew to pieces the day you met me," Anastasia now grinning like someone who has just pulled the best prank ever.

Bryan can only roll his eyes at Anastasia, but he still cannot stop smiling because he knows that it is the truth.

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They have finally arrived home, and even though both of them are a little sore, the two cannot wait to go and stand in front of Anastasia's full length mirror to see how the tattoos look.

They did have a look back at the tattoo parlour, but now they can strip down to only their underwear and inspect the tattoos properly.

Bryan and Anastasia quickly undress themselves, and standing only in their underwear, the two can finally look at their tattoos properly.

"It is absolutely gorgeous, my love."

"It truly is."

The tattoos are done perfectly, with not too much colour, and they look so natural. Both tattoos are still covered with the plastic protection, but no one can doubt how excellent it has been done.

Anastasia turns to face Bryan, and without saying anything, she cups his face between her hands, and she kisses him tenderly on the lips. Bryan proceeds to place his hands on her hips and he pulls Anastasia closer to him and so he deepens the kiss.

The two continue to kiss each other sweetly, sensually, tenderly and very lovingly; there are no crazy driven lust feelings involved, no cravings. It is just pure love, true, deep and meaningful love that is felt between the two right now as they continue to kiss each other in a very gentle and tender manner; their tongues are not even involved because the two just want to feel each other in the purest of forms, they just want their lips to express what they are feeling at this very moment, to express how strong their love is for one another.

This meaningful and tender kissing continues for a few minutes more before they finally part for a little bit of air, but they keep their faces close to each other.

"I love you so very much, Anastasia, more than words and actions will ever be able to express, and I want you to know that I love it when I can tell you that I love you, because it truly is the most wonderful thing in the world to do, and I will never grow tired of telling you how much I love you. You are my Allie, and I am your Noah."

Just how Bryan spoke those words, saying it so softly along with her name, is driving her to tears as Anastasia can feel how she is starting to get all choked up. The world is so use to the woman always admitting her feelings, and that the woman is always the one getting all mushy and emotional, but here it is the complete opposite; here with the two of them Bryan is the one constantly admitting his feelings, and he is not afraid to show or tell her his true emotions, and that in her eyes is a true, genuine man.

And the fact that he had said that she is his Allie, and he is her Noah, what woman will not start crying? He is using the characters from the most romantic love story of all time, and using it to describe them. What better way is there than to declare their love for each other?

Anastasia can no longer keep the tears from falling from her eyes, and while they are running freely down her cheeks, Bryan uses his thumbs to gently wipe them away as he cups her face in between his large hands, and he looks deep into her eyes.

Through the tears, their lips meet once more, but this time it does not stay with just tender kissing.

Bryan picks Anastasia up where she immediately wraps her legs around his body as he starts to lead them towards the bed, and not long after placing her down on to the bed, are the two of them caught up in one powerful, passionate and very loving session of love making, with hands entwined, sensual kisses constantly being placed on each other's skin, tender words being whispered against the other's lips and into each other's ears, and the two just loving each other like there is no tomorrow.

Right now, no time exists between these two; no yesterday, no tomorrow, and no one else. They are alone in this blissful paradise where nothing else matters, where there are no problems, no dark pasts, no plans for revenge, no thirst for vengeance, and no form of hurtful emotions like sorrow and grief; in this paradise only exists the love that they feel for each other, and that they will continue to feel for each other until they draw their last breath, and even in the afterlife, will they continue to feel this intense love for each other.

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It is the second week of January, and the weather of Moscow is unforgiving today. The temperature on the thermostat at the weather station reads -2 degrees, and it is almost midday in Moscow right now.

It is Sunday and most people have opted to stay indoors today, no one being in the mood to brace the cold weather today. The sun is not shining, but at least it is not snowing.

"Now I really miss Sydney," Anastasia mutters through her scarf, and Bryan barely hears her.

"Yeah, it would have been nice if we could have been on the beach right now."

"Don't remind me, my love," and at the same time, both of them sighs a deep sigh, and then they start to laugh because it was so funny that they both decided to sigh at the same time.

The two love birds came back five days ago after spending about two weeks in Sydney, Australia, and both wish that they still could have been in the sunny city instead of being surrounded by just snow and freezing temperatures.

It was Bryan's idea to get out of the house today because he has news to give to Anastasia, and though she may like it, he does not like it one bit, and that is why he does not want to be in the house because he already feels like a trapped wild animal for having to deliver this news.

The two are currently standing on a bridge and overlooking the Moskva River and they are just admiring the white and frozen beauty of the frozen river, even if it just looks frozen.

Anastasia still does not understand why Bryan had wanted to come out in this depressing weather because there is no sunshine, it is cold, it is miserable, and they are freezing their asses off, and despite asking and bitching to Bryan numerous times already about why they could not have just stayed home, he just ignored her completely.

Anastasia has her arms wrapped around herself while Bryan stands behind her and he is resting his hands on the ledge of the bridge, and although she has her body pressed up against Bryan's body, his body heat that is being radiated off from his body, it is not nearly enough to keep her from freezing.

"Can we go home now?" Anastasia asks in a very whining tone of voice, to which she receives no answer.

Bryan continues to look out in front of him, his thoughts a complete mess right now, along with his heart.

'Think happy thoughts; think happy thoughts,' Bryan thinks to himself a couple of times. He just wants to be happy a little while longer before he breaks the news to her, the news of her finally being ready to take on the mob world. She has been ready four months ago, but he did not want to admit it to himself; Bryan just wanted to be selfish for a while and have Anastasia all for himself, but now he has finally realised that he has to let her go now because he cannot continue going on being this selfish, and that is why he had suggested that the two of them go away for a little while.

Actually, it had been Yurik who had brought up the idea of Bryan and Anastasia to go on their own little 'honeymoon', and it was not a bad idea. Yurik said that he had the idea since the wedding of Misha and Elena, and after seeing the two love birds dancing on the floor, he knew that it will be an excellent idea. Yurik even offered to babysit Logan and Mystique so that Bryan and Anastasia will have nothing to worry about.

The moment Bryan asked Anastasia whether she would be interested in going away a little while, she just jumped him immediately, and Bryan took it as a yes. Bryan knew that he wanted to go somewhere where there is lots of sea and sun, and Sydney seemed like the perfect place, and that is where had they went.

The two had stayed there for two weeks where they had lots and lots of fun, the many photos being proof of that. Misha and Elena also joined them for about three days because the newly married couple were still on their honeymoon, and that was also a lot of fun when the newlyweds joined the two lovers.

From their entire two week stay, only two days were not sunny, where it rained constantly. Anastasia did not let the weather spoil their holiday and she suggested that they use the weather to their advantage, and so, on those two rainy days the two love birds just stayed in bed where they spend their time by making love, ordering room service, sleeping a little, watching a little TV and then repeat it over and over again, and who could ever complain about such a fun time.

It was actually very sad when the two of them had to come back, but Bryan was very happy when he saw their two cats again, but it was good while lasted.

While still overlooking the white river, Anastasia's thoughts also drift back to Sydney and to all the fun that they had. On the beach, Bryan sure got lots of attention, but she did not even feel jealous; she felt very proud because she knew that Bryan is all hers, and only hers. She has to admit that she likes Bryan's almost golden tan as it fits him in a godly manner, and she is finding it hard to her keep hands off of Bryan whenever he takes off his shirt. It is like the tan is just defining his already sculpted muscles even more, and she is finding it completely irresistible, and that is another reason why she would rather have stayed at home, in bed with Bryan, than be here in the blistering cold.

"Come on, Bryan, what is the deal anyway? Let's just go home already."

"No," is all Bryan says to her rather bluntly.

"Fine," Anastasia huffs, "Now you can forget about me going down on you later because that was the plan, but not anymore. Let's see how you give yourself a blowjob."

Bryan just smiles at that, but Anastasia does not see the smile; she is too busy thinking up ideas on how she is going to punish Bryan for making her stand out here in the cold, and those ideas all involve some kinky things.

A couple of minutes go by where not a single word is uttered between the two, and yet the silence is comfortable and welcoming. Bryan's thoughts are still a mess, and Anastasia's thoughts are no longer on how she is going to get revenge on Bryan. Instead, her thoughts have drifted to Bryan's childhood, and what he type of person he was before they had met.

Anastasia cannot help but wonder about how Bryan's life would have turned out if his mother had not died or if his father had stayed a devoted father after the death of his wife. Would Bryan have gone to study, maybe he even would have been married by now?

'Probably; most men his age has already settled down and they already have at least one kid. No doubt that Bryan would have been an excellent father, no doubt an excellent husband.'

Letting her emotions and her curious mind get the better of her, Anastasia decides that she just has to ask Bryan what his dreams were when he was younger.

"My love, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," is all that Bryan softly says into her right ear, and Anastasia just grins at the rush that goes through her entire body as his deep voice tickles her skin.

"What was your biggest dream when you were younger or even now; what is the one thing that you would not have minded in doing, or mind having right now?"

Bryan cannot help but be curious as to where this sudden interest is coming from, but he decides to answer her anyway, "To have my own ranch in the state of Texas in USA, to have lots and lots of cattle and call them my own."

Anastasia's jaw just drops at this answer, and she turns around to face Bryan, as he dips his head to look at the shocked face of his girlfriend.

"Are you serious, my love?"

Bryan nods his head while gracing Anastasia with a warm smile, "I can see myself being a cattle owner, riding on a horse's back as I gather the cattle, or even taking long rides on my horse with my significant other while we watch the sun go down on our beautiful piece of land. That had always been my one big dream, and it will forever remain my big dream."

Anastasia still cannot believe what she is hearing right now; never in a million years would she have thought that Bryan, the ex mobster, would have wanted his own ranch, so that he can ride in the fields on his horse's back and feel proud of his piece of land.

"You truly are an enigma sometimes, my love."

Bryan just chuckles at that, "Why would you say that, sweetness? Can't you see me on a horse with a cowboy hat, boots and a piece of hay in my mouth?"

"Well, no actually, and that is why it is so shocking to me, my love. I had not even suspected something like that."

"Now you know, sweetness, that I am actually a farmer by heart, not a mobster or some bad ass or something; just a regular farmer boy."

"Well, I'll be damned," Anastasia says in an American accent, and Bryan softly starts to laugh at that.

Anastasia turns around to face the white river once more, but this time Bryan wraps his arms around her, and she in return takes his gloved hands into hers, and she tries to entwine their fingers through the thick material of their gloves, and at last she does succeed, even if it is halfway.

Bryan rests his chin on Anastasia's left shoulder as he also continues to look out over the river.

"If, in another life time I get to have my cattle ranch, I want you to be my significant other who goes horse riding with me in the sunset on our ranch, sweetness," Bryan says in a soft tone to Anastasia, his heart picking up pace as he says these few words.

Anastasia gives Bryan's hands a tight squeeze, "I cannot imagine myself being on a better place, my love, other than being by your side on a horse on our piece of land."

Bryan kisses the left side of Anastasia's head before he turns his attention back to the river, his mind on the mission that lies ahead, 'Come on, Bryan, it is time. You cannot stall this anymore; four months has already been too long, and you cannot waste another second longer with your selfishness.'

Bryan kisses the top of Anastasia's head once more while scrunching his closed eyes together because he is about to do a very, very painful thing, but it has to be done.

"Sweetness," he says softly while again resting his chin on her left shoulder, "it is time; it is time to meet Ray.

Anastasia only closes her eyes when she hears Bryan say that, and even though she has always wanted to hear him say it, now that he has said it, she is not feeling so good about it at all. In all honesty, she does not want to leave Bryan's side, not now, not ever. She wants to stay with him, to wake up next to him every morning, and to fall asleep in his arms every night.

However, this is what she has been training for the last four years, to join the mob and to get to the killer, but now that the training is finally done, it is the every last thing that she wants to do.

Anastasia finally takes a deep breath without taking her eyes away from the river after opening them once more, "What is the first thing that I have to do, my love?"

---

So, who is excited to see what Ana has to do next?

Okay, my little announcement is about the next chapters and their titles:

- Chapter 26 - Ray Kon ( Part I )

- Chapter 27 - Ray Kon ( Part II )

AND THEN...

- Chapter 28 - Mya Azarov, meet the black phoenix of Russia

So, can anyone guess what chapter 28 will be about? I will give you a hint: it is something that many of you has been waiting for to happen :-D

If my life is spared and my God still wants me here on earth, chapter 28 should be up at the end of October, and although it seems far now, I can promise you with how time if flying, it is not that far.

As always, I would like to hear your thoughts on this chapter, and if you have any questions about anything, please ask and I will try my best to answer it to the best of my capabilities.

Take care everyone and lost of love to all of you! ;-)

See you at the end of the month!