Page 31 of Savage Bratva King

For a couple of moments, I get to study her without anyone questioning why, and without her expression clouded by the knowledge that I am solely responsible for her captivity. She seems to glow in the sunshine as if she and the sun are connected in some way that no one else understands. Her long curls glint like molten gold.

Then she notices me and smiles, and that twisted serpent inside me uncoils just a little.

“Game on.” She slants her eyes at me and moves closer so that Sergei and Tamara can’t hear her next words. “I thought you might not show because you’re afraid of losing.”

“I never lose, Gianna.”

Her lips quirk into a lopsided smile. “Fighting talk, huh?” Then, “Have you been out here all night learning the shortcuts?”

It’s my turn to lean closer. “You will have to find out for yourself.”

We step into the maze together. I can almost feel Sergei’s eyes boring into the back of my skull, and I don’t even want to think about what Tamara would like to do to the little printzessa. But I also know that, whatever happens, they will never question my methods or motives.

“Do you ever not wear a suit?”

“No. I have special wetsuits made for the shower.”

She keeps her eyes fixed straight ahead, but I catch the smile tilting the corners of her mouth. The silk skirt swishes around her legs, and I can see the mound of her pussy through the flimsy fabric out of the corner of my eye.

I lead her deeper into the maze this time. When we eventually stop, she turns three-sixty trying to get her bearings.

“Ready?”

She takes a deep breath. “Do I get a head start again?”

“I will count to ten before I follow you.” She walks off, her pace picking up, as I call out, “May the best man win.”

“Or woman…” Her voice is like a light switch being flicked as she disappears around the corner.

I count to twenty. Gianna won’t win because she wants it too badly. She is desperate to beat me, and desperation breeds panic and bad decisions. Her father should’ve taught her that the only way to win is to imagine yourself the victor, and the universe will do the rest.

Sure enough, I’m waiting for her just inside the entrance when she arrives, a fine sheen of sweat on her upper lip and collecting in her cleavage.

Her shoulders drop when she realizes that she has lost for a second time. “Did you cheat? You must’ve cheated. How did you get here without me seeing you?”

“I took my time, Gianna, like the tortoise and the rabbit.”

“Hare.” She shakes her head, her curls tumbling around her rosy face. “The tortoise and the hare.”

“Come here.” I hook my finger at her, and she walks towards me, her expression unreadable. “I believe you owe me more than a kiss today.”

She moistens her lips with the tip of her tongue but, unlike over breakfast, this reaction isn’t calculated. “I haven’t kissed you yet. You might not want more when you realize that the reward isn’t up to standard.”

Does she really have no idea how beautiful she is? She is worth so much more than a bartered bride for an Irish mob leader who hasn’t even put the feelers out on the streets of Chicago for his missing bride-to-be.

“Maybe you should let me be the judge of that.”

The silence closes around us like a cocoon as she leans against me. Standing on tiptoes, Gianna wraps her arms around my neck and presses her lips against mine.

I know I can’t force this. I’m not an asshole who goes around taking women by force—any man who does that deserves to get his cock chopped off and shoved down his own throat in a ball sandwich—but I need to do this at Gianna’s pace, or the entire mission might as well be aborted right now.

But the instant her tongue slides between my lips, my body reacts. I entwine my fingers in her hair and crush her lips with mine. I push my tongue into her mouth, her soft groans only fueling my urges. I can’t get enough of her. I want to be inside her, filling every part of her with me, blurring the lines between our bodies until I no longer know where my body ends and hers begins.

“Leonid…” She pulls away long enough to breathe my name against my lips before I smother them again.

I might be aching to dip my cock inside her, but I’m not so blind that I know she isn’t squirming. She isn’t struggling to get away from me. She wants this as badly as I do.

“We have a deal, Gianna.”

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