Page 9 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

She sighs like a trip to one of the most beautiful spots in Miami is an inconvenience for her. What a workaholic. I can’t wait to show her that there is so much more to life than work. That she deserves so much more.

“That’s an order, Ella. If I catch you working here after—” I glance at my watch, “two o’clock, there will be consequences. Get home and pack your things.” Her eyes narrow, and I know she wants to dig in her heels and argue.

Much as I love the fiery side of her, what I want from her right now is obedience. To my surprise, I get it.

She stands and snaps her laptop shut, shooting me a not-so-professional glare as she bends to pack her bag. I take the opportunity to admire her round backside, flicking my gaze back to her eyes just as she turns to face me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She sweeps by me, adding emphasis on her last words. “Mr. Milov.”

***

“This is… holy cow.” Ella’s breathless wonder is all the payoff I’ll ever need in life.

She’s wide-eyed, taking in the hotel room as if she’s won the lottery. I’m relishing the high from her awe and couldn’t give a shit about the bay view just off the bedroom or the private terrace with a plunge pool. Luxury now has a whole new definition, and it’s Ella’s happiness.

“Not bad for a business trip, eh?” I can’t help prodding after how reluctant she was to come on this trip at all. Even with our first-class plane seats, she didn’t indulge in the champagne, and I was starting to wonder if she could relax or if that night at the club had really been a one-off event after all.

I follow her from room to room as she takes in the full spread of the suite, savoring her little gasps each time she spots a new delight. She stops suddenly and spins, and I’m only a few inches behind her, close enough to count the freckles on the bridge of her nose.

“This is your room, though, right?” she asks, tilting her head to look up at me. “Mine isn’t like this, is it? Palatial, I mean.”

Now the fun part. “Oh, did I forget to mention? It’s our room.”

Her face goes white. She takes a tiny step back from me, but I push forward into her space.

“You can’t be serious,” she sputters. “There’s only one bed!”

“I’ve noticed,” I reply, catching the way her chest starts to rise and fall with her nervous breathing. Her low-cut shirt has been teasing me all day.

“We can’t,” she protests, shaking her head in denial. “I’ll go to the front desk and see if they have a second room available. They must have something. Anything.”

She begins to walk past me, and I catch her wrist, stopping her abruptly. My fingers wrap around her arm, gently but firmly. “Ella. This is our room. This is where we’re staying. We’re sharing a bed.”

Another head shake. She’s refusing to look at me. “Absolutely not. It is so inappropriate.”

“Ella,” I repeat, tugging her closer, and she doesn’t resist. “We’re sharing a bed.”

Her cheeks are pink. She stares at the ground like it might save her, but she’s not pulling away from me. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

She’s quiet as a mouse, but I catch the words. “I won’t have sex with you. I promise.”

Finally, she looks up at me with that innocent, doe-eyed face I remember from our very first night. Her lips are slightly parted, and it takes everything in me not to kiss her. I lean in close, my lips just brushing her cheek on my way to her ear.

“Not until you beg me to,” I add.

She makes a soft little gasp that sends blood rushing straight to my dick, and I almost take my promise back right then and there.

“That’s never going to happen.” Ella’s denial is firm, but her body is making a liar of her, the way she’s pressing against me like she can’t make herself step away. “We could spend a thousand nights in this room, sleep next to each other for all of them, but I still wouldn’t give in to you.”

I bring her hand up to my mouth and flip her hand palm up, exposing the soft underside of her wrist. The skin there is translucently pale, and I kiss the blue veins, following their winding path down her arm. This woman completely undoes me. Even this, a few chaste kisses, are enough to make my head spin with desire.

“We’ll see.”

“I mean it,” she insists, but her voice is high like she can’t catch her breath. “Do you believe me?”

There’s not a chance in hell I’m not getting her naked again, and I’m pretty sure we both know it. She’s got her pride, though, so I choose my words carefully.

“I believe you spend every minute beside me thinking about how good it felt to have me between your thighs,” I reply, punctuating my sentence with another kiss.

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