Page 2 of The Bratva's Weakness

These thoughts continue to race through my mind for the rest of the drive and by the time I pull up outside of the arrivals sectionof the airport, I’m frustrated and distracted, barely paying attention to my surroundings. I park, place my hazards on, and step out of the car, trying to see if I spot a man with dark hair and tattoos who looks like he could be a Jim.

Just as I’m wondering if I even came to the right terminal, I spot the most handsome man I have ever seen. Dark, wavy hair falls to just above his shoulders and, as soon as I spot the tattoos peeking out of the collar of his dark green t-shirt, I’m pretty sure I’ve found who I’m looking for.

Katie didn’t mention his tattoos were on his neck, or that his hair was so gorgeous, but I guess that would have been a strange way to describe her own brother.

I round the car and approach the man, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. I don’t have much—okay, make that any —experience with men. I’ve never even kissed a man before – the two high school boys that I exchanged a peck on the lips with don’t count - so I feel a bit shy approaching this random man, even though I know he’s my friend’s brother and I should feel safe with him.

He looks up from his phone as I approach, chocolate brown eyes meeting mine and I swear I feel instant butterflies. He looks at me curiously, and I realize I’ve been staring at him for way too long without saying anything.

“Are you Jim?” I ask, kind of hoping he says no so I don’t have to address my crippling attraction to him.

“Uh… yeah. Who are you?” he asks, his gruff voice sending a shock right through my core.Shit.

“Allie,” I say, brushing a lock of my blonde hair behind my ear. “I’m supposed to pick you up. And I’ve kind of been parked herefor way too long, so we need to get a move on.” I turn back to my car, popping the trunk as I round the back, hoping he follows.

He looks confused, like he’s debating whether he should actually get in the car. I assume Katie told him I was going to be getting him, so I’m not sure why he’s hesitating. I glance to the left where a policeman is glaring and starting to walk my way.

“The angry policeman is walking our way. Can we please hurry?” I basically plead with him; I’m not good with confrontation, and I definitely don’t have the money to pay for a parking ticket.

With an almost predatory snap of his head, he looks at the policeman, who missteps then stops altogether. The man turns back to me, his eyes slightly narrowed, darker than when I first approached him. For a moment, I think I should feel scared. But scared is far, far away from what my lady bits are feeling right now. My cheeks darken, and I hop into the driver’s seat, waiting. Finally, he walks towards the car and tosses his bag in the trunk before sliding in beside me.

God, he’s HUGE.

As his muscular body fills the seat beside me, I can’t help but wonder if maybe picking up Katie’s brother wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

Chapter Two

James

Well, I am definitely not the Jim this girl was looking for. But with her gorgeous blonde waves and mesmerizing hazel eyes, something inside me couldn’t resist getting into her car.

I’ve had a long few days, travelling all around trying to make a gemstone deal with what I’m hoping could be a partnership group in Colombia. The people I met there seemed eager to make a deal, and I think the emerald trade we were setting up could work out well for both of us.

Ever since I took over the “family business” from my father last year, I’ve been looking for more lucrative ways for us to make our money. Setting up a legit jewelry store to funnel some of our money through seemed like the best way to do that, and if I succeed in this emerald deal, we’ll be able to double our profits from last year and hopefully be able to move on from doing some of the shadier aspects of our business.

I’m exhausted, socialized out, and was really looking forward to getting home and not speaking to anyone until tomorrow, but the second I saw Allie, I knew I needed to adjust my plans. I probably should tell her I’m not who she was supposed to be picking up, but I don’t want the magic of this to be over quite yet.

I slide into the seat beside her and don’t miss the way her cheeks brighten when she looks at me.

Control yourself, O’Connor, I chide myself. But, for the better part of the year I have done nothingbutcontrol myself. Maybe it’s time I let myself have a bit of fun.

We pull out and when we’re on the highway I decide it’s time to break the silence. Hopefully, she’ll get a laugh out of this rather than thinking it’s creepy. I don’t want my time with her to end on a bad note—I don’t really want it to end at all, if I’m being honest.

“Allie?” She briefly turns to me and gives me a soft smile before turning her eyes back to the road.

“Yeah?” she asks, and I can’t help but notice how beautiful she looks from the side. Tan skin glowing with end of summer warmth, nails painted a soft pink that highlights her glow. She’s stunning, and for a moment I almost lose my nerve. But that’s not who I am. I don’t get nervous, especially around women who seem to be nearly a decade younger than me.

“I have to tell you… I’m not the Jim you were looking for. When you were insisting I get in your car, I decided what’s the harm. But you, uh, definitely were not supposed to be the one picking me up.”

She looks at me, mouth agape, and it makes me wonder what she’d look like on her knees for me. Before I can let my imagination run with that little picture, she lets out a screeched “WHAT?!” that nearly bursts my eardrums.

“Why the hell didn’t you say anything? I basically forced you into my car and now you’re telling me you’re not even the right guy. Oh my god, Katie is going to kill me,” she says, in a near breathless stream of her thoughts. I laugh. I can’t help myself, something about her rambling is so adorable.

“Don’t laugh,” she groans, and I can’t help but notice she’s made no effort to stop driving, which means she can’t be that upset. “What am I going to do about Jim? And what are the chances that you’re also a guy named Jim who vaguely matches his description—you even have tattoos!”

“I guess I’m not as unique as I thought,” I say, unable to keep the teasing out of his voice. “And I actually go by James. Tell you what, I’ll order a car for your friend’s brother—I know how much of a pain it can be to get a ride from the airport—what’s his last name?”

“Martin,” she says with another groan. “God. I try to do one favor and I can’t even get that right.”

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