Page 40 of The Bratva's Arranged Virgin Bride
Chapter 22 - Nat
All alone, I choked down some dinner. Nothing quite as nice as what Kolya would have made, but I refused to let him ruin my appetite. I didn’t even want to admit to myself how badly my feelings were hurt, and I struggled to get them under control with every forced bite of the boring ham sandwich.
As we drove home from such a wonderful day out, we passed his nightclub. He looked so proud of what he had accomplished with the place in such a short time that I wondered if he was considering going on the straight and narrow. Well, as much as any member of the Bratva could.
He might have argued with me if I brought it up, but there was a certain amount of honor in what my family did. At the very least, we didn’t screw over the people we were close to. Not usually, anyway.
It all came down to me imagining everything in Milan. We hadn’t become as close as I thought, or hoped, or wished. Everything I felt was foolishly one-sided. A silly crush on a suave older man, one who was handsome and daring and treated me like an equal.
Hmph. I took another bite of the sandwich, smiling to myself despite my bad mood. At least I knew I didn’t have daddy issues, because Kolya couldn’t be more different than my father.
It was walking into that art gallery in Santa Barbara. It had brought all those old feelings of betrayal after they’d been held at bay by the dam of Kolya’s heady charm. That was really the only time I forgot, when he was making me laugh or gasp with pleasure. And he’d been busy doing both. I got caught up, plain and simple.
After I ate, I cleaned up the mess I had made in the kitchen and sat outside listening to the ocean, barely visible on the other side of the dark expanse of sand. I read a few pages of a book and tried to work on a new painting, but what I was really doing was watching the time pass.
Hours went by, and Kolya still didn’t return. I was sick of waiting around and cursed myself for not trying to follow him, even though he was long gone by the time I got out of the shower. And if he suspected I was going to follow him, I might have been caught right away if he gave me the chance. Was he toying with me? I had to be crafty, think one step ahead of him.
I sent a message to Mat, asking him to have what I needed for me when we met, then went to bed, still grumpy but feeling good about my plan. The next day, Kolya acted no differently, made no excuses or apologies for disappearing on me the night before, and kept my own mouth shut.
While Masha and Lilia were still camping out at my father’s house, Mat, Daniil, and Rurik were housesitting for Max while he was in St. Petersburg. I was sure it was so they could have wild parties and invite over the kind of company their younger female cousins wouldn’t approve of, and not just doing Max and Brooke a favor. If they decided to stay in LA more permanently, which I was certain they would, they’d end up buying their own mansions or luxury high-rise apartments soon enough.
“Will your cousins settle down in Los Angeles?” Kolya asked as we wound up the long drive. It was like he had been reading my thoughts.
“I don’t really know,” I said, wondering if he was gathering information. It was exhausting not to trust anyone.
To my surprise, Daniil had decided to join us, and I wasn’t sure if I was delighted about it or not. He could be quick to anger and loved starting things. I had asked Mat to keep things light and not bring up anything to do with business, or our arrangement, if at all possible, and I prayed he had informed Dan of those wishes. There were still sports and the weather, and things seemed to start out okay as we had drinks and appetizers by the pool. It was going so smoothly that I felt safe to leave when Lilia pulled me away for a private chat.
As soon as we were in an enclosed alcove in the garden, I apologized again for getting the drop on her sister.
“Stop worrying about it. It’s good for Masha to be taken down a peg or two once in a while. To be honest, even though I’m worried about you, I’m glad she’s not the one in the marriage. She’s too hot-headed and would end up getting herself punished.”
Something made me jump to Kolya’s defense. “He’s not like that,” I said. “I haven’t felt afraid at all around him.” Of course, I wasn’t going to admit it was my own feelings I was afraid of.
Lilia saw through me and smiled knowingly. “I wonder if this marriage will last instead of being dissolved once they get what they’re after.”
I didn’t want to think about that. “I still don’t have any evidence of what Kolya’s up to,” I admitted. “If he’s up to anything. Or if Arkadi is involved. Um, has anyone spoken to Mila?”
After Mila made it plain she was staying married to Arkadi, my uncles’ wives did their best to bring them around to accepting it. They stayed in touch, though I was the only one who was still really hanging around with her up until the point Kolyaentered the picture. By then, my family would have circled the wagons, cutting her off completely. I felt a tinge of sorrow for her when Lilia shook her head. But then I remembered all this could have been avoided if Mila had been honest with me from the start.
“All you can do is keep trying,” my sweet cousin said.
I was sick of all the intrigue, but unless I was willing to give up my shot at revenge, I had to continue acting as a spy.
When we returned to the men, everything was different from the smiles and laughter of when we stepped away. Kolya looked pissed, and my cousins looked tense. As soon as they saw us, they eased back in their seats, striking up conversation about some football team or other and how their various stocks were doing. It looked like we had returned at just the right time, and no one came to blows.
Everything remained oddly charged but civil after that, all the way until after the delicious catered dinner Mat had ordered. As we headed back out to the pool for after-dinner drinks, Dan made some crack under his breath that had Kolya bristling. Something about keeping score.
What did it mean, and why did it suddenly throw Kolya into a fury he could barely contain? His jaw tightened, and his fists clenched at his sides. I moved in front of him, ready to grab his arm to keep him from swinging, but it wasn’t punches he had in mind. To my utter shock and confusion, he pulled me close, wrapping his arm around my back to press me to his body. His head swooped down, and he gave me a deep, lasting kiss. Did he forget who we were surrounded by? At the first touch of his lips, I started to forget myself, lost in the feel of his probing tongue and his hands roaming down my back. When he let me go, I was gasping and weak at the knees, as usual.
Why would he do something so foolish? Seeing the stormy faces of my overprotective cousins, the cloud of lust lifted, and I suddenly figured it out. I had been grateful that no one brought up the mortifying rules of the arrangement, but now it was clear they had reminded Kolya as soon as I was out of earshot. Pressure had been building all evening, and now he was basically marking his territory right in front of them. Showing them he was in charge. Of me.
What the actual hell was up with that? His macho display made me furious enough to want to shove away and slap him, but if I did that, all hell would surely break loose.
All hell broke loose anyway.
Dan flew over and tore Kolya away from me, his fist colliding with his jaw. The loud crack of bone-on-bone had me shrieking and trying to get in the middle of them before Kolya retaliated. Too late. Kolya swung, getting in a good, hard shot to Dan’s nose. Blood spurted, and somehow, I ended up getting shoved aside in their frenzy to tear each other apart.
I landed on the hard tile, gritting my teeth against the sharp pain radiating from my backside. Lilia hurried over to help me, shouting for them to stop. Of course, they didn’t listen, but thankfully, one of my cousins had some self-control. Mat stepped in between them and shoved them apart before any bones or furniture got broken.
