Page 11 of The Bratva's Innocent Pregnant Bride
“Can we just be cool about this, please?” I whispered.
“What’s that?” he asked loudly, leaning close enough I could feel his warm breath on my ear. He could hear me just fine.
I jolted up, volunteering to sit at the kids table ten feet away. “So I can get to know them,” I explained.
“Nonsense, you’re our guest tonight,” Katie said. Everyone else agreed and Dan tugged me back down with a look of triumph, his hand lingering on my arm a little too long.
“Tell me all about yourself,” he said, his eyes dropping briefly to my chest. “Paisley, is it?” The low rumble was the sameas when he uttered my name while he kissed his way down my neck. “I bet someone like you has some good secrets.”
I felt much too warm, both remembering liking that gleam in his eyes last night and pissed off he was talking about secrets in front of his whole family. Who I worked for.
“If so, I’d love to hear all about them,” I said airily, wishing the words back as soon as they were out.
“Maybe later,” he said for my ears only, instantly turning to answer a question from someone across the table, as if I wasn’t about to burst into angry flames.
He kept up a steady stream of innuendoes in between chatting with the others. Thankfully, most of his obnoxious hints flew under the radar, but I caught every one.
“Can we make hot chocolate later?” one of the kids called from the smaller table.
Dan looked straight at me, burning me up with a scorching glance at my mouth. “I hope so,” he said, never taking his eyes off me. “I love the taste of hot chocolate.”
No one would know that he’d murmured that as he licked my lower lip in the bar last night. No one but me, and my clear and obvious embarrassment was practically cracking him up.
He was deliberately trying to work me up and to my dismay, he was succeeding. Maybe it was stress, but I wanted to knock him out. He was acting as bad as the creeps at Axon who couldn’t keep their eyes or their hands to themselves, always making little remarks and never getting called out for it because they were higher up in the company. Dan was obviously a favorite in his family, so who’d ever believe he was being a jerk to the nanny?
I couldn’t believe I actually spent the night with this guy. He was definitely an expert smooth talker but it was all bullshit.
Now I was seeing his true colors, draining all the magic from our shared passion. As charming and sweet and absolutely amazing as he’d been last night, he was doubly infuriating, weaselly, and smarmy tonight. He was just a rude, gorgeous jerk and if I hadn’t been regretting the one night stand already, I was starting to.
The worst part was how sure of himself he was, teasing me in low tones so no one could hear. The lift of his eyebrows, the searing looks, the secretive grins. He must think I would cave and go crawling into his room as soon as everyone else was asleep.
It seemed like I was finally safe when one of the wives across from me asked me some questions about myself, forcing Dan to speak to his cousin on the other side of him for a while and leave me alone. I mentioned I sometimes liked to sketch but was no good at it and Daria and I began chatting about hobbies and how she was currently into knitting.
“I finally think I found something I can stick with,” she said, offering to show me the sweater she’d been working on.
Her husband Ivan was a few seats down and added in a list of things she’d been trying and discarding. “We have a room full of craft supplies that have only been used once and every time she says she’s certain she’s found her one true hobby. Next week it’ll be something else.”
Daria reached around and swatted him playfully on the shoulder. “No, this time it’s really it. Look at all the hats I made for everyone. Who cares if I gave up a couple things after a few tries?”
“About twenty things after one try,” Ivan said, making everyone laugh.
Dan turned his attention back to me. “You’d never give something up after just one try, would you, Paisley?” he asked, dripping sarcasm I prayed no one else picked up.
The look in his eyes was fierce and direct, daring me to pretend I didn’t know what he was talking about. Jerk. Big handsome jerk.
Did he think I’d cower? I turned to face him, ignoring the heat rushing up my chest to inflame my face. “You know what?” I said, staring him down. “If I’m not impressed with something, then yes, I give it up without a backward glance. Without a goodbye.”
There. That shut him up and when the kids all got up and started running around, I leaped up as well, volunteering to read them stories to settle them down before bedtime. I was retreating, but after a small victory. Hopefully I got my message across, and I meant to avoid Dan like the plague for the next three weeks.
It shouldn’t be hard since I was already surrounded by the small hoard of kids as they led me to their playroom. They would take up most of my time and prowling jerks like Dan would be too busy picking up snow bunnies to have time for children’s activities.
Chapter 7 - Daniil
I woke up alone after the best night of my life, not to mention hung over. Paisley was actually gone, when I thought we’d spend the whole day together. I never did that with one night stands, that was how women got ideas about relationships. But there I was looking for another night or two, or as long as she was staying. But she was gone without a trace.
Trying to shake it off, I wondered why I cared so much. Yes, it was mindblowing, but there were plenty of women vying for my attention before I spotted her in that crowd last night. Who would be her replacement? None of them seemed to stack up in my memory, not after Paisley.
Hell, this wasn’t like me at all. I had to shake off this odd yearning. After I ate breakfast and showered and walked around the resort, putting off going up to the lodge and acting like I wasn’t searching for Paisley, I had to admit she was still on my mind. And not going anywhere.
