Page 9 of The Bratva's Innocent Pregnant Bride
“You really are a good girl,” I marveled.
“Scare you?” she asked, showing a saucy side I liked very much.
I pretended to think it over. “Yes, actually,” I said, making her laugh.
Of course she didn’t scare me in the slightest. I remembered she said she was there for work, maybe had come to the bar straight from her job, dressed the way she was. When I asked her about it, honestly interested, she shrugged.
“Just a temporary job. I’m actually from LA.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she looked like she wished she could take them back. But why?
“Me too,” I said.
Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “With that accent?”
“You don’t like it?” I laid it on thicker.
“I love it, but it’s not a typical California accent.”
“I’m Russian, from Moscow. I’ve lived in LA for about a year. Family business.” She asked me to say something in Russian, and I told her she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen and that she was going to be mine.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“That you’re quite pretty.” I reached across the table to tap her nose as she smirked, her cheeks turning rosy again.
I kept asking questions that she artfully dodged, and I wondered why I was trying so hard. Any other woman would have been in my bed by now, why spend so much time talking? We ended up back on the dance floor, eventually shutting down the bar. Sweaty and overheated, I took her hand and led her outside into the hotel’s courtyard.
A dusting of feather light snow fell from the dark sky and she looked up, opening her mouth to catch a snowflake on her tongue. In my entire life, not even as a child, had I done such a simple thing, so I mimicked her, making her laugh softly.
We walked past the many Christmas trees, winking with bright white lights, their branches drooping under the snow. It was almost too quiet after the bludgeoning noise of the bar and we spoke in hushed tones. The moment I noticed her shivering, I gathered her in my arms.
A groan escaped me as soon as her body was crushed to mine. Her head tipped back and I claimed her mouth again. I wrapped the edges of my jacket around her, pulling her closer. Her lips were cold and wet with snow but they soon heated as I slid my tongue between them. My hand found its way under her jacket, under the edge of that sedate blouse that was somehow the sexiest thing I’d seen. Her back was smooth and hot, but she shivered again, pressed against my body.
“It’s too cold out here,” I said. She nodded, her lips still parted, her eyes searching mine. Wrapping my arms around her, I lifted her off her feet. “If you have a room here, you won’t be sleeping in it tonight.”
She dipped her head and kissed me wildly as I carried her into the hotel toward my suite.
Chapter 6 - Paisley
I woke up from an amazing dream to find it wasn’t a dream. I was tangled up with the most gorgeous man I’d ever met, who I actually spent the night with. I stayed perfectly still, casting my eyes over every inch of Dan that I could see. My head rested in the crook of his arm, his hard chest beneath my chin. Flat, muscular abs led to the sheet that lay haphazardly over his powerful thighs. One of my legs was flung across him and I slowly began to ease it off.
What did I do? Oh, I wasn’t drunk in the slightest. The spiked cocoa had long worn off with all the dancing we did, so I remembered every glorious second. My body was deliciously sore and craving more of his touch. That was what had intoxicated me last night. That and his kisses, his smiles and laughter, the intensity in his green eyes whenever he looked at me. And oh my God, those hands.
But really, what did I do? As the memories washed over me, making me feel too hot despite being naked and only half covered with a sheet, self incrimination swooped in. Falling into bed with a stranger was the epitome of stupid and rash, the two things I promised myself I wouldn’t be when I was busy worrying about my company possibly being riddled with psychotic murderers.
Great, now that was all rushing back. I had my leg off of Dan and now I began working on sliding out from under his protective arm. Closing my eyes, I breathed him in, one last time, because I certainly wasn’t going to see him again. Not much time for cavorting with random hot men while I was running after a little kid. The way he smelled, like macho leather cologne and the fresh snow we’d walked around in last night, made me want to lick him.
Oh my God, since when did I want to lick anyone? I had to get out of there fast.
Thankfully he was fast asleep, knocked out from our wild antics. I only hoped he was way drunker than he acted so he wouldn’t wake up before I could slip away. As the sheets shifted and revealed more of his Adonis body, fresh memories made my cheeks feel like they were on fire. Part of me wished he would wake up and I even considered dropping my shoes as I put them on.
I made it out, and tried not to feel any regret as I carefully shut the door to his deluxe suite behind me. Scurrying downstairs to my own room, as pristine as when I left it to head down to the bar last night, I changed into my snow gear and grabbed my board.
I needed to clear my head. It had snowed all through the night and even though it was still early, there were plenty of people lined up waiting for the lifts. The only stop I made was a quick pass through the resort’s breakfast buffet. It was a huge change from yesterday when the jarring information about Axon’s missing employees had made me think I’d never want to eat again. Now I was ravenous and shoved in some sausage biscuits so I’d have energy on the slopes.
At the top, I lined up my board, pausing to stare at the breathtaking scenery. It wasn’t currently snowing and the bright blue sky was almost blinding reflected back against the miles and miles of snow. It had been two years since I’d been out doing what used to be my favorite thing in the world, what I thought would be my whole life. My last year of college and first year in the corporate world sucked up all my free time, and in truth, snowboarding had been somewhat melancholy for me after my injury stole my childhood dreams.
There was none of that now, just the urge to feel the wind whip across my face and the rush as I headed down the mountain. I picked a moderately easy trail, not wanting to have to think too hard, just needing to fly.
As I jetted downward, I let out a whoop, eagerly looking around for the first spot I could get a little air between me and the earth. By the time I was at the bottom, I was exhilarated and breathless and couldn’t wait to get back up to go again. But my mind was anything but clear.
