Page 23 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride
My body responds immediately, my heart fluttering at his charm.
Dammit, Angelika. Stop this.
“Good, we almost had a problem there,” I sass at him, trying to hide my grin.Don’t flirt back! He already made it clear you weren’t anything special that night.
Unable to look at his gorgeous body or handle his subtle charm for a second longer, I spin on my heels and march out of the little gym. I wanted to call my brother to get out of here. But after the call and the brief conversation with Diomid, even though I won’t be going home, I do feel better.
We’ve reached some sort of truce, and he’s right, things should be a little more pleasant around here with me not being so angry all the time.
Halfway up the stairs, headed back to the bedroom, I realize that I’m stuck here, and I should at least try to be nice to him.
My heart flickers with disappointment when I remember his words.You just happened to be the first girl I saw.
Ouch.
And I gave him my virginity.
Well, even though he’s clearly an asshole when it comes to women, at least he gave me an amazing first-time experience. He’s an asshole who knows how to please a woman.
A shiver of jealousy runs down my spine when I think about him with someone else, and I shove it away.
I don’t have time for stupid, pointless, jealous thoughts about a man who chose me at complete random from a club full of girls.
And I don’t have time to be so drawn to him either. His stupid charm and his stupid gorgeousness.
Pizza. That’s all I want.
And to survive however long I’m stuck here with him for.
Chapter 7 - Diomid
The kitchen light is glaringly bright, so I flick it off again and opt for the lighting beneath the cupboards, hanging over the countertops. It’s softer and doesn’t offend my eyes. I hardly ever like using the main lights in any room. Lighting should be a mood. Not an assault.
The shopping bags of pizza ingredients are sitting on the countertop. I reach into the brown paper bag and start unpacking it, lost in thought.
Oddly, Jaroslav had my back when Angelika called him and tried to convince him to let her come home. It felt good. And then of course, I got handed a perfect opportunity when he put her on the spot, asking questions she couldn’t answer. I saw the look in her face. I saw the panic and the guilt. And I saw the relief when I stepped in to cover for her.
I’m not stupid; I get that it’s the reason she suddenly became more open and agreeable toward me. I have a secret that she needs to be protected.
Yeah, it’s not like I want her brothers to know I slept with her either, but I won’t be in the same kind of predicament that she’d be in if they found out.
Thinking about brothers, I meant to call mine.
While Angelika is upstairs, and I can still hear the shower running, I pull my phone out and call Matvei.
“Hey man, how’s it going there?” he asks as soon as he answers.
“It’s good. I wanted to find out how things were on your side. Are you still working with Jaroslav on this? Offering ourhelp?” I lean my ass against the counter and fold one arm across my chest, holding the phone against my ear.
“Of course, we’re assisting in tracking down the Popovs, focusing our efforts on Bardil. We’re not yet sure whether the others were involved in choosing Angelika as a target or if he acted on his own in that regard. Either way, we’re after all of them.”
“That’s good. And what’s the word on the street about the auction venue being attacked?”
“Rumors about a pack of dark demons that came through there like hellfire,” Matvei laughs. “You sure it was just you?” he asks.
“I certainly didn’t bring my hell hounds along. I assume they’re embarrassed to admit that one guy did that much damage,” I smirk, proud of myself.
Sometimes my impulsive and reckless behavior is the thing that saves the day. In this case, it certainly did. Any logical person, in that same situation, would have been too smart to think they could take on an entire army of guards in a room full of highly dangerous Bratva men.
