Page 226 of Bratva Jewels Box Set
Maxim tenses at my words, but only I notice it.
Dmitri is glaring at me, his lip curling as he stares. He clearly doesn’t like me calling him out.
An older gentleman turns to me, missing the tension that is radiating between Maxim and Dmitri. “I can’t believe you’re one of the famous jewels.” He no longer sees me as Maxim’s respectable date, all he sees are the parts of me that he wants. I’m just anatomy to him.
“I’m excited to be here. It’s rare that I’m let off my leash.”
The men all chuckle at my joke, but the women just glare.
I suspect they know exactly what their disgusting husbands get up to. I mean, these women are half the men’s ages.
“Diamond was always very fond of the leash,” Dmitri says.
Maxim jerks beside me at that comment. I grab his arm again, letting my fingers dig into his bulging bicep, hoping to calm him down.
“Maxim is a very good master, and I’m thankful every day that he found me.”
I’m hoping he can read between the lines. I need him to calm down.
“Wow, Maxim, you’re going to have to tell me your secret. I could never tame her the way you seem to have. Maybe I need to learn from the master.” Dmitri says the words slowly, his lip curling over the word “master”.
Maxim growls under his breath.
“That might be a good idea, your skills are lacking in that department, Dmitri,” I say, adding fuel to the fire.
Dmitri’s hand has turned white from gripping his glass too hard, and his face is turning a nice shade of red, but he’s trying to contain himself.
Then I hear Maxim gasp as if he has seen a ghost.
And he has.
It’s her.
30
MAXIM
Holy shit!
This can’t be happening.
No!
The chair beside Dmitri scrapes as she pulls it out. My heart is thumping in my chest. I feel like I’m looking at an apparition. She seems so familiar, yet she isn’t. Her raven hair is cut in a severe bob, her face is thinner, her skin is tanned, but her eyes, those emerald-green eyes are still the same, even though there’s no life behind them.
Grace’s hand tightens around my arm, and I hear a tiny gasp beside me.
“Be calm, Maxim,” Sergei says in my ear, but everything around me has disappeared, and all I see is my dead sister. She looks beautiful, dressed in an elegant strapless gown, looking more like a woman than the girl I remember. Then I see it—she’s sporting a similar choker to Grace, but in her name’s sake gem, Emeralds.
Dmitri notices my interest in the woman sitting beside him, and he smirks. He thinks I’m looking at her as a sexual conquest, but he couldn’t be more wrong. He obviously has no idea at allwho she is. He turns and looks at my sister, and his tattooed hand wraps around her neck, pulling her to him. His lips meet hers as he kisses her, and we’re not talking about a peck. He’s claiming her, letting the men at the table know she is his to do with as he wants. My trigger finger is becoming very twitchy.
“Easy, Maxim, he’s showing off,” Sergei says into my earpiece. “Don’t react, he wants you to cause a scene.”
I take in a deep breath and try to calm myself down. I pick up my glass of wine and take a sip, an air of indifference coming over me as I channel all my training into dealing with this situation.
“Your lips taste as sweet as your pussy.” Dmitri smiles at Elena.
I notice her blush as she looks at him adoringly.
