Page 13 of Bratva Bastard

“You know,” he said, giving my hand a light squeeze. “Andrei can go suck a dick in economy for all I care, I’m telling you the guy is a moron, please don’t worry about it.”

Catching his drift, I said, “Well, if you say so. So, how did you get that wound?”

“Let’s just say it was a domestic dispute.”

Damn. Just what kind of domestic dispute was that to get such a wound? The bandage was huge, so I could only assume the wound was, too. How do you respond to that, anyway?

It didn’t matter because before I could respond, the flight attendant had returned, a sour look on her snooty face. Her tone was perky, but stern and rude. Pretty much like every other encounter I’d had with her thus far.

“Ma’am, you need to return to economy, that man that took your seat is much too large for those seats.” she said, a smug, mocking sneer on her face.

“Oh, that’s alright,” I said. “I don’t think he minds too much.”

“Ma’am, you need to return. If you don’t return, then I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” Maxim snapped, cutting her off. “Go on, I’d love to hear it, because from what I’ve seen today, the service on this airline is atrocious! You completely disregarded this woman’s cries for assistance, despite the fact that she was becoming more anxious, and you failed to make any effort to accommodate her needs in any way. However, I’ve seen you move that man,” he pointed to an older wealthy-looking man with gray hair and a gray beard, “because his original seat was too stiff.”

The woman dropped her head in humiliation. Finally, it wasmyturn to wear a triumphant, cocky smile.

“Now, I’d suggest you let us resume our conversation, and attend to the other passengers on this flight.”

Baffled—and beyond grateful—I thanked him for standing up for me. He smiled, assuring me it was no problem, and then we laughed about the look on her face. We spent the rest of the trip—including the midway stop—talking. In 23 hours, we really were becoming besties, a joke I would later tell Gabby simply for her reaction.

All was well, until it came time to land again, this time in Brazil. The attendants announced we’d be landing soon, and like the last time we stopped, I grabbed Maxim’s arm as he coaxed me, talking me down as the plane landed.

My breathing was erratic, slowly steadying, and my nails dug into his skin. Just as we were getting close to the landing strip, we encountered some turbulence, causing me to tilt out of my seat and smack my face directly into his injured shoulder. He reached down and held me against him, making circular motions with his fingertips down and around my back. Chills made me tremble beneath his touch.

This felt incredible, yet it was completely inappropriate. I began to back away, knowing that I probably just aggravated his injured shoulder, but he pulled me in closer. With no words spoken, his fingers continued their caress, forcing my eyes to roll into the back of my head. I hadn’t been touched like that since—well, ever.

“Just breathe,” he softly demanded. I did as he commanded and concentrated on my breathing, and his soft touches. His fingers continued their caress, and before I knew it, we landed smoothly.

He slowly lifted me off of him. Looking me dead in the eyes, he said, “Nothing like a little distraction to get your mind off the landing, huh?”

Someonekill me because I just let a complete stranger who I just officially met for the first time hold me and caress me. It was quite embarrassing.

After the plane landed, and we’d been sitting there for a few minutes, I glanced down to his arm, covered in scratch marks from my nails. “Oh, God! I’ve made your arm bleed a bit, I’m so sorry for hurting you. And after you’ve already been injured. I believe I have a band-aid someplace in my bag.” I reached for my purse and began searching for the dreaded band-aid. I insisted on putting it on him once I discovered it, but it was a pink princess band-aid. It was the only thing I had.

He snickered as he stood there with a half-cocked smile on his handsome face. “Don’t be concerned. I’ll heal. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, Crissy. Maybe I’ll see you around Trancoso.”

6

Maxim

Iknow Misha and Dimitry insisted I keep a low profile, and go straight from the plane to Dmitriy’s home, but after such a long flight I needed some coffee.

While I was at the coffee shop, at the counter, I saw her again. Waiting for Crissy was her mother and some man. Maybe her brother? Or her boyfriend, though she never mentioned one.

She hugged them both, and the man wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a kiss.

Definitely boyfriend. That, or a weird brother-sister relationship.

Damn, why didn’t she tell me?But what should I care, huh? It’s not like we were close. We only just met. But why wouldn’t she mention him? And then tell me to stop by where she works?

Maybe she was being nice. She seemed the type who would be polite to anyone because she has manners. And besides, it’s not like we were that close. We only spent 20 of the 23 hours flight talking and having a great time. Maybe I expected too much. And why would I even expect anything?

This right here was why I never paid attention to women for reasons outside of sex. A simple conversation had my head spinning, had me second-guessing everything we’d said or done.

I shook it off, and Andrei and I headed to the car, which was waiting outside the airport. I was met by a guy who brought me to a black SUV. Evidently, he was just the driver and would not be following me about; only Andrei, the enormous idiot, would have that privilege.

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