Page 15 of The Bratva's Forced Bride

I watched her closely, feeling out if it was something I wanted to pursue.

She was easy on the eyes, but like many others, she didn’t have anything particularly striking or interesting about her. She was just another young woman hoping for money, sex, or love. Maybe even all three.

She would’ve been a temptation to me, from the way she swayed her hips and wasn’t shy to tell me what she wanted through her body alone. But just watching her made my stomach turn.

We hadn’t even been there that long, but with the music pounding, lights flashing, and the presumptuous woman on my lap, I had had enough.

My mind drifted to the woman in my condo, and even if she struck a nerve with me before, being there with her sounded more appealing. I wanted peace and quiet, even if I agreed to go with Elias.

I wasn’t legally married yet, but having another woman on me didn’t have the same appeal. It wasn’t how I wanted to start things.

The thought annoyed me. Before I took Grace, I didn’t realize how the prospect of marriage would sour my perspective of the pursuit. Or how it would turn me into someone who couldn’t stand clubs at the drop of a time.

“No more,” I mumbled to the young lady, moving her off me as nicely as I could manage despite my irritation. “Keep him busy.”

She gave me a slightly hurt look but did as I said and gravitated to Elias and the other two.

His face lit up, and he gladly welcomed the third. The trio danced around him, touching him and flirting as they wished.

He didn’t have the heart to say no, although I doubt any part of him wanted to.

“You are the best friend a guy could ask for,” Elias said, lifting his glass to me. He was like a kid on Christmas morning, and I didn’t want to dampen his fun.

I gestured to him as I stood and peeled myself away from the VIP lounge.

Other dancers and young women tried to get my attention as I made my way toward the back of the club, but I denied them all and wondered what I planned to do with myself. The thought of catching some air out back sounded fine enough to me.

Before I could reach the door, I halted as Dimitri stepped out from one of the conference rooms. My stomach dropped at once, and my blood went cold.

We were never fully briefed after the Dominic situation. At least we didn’t do one-on-one. I was sure he heard through the chain of command, at least.

“Ah, there you are,” he said, eyeing me.

“Dimitri,” I started, urging the effects of the whiskey to ease away. Being caught by him didn’t make it any easier. “We haven’t had the chance to go over everything…”

I was more than prepared for Dimitri to unload his raw anger onto me—to ream me out immediately.

But the smirk I received only made me confused. He clapped a hand on my shoulder.

“Leveraging your marriage on a stolen product? I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Just barely grasping for words, I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t read him.

I had been around Dimitri long enough to know his cues and mannerisms, but something about that interaction had me stun locked.

When I didn’t say anything, he just laughed.

“I made Vik spill about what happened. Congrats on finding yourself a fiancée,” he said with a suggestive glint in his eyes. “I hope for everyone’s sake that she’s useful.”

Deeply confused by the apparent coolness in his tone but aware of the hidden warning in his words, I knew there was more to it than a friendly congratulations.

I needed to get ahead of it before things could get out of hand. “About the warehouse—”

“Oh, I’m furious about that, trust me,” Dimitri said, smile deepening with that concealed rage. He clapped my shoulder again. “But I’m trying not to rain on your parade until you’re married. You fumbled it, Yaro. Badly. I’m counting on you to find a way to make up for what was lost.”

There was no missing his hidden warnings, even if he did an excellent job of putting me off-kilter enough to know things wouldn’t end well for me if I didn’t fix what I had done. Even so, there was a small relief in knowing he would take it easy on me in the meantime.

At least I even had the chance to make it right.

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