Page 66 of Baby for the Bratva

“I’m… a bit speechless,” she finally says, taking a sip of her tea. Her eyes widen and she looks down at her cup. “Wow, this is so good!”

I laugh, raising my cup and taking a sip of my own. “It’s Naka tea. Really quite nice.”

“It’s incredible,” she says. “Jesus, what were we even talking about?”

I smirk. “The wedding. A big one with a lot of guests, or a secret little runaway adventure?”

She clicks her tongue at me. “Now, now, we haven’t even agreed on this little proposal yet.”

“It’s not an instant yes for you?” I ask, still surprised that she isn’t moved by the ten million dollar offer.

She shrugs, paying more attention to her tea than to me. “Yeah, that part is great, but since this is a business proposal and not a romantic one, there’s got to be some rules.”

“Name them,” I reply, leaning back in my seat and folding my arms over my chest.

I’m prepared to do just about anything it takes to have her as my bride and get those annoying bounty hunters off my back. I’ll be safe in the United States, and I’ll be with the most beautiful woman in the world. There’s literally no downside.

Stella pouts her lips, thinking for a moment as the jazz band hit a faster number. The energy in this place is insane, and it’s making me want to dance. I don’t care if nobody else is. I’ve never been shy.

But I have to wait to hear what she has to say. I’m so close to closing on this offer that I can taste it in my mouth. I can’t taste her in my mouth, and I’m dying to get a piece of the real thing.

Stella makes me wait to hear her terms, sipping on her tea and looking up at the tree branches swaying above us. A leaf flutters down onto the table, and she picks it up, twirling it around in front of her before finally looking at me again. “Okay, I got it.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“You’ve managed to take a budding romance and turn it into something to save your ass, so I think it’s only fair that I do the same. But it won’t be my ass that I’m saving, it’ll be my heart.”

My stomach drops like I’m on a roller coaster, and I feel pinpricks on the bottom of my feet. This can’t be good.

She lays the leaf down on the table. “I want you to understand that I really do like you, but if I’m going to be your wife for political reasons, then it’ll be strictly platonic. I don’t want to be strung along, so no more of the romantic stuff.”

My insides are eating me up at this point. It’s my greatest fantasy and my worst nightmare rolled into one sickening deal. I want to shoot myself for telling her about this idea so soon. I’ve ruined everything we have going and lost any hope of making this a long-term arrangement.

Strictly platonic. The idea alone makes me want to pull out my gun and put a bullet in my head.

“You think you’re going to be able to resist me once we’re in bed together? Husband and wife don’t sleep in separate rooms,” I say, trying to save the situation with a little charisma and a smile.

No luck. She gives me a look like she’s thoroughly fed up with my bullshit. “We might find ourselves in the same room some nights, but you’ll be sleeping on the floor.”

I laugh. “No way.”

“Yes way, and you’d better enjoy me while you can, because once the knot is tied and the money is in my bank account, I’ll be off limits.”

Her wording is all I need to know that she doesn’t really want this romance to end between us, either.

So, even if I have to beg on my knees for her once we’re married, I’ll win her over again. She might be able to resist me for a week, or maybe even a month, but night after night, month after month, and she’s going to break.

“It’s a deal,” I say, standing up and smoothing out the front of my shirt. “But until you’re wearing that ring, there aren’t any rules.”

“No rules, and no limits,” she says with a wink.

I hold out my hand, already swaying to the music. “Let’s dance to that.”

She can’t hold back a smile as she slips her hand into mine and I pull her out onto the dance floor. The band picks up the tempo, and I feel the energy surge inside of me. Tonight, I’m going to dance like there’s no tomorrow, because as far as I know, there isn’t one.

I wasn’t expecting Stella to keep up with me, but she knows how to dance surprisingly well. Her hips move like she was born to the roll of the snare and the blare of the trumpets.

I put my hands on her hips, following them as she slinks along the dance floor. Everyone is looking at us, but I barely see them. All I can see is the woman of my dreams seducing me to the music in a sparkling blue dress.

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