Page 75 of Baby for the Bratva

“Because I have a plan,” he says, a devious little smile returning to his face. “We now know who’s behind the bounty, and that shit goes both ways.”

It takes a moment for the realization to set in, but once it does, I let out a gasp. “You’re going to put a bounty on him?”

“Actually, I’m just going to have him killed. It’s easy and cheaper than a bounty, and since he’s not a government official, it won’t cause any waves when he goes down. In and out, just like that.” He snaps his fingers.

I pull away from him, crossing my arms. “Well, if you have it all figured out, then why marry me at all?”

He chuckles, pulling me back into his arms. “Is it wrong to be crazy about you?”

I land with a thud against his thick chest. I can smell that incredible cologne on him, but it’s mixed with a deep musk from a hard day’s work. I want to dissolve in his arms and melt into his body, but I must resist him. I can’t let him win this easily.

“You’re crazy about what I can do for you, that’s all,” I say, pushing him back. “This marriage isn’t about love.”

“Says who?”

The second he says those words, my world stops. Everything inside of me is screaming to resist what he’s trying to say, but I’m afraid I’m not strong enough.

What he’s implying is too dangerous…

And I’m certain I’m going to get hurt.

35

Stella

Yuri tries to pull me back into his arms again, like it’s all a game, but I take a long step back to prevent him from grabbing me. I need time to process what he’s telling me.

“Says who, Stella?” he asks, doubling down on his question.

“Says you,” I say with an angry laugh. I jab my finger at him. “You’re the one paying me so much to marry you. That’s not for love, Yuri. That’s business. Are you not gaining something from this? Some sort of protection?”

“It will prevent future bounties,” he admits.

“Convenient,” I reply dryly.

“Hey, we’ve been over this before,” he says, softening his tone. “This works from every angle, not just from a business perspective. You’re the only one who wanted to strip away all the emotions from it, and I agreed because I’d rather have you in my life without the sex than have the sex and then lose you.”

The profoundness of his words startles me. I wasn’t expecting such a strong statement from him, but perhaps I underestimated how far he had fallen into this emotional trap with me. We’re both struggling to keep it together and we’re not even married yet.

“You really want me… that much?” I ask, my throat drying up as I speak. I can barely get the words out, even after working up some saliva in my mouth and swallowing.

Yuri nods earnestly, his blue eyes twinkling. His body language is begging me to trust him, but the trauma I’ve experienced with other men doesn’t allow me to. All I can see is the opportunity for him to screw me over somehow, even if he doesn’t realize it.

“I need more proof than a simple yes,” I finally say, but I uncross my arms to show him I’m not angry. I just want to make sense of all this, and it’s confusing and scary for me.

“How can I show you?” he asks, taking a careful step forward. He has his hands out with his palms up, still pleading for acceptance.

“I don’t know,” I admit, my voice shaky and dry again. “I think we should take things slower, at least.”

An innocent chuckle slips from his mouth as he takes another step. “Marriage isn’t exactly slow.”

I place my hand on my belly. Marriage isn’t slow, and neither is risking pregnancy by having unprotected sex twice. Still no period, as well. I’m running up on some real trouble if I’m actually trying to take things slowly.

“I’ll protect you. I swore to you before, and I’m swearing it again. I won’t let you get hurt,” he says, his voice now no more than a whisper. He takes another step toward me, his eyes pleading with me to accept what he wants for us.

Inside, my heart is screaming at me to jump into his arms and profess my love, to throw caution to the wind and do what I impulsively want to do.

But that’s what got me into this in the first place. Impulsiveness. I need to fix that about myself before I can have a healthy relationship.

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