Page 23 of The Bratva's Forced Bride

“Is that why you’re taking this so hard?” he asks curiously, opening my door for me.

I get in and turn the car on as he goes around the side and gets in.

I don’t answer his last question, and he doesn’t say much as I drive back to my house. I feel kind of awkward, considering I slapped him. He doesn’t mention it for the rest of the day, and I mostly hang with Penny and pack my more intimate items up.

Once we’ve done the last run and I’ve locked the house, my heart breaks a little bit. I swear I’ll be back, and I’ll get Danil for this. He won’t get away with this.

My mind is going at warp speed. I need to stop for a moment, but now I find myself standing in the entrance hall to the mansion and looking around at the various boxes.

“You can unpack as much as you like,” Danil says. “Or I can hire someone, a decorator or something, to come unpack and put things in the most logical place. Up to you.”

“A home shouldn’t be logical. It should be welcoming,” I say with a bit of a snappy attitude.

“Well, I have to pop out for work, so I’m going to shower. Claire will show you where you’re sleeping. My room has half the closet cleared out for you.”

“Your room…” I hesitate.

“Yes, I do insist we share a bed. Don’t worry, I won’t bite hard.” He chuckles and heads upstairs. I walk among the boxes and look through them. I slowly start to unpack one or two, but my heart really isn’t in it. I could explore the place, but again, my heart just isn’t it.

I am sitting on the stairs when a young maid comes out at seven and stands near me. “Dinner is ready, ma’am.”

“Thanks,” I say quietly. “I’m not really hungry.”

“I’ll keep it in the microwave for you in case you are. Can I show you to your room?”

“Yes, please,” I murmur.

My room. It isn’t my room. It’s his room.

I am being forced to stay here against my will.

I follow Claire up the stairs to the second level and down a hallway. She leads me top a set of double doors that are open and into a large room. It’s primarily black with one gray wall.

She leaves me there, and I find the bags with my clothes in the closet. Danil must have had them brought up here.

I unzip them and start to unpack them into the empty side of the closet, taking care to arrange them. It takes me two hours, and when I’m done, I leave the bags there and unpack my toiletries in the bathroom. Then, I allow myself to have a hot shower, put on my pajamas, and crawl into bed.

The bed he’s going to crawl into, God knows what time. I don’t think I can handle it. I won’t sleep a wink.

I toss and turn most of the time and notice the bedside clock next to my side of the bed. It’s two in the morning when I hear voices outside.

It’s Danil.

I quickly close my eyes and pretend to be asleep.

I hear him shuffle about the room and peek out at him. His back is to me as he undresses in the closet. The curtains are still open, so the moon lights up the room. He drops his pants, and I see the dragon tattoo that covers his right cheek and most of his right leg. I had never seen that before.

He turns around and I shut my eyes quickly.

He goes to the bathroom, and I turn around so my back is to his side of the bed. I feel him slide into bed, and his arm slides around my waist. I shiver slightly as he kisses my bare shoulder.

Chapter 9 - Danil

I wake up to an empty bed. Asher spent the night at Penny’s last night because it’s our wedding today. She’s been an okay sport with everything, going with my mom and organizing a dress. Trust my mom to do a big fat Russian wedding in like a week. She probably thinks I got her pregnant, and I’m not saying anything.

Penny has been a lot of help throughout the transition, and I’m seeing a new side to her. I’m rather impressed with how she handles herself and what she needs to do.

Even though we’ve been married for about a month already on paper, I wanted to give Asher a proper wedding and honeymoon to look back on. Who knows, she may even grow to like me one day.

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