Page 48 of The Bratva's Forced Bride

“Art and Eat? Is it a gallery with a buffet?” she asks confused.

“It’s better than that,” I say as I lead her inside. “Reservations under Milov,” I tell the hostess. She shows us to our seats where there are easels set up. “It’s a dinner and paint party. So we’re going to be served great food while we get an art lesson.”

She smiles broadly, and I know I’ve hit the right spot. She looks around at the other friends and couples who are there and scoots a little closer to me. “Can we paint anything? Can I ignore the teacher?”

“Yes,” a woman says from the front. “If you just want to go ahead and paint, that’s fine. I’m not going to force creativity out of you all. Hi, everyone, my name is Stacey, and I am the owner of Art and Eat. Tonight, we’re going to learn to paint a vase with flowers.”

I see Asher pick up her palette and paintbrush, ready to start.

I pay attention to the art teacher and use her advice on how to paint flowers. I’m so absorbed that I get lost in my work momentarily before remembering I’m here with Asher. I turn to say something funny to her and then see what she’s painted in the half hour we’ve been here: A beautiful landscape with trees, a moon, and water. It’s fantastic and looks so realistic.

“That’s amazing,” I say. “Geez, Asher, you shouldn’t be working at an art gallery. You should be filling one. You have a serious talent.”

She shrugs. “I loved art in school and did an art degree, but I never thought of pursuing it for myself.”

“I’m going to have to give you a studio.” I smile at her. “And you’re going to have to fill our home with beautiful artworks. Starting with this one.”

“It’s not finished,” she chides me. “You’re missing your lesson.”

The food comes, and we eat while we paint. It’s fun, and I can see Asher enjoying herself by getting paint everywhere and just being creative. I don’t think she’s allowed herself to be this free in a long time.

When we’re done and our paintings are mostly dry, we leave. I feel a slight buzz from the wine I drank, but Asher seems sober. “What did you drink?”

“Oh, I didn’t feel like drinking, so I had the fruit juice,” she says. “Why? Are you drunk?”

“Maybe,” I say, holding my keys out automatically.

She gets into the driver's seat and drives us home, handling the Porsche surprisingly well. I chuckle as we get home. “No one is allowed to drive my cars.”

“I’m not no one.” She grins as she gets out. “It’s a fun ride, but I prefer my Mustang.”

“Suit yourself.” We go upstairs, and I go to the closet, putting my gun away before she can see. When I walk into the bedroom, she comes out of the bathroom barefoot. She just looks delectable.

I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her to me. “Maybe it’s the wine talking, but you look better than the food they served.”

She puts her hands on my chest. “Are you starting something?”

“I definitely am,” I say as I lean down to kiss her tenderly. She kisses me back, and I place a hand on the nape of her neck, supporting her.

She reaches between us and starts unbuttoning my shirt before pushing it off my shoulders. I growl and start kissing her neck as I reach for the hem of her top. I pull it off before I pick her up in my arms. She squeals and wraps her legs around me. “Danil,” she says breathlessly.

“You are mine,” I say. “I want to possess you in every possible way. I want us to be together forever.” I see a flash of something in her eyes, but it’s gone so quickly I can only assume I imagined it.

I bury myself in her breasts, and she giggles. “You’re incorrigible.”

“You are so damn sexy, where have you been my whole life.” I kiss her shoulder and sit up, pull her pants down and off and toss them to the side.

“Did you have fun?” I ask.

“I loved it,” she says with a genuine smile.

I settle on top of her and kiss her softly, my hand brushing her hair back. “You are the breath in my lungs, Asher Milov, and I will spend a lifetime making you happy.” I chuckle. “Starting now.”

Chapter 18 - Asher

I am so hungry all the time and feel like all I want to eat is savory dishes. At work, I’m constantly ordering little cocktail sausage rolls, delicious meat pies and deli meat sandwiches. If it has a tangy sauce to it, it's even better.

I don’t know if Danil has noticed the changes I’m going through; I hope not. This morning, I was crying, and I thought he was standing nearby, so I quickly had to clean up and stop.

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