Page 24 of Secret Bratva Twins

The door opened, and a younger housekeeper entered. “Mr. Vadim asked me to bring you down for dinner.”

“Tell him I’ll join him in five minutes.”

She nodded and left.

I jumped down from the bed, my chest radiating with excitement as I picked out a very short dress from my new clothes. I brushed my hair, letting it fall over my shoulder before applying a red lipstick.

I glanced at my vanity mirror. I looked really good, but red wasn’t my color. It looked better on Mariana. I wiped the red lipstick off and applied a pink one before I hurried downstairs.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Maxim was already waiting for me in the dining room, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips as he looked up at me.

“Gianna,” he greeted warmly, his voice sending a shiver down my spine. “You look beautiful in that dress.”

I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks at his compliment, and I quickly averted my gaze, suddenly feeling self-conscious under his intense scrutiny. “Thank you,” I mumbled, trying to keep my composure.

I walked to the dining room, this time sitting next to him at the table. If he found my sudden change in attitude strange, he didn’t say anything.

As I sat down to dinner, I couldn't help but steal glances at Maxim when he wasn't looking. He looked really handsome tonight—the way his dark hair fell effortlessly across his forehead, his eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief, and his voice sent ripples of excitement coursing through my veins.

He filled his plate with food, and so did I, throwing some broccoli, corn, and wings onto my plate.

“I haven’t seen you for days,” I managed to say after a moment of silence. “Did something happen?”

He sliced it into a medium-rare steak. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, I was out of the city for a few days.”

My chest stung. He had a business outside the city and didn’t tell me because I was just his prisoner. I was becoming overly sensitive, maybe because I missed my children, and Maxim was the closest I could come to filling the gap of not having them around me.

“It was urgent, so I couldn’t tell you before I left,” he said. He must’ve noticed that I wasn’t happy.

“Oh.” I smiled. So it wasn’t because I didn’t matter enough for him to tell me.

Damn, I was growing more and more aware of his presence, my body reacting sensually to his proximity. It was as if every nerve in my body was on fire, craving his touch, his attention, his... everything. Which was wrong because this was just dinner; I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about kissing him or running my fingers through his hair.

I needed some sort of distraction.

“Darling,” Maxim began, pouring us a glass of wine each. “You weren’t angry I left without informing you, were you?”

I took a sip of wine, savoring the rich flavor before replying. “I wasn’t. In fact, I only noticed you were gone this morning.”

That was a big, fat lie. I noticed he wasn’t home the very day I spent almost twelve hours without a sign of him anywhere in the mansion. I’d walked around a bit, hoping to bump into him, and retired to my room, disappointed when I didn’t. He didn’t need to know that, though.

He held his wine, circling the rim of the glass with his finger. He probably didn’t intend it, but the movement made me wonder what it would feel like to have him do the same to my clit. “Why don’t I believe you?”

“You never believe anything I say.”

“Because you lie to me.” His voice was low, hoarse, and filled with sincerity. I lied to him because it was necessary to protect my children, though after spending the last couple of days here, I was beginning to think otherwise. Maybe they were better off with their father if anything happened to me.

I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t trust him just yet. It was true my body was yearning for his touch against my wishes, but Ryan and Daylan’s safety was my priority now. “You hurt me, Max. Lying is nothing compared to you killing my mother.”

His blue eyes bore into mine intensely, and the air crackled with the unspoken words between us. I wanted him to deny killing my mother. I needed him to tell me it was all a big understanding and that he was going to get it all sorted, but he didn’t.

I couldn’t convince myself enough that he was innocent because if he truly was, he would try to make me believe so. He’d find evidence and help me take revenge against my mother’s killer.

He wiped his mouth with a towel. “What did you do with your free time today?”

I raked my teeth through my bottom lips, seething that he had changed the conversation. “Ms. Popov showed me your library.” It was his sanctuary, and knowing I was there would definitely piss him off.

“Did you like it?”

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