Page 31 of The Bratva King's Pregnant Bride

It felt like forever since I had felt such warmth on my lips, such tenderness, and when Dominik’s finger slid along my chin, I could have died and lived again, just to have those same feelings ever returned, to feel him kiss me again.

My eyes burned and drifted to his hand, and I noticed a faint red stain on the tip of his fingers.

Blood, I thought as panic surged through me, and I backed away.

“Fuck—did he do this to you?” Dominik asked quietly. His deep, husky voice resonated within me.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

“Did he hurt you anywhere else? Did he… touch you?”

The concern in Dominik’s voice made me blink—this was the first time he’d spoken to me with an emotion that bordered on care. All this time, I’d felt as if all he’d cared about was his heir.

I shook my head weakly, still trembling.

“Then stay here.”

Relieved, I stayed put, as instructed.

His expression grew dark as he looked at my bloody lip. He came closer, inspecting the wound closely.

I winced at the intensity of his scrutiny; it seemed nothing had changed in that regard. His lips formed a tight line, and those dark green eyes narrowed as his eyes traced the cut.

He wrapped his arms around me so tightly that it almost hurt. Then, he pulled back and looked deep into my eyes. With tenderness in his eyes, he kissed my forehead, and I finally felt safe, protected.

That was when I realized that, no matter how dangerous the situation, Dominik would always manage to protect me from harm.

Mike stood shaking—with fear or anger, I couldn’t quite tell. Probably both.

Dominik released me and pulled out his gun as he walked up to Mike.

“You motherfucking bas—”

Mike’s words were cut off as Dominik pushed the muzzle of his gun into his smug mouth.

Dominik looked at me, then at Artem. “Get her out of here.”

Artem nodded, and just as we turned to leave, the gun went off; a heavy thud reached my ears as a body hit the floor.

I didn’t want to look. I really didn’t want to look… but for some reason, I felt the urge to check, to make sure that Mike was dead. Perhaps it was someone else.

My legs stopped me in place, and now, my tears flowed freely.

I cried out as a sharp pain ripped through my belly; in seconds, Dominik was next to me, spots of dotted blood on his face. No doubt, the blood of his enemy.

Chapter 12 - Dominik

To me, hospitals were all the same: sterile walls, the smell of antiseptic. Not that I had ever done a thing to warrant a night here. No. Not sickness, nor a bullet—I was good at avoiding both.

Doctors and nurses were in the business of saving lives, a stark contrast from what the Mafia, at its worst, was all about.

Being here felt strange, as nothing ever brought me. I had a personal physician, and he always came to me if I ever had need of him. I had suggested the same thing for Maya, but for some reason, she’d wanted to come here. So we did.

I moved to the window to watch the cars riding into and out of the parking lot, not forgetting the stunt I had just pulled off. However, I couldn’t let those thoughts distract me; my job, after all, was to safeguard those under my protection.

As I sat there, however, waiting patiently, my mind drifted back to a different place and time, in which this wasn’t such boring a task. It would’ve been just another job, really.

But one without Maya.

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