Page 53 of Used By the Bratva

It might be the softer side of Leon that I am beginning to see. No one would ever call him a teddy bear, but some parts are softer than others.

Leon chuckles. “Do you want me to look at my paperwork again so you can keep studying me?”

I put the sketchbook back in my lap. “If you’re not going to tell me where we’re going, then yes.”

“We should be landing in another hour or so. Be patient.”

“I’m not much of a patient person these days. Everything seems like it’s on a deadline.”

“That’s because it is. Our baby will be here before you know it, and our lives are changing faster than either of us can keep up with.”

“You feel that way, too?” I laugh softly and run my hand over the shape of his mouth again, trying to get a little closer to the right arc. “You seem so calm and collected about everything. I used to be like that too, but then the damn pregnancy hormones got to me.”

Leon puts his papers back in his briefcase. “Where we’ll be spending the next week or two, you’ll have plenty of time to relax and not think about everything that's going on. You can be as calm and relaxed as you like.”

I erase another line where his cheekbone should be in the drawing and sketch it a little higher. “Okay, so you think this place will be relaxing for me.”

“I know it will.” Leon leans back in the seat and crosses his leg over the other. “I’ve spent a lot of time there over the years, and I can honestly tell you it’s one of my favorite places in the world.”

“What’s your favorite place?”

A devilish smile tugs at the corners of his mouth, lust shining in those ocean-blue eyes. “Your pussy.”

My entire body feels like I’ve been plunged into an inferno. “If you say things like that, I’ll have to join the mile-high club for the second time on this trip.”

He chuckles, sending a shiver through my body. “If we had enough time for us to play, then yes, you would be. Unfortunately, your libido is going to have to wait.”

I scoff, adding some shading to the picture. “My libido? You’re one to talk. As soon as that seatbelt sign was off, you were dragging me to the back of the plane like a damn caveman.”

“Can you blame me?”

“It has been a long week. I’ve barely seen you.” I grimace at the whining tone of my voice. ‘I didn’t mean that I need to see you constantly to survive kind of way. I guess I’ve just grown used to going to bed with you, and it felt weird not having you next to me the last few nights.”

He leans across the table, takes my hand, turns it over, and presses a kiss to the center of my palm. “I promise you; you will never have to go to bed without me during this trip.”

“And when we get home?”

He beams like I’ve said the thing he’s been waiting his whole life to hear. “You think the estate is home?”

“To be honest, I like it a lot better than the penthouse.”

Leon laughs and nods, leaning back in his seat. “I understand. As much as I love the city, the quietness of the estate is home for me, too. And it’ll be the best place for our child to grow up. I promise that I’ll do my best to come home to you before bedtime every night.”

“You don’t have to do that. I know it’s not fair to ask you to do that when you're so busy with your work, your businesses, your family, and whatever else.”

“It’s better if you don’t know for now. Stress isn’t good for the baby.”

“Well, you promised days of rest and relaxation, so I don’t think stress will be a problem for a while.”

He looks out the window as the plane starts to dip. “Looks like we’re landing.”

***

As we leave the airport in Saint Tropez, the sun slowly sinks toward the horizon, and the colorful stripes in the sky are reflected in the ocean.

“Where are we staying?” I ask as Leon holds open the car's back door, waiting for us while the driver loads our luggage.

“My mother was French-Russian. She always talked about spending the rest of her life in France. When the time came for her to retire, she bought a beach house in Saint Tropez.”

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