Page 22 of Devil's Bride

My face scrunches up. Is she threatening me?

“So, I’ll bring every pain his father gave me to you,” she whispers. “I won’t stop until you feel everything I ever felt.”

Alright, she is threatening me. Instead of the angry retort I’m dying to shoot back at her, I keep my tone even. “I’m sorry for everything you went through here. I really am, but I’ll never be anyone’s victim. Not Alexei’s, and definitely not yours.”

I walk away before she can utter anything more. As I climb the stairs, I feel her malicious gaze on me. I can almost hear her promise to break me little by little until I am nothing but a shadow of myself.

Too bad I won’t be an easy target.

Chapter Eight

Alexei

I’ve been married for less than a day, yet all I can think of Irina. I wonder what she’s doing, if she’s impressed with the mansion or wants to change anything besides our bedroom.

Our bedroom.

I’ve always hated sharing my space. The silence, darkness and loneliness that came with being alone always gave me a safe space to relieve my dark thoughts. I’ve never brought a woman home, always fucked them and left them, but it’s different with Irina.

What we shared last night was special. Nothing like what I’ve experienced with other women. I’d even held her, allowed her listen to my heartbeat before we both feel asleep. I don’t know if this is some kind of unhealthy obsession growing, but I don’t even mind.

I want her, and that is all that matters.

I glance at my watch, it’s almost two p.m. I have a meeting with my brothers and a few of my men, then I’m going home to spend the rest of the day with my wife. She won’t like it, but she’ll get used to me.

There’s a knock on the door. I sit back, waiting for the door to fly open. It does and Nikolai saunters in. He walks to the chair across from mine and sits on it, raising his feet to the edge of my desk.

“Hey, bro.” He smiles when I frown at his feet on my desk. “Relax, man. They’re just feet on a table.”

I lean forward and push his shoes off the desk. “I can make them dismember body parts if you wish.”

His smile drops. “Thank you, but I’ll pass.”

“Better.” I run my fingers through my hair. “Where the hell have you been? You smell like cigarettes and alcohol.”

“I haven’t had fun in a while,” he answers. “Since you’re married now and Mikhail is busy trying to find your blackmailer, I thought I should steal the opportunity to get laid and pass out from drinking.”

My forehead wrinkles with worry. Nikolai has always been carefree about how dangerous our world is. I don’t blame him because he’s always been sheltered by me and Mikhail. But we have enemies lurking and I’m afraid he’s going to get himself in some deep shit one of these days if he isn’t careful.

“Before you start giving me lectures on why it’s dangerous to do that, I had my men with me,” he explains, waving his hand for a dramatic effect. “I’m not stupid enough to go out and drink alone.”

I cock a brow. “Trust me, I think you’re that stupid.” I ignore his frown. “Just watch out. We don’t know who our enemies are, so they can hit us when we’re not prepared.”

“Says the one who brought a ticking bomb home.” He leans back, yawning as if he’s bored.

“Irina is not a fucking bomb.” A lie I’ve told myself over and over since yesterday. She’s exactly that, and I don’t have a freaking idea when she’ll use whatever information she finds against me. As much as I’m fucking losing my mind over her, I still need to be careful.

Nikolai rolls his eyes. “You’ve not been married for a full day and already you’ve changed. Interesting. What happened to the guy who wouldn’t let a fly pass without suspecting it’s up to something? You’re letting your guard down.”

“My guard has never been stronger.” Despite the fact I don’t trust Irina, she’s under my protection now, which means I need to watch my back even more. If I’m hurt, she’ll most likely be hurt too.

“That is a lie, brother.” He tsks and shakes his head, clearly disappointed. “That girl is going to have you wrapped around her pretty, manicured fingers in no time.”

My lips quirks with a smile. “Maybe she already does.”

“I’m never getting married, man.” He plops his feet back on the desk, but I don’t complain. “How is she? I imagine she’s not finding it exciting being married to you.”

I smirk. He doesn’t know how wet she was for me last night, and the way her nails dug into my back as she begged me to fuck her harder. He doesn’t need to know, that’s a secret between me and my little wife.

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