Page 28 of The Bratva King's Kidnapped Bride

I tried to argue, but I hated Chef Danello, and now that I’d been demoted, it hardly seemed worth arguing about. “But my lunch business,” I said. This was a big deal, along with my floundering catering company, which I just couldn’t give up on yet. “I’ll need my car so I can keep making deliveries and get to the markets for ingredients.”

He groaned and stomped to his closet, returning wrapped tightly in a thick terry cloth. Good, now I wouldn’t be distracted by his chest, rippling abs, or… other parts.

“Why do you want to keep doing that?”

“I love doing it,” I said. “You can’t keep me from it. Are you expecting me to stay trapped in this house to do your bidding?”

He got a wicked gleam in his eyes that had me yearning toward him, but I mentally slapped myself to stay focused. I crossed my arms over my chest, ignoring the fact I was still wrapped in a bedspread. He raised a questioning brow.

“What specifically do you love about it? Getting up before dawn to haggle over prices? Fighting traffic, hauling everything up and down in office buildings all over town, dodging security guards?”

I sighed and sank onto the edge of his bed. “Okay. Fine. I hate all of that. But I love creating new meals. I worked hard to gain loyal regulars who really look forward to my lunches and I don’t want to lose them. Now that I can access your brilliant kitchen, I could expand my offerings and blow their minds.”

His lips puckered as he studied me, and then he slowly shook his head as if he couldn’t quite understand my passion, but was trying.

“You can keep making the meals,” he said. “But I’ll assign some of my employees to do the deliveries and arrange for my personal chef to get the ingredients.” He held up his hand when I opened my mouth to disagree. “Olga is highly trained and does the shopping almost every day anyway. She knows good produce when she sees it.”

It would be rough relinquishing control over my ingredients, but I didn’t doubt that Aleks had a great chef since I’d seen how she kept the kitchen so well-stocked and in tip-top condition. The thought of not having to lug everything up and down countless elevators and flights of stairs, too, because he was right about dodging security guards. I’d made friends with some of them and they let me right up, but there were a couple buildings where I had to be stealthy to keep my customers fed.

“Okay,” I agreed. “I can live with that. But what about the catering company? What if I get a booking?”

His brows furrowed, then his lips set in a thin line. “You’ll have to set that aside, at least for now. I’m a high-profile person, and your safety is my top concern. But we can possibly talk about it again sometime in the future.”

“I don’t see how catering private parties could be dangerous,” I said, remembering that the butler was packing heat. I narrowed my eyes. “If you’re concerned about safety, how come there’s only one person working here?”

“Only one person you noticed,” he said mysteriously. “When you’re within these walls, you don’t have to worry about anything, Katie. Take my word for that.”

I shivered again, and realized what a sweet deal he was offering me. Letting go of the catering business was hardly giving in at all, since I hadn’t had a single inquiry in months, not counting his sham dinner party. I was still going to get to do what I loved, and the more inconvenient parts would be relegated to someone else. It wasn’t just a good compromise, it worked out in my favor.

“Sounds good to me,” I said, holding out my hand.

He took it, kissed my palm, and then sat beside me, sweeping the papers off my lap as he pulled me close. “You can sign it tomorrow at the courthouse with my witnesses present,” he said, leaning over to nuzzle my neck.

“Are we really getting married tomorrow?” I asked, my limbs going weak as he continued to kiss his way down my shoulder.

“We really are,” he said, drawing back to grin down at me. “Although, I think you’re already mine, aren’t you?”

With a moan, I tipped back my head to take his heated kiss.

This was happening, then. Despite my trepidations about Nataliye, I had wholeheartedly agreed, and was still agreeing as I opened my mouth to his tongue. Tomorrow, I’d be Mrs. Fokin, for better or for worse.

And what would end up being worse? The fallout from me trying to get out of my end of the bargain and asking for a divorce before Nat came home, or the explosion that would occur if she somehow found out about us before that? Either way, it was going to be devastating.

It was much cozier in Aleks’s arms, so I snuggled closer and let him help me forget that anything bad was looming on the horizon. Let him make me believe that everything was perfectly safe here, just like he promised.

For the moment, anyway.

Chapter 16 - Aleksandr

The ceremony was rushed, and City Hall was crowded, but Katie looked stunning in her new blue dress. It skimmed her knees, and made a quiet whispering sound when she glued herself close to me and tucked her hand into the crook of my elbow. She’d carefully styled her hair in a gleaming cascade of auburn waves down her back. Not even the dull overhead office lighting could detract from her beauty.

She’d barely been able to greet Lev when he blustered up to where we were waiting in the hallway for our turn. My brother wasn’t sure I hadn’t lost my marbles with this sudden marriage, but I assured him I knew what I was doing. And it would calm our father’s constant nagging to present the Fokin Bratva with an heir before his time on earth was up.

Katie’s green eyes darted from me to the judge when it was our turn to speak our vows, and I wished I’d thought to get her a bouquet, or ask my sister Mila to be a witness instead of gruff Lev or my distracted assistant. Mila would have remembered flowers, at least.

As it was my turn to speak, I shook off my regrets. Once everything settled down, I would give Katie free rein to plan whatever kind of wedding or reception she wanted to celebrate our union.

Before I knew it, we were officially husband and wife, and when I lowered my head to kiss her, Katie held onto my jacket lapels in an iron grip, her legs trembling. Surrounded by strangers at the courthouse, I didn’t think she’d appreciate being swept into my arms and cradled like a baby, so I only put my arm firmly around her to guide her back to our car.

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