Page 33 of The Bratva King's Kidnapped Bride

Other than dressing Nataliye up in the most ridiculous outfits, making her look like an over-decorated cupcake, and twisting her hair into uncomfortable curls to prove she was the prettiest child, my first wife found actual parenting dull and inconvenient. It cut into her shopping during the day and her partying at night.

I tried to give her time to adjust, but then I came home from a raid late one night to find the nanny with an inconsolable Nataliye, who’d been suffering badly from teething. The nanny had no idea where my wayward wife was; she’d been gone for hours. I waited up to have it out with her, to try to make her see that our daughter needed her mother, not a nanny, when she was distraught and in pain.

She came home at the crack of dawn, reeking of booze and another man’s cologne, and once I had solid proof she was cheating, I gave her an ultimatum. Choose Nataliye and me, or leave with nothing.

She was drunk again, as she often was during those last days of our marriage, and she taunted me that her plastic surgeon boyfriend was even richer than me. It hit me then that money was all she truly cared about. I’d long accepted she was over me, as I was her, but I’d clung to the hope that she had a shred of maternal instinct and wouldn’t leave her only child.

She chose money and partying, and left without a backward glance. Nataliye had just turned one, but never did get to know her mother because she drank herself to death two years later after the surgeon lost his license for operating under the influence. At that time, she never once tried to visit, never sent a gift, and never so much as to call my assistant for news on the daughter, who callously gave up.

Katie was the polar opposite of that woman. Mature beyond her years, always putting others ahead of herself. Hell, she continued working when she didn’t have to, and I had to practically force her to buy things for herself, since everything she asked for was for her sister and aunt. It was no wonder she and Nataliye were still the best of friends, and she was getting along so well with my sister.

I was starting to think I’d lucked into finding myself an actual angel, then remembered Katie’s more devilish side and grinned, still hovering out in the hall. Just happy to watch her smile and laugh.

Remembering my gift, I reached into my pocket and patted the small box, hoping she’d like the gold heart necklace I bought her. The fight at the bar had nearly made me forget about it, but it was important. Not only because I wanted to shower Katie with nice things, but because it had a GPS locator in it.

Even though she hadn’t complained about staying home, I could tell she was growing antsy being alone while I was working. Olga was reticent and liked to do her work without anyone buzzing around her, so as much as Katie had tried to befriend her and offer to help out in the kitchen, it wasn’t enough for my energetic and gregarious wife.

Asking Mila to spend the day with her had been a good call. Katie was glowing and much more animated than I’d seen her in days. If she agreed to having a bodyguard, she could start going out more.

The necklace was for my own peace of mind, and I really wanted to spoil her with pretty trinkets. I’d have her dripping in diamonds, pearls, and emeralds to match her eyes if she’d let me, but I knew she’d laugh at such frivolities, saying they’d fall into her sauces and then someone would sue for a broken tooth.

I found myself chuckling quietly but was unnerved by how strong my feelings for her were. I did believe I loved the person I thought my first wife was, before she had her claws in me and felt confident enough to show her true colors. As soon as I saw them, the love blew away like smoke in the Santa Ana winds.

That wasn’t going to happen this time. Katie was different. She was an open book. One whose pages I couldn’t turn fast enough, eager to know every last detail about her.

Katie was no longer someone I needed to possess. The instant obsession I felt for her the first time I spotted her at my club had mellowed to something even stronger. It was no longer about the need for a male heir, either, though every time I imagined pressing my cheek to her big belly and feeling our child kick, a wild hunger still overtook me.

It was deeper than even that.

Katie’s laughter rang out again, and I couldn’t stand being on the sidelines any longer. I burst into the room and leaned over the edge of the sofa to plant a kiss on my wife’s lips. She turned, smiling, motioning for me to join them.

One kiss wasn’t enough. I pulled her up off the couch and over the edge, dragging her close to me as if I hadn’t seen her in months instead of hours.

“Oh, come on, now,” Mila said goodnaturedly but saw the futility of trying to reason with me at that moment. It was like she wasn’t even there. “Okay, bye. I’ll call you soon, Katie.”

Katie pulled away long enough to wave at her, then looked up at me, embarrassed but seeming pleased by my greeting.

“I missed you,” I growled.

“I can see that,” she said, tangling her fingers in my hair and pulling me close for another kiss. “I missed you, too.”

Chapter 19 - Katie

I was draped over the back of the couch, lost in Aleks’s searing kiss. It had been a fun day, but now that he was back, all my focus was on him. It was scary how quickly he’d become my everything.

“You taste delicious,” he said, drawing back after a long moment. “That wine is an especially good one paired with your lips.”

“Then let’s finish the bottle,” I said, pointing to it, half empty on the coffee table.

He nodded toward the back of the house. “Bring it outside. We can count the stars.”

I shivered with anticipation as I hurried to a secluded alcove by the pool with the wine bottle and some glasses. He joined me a couple minutes later with a bag of tortilla chips and a bowl of guacamole that Olga must have made that afternoon.

“It’s not very elegant,” he said with a smirk.

“But delicious,” I said, digging in with a chip.

He sat down on the same chair I was lounging in and pulled me onto his lap. The look in his eyes made me pause with the chip halfway to my mouth. With a laugh, he leaned forward and snapped a bite of it.

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