Page 27 of The Bratva's Forbidden Pregnancy

Sienna looked back at me. “You’ll love it, I promise.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

She exhaled sharply and leaned in closer. “Can I ask you something?”

I had a pretty good idea of what she was about to ask, but I wanted to hear her say the words.

“Sure,” I replied. “Ask away.”

“Why did my grandmother act so cold toward you back in Russia?” She looked into my eyes. “My parents don’t want me hanging around you, and I don’t know why. It's like they’re afraid of you or something. And believe me when I tell you that they would not be happy with this.”

“What did they tell you?” I asked.

“Nothing much, really,” she replied. “A little bit of this, a little bit of that, but in the end, it all amounts to nothing.”

I adjusted in my seat, leaning forward. “Do you remember what I told you about that painting the other day?”

“About the darkness in your life?”

“I’m not a good guy, Sienna,” I declared. “Amongst the sheep, I’m blackened. I am what others call an embodiment of evil.” I relaxed in my seat. “I’m sure your grandmother must have filled you in on the details.”

“Like I said, little bit of this, little bit of that. But she did say that you were…mafia.” A slight pause came when she lowered her voice.

“And do you know about the mafia?” I asked, curious to know how much she knew. “What do you think we’re known for?”

“Very dangerous things,” she replied, but there was no iota of fear in her voice or her eyes; in fact, all there was was intrigue. “From my research, you guys are into a whole lot of bad stuff.”

My brows rose. “And that doesn't scare you?”

“No,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

I shook my head. “You know this, and you still wonder why everyone in your family who cares about you doesn’t want us hanging out together?”

“I’m a big girl now, a grown woman who can make her own decisions,” she replied sternly.

“What if your decisions would lead you down a dark path, a dangerous and treacherous one?” I asked, waiting for her response.

She went silent for a while. “Even in the deepest darkest, Vlad, there’s always a glimmer of light. All you have to do is find it.”

I scoffed, impressed that she still had that philosophy. “That’s cute. But I’m not the type of man you’d want to be associated with,” I objected calmly.

“Am I the type of woman you’d want to be associated with?” she asked, throwing the question right back at me.

I drew a deep breath. “We’re different, you and I. You know that by now.”

“Yet here I am. Here you are.” Her eyes were telling me something, but I wasn’t focused enough to get it.

“You’re stubborn,” I blurted, shaking my head with a silent scoff.

She smiled. “That’s one of my many unique qualities.”

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” I asked. “You know who I am, what I am capable of. Your parents are against you meeting up with me, and yet, despite all of this, you’re still comfortable around me. Why is that?” I anticipated her response, watching her body language and taking note of even the slightest facial expressions.

“You say you’re bad,” she began. “But what if I told you that I was drawn to the bad ones?” She had a cocky smirk on her face, and her eyelashes batted at me in a way that was rather flirtatious.

“That’s highly unlikely.”

“Why do you think that?”

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