Page 26 of Unwilling Bratva Bride

Looking around the room again, I tracked the room in a circle, from the view in front of me to the wall with the closet and bathroom doors to the bricks behind the bed. I knew I shouldn’t leave, and I didn’t really want to chance going downstairs and running into Ivan or his scary-ass brothers.

My clothes were put away, and I winced a little at the memory. I wasn’t going to sleep and wasn’t hungry enough to go for the granola bar I’d snuck into my duffle.

“Sooo…”

I eyed the room again, and my attention landed on the bathroom. Through the open door, I could see the massive claw-foot tub in the middle of the far wall. There was a little tray that sat in the middle of the thing, dark wood and holding a washcloth and a candle. It seemed incredibly unlikely that Ivan used the thing much, but damn, a bath sounded really good tomeright now.

Getting up off the floor, I tossed my phone on the nightstand and walked into the cooler bathroom. My steps were light on the white marble floor, and I proceeded straight to the tub, turning on the faucet.

The sound of rushing water filled the silence, and without breaking eye contact with the liquid filling the bath, I began to strip. Each layer I peeled away felt like releasing myself from the weight of the day, and before I knew it, I was standing naked in a pile of clothes.

I leaned over, moving the tray closer to the faucet so that I could step inside the tub. A tiny bottle was there, and I picked it up, realizing that it was a bubble bath.

“Huh.”

I poured some in. I didn’t understand why Ivan had it, but I wanted it all the same. As the foamy bubbles churned into being, I bundled my hair up in my hands, twisting it over and over until it naturally coiled in on itself. Taking the hair tie from my wrist, I secured my hair to keep it out of the water.

Returning my attention to the tray, I looked at the candle. Next to it was a silver lighter—the classic kind with a lid that flicked on and off. I stepped into the water, goosebumps rushing over me as I lowered myself down and picked up the lighter.

Holding it to the wick, I noted that it wasn’t white, char covering a little portion of the end. He’d used it at some point, and I didn’t really want to consider why. Guys usually did that shit when they were “entertaining” women, and the idea made my stomach turn over.

I shook it off, not wanting to examine that emotion any more than I already had. Soft light filled the dim bathroom, and I set the lighter back down before leaning back against the tub.

Bubbles wafted around me as the tub filled. They covered the entire surface, and then I used my foot to turn the faucet off. I was glad that it only had one handle, unlike back home, where there was a hot and a cold knob.

Silence crept back in. The only sounds were my breathing and the gentle flicker of the candle. As the water filled up, I realized how deep the tub was. There wasn’t an overflow drain at the top near the faucet, either. I was able to fill the tub right up to the brim.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the way the warm water felt on my skin and muscles. Everything was so tense, and that slowly began to bleed away as the therapeutic heat sunk in.

“Ahh,” I sighed, “at least you can always count on a bath, huh, Adley?”

A mirthless chuckle left me, and I was so damn tempted to slip under the water. Still, I wasn’t ready to deal with the trouble that would cause, thanks to my hair, so I just reached up for my face, scrubbing my wet hands over my skin.

The memory of Ivan right up behind him, his obvious erection pressing against me, swirled in my head. I couldn’t believe that had happened on so many levels. He’d been hard when he touched me, and I couldn’t deny the way he’d been looking at me since we first spoke.

Ivan had also been a bit terrifying, and I could peg the exact moment that the feminism had left my body when he’d made me flush those pills, and my pussy still wept with excitement.

Seriously, Adley. What is wrong with you?

I couldn’t deny how I felt, though. Ivan was this new, mysterious, and undeniably attractive addition to my dull existence, and he looked at me in a way no one ever had. I…liked it. I liked to be stared at like I was the hottest thing in leggings, and the fact that he didn’t do it with the usual pity I saw behind people’s eyes made it that much better.

Mr. Ustinov…Yeah, sure, because that doesn’t sound made up. He paid for me. Essentially. And that really shouldn’t be so flattering.

But who was I kidding? Of course, it was. The guy had spent thousands of dollars and was apparently going to keep doing so to hang out with me—toownme.

I really didn’t feel like I was worth that much or even half that, and Ivan not only did it without batting an eye, but he was also showing no signs of buyer’s remorse. He wanted me. He wanted to claim me, marry me, and…breed me.

My skin rippled with renewed goosebumps as I remembered Ivan’s words.

I am just so excited to see what you look like fucked raw and bred with my seed.

Time slowed, and I tried to let my mind wander aimlessly, but again, it settled on Ivan—his striking eyes and the tattoos that covered his skin. My eyes closed, and I slipped into another place, no longer thinking of the bath, the pills, or the future.

Behind my lids, I could see his fierce stare as it stalked my body like prey, that hungry look drawing out something deep and primal from within me.

How had I not noticed how compelling those eyes of his could be? Focused and somehow soft in a way that didn’t speak to the violence and bloodshed I knew dogged his steps. I could imagine the darkness that likely filled him up. Hell, the guy’s stunt with the BC spoke volumes.

Still, all I could think about now was how his eyes tracked me, the way it felt to have his hand on my throat, stealing my air. There was this animalness to Ivan, one that should have scared me.

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