Page 41 of Unwilling Bratva Bride

“What?”

Another little giggle and then a sigh. “You’re too good at that. Reading people.”

“Part of the job, sweetheart. Now tell me.”

Adley tucked her hair behind her ear, letting out a long exhale. Before she faced me, she grabbed her pencil.

“Would you…let me…” I was going to die of old age if she kept taking so long to ask for something. “…draw you?”

My mouth actually dropped open.

“I’m sorry, what?”

The sound of my blood was suddenly screaming in my ears, and I was acutely aware of how I stared at Adley. No one in their right mind had ever asked for my photograph, let alone to draw me. Why would anyone want to for that matter?

“Is that against the rules or something?” I could see Adley try to play it off, but there was obvious nervousness beneath the lilt in her voice.

I scoffed, truly shaken, and leaned back, putting some space between us. My skin felt hot and itchy, and I couldn’t hold her eyes, choosing instead to focus on the floor.

“No. It’s not ‘against the rules,’ Adley. I just…why?”

I was not a fan of the airy sound of my voice, so I immediately cleared my throat. What in the absolute fuck had prompted her to ask me of all people. God, this felt so weirdly…intimate.

For a moment, neither of us moved. Hell, neither of us breathed, but then Adley sighed, and I looked at her again. She was staring off into the middle distance, that blush in her cheeks high again. When she looked up at me once more, the way her eyes burned into mine was something I’d never forget.

“You’re beautiful, Ivan. I…I want to put it down on paper.

The gruff chuckle was a knee-jerk reaction, and then I shook my head before grinning down at her. “That’s not something I’ve ever been called before, sweetheart. I’ll admit you took me a bit by surprise.”

Adley smiled—a gentle, easy thing that stripped me bare.

“Really?”

She nodded.

With a sigh, I rolled my eyes. I planted both my hands on the tub to my left and right and got into a position that was marginally comfortable. Enough for a quick sketch, anyway.

The giddy look in her eyes was all I needed to feel better about my decision, and she shuffled backward toward the sketchbook. Flipping to a clean page, Adley cocked her head, considering me.

“Hmm…Could you come down here on the floor? The light’s better.”

Rolling my eyes again, I obliged her and scooted down onto the floor in front of Adley. At least it was more comfortable than the other location, though I was getting blinded a bit by the angle of the sun.

“Perfect.” She grinned at me, a kid in a fucking candy shop, and it took everything not to cancel this little “outing” and just have my way with her. “Hmm…but no shirt, please. I like to see the musculature.”

“Of course you do.” The sarcasm was more than obvious, but again, I humored her and pulled my long-sleeve tee over my head. “Am I losing the pants, or is this good?”

Adley smirked. An honest-to-goodness devilish grin, and I nearly came right there. I was having an influence on my sweet prize, and I was more than okay with where she was headed.

“Not this time. But I may need that for a later drawing.”

“You think you’re getting me to do this again?”

With another cocky grin, Adley shoved her hair over her shoulders, revealing her breasts as she put the tip of the pencil to the paper.

“Yup.”

That one floored me a little, and I let the silence hang as Adley drew. She set to work sketching out my image, and I watched as the lines on the paper slowly transformed into curves, shadows, and someone who looked quite a bit like me.

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