Page 44 of Unwilling Bratva Bride

I didn’t know if he’d appreciate it, though. Most guys that I knew didn’t enjoy looking weak or vulnerable.

So, I just relaxed into myself, not moving away as Ivan leaned toward me.

“Hmm…” He gripped his chin like he was some critical art review. “Good use of shadow. And the likeness is excellent.”

I laughed. Ivan was too amusing with his pretend art snobbery. “Why, thank you.”

He flipped back to the other drawing I’d done of myself, eyeing it from top to bottom like he did me.

“I think I’ll hang them up in here. Give the place a little bit of artistic flare.”

I was actually touched, but I raised my brows at him, chuckling through my lips. “Umm, and what about the glass walls?”

“They’re not all glass. The brick one behind the bed will work.”

Nodding, I just smiled gently as Ivan continued to stare at the images. “Sure.”

After a beat, Ivan turned toward me with a soft grin. He reached up for my hair, tucking it behind my ear. As he did, he held onto a thin lock of blonde and smoothed his fingers down it until his knuckles ghosted across my nipple. Ivan followed the hair all the way down to where it pooled on the floor next to me.

And that was it. Just a simple touch that had my entire body brimming with a shimmering thread of desire. When I met his eyes again, Ivan leveled me with his stare—so intense and wholly focused on me.

“Dinner is happening soon. Why don’t you get dressed and meet me downstairs? I’m sure my brothers are looking forward to chatting with you.”

Nervous energy flared, and I swallowed down the anxiety that rose up the back of my throat.

“Should I be concerned about that?”

Ivan’s familiar cocky smirk was right back in place as he stood up and retrieved his shirt from the floor. His muscles rippled as he straightened and pulled it over his head. I’d seen him shirtless quite a bit at this point, but it was still quite a sight.

“Probably. I’m sure they’ll give you the fifth degree.” He yanked down on the hem of his shirt, getting it to lay smooth, and then ran a hand through his hair. “After all, it’s not every day that I bring home a girl intent on marrying her.”

Before I could respond, Ivan took off for the door, and I was left alone in the bathroom again. I was more than a little apprehensive about dinner with his brothers, and as Ivan’s words lingered in the room, I crossed my arms over myself, suddenly self-conscious.

“Wife. Right. Because that’s totally normal.”

I sighed before standing up and going to the closet with my discarded shirt to find something new to wear. I’d had sex with the guy yesterday, and now I was meeting his family properly. As far as timelines went, this one was definitely clipping along at top speed.

After years of nothing, it was more than a bit shocking. But here I was. I could only deal with what was in front of me, one step at a time. So, for now, I was going to focus on choosing an outfit for dinner.

And then I’d worry about not getting murdered by Ivan’s brothers.

Chapter 18 - Ivan

I hurried down the steps to my room and went straight for the kitchen. I actually didn’t mind cooking, and the thought of doing it for Adley, in addition to my brothers, filled me with a strange happiness that I wasn’t about to look at too closely.

They were at the table playing pool when I passed through the second floor and headed for the ground level. Vlad hummed as he watched me B-line it for the kitchen, and Abe added in his usual, “Cook it up, Betty Crocker.”

It was easy to ignore them. The fire worming through my blood was thoroughly distracting. I had to hand it to myself; it was a damn surprise that I hadn’t seized the opportunity to fuck Adley silly. Still, I’d taken a not small amount of pleasure knowing I’d left her there to squirm.

Throwing together a few ingredients in the kitchen for a stir-fry was easy enough. I added a bit of the fresh peppers and broccoli that we’d picked up to make sure it had plenty of crunch.

Cloud nine had nothing on me, but then I sat down at the island in the kitchen to let the sauce thicken when something crinkled in my pocket and stole my attention. Reaching into my jeans, I pulled out the string of notes I’d taken while following Donovan.

“Shit. I need to file this.”

Getting up, I headed for my office just down the hall from the kitchen. I flicked on the light as I entered, walking around my desk to sit down. As I went for the key to the locked drawer in my other pocket, I noticed the drawer in question sitting just a centimeter or two forward.

“Well, well.”

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