Page 26 of Paid for By the Bratva

Oh, this is going to be a very painful end to a beautiful night.

Chapter 9 - Lara

The headlights flash across their expectant faces as Dima and I step from the car. Fedor, Sofia, Natalia, Artyom—the whole Orlov clan, barring Nikolai, gathered on the front steps in surprise.

"What's all this?" Dima growls, the smile dropping from his face.

Fedor spreads his arms in welcome. "Surprise, Brother!”

Dima snaps, his possessive arm tightening around my waist. "It's late."

"Come on, Brother. We just wanted to meet Lara," Fedor smirks, stepping forward.

Dima's jaw clenches, and I can feel the anger radiating off him. "You shouldn't have come here without warning, especially not this late. We could have been sleeping."

“But you weren’t, were you?” Artyom points out the delicate truth.

"Lighten up, Dima. We're family," Natalia chides gently, her eyes flicking over to me. "Welcome, Lara. We've heard so much about you."

"Thank you," I murmur, feeling anxious at their unexpected presence. Are they truly here to welcome me, or will I have to prove myself to them?

Dima's jaw tightens. "Where's Nikolai anyways?"

"Don't worry about him," Fedor laughs. "If he were here, we wouldn't have let us come meet your little pet." His eyes rake over me. "Especially looking like you two just crawled out of bed. But, wherever are you coming from, hmmm?"

Heat flares in my cheeks. Dima's hand clamps tighter around my waist, half-possessive, half-protective.

"That's enough from you," he snaps. "Get inside. We'll have a drink, and then you can go."

“How welcoming,” Sofia says icily, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder, the annoyance in her tone evident.

Dima steers me up the steps, the weight of his siblings' curious stares not lost on me. I’m so drunk that I just pray I don't make a wrong step.

Dima ushers us hurriedly into his private den, all dark wood and leather.

"Come, come, let's celebrate this joyous union!" Artyom, the youngest, gestures grandly to the bar.

Dima hesitates, then nods. "One drink."

As Artyom pours whiskey and vodka, Sofia and Natalia sink onto the sofa beside me. Fedor and Dima sit opposite.

"So, tell us about yourself," Sofia says brightly. Her smile is friendly, but her sharp eyes remind me of a hawk's. "Where are you from?"

"Oh, just a small town outside Petersburg originally," I say. "Nothing as exciting as all this." I wave a hand at nothing in general.

“All…this?” Sofia gives me a thin-lipped smile.

“Philadelphia City,” I say meekly, afraid I sound like a fool.

"Nonsense, I'm sure you have plenty of stories," Natalia leans in kindly. "What made you agree to marry our brother?"

My throat tightens. "It was…just…well…"

“Just…well…” Fedor snorts from where he stands. “You made quite the impression on her, didn’t you, Brother?”

Artyom comes and gives Fedor a warning nudge on his back before passing around the tray with all our drinks on it.

"But you must have some thoughts on it," Natalia presses.

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