Page 10 of Mafia King's Bride

Lucia?

Hell.

“I’m sorry.” Jakob bows halfway.

I shake my head. “It’s fine. I’ll take care of her.”

My lips are curled with displeasure as I walk into my office to see Lucia seated in my chair, her legs crossed on my desk.

“You seem to have forgotten your place, Lucia,” I say through gritted teeth.

She shoots me a coy look, slowly removing her legs and taking her sweet time standing up. She’s wearing a coat, but I can tell she has very little on underneath.

“I heard you got married,” she says, stopping a few inches away. “Why didn’t you send me an invitation? Aren’t we friends?”

“We’re not friends, and you should leave.”

Lucia brings her finger to her mouth, slipping it past her lips. I roll my eyes at her failed attempt at seduction.

“Oh? We aren’t? Well,” she shrugs, “technically, you’re right. Because friends don’t screw each other every day, taste each other’s bodies, lick the sweat off?—”

“What do you want?” I cut in, walking past her and heading to my chair.

Lucia and I have a past. We met at a function that her father, a man involved with the Bratva, hosted. She was flirty, I had been drinking, and she didn’t say no when I asked her to come to my hotel with me.

But our wild, tumultuous affair ended when I realized that she’ll sleep with anyone as long as they are powerful enough. Ididn’t judge her for it because we weren’t in a relationship, but I wasn’t the type to share, either.

“What do you think?” she asks, walking back to my desk and pulling out a chair. She sits down and places one leg on the desk, giving me an unobstructed view into her coat.

Once upon a time, I would’ve locked my door and bent her over my desk.

“If you’re not here for something serious, I suggest you leave, Lucia.”

“Is it true that you’re working with Nikolai Petrov?”

“Who told you that?” I ask, vaguely remembering that I had the same conversation with someone else recently. Was it Alexey?

She shrugs, smacking her lips. “I didn’t hear it from just one person. I was at a party yesterday, and your marriage to Anastasia Petrov was all anyone could talk about. You’ve succeeded in garnering fear, respect, and envy, Dmitri.” Lucia smiles. “But I know what Nikolai did to your father. I know what the others tried to do. I thought you’d be interested in knowing that they think you two are allies.”

Annoyance and irritation rush through me, but I keep my cool. Even if what she’s saying is the truth, I know she’s trying to get a rise out of me.

“You shouldn’t be a tattletale, Lucia. Your father wouldn’t like that.”

Lucia stands up from her seat and comes to perch at the edge of my desk. I let her run her fingers over my arm, knowing that the quicker I attend to her whims, the faster I’ll get rid of her. Unless my patience wears off first.

“You know, it’s working in your favor, being a son-in-law of Petrov’s. The only problem is,” her finger curls around my tie, and she tugs at it, “he’s not exactly paying for his crime. In fact, he’s starting to gain more attention. He’s now related tothe Orlovs, after all. One of the biggest, or,” Lucia’s nails brush across the stubble on my chin, “should I say,thebiggest empire in our little world.”

Bullshit.I grit my teeth. If I’m the reason Nikolai Petrov is gaining more popularity, then I’d rather burn him and everything he has to the ground.

When Lucia’s thumb brushes my lips, I smack her hand away and glare at her.

“Don’t you dare. The only reason I’m still entertaining you is because you’re not enough of a nuisance to warrant extra measures. I could easily tell your father that you’ve been going around frolicking with his enemies.”

She gasps. “You wouldn’t.”

A corner of my mouth curls into a mean smirk. “You want to try me?”

With a huff, Lucia gets off my desk. She stands with her hands on her hips, pouting.

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