Page 100 of Bratva Knight

“Then you can wear itunderyour uniform. I don’t care if it's a thousand degrees and you’re sweating your balls off. If I can somehow make this work, you’re wearing it. End of discussion.” I highly doubted it would be as effective as a proper Kevlar Bulletproof Vest, but even if it could offer a little resistance, it might mean the difference between life and death. I stared him dead in the eyes. “Promise me.”

He tsked, serving up the food. “Fine, I promise. Here, eat.”

“I’m almost done—”

“No. Now.” He snatched my sketchpad away and set the plate down right in front of me. “Lord knows when you last ate a proper meal.”

“Last night, actually.” Although, I didn’t get to eat the whole thing. He’d gone and pissed me off before I could do that.

He narrowed his eyes, not as pleased with that statement as I would have assumed. He placed a glass of orange juice and a glass of water down next before taking a seat on the empty stool, facing me.

“You’re not going to eat?” I took a bite and had to hold back a moan. So much cheesy goodness.

“I’ll eat after.” He grabbed my stool and yanked me closer in between his legs, his huge, muscular thighs caging me in.

I shrugged and continued eating, not stopping until I finished the whole plate. I pushed it away once I was done. “There. Happy? Can I finish my sketch now?”

“Not yet.” He pushed the glass of orange juice towards me. I rolled my eyes but took a sip, placing it back down. He pushed the glass of water towards me next and I shook my head.

“How much water have you had in the last few days?”

“Tons. At least four bottles,” I said, lying through my teeth. He just stared at me, not believing a single word. “Okay, fine, three bottles.” His fingers tapped on the bench, waiting. “Two,” I amended. He still didn’t move, eyes locked with mine. “Fine! None, okay?”

He nodded, as if he knew that had been the answer all along. He pushed the water towards me again, a silent command to drink it. With a growl, I picked up the glass and swallowed the whole thing in one go before slamming it back down. The smile he gave me afterwards sent my pulse racing.

“Now can I finish my sketch?”

“No.” A gasp flew out of my mouth when he picked me up and plopped my ass down on the island bench, spreading my legs wide. “Now it’s my turn to eat.”

I walked into my apartment a few days later, utterly exhausted. Working a proper jobsucked. I’d managed to pick up a few extra shifts, which I was thankful for. It meant I could actually pay for a manicure this week. One I was indesperateneed of. I swear, a little bit of my soul died any time I caught a glimpse of my nails. It was the longest I’d ever gone without getting some self care done, and I didn’t fucking like it. It made me irritable.

After ourvery memorablemorning the other day, the one where Nikolai ate my pussy until I came three fucking times, he left and went back to New York. There was a lot he had to prepare for. As much as I wanted him to stay, he had to go. I missed him immensely.

It was funny, I’d been putting so much distance between us for so long that I was almost able to forget how much I missed him. How much I enjoyed just being around him. But after those last few weeks of being constantly surrounded by him, his touches and those heated glances that spoke of a million things, it made it impossible to forget. It physicallyhurtto be away from him. I felt like a drug addict, desperate for their next hit. We’d been texting and video calling, but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

I kicked off my shoes and stretched out my toes on the soft carpet. I was so fucking glad the night was over.I’ll make myself some dinner, take a shower and then curl up in bed with a good book.Yes. Sounded like a plan.

It wasn’t only work that had me so tired. I’d been staying up until 1 a.m. every night, trying to get the Kevlar outfit I had in mind for Nikolai finished so he could take it with him on his mission to rescue his father. I’d finally managed to get it done, but it hadn’t been easy. Trying to sew Kevlar was a fucking bitch. But all that mattered was that it was finished, and if it could offer Nikolai even the tiniest bit of protection, then I was happy. It was already on the way to him, express courier.

I took a step towards the kitchen and froze. The light in the spare bedroom was on. I was entirely sure it wasn’t on when I left this morning. A frown on my face, I moved towards the room and opened the door wider.

My jaw dropped.What in the everloving hell?The entire room had been completely re-done. Gone was the bed, the side tables, the dresser…all replaced with a design studio any fashion major wouldkillto fucking have. It was even better than the space I had at home.

A sturdy work table was pushed up against the wall with downlights pointed right at it for optimum lighting. Those weren’t there before. I would have noticed. There was a state-of-the-art sewing machine—a MT-KCO1-ZPL SEG Multi Function Silicone Edge Sewing Machine, to be precise—that ran for a whopping $10,000, easy.

Everything was set up with meticulous detail. There was an array of different fabrics hanging on the wall, just ripe for the picking. Two dress mannequins stood either side of the work table. The scissors, pencils, pens and measuring tapes were aligned neatly. It was…my dream design studio space.

I honestly didn’t know how long I stood there, marvelling over what was right in front of me.

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I whipped out my phone and called the only person in the world who could be responsible for this. He answered on the first ring.

“Good afternoon, love.”

My mouth broke out into a smile. Ever since we’d been back in constant communication, Nikolai had made an active effort not to only answer all of my calls, but answer them immediately. He did the same with my texts, responding straight away. There was even one time when he was sparring with Lukyan that he’d chosen to completely drop his guard and answer my call, resulting in a solid punch to the jaw. I knew that because I’d heard the grunt of pain fly out of his mouth the moment after he accepted.

I was aware of the fact that he was overcompensating. He was trying to prove that no matter the case, he would always be there when I needed him. The emotions it stirred up within me sent me into a tailspin.

“What did you do, Nikolai?”

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