Page 100 of Bratva Butcher

My eyes ran down the length of her smooth, tanned legs.What would they feel like wrapped around my head?

“Just stay the fuck out of my way, Butcher,” she said, manoeuvring her dress back into place to hide her knife. “I’ve got a job to do, and I don’t need you screwing it up.”

She’s here on a job?

As she marched away without even a simple goodbye—again—Mikhail came around the corner. He walked past her, stopped, turned his upper body around to check out her ass, turned back, pulled a face as if to say “not bad” and then continued on.

“Okay, so, little update,” he began, stopping in front of me. “I found Anthony, and—” He frowned, pointing to my neck. “What happened there?”

I touched my throat. Blood coated my fingers.

Huh. Must be from Autumn.

“Cut myself shaving,” I said, sucking the blood away, my gaze still locked firmly on where Autumn disappeared around the corner.

Fuck. Why was I so disappointed she walked away? The image ofmepushingherup against the wall,myknife toherthroat as I fucked her raw soared into my brain. The beast thrashed in its cage. Guilt hit me again at the realization that there was a part of me that wanted to have sex with another woman, but it didn’t help quell the beast. It beat at the bars of its prison, and it was getting harder and harder to keep it locked away.

Mikhail’s frown deepened. “But you didn’t have that when we walked in—”

“I said I cut myself shaving,” I snapped. “What about Anthony?”

He gave me a cross, haughty look, propping his hands on his hips. “You know, one of these days you’re going to snap at me, and I’m going to lose it and punch you in the face.”

Exhaling a sigh, I rolled my eyes, pushing off the wall. “And when that day comes, I’ll most likely deserve it. Now, what about Anthony?”

“Well, I found him. Problem is, it’s proving more difficult than I thought to get him alone. I know you don’t want to stay for the dinner, but—”

“We’re staying for the dinner.”

“Now, just hear me out for a second because—wait, what?”

“We’re staying for the dinner,” I repeated more sternly, straightening the lapels of my suit jacket.

He looked at me as if I’d grown a second head or something. “I—wha—” he spluttered, shaking his head. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”

“So say nothing.” I ran a hand through my hair and rolled my shoulders back, determination settling deep into my bones.I let Autumn get away from me once. It wasn’t happening again. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Autumn DeValos

Of-fucking-course.

Dimitri Volkov, the man who’d consumed my every waking thought for the past two bloody weeks was there, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Fucking hell,” I blew out as I made my way back to the party.

Walking away from him had been one of the hardest things I’d ever done. Staying away from him… Even harder.

I didn’t expect it. I was sure once I was finally away from him that the strange infatuation I had would disappear right along with him. I mean, the man drove me batshit crazy half the time with his snobby attitude, annoying insults and stupid, handsome fucking face.

And yet, there was this aching need deep in my soul to be near him. To see him. To hear his voice.

I tried everything I could think of the past few weeks to keep myself busy in the hopes he would vanish from my mind. I worked out. Read. Binge-watched all my favourite comfort television shows. Even threw myself into my work, completing three contracts. I’d never done that before in that time frame.

But none of it worked.

Dimitri was still there, occupying my mind to the point where not a single day had gone past since the island that I hadn’t thought about him. Wondered what he was doing. If he was missing me too.

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