Page 156 of Bratva Butcher

Arturo made a beeline straight for me. “Pepperoni. Extra cheese.” He put one of the boxes down in front of me.

“My hero,” I groaned, flicking the box open. The scent of freshly cooked salami hit my nose, and I groaned again. “Fuck yes.” I didn’t hesitate to pick up a piece and take a huge bite. “Thank you.”

He ran his thumb over my lower lip before planting a kiss on my mouth. “You’re welcome.” He moved behind me as I tucked into the pizza and boxed me in, his arms coming around to rest his hands on the island bench in front of me. “How are you?” he whispered in my ear.

Shivers danced down my spine. God, I loved having him so close. “I’m okay.”

He leant closer, burying his face in my hair and inhaling deeply, breathing in my scent. “No, you’re not. But we’ll talk about it later.”

A few of the soldiers entered the kitchen through the double glass doors leading out to the patio. Aleksandr offered them some pizza, and all but one graciously accepted.

“Thanks, but my wife is on my back about watching my cholesterol.” Jonas moved to the fridge and pulled out a container full of food. He popped it into the microwave to reheat it.

“So how long are you staying?” I asked Tatiana in between bites. My unbelievably distracting husband didn’t move from his spot, staying cocooned around me. Not that I was complaining or anything. It just made it incredibly hard for me to focus.

“I’ll be staying for a few days, but I need to be back for classes on Monday. I told Nikolai to stay—”

“Which he will not be doing,” Nikolai cut in, reaching for a slice of pizza.

Yeah, I wasn’t at all surprised to hear that. I took a bite of my pizza and held it up in the air for Arturo. He leant forward and bit into it. “How are classes going?”

“Good!” she answered cheerfully. “They’ve only really just started, but I’m enjoying it so far—oh, man.” Her entire face paled, a look of nauseousness washing over her.

“What? What’s wrong?” Nikolai immediately asked, jumping to his feet and laying a hand on her back.

“Oh, nothing. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. You look like you’re going to be sick. Do you feel sick? Do you need to lie down? I can carry you upstairs to bed—”

“Calm down, love. I’m okay.” Tatiana took a deep breath in, and it seemed to make it worse. Her hand flew to her mouth like she was just about to throw up, her cheeks puffing.

“I don’t think you are.” I lay a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe you should rest.”

“No, no, I’m honestly fine. It’s just—”

“Just what? What is it?” Nikolai persisted, his eyes filled with concern.

Jonas joined us, placing his container of hot, steaming food down on the island bench. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it smelt like some sort of fish dish. Tatiana’s eyes locked onto the food, and her face paled even more.

Nikolai noticed instantly. “Is it that?” he asked, pointing to it. “Is it making you feel nauseous?”

Tatiana seemed hesitant to answer. “It’s honestly okay. I can handle it—no, Nikolai, don’t.”

My brother was already moving. He picked up Jonas’ container, marched to the double doors and hurled the food outside.

“Hey!” Jonas barked incredulously. “My wife made me that!”

He still had a fork in his hand with some of the dish on it. Nikolai snatched that up too and threw it outside.

“Jesus. He’s really taking this ’protective’ thing to a whole new level, isn’t he?” I chuckled, watching as Nikolai took things one step further by throwing Jonas out next.

“You have no idea,” Tatiana all but groaned.

“We should have some fun with it. Oh my god, I have a great idea for a prank—”

“No,” she said immediately.

“Oh, come on!” An excited thrill shot through me. “You don’t even know what I’m gonna say. What if we—”

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