Page 55 of Bratva Butcher

Tense, nervous energy suffocated the room as we all waited to see who would be the next to fight. I cracked my neck, restlessness humming beneath my skin, just dying to be unleashed.

I tried to pay attention to what was happening on the TV, but I was acutely aware of how close Dimitri was to me. My skin felt hot, hypersensitive, my whole body electrified from the events of the night prior and that fucking sex dream.

We hadn’t said a word to each other all day, both of us choosing to ignore everything and pretend like none of it happened. Pretend that we hadn’t been eye-fucking each other the whole time as a massive orgy played out around us. Pretend he hadn’t thrown a pillow at me to wake me up because I was most likely moaning as I was coming in my dream.

We ignored it all, and I was partly glad. I didn’t want any questions about what it was exactly I had been dreaming about.

My eyes were on the TV, but I wasn’t really taking anything in. I wasn’t really listening as the presenters droned on and on. My mind kept replaying the dream like a movie. Usually, I couldn’t remember what I dreamed about, but that one didn’t seem to want to go away. I could still feel how real it felt having his hands on me.His lips. His tongue. His—

“You look a little…tense.”

I jolted at Dimitri’s deep, husky voice in my ear. I turned my head to look at him. He wasright there, in my space, a smirk on his lips. “Rough sleep last night?”

I cleared my throat. “No. I slept like a baby.”

“Did you? Hmm.” Amusement twinkled in his eyes. “Sounded a little… Oh, what’s the word…Eventful?” he breathed against my skin.

I narrowed my eyes at that teasing tone. Dimitri didn’t tease, so the fact that he was put me on edge.

“Nope. It was completelyuneventful.”

“Well, what was it about?”

I tried to ignore him, but he moved even closer, his chest brushing against my shoulder as he stayed bent to whisper in my ear.

I straightened, determined not to react, like it was just any normal conversation. “Just the usual things. Murder. Death. Squirrels.”

He leant back slightly, looking at me with humor in his eyes. “Squirrels?”

“They’re cute and fluffy and we don’t have them in Australia.”

“I see,” he chuckled. “Nothing else, then? Nothing more…exciting?”

That prick.He wanted me to say it. Wanted me to admit I’d had a sex dream.

Well, I sure as shit wasn’t going to do that.

“Nope.” I forced my eyes to look around the room. Anywhere but at him. “In fact, there was nothing even remotely exciting about it at all. Boring, you could say. Dull.”

“Dull? Oh, it didn’t sound dull to me.” I didn’t move a muscle as he pushed even closer to me and tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear. Shivers danced down my spine, and I worked hard not to let it show. His lips brushed against the sensitive skin below my ear, and he moaned seductively, softly,“Dimitri, oh, yes, Dimitri.”

I ground my teeth together and rammed my elbow deep into his ribs. He grunted, then threw his head back and let loose a boisterous laugh, even as he gripped his side where I’d hit him.

I blinked, too shocked to do anything but stare. In all the time we’d been forced in each other’s presence, I’d never seen him laugh. Reluctantly chuckle, yes. But laugh? Full-blown laughter?

No. I honestly thought I’d die before witnessing such an unlikely event.

I would have never thought a man’s laughter could be a beautiful thing. But staring at Dimitri with his head thrown back and body shaking convinced me otherwise. He should definitely have laughed more.

“Are we ready for round two of the Til Death Games?!” a voice roared from the TVs, and just like that, any trace of laughter and playfulness vanished from between us in an instant like it had never been there to begin with.

The room fell inexplicably silent, everyone waiting on bated breath to see who would be called on next to fight. The camera panned to the massive jumbotron that hung suspended above the arena, revealing the first pair.

Lily Cole and Roger Ward.

There was barely a one-second delay before the guards swarmed forward. Almost as a collective, the other prisoners took one wide step back away from Lily and Roger as if they feared they might be accidentally mistaken for them and taken in their place.

Quickly and efficiently, the guards removed their chains and collars, and shoved them through the open door in front of us, right into the arena.

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