Page 40 of Kidnapped Bratva Virgin

As soon as I see my boy’s face in my mind, I stop… forgetting about Dimitri. For he can never know that I have a son. It would complicate things, and they’re already bad enough. I pull into the underground parking lot of my apartment with a steel resolve.

Never can he know.Never.

Chapter Twenty- Two - Dimitri

I can’t get her out of my head. And I’ve tried, but Ava’s sticking inside it like glue. Where does she get off talking to me like that? With all that sassiness and wit? And how the fuck did she get smarter and more beautiful? A woman who betrayed me doesn’t deserve for that to happen to her.

I sit in my hotel chair waiting for Viktor to come, contemplating, stewing and plotting what I should do with Ms. Knight. There’s a punishment she needs to receive, but my head’s not clear enough to work out what it is. All I can remember from the meeting is how those curvaceous hips of hers moved in the night. Or how she used to laugh when I tickled her under her armpit. She had all these places she was squirming in when I touched her. I liked how smart she was and when I used to ask her about how she would maneuver in a deal it had me thinking I could give her an arm of the Bratva business to open up.

Every man deserves one time to be foolish, and that’s it. I had my fool’s dream, and thankfully I’ve recovered from it. Twisting the ring around on my finger, I think about Cara, trying to do a dance in my head in order to convince myself that she’s the right person for me to marry, but Ava’s blowing that ideal to smithereens.

I’m angry, and she’s the problem. She can’t exist anymore for me, but here she is in sunny L.A. thriving in her law career after I turned her out of my house four years ago. No, no, no. Can’t be.

The phone rings, interrupting my toxic thoughts, and I answer. It’s Cara. “Shit,” I say out loud under my breath, a flashof irritation riding over my face. She’s the last person I want to talk to right now, even if she’s my fiancée.

“Hey, how are you?” I ask tersely, hoping the call is quick.

“Nothing much. I haven’t heard from you since you got to L.A., and I wanted to know how the deal is going?”

Not about me. You wanted to know about the deal. I stare at the phone, my nostrils flaring, and heat flaming through my veins. “The deal’s going well. We’re on the last legs with it, and likely finalizing it this morning.”

Gasping, Cara claps as I wince. “Congratulations! That’s such a big deal, right? I’m proud of you,” she replies, knowing how to say all the right things at the right time, and frankly it pisses me off.

“Thanks. Is that all you wanted?” I snap, wanting to cause a fight—something that will show me a deeper depth to Cara, but she doesn’t fold, turning up the sickly sweetness in her voice even more.

“Yes, that’s all I wanted. Enjoy your celebrations, and I look forward to sharing the win with you when you get home. Bye, fiancé.”

“Bye, Cara.” I hang up the phone, the last sentence frying me.Bye, fiancé.The tone in which she said it made me feel as if she were taunting me a little, or maybe I’m paranoid because of Ava.

Viktor knocks on the door announcing himself. “Hey. It’s me. Open up.” Standing, I get myself together, wrenching the door back in a foul mood. “Ah, that bad a morning, is it?” He clamps a hand down on my shoulder with a smile. “Boss, it’s going to get better. We’re about to sign the deal of a lifetime. This will send profits through the roof!” Viktor swipes his hand against the other in a gesture that normally would make mesmile. Because if there’s anything I like more, it’s power and more money, but Ava’s got her claws in my heart and mind, and she’s not letting go.

“Fuck. I need a drink.”

Viktor stares at me in surprise. “You don’t drink when you’re in meetings. Is this about seeing Ava?”

“Yes.” I pick up the whisky on the bar, adding two glasses and filling one for each of us. “That’s what this is about. You’re drinking with me. I need something to take the edge off.” Slamming the golden liquid down my throat I let the burn hurt good, shaking it out.

“What’s your plan for her. I know you have one.”

“Punishment.”

“Ah, punishment.” Viktor swirls his drink in the glass but knocks it back. “Ahh, I’m going to have plenty more of these after the deal. Come on. We have to go. We can talk about it on the ride over.”

“Alright, let’s seal the deal and be done.” On the way over, we don’t discuss Ava. As close as Viktor is to my operations, I don’t want him finding out the depths of my disdain for Ms. Knight. That’s my burden to carry, and mine alone.

As we near the building, I hear the hammer in my chest but ignore it as we ascend in the elevator and then enter the boardroom. Ava’s already in the room with Anatoly, prepared as usual. All the documents are laid out in front of us with tabs to be signed and discussed. I have to hand it to her; she’s savvy, methodical, and extremely good at her job. I hate to admit that Thompson and Associates are lucky to have her, but that’s maybe something I can set about changing….

Smirking, I greet Anatoly first as he stands with a grin on his face. As he should, he stands to make a lot of money from this deal. “Morning, gentlemen, are we ready to make history here?”

“That’s exactly what we’re here to do,” I say, staring at Ava, who looks particularly tasty this morning, her familiar scent of orange blossom wafting through the air. I know the perfume; it’s one she picked out when she was with me. A stabbing ache hits my chest. I don’t want to remember. Fuck. Why couldn’t she pick a new perfume?

“Good morning, everyone,” she says professionally to both Viktor and me. Of course you won’t say my name, will you? You should be ashamed, Ava, not standing in here in your black dress with red lips and your glossy mane ready to cut deals. A man could die in her curves, and I should know; I had the pleasure of enjoying them every night in my bed. “Now that everyone’s here we can get started in a few minutes. Feel free to grab a drink and something to eat before we get started.”

I can’t let her get away with anything. Viktor and Anatoly catch up as Ava turns to the coffee station set up behind with cookies, croissants, and juice, making herself a coffee. I walk over, snatching the opportunity before the others join us. Ava side-eyes me, and I feel her shiver.

Good. I want to make her sweat as much as possible in this meeting. She holds her ground, pouring water from the urn and stirring in milk. The sugar is on the other side of her and all I have to do is step around her back, but I don’t. I reach my arm across in front, grazing her breast, and she gasps, her cherry-red lips parting, her eyes glaring at me.

“Sorry, Ms. Knight.”

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