Page 2 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

One of the women isgorgeous.

She's young, with long white-blonde hair that cascades down her back like a waterfall of moonlight. Even from this distance, I can see her striking blue eyes—they're the color of a clear winter sky, piercing and intense. Her smile is radiant, lighting up her entire face and seeming to brighten the dimly lit bar.Fuck, was she beautiful.

I find myself transfixed, unable to tear my gaze away. She moves with effortless grace, each gesture fluid and captivating, a stark contrast to her brunette friend, who seemed far more shy. I watch the blonde settle into her seat, leaning close to her friend as they continue their animated discussion.

Something about her is magnetic, drawing my attention in a way I'm unaccustomed to. I'm not one to be easily distracted, especially not by a beautiful woman. My life has been defined by discipline and focus. I’ve been surrounded by beautiful women my entire life, the ones my brothers and cousins brought around, the ones working at our clubs. Besides, romance and relationships have never been a priority. They’re a distraction, if anything. I can’t even be bothered with quick fucks most of the time.

Yet, I can't seem to look away from her.

I look between the two briefly, and it only takes a few seconds of inspecting them closely for me to see that they look incredibly out of place. The girl on the left, with shoulder-length brown hair, looks terribly nervous. She fiddles with her colorful drink while her eyes seemingly struggle to focus on her surroundings.

The beauty across from her couldn’t be more of the total opposite; she was very obviously drunk and did not seem to feel out of place one bit. But the two of them looked young, really young, the kind of young that had me questioning how well the doormen at this establishment checked their IDs before letting them through.

The bartender returns with my whiskey, breaking me from my thoughts. I nod in thanks, taking a long sip of the amber liquid. The burn in my throat helps ground me, reminding me why I'm here. I'm supposed to be checking on the new security installations, not ogling patrons.

I force my gaze away from the blonde woman, scanning the room once more. This time, I'm looking for the new security cameras. I spot several discreetly placed in the corners and along the bar, their sleek designs blending seamlessly with the decor. Nova Security has done an impressive job with the installation so far.

As I continue my assessment, my mind frustratingly wanders back to her. I try to ignore it, pulling out my phone to bring up the app that would allow me remote access to my computer to view the camera feeds, but inevitably, my gaze pulls back towards the girls, to the blonde. Part of me feels like I couldn’t tear my eyes away if I wanted to. And why would I want to? This woman is fucking sexy. With sparkling eyes and a perfect smile, her features all come together perfectly on a heart-shaped face, which bore simple but sparkly makeup that suited her well. A sexy, tight-fitting black dress with a sparkly decal hugged her slender body so flawlessly that it could have been glued to her skin.

It was hard to look away from her, just as hard as it was to ignore the heat growing in my crotch.

All of a sudden, the blonde unexpectedly looks my way, making direct eye contact with me. I notice the heat rush to her cheeks immediately as she averts her gaze, and I can’t help but smirk at this, which she catches once she looks back. This time, she doesn’t look away.

The corners of her glossy lips curl into a flirtatious grin.Brave girl…I think to myself as our eyes lock. I’m impressed with how quickly it took her to gather her confidence. The hot sensation spreads further across my lower abdomen, causing a fire to flicker to life within me. I can’t help but smile in amusement as I watch her closely.

I twirl my glass in my fingers, bringing the rim to my lips to take a small sip of the bronze liquid. She also takes another sip of her drink, then slowly pulls away. Her tongue pokes out from her perfectly plump lips and gently swipes her tongue across her bottom lip to lick away a droplet from her drink.

Her smile, that daring look in her cerulean eyes… It’s all it takes for me to rise from my chair and make my way towards their table with unwavering confidence. I watch her stiffen as I stop in front of her, and her friend looks up at me with confusion.

“What’s your name?” is the first thing I ask her, my tone firm but gentle. Everybody I know says I appear extremely intimidating, and I don’t blame them at all. I’m tall and muscular, have sharp, dark features, and a piercing gaze. It makes sense why someone would be quick to judge me off the rip. So, I have to be a bit careful about how I approach people. I don’t want to scare this pretty girl away… Although, judging by the look in her eyes, I don’t think I could, anyway.

She exchanges a look with her friend, her lips slightly parted as she returns her gaze to me. The confidence shewore early seems to have come to an unexpected halt, and embarrassment flashes across her eyes. I can’t help but smirk, my amusement clearly flustering her further as her cheeks grow red.

“Um…” The woman finally says as she turns in her seat to face me fully and clears her throat. “Gwen. My name is Gwen.”

“Gwen…” I savor her name in my mouth before it rolls off my tongue smoothly. “What a beautiful name.” And it was. It suits her well.

She smiles, and I can see the nerves start to leak from her face. “Thank you,” she says. “What’s your name?”

My smirk deepens as I hear the confidence start to return to her voice. “Roman,” I tell her before lifting my arm and extending my hand to her. She lifts her own hand and delicately places it in my palm, which I bring to my mouth to softly kiss the back of it. “It’s lovely to meet you, Gwen.”

Gwen giggles. “You too.”

I turn my focus momentarily to her friend. “What’s your name?” I ask. I’m a gentleman. While Gwen is my sole focus, I’m not the kind of man to simply ignore the other people with my target. I’m a gentleman, for fucks sake.

The brunette is more flustered than Gwen was. “R-Riley,” she sputters, then shoots me an awkward grin.

“It’s nice to meet you, Riley,” I tell her as I shake her hand, but I don’t kiss it like I did with Gwen. I remain respectful, but Gwen has my interest, and I want her to know that.

“Where are you girls from?” I ask as I glance back over at Gwen, who sits forward in her chair and crosses one leg over the other as I speak. She seems to have noticed my interest in herand wants to showcase her interest as well. “I haven’t seen you around here before,” I add.

“We’re from around here,” Gwen answers. “We go to the University of Nevada.” Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Riley kick Gwen’s foot under the table, and the two girls exchange a short-lived, annoyed glance.

“Ah, you’re students?” I make a mental note to inquire about that further later. Right now, I want to know what brings them to this place. And I also want to find a way to get Gwen to leave here with me. I already have a few ideas in mind.

“What brings you girls to a place like this?” I ask as I tuck my hands into the pockets of my dress pants. The question is for both of them, but my eyes are only on Gwen, and hers only on mine.

“We were looking for a bit of fun,” She answers in almost a purr, her sweet voice rolling over me in a smooth caress and adding more fuel to the fire within me. She tilts her head just barely as she maintains eye contact.

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