Page 6 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

My shock is so palpable that Riley picks up on what’s going on right away this time. “Who’s that?” She asks in a whisper as if the man would hear us from the other side of the room.

“I don’t know,” is all I’m able to sputter before the man is standing right in front of our table. He’s so tall that I have to crane my neck to look up at him.

“What’s your name?”

I shiver under the intensity of his baritone voice. He has a Russian accent, which only makes him ten times more mysterious and intimidating than he already is.

My lips part, but no words come out. I’m suddenly flustered. It feels like the words are caught in my throat.

Fuck. What’s wrong with me?

I exchange a glance with Riley, who has a startled expression. She seems to be just as speechless as I am, and she’s not even the one being addressed.

It takes me almost a full thirty seconds to force back the lump in my throat and feign a look of confidence. “Um…” I clear my throat as the smile returns to my face, only this time it was more shy than flirty. “Gwen. My name is Gwen.”

“Gwen…” He repeats my name to me slowly, almost as if tasting it in his mouth, savoring it. His eyebrows lift just barely with interest. “What a beautiful name,” he adds, causing my heart to flutter. My grin widens.

“Thank you,” I can’t help but giggle. The nervousness begins to die down, replaced with a newfound courage. “What’s your name?”

“Roman,” he replies. He extends his arm, and I look down at his large hand. My breath hitches as I slide my much smaller hand into his and watch as he brings it upwards to place a small kiss on the back of it. There’s something completely magnetizing about this man. “It’s lovely to meet you, Gwen.”

“You too,” I nearly sputter. I continue to watch him as he greets Riley the same way, except he doesn’t kiss the back of her hand like he did with mine. I can’t help but feel special. I can’t help but wonder if that was an intentional move on his end and, if so, if he wanted me to see it.

“Where are you girls from?” Roman asks. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”

“We’re from around here,” I said almost too quickly. I’m eager to ask him the same question, eager to know everything I possibly can about this dark, mysterious man. I don’t even realize I’m perhaps sharing too much information with a stranger as I add, “We go to the University of Nevada.”

A sharp pain suddenly hits me in the shin, and it takes everything in me not to wince out loud. I look over at Riley, who’s already glaring my way. I give her a look that sayssorrybefore Roman’s voice forces my eyes back in his direction.

“Ah, you’re students?” He asks, and I nod.

“I’m studying psychology,” I say, glancing over swiftly at Riley. I wait for her to add to the conversation, but she’s purposefully keeping her head down. I curse at her mentally before I return my attention to Roman.

“What brings you girls to a place like this?” Roman asks next, and I watch as he tucks his hands into his pants pockets. My eyes uncontrollably pull to the left towards his crotch, causing a throbbing sensation to sprout in my own before I immediately fix my gaze to meet his eyes once more.

“We were looking for a bit of fun,” I answer, and I can feel Riley lift her head to look at me, sensing my flirtatious tone. Roman seems to pick up on it quite easily, too, as I notice his stare grow more intense, and I tilt my head as my smile widens.

“Really?” He hums and leans a bit closer. “And what kind of fun was that?”

I lean in closer, my voice dropping to a sultry whisper. "Oh, you know..." I trail my fingers along the edge of my glass, watching Roman's eyes follow the movement. "We're notlooking for anything too wild, just enough excitement to make the night memorable."

As I speak, I notice Roman's attention isn't fully on me. His eyes dart around the room, scanning the crowd with an intensity that sends a shiver down my spine. There's a tightness in his jaw, a subtle tension in his shoulders that wasn't there a moment ago.

"Is that so?" he murmurs, his accent thicker now as if his mind is elsewhere. "And have you found what you're looking for?"

I bite my lip, trying to recapture his full attention. "I think I might have," I purr, but I can’t get rid of the sudden feeling of disappointment that brushes down my spine. Did I do something wrong? Say the wrong thing? “What about you?” I ask, trying to rid myself of these sensless feelings.

Finally, his attention returns to me, and he smiles. “Business. The place belongs to my family. I’m checking out some new security features we implemented recently.”

I perk up with great interest. “Really? That’s so cool. So, you run this place?”

“Something like that,” He says, and just like that, his gaze shifts, and he’s gone again. I nearly sigh out loud, defeated. One moment, he’s practically undressing me with his eyes; the other, it’s almost as if the conversation doesn’t mean anything to him.

Then, he says something that erases those feelings entirely. ”Actually,” Roman says, making eye contact with me once more. “I do own this V.I.P. club on the strip. It’s incredibly hard to get into, but for you girls… I’ll make the exception.”

My eyes light up, and I bite my lip, excitement coursing through my veins. I look at Riley, expecting her to share similarfeelings, but the look in her eyes tells me the opposite. Without saying a word, her eyebrows knit together, and she shakes her head nondescriptly. She doesn’t want to go.

I tilt my head, raising my eyebrows in a pleading manner. Come on, Riley, I think to myself. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A V.I.P. club on the strip? Hell, you couldn’t even get into the regular clubs most of the time on the strip, with how busy they were. And here Roman was, giving us easy access? How could we pass that up?

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