Page 35 of Claimed By the Bratva

“Just wait here,” Anton said as he headed to the ticket booth. “I’m getting us some tickets,” he added, looking back at me over his shoulder.

The place was quite busy, and there were many people around. Some stood watching their kids on the rides, others sat eating or drinking and chatting in little clusters. Turning in a slow circle, I felt excitement creeping up my spine.

I had only been to a carnival once and never an amusement park. My parents said it was filled with things that made children lose their way. Suddenly, Anton popped up next to me. The tickets were pealing out between his fingers.

“Wait,” I huffed, taking some from him. “Let me help before you lose them or tear them.” I giggled as he pulled a frowny face. Once the tickets were sorted, I held them out to him as I spoke. “You have so many we’re going to be here all week.”

Anton winked at me as he replied. “I had to make sure we have enough to enjoy this day.” He took the tickets back and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the Ferris wheel. “We will do this ride first, as I want to show you something,” he said, handing the man some tickets.

The man opened the chain, and Anton stepped to the side, waving for me to enter first. I stepped past him and sat down in the iron basket. He took his place next to me and lowered the safety bar. The machine hummed as it prepared to move. It jolted before moving slowly forward, causing me to let out a small scream.

Anton laughed as he shifted closer and placed his arm around my shoulders. “You’re safe,” he whispered as we started moving up. As we moved higher, the trees began clearing, and we could see past them. Anton pointed out some of the places. As he told me more about each, he also told me why they were important.

Some of them his mother had taken him to, others were part of their businesses, and some were where he shared memories with his siblings. I was fascinated to see the happiness he felt sharing. He was so full of life that I felt happy. Seeing him this way made me see him in a different light. Maybe we could have something after all, I thought as the wheel moved us higher.

Anton looked at me as we reached the very top and the wheel stopped moving. He didn’t say anything, only sat smiling at me. This made me blush, and I looked away. He gently took my cheek and turned my head back as he rubbed my cheek with his thumb.

Placing my hand over his, I squeezed softly. Once we left the Ferris wheel, Anton dragged me from one ride to the next.He was like a child that couldn’t wait to try the next one. After a train ride, we also challenged each other with bumper cars.

Shortly after getting in, we received the signal that we could start moving. On the first lap, Anton rode next to me slowly. Once we passed the start line, I noticed a wicked smile forming on his lips. Without warning, he turned and bumped into my car. This caused mine to spin in a circle.

I looked over my shoulder as the car turned and pushed down onto the pedal as the car faced him. Hitting him with a bit more speed didn’t have the impact I had hoped for. We chased each other around, laughing every time our cars bumped. They were hard to drive, and I wasn’t fairing too good, but I enjoyed it.

He took me on a couple more rides. Some were fast, others a tad scary, but all were fun. Stepping off the swings, he grabbed my arm and turned me in a circle before pulling me into his arms. “Let’s get a snack,” he said, kissing my cheek. “I’m feeling a little hungry.”

“Only a little?” I asked, surprised.

Anton laughed as he placed his arm around my shoulders, walking towards the food court. “Okay, baby T-rex, let’s get you something big to eat.”

I pulled away slightly and gave him a shove. It felt nice being out with him and having some stability after all that had happened. We shared candy floss, and each had a slushy to drink. Anton wiped down one of the benches and sat down. He patted beside him, inviting me to sit.

As we shared our snack, I noticed he couldn’t keep his eyes off me. Teasing him, I placed a hand on my leg and slowly pulled my dress up as I pulled towards me. Exposing my thigh, I saw a sparkle in his eyes.

Moving closer to him, I broke off a piece of candy floss and fed it to him. Staring into his eyes, I licked off my fingers. Anton smiled as he leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Are you trying to seduce me?” He whispered.

“Trying?” I replied, licking my lips. “I don’t need to try. I can see it in your eyes.”

He beamed as he rose, taking my hand. We strolled through some of the vendors, looking at various items for sale. At each one, he bought me something. “I don’t need any of these,” I protested.

“It’s worth every penny for you,” he replied.

Walking towards the back, we happened to come upon the game tables. There was a variety of games. There were so many to choose from. I was looking around us from one to the other, trying to decide. Anton grabbed my hand and pulled me with as he moved forward.

I almost stumbled and took a few short steps to keep my balance. “Slow down, what’s the rush?” I asked as I pulled back.

“This is the one,” Anton said, pointing at one of the tables. “You only need to knock over the bottles to win a prize.”

“The more you knock over, the bigger the prize,” the man behind the counter added.

Moving closer, I took Anton’s hand as I stood on my toes and whispered in his ear. “You know most of these are rigged. Your chances are one to zero.”

Grinning at me, he replied cockily. “We’ll see about that.”

Anton exchanged tickets for three balls. He threw the first one. I watched in anticipation as it missed going to the right of the stand. His second ball also missed, going to the far left, andended up between some teddy bears. He winked at me as he turned his arm and took aim again.

He twisted his head from side to side before lining up for the last throw. The ball moved with so much strength that it knocked over the entire stack, plus the one next to it.

My mouth dropped open. Looking at him astounded, he placed his hands behind his head and shrugged. His smile stretched from ear to ear. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me lightly.

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