Page 15 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

As far as I could tell, he was overstepping, and I wasn’t sure how much more I could put up with before I’d inevitably snap at him.

Chapter 7 - Damien

I was pushing it. I knew I was.

As aware as I was about how I was handling the whole situation with the rat and being around Sky, the ice I was treading couldn’t have been any thinner.

Only a full week had passed, and Sky was consuming my thoughts no matter how hard I tried to keep her face out of my mind, and it was threatening my job. My objective.

As far as she knew, I was just there for general safety and security. There weren’t any underlying issues or people I needed to look into. In her mind, my being there was just a precaution.

But being so near her, and knowing she was practically close enough to reach and touch, was driving me insane. Without a doubt, it was keeping me from giving my full attention to the job at hand.

It was all so maddening, and I didn’t know what to do about any of it. The intense infatuation was a first for me, and something about that was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.

Plus, I couldn’t ignore how my outbursts were pushing her away bit by bit.

I was being weird and impulsive, and I could feel her easing back. Her sunny, warm behavior seemed less so whenever I was around and it made my stomach clench.

Everything was slipping out of my grasp at an alarming rate, and I was ill-equipped to handle it. I was losing my mind and growing more desperate with every passing day. It was all so unlike me, and that was one of the more terrifying aspects…how someone as innocent as Sky could flip everything upside down for me.

How she could set my life on fire and be blissfully unaware.

Knowing how much her opinion of me mattered still annoyed me, but there was no point trying to fight it then. It was a losing battle, and by then, I didn’t even want to resist it.

I just wanted her.

With a huffed breath, I pulled up to one of the nightclubs owned by the Levovs and gave the valet my key fob before heading inside.

I didn’t know how much more I’d be able to take of the whole situation without completely losing my mind, but as the loud music moved through the space while I walked through, eyes scanning the dimly lit room, I hoped my little meeting with the Levovs would help keep my mind off Sky long enough to accomplish something more concrete.

As I walked in, a small brunette approached me, dressed in a black lingerie set while she carried a tray of drinks. Her eyes raked over me before she grinned with a faint glimmer in her gaze.

I knew that look. And at one time, it would’ve piqued my interest.

She was a pretty thing, and willing to spend more time with me than required, but I just couldn’t find it in me to reciprocate.

“Anything I can help you with?”

Despite sensing the hidden meaning in her words as she smiled at me too obviously, I kept my focus and easily remembered why I was there in the first place.

“I’m looking for Lukyan and Kir. I have a meeting with them,” I stated plainly, not lending her any kind of intrigue.

To the untrained eye, she might’ve looked just as polite as before, but I noticed the slight slip in her gaze. The veiled disappointment that I wasn’t biting the bait yet.

But I didn’t care anyway. It didn’t matter.

My mind was too preoccupied with that damn blonde woman to bring myself to follow along with her suggestion.

The woman nodded, then gestured for me to follow. The light in her expression faded by a touch as she led me further into the club. “This way…”

I scoffed inwardly at the newfound iciness that surrounded her as she brought me closer to the VIP section. Not far from the semi-circle of deep couches surrounded by modern decor and glass tables, there was an extended section of the main stage just for them, where the mostly naked dancers did their thing as practiced as anything.

Ignoring the dancers and their enticing aura, I found Luk and Kir sitting in the section while a woman with long black hair sat in the latter’s lap. The worker from before didn’t say anything before she ducked away and disappeared somewhere in the club.

Despite how the woman was vying for Kir’s attention while she perched on his thigh, arm draped around the back of his neck, he continued to watch the women on stage while he sipped from his glass, clearly finding satisfaction in the whole arrangement.

Luk, on the other hand, had his eyes on the dancers, but his legs were crossed while he bounced one impatiently and glanced down at his watch.

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