Page 34 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

I wanted to be brave. To stand my ground and stick it out. To face him and be normal about it. But the longer I took in how great he looked, and how perfectly his button-up seemed to hug his body, the worse that need to flee became.

God, he was perfect-looking. He was a walking dream, and he was coming my way, but at the last minute, I excused myself and headed straight for the bathroom.

As much as I wanted to talk to him and feel that spark between us again, he was so intense. He seemed to be everywhere at once, and if even for just a moment, I needed to delay that interaction for my own peace of mind.

I hated the position I was putting myself in, but I didn’t know what to do.

Chapter 15 - Damien

At first, I thought my luck was starting to run out and all of my chance encounters with Sky, whether influenced by me to some degree or not, were coming to an end. I was afraid I’d go all night without running into her, but by chance, I spotted her not too far away, and I knew I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.

Initially, I wondered if I had been missing her by just a hair, or if she didn’t end up showing at all, but seeing her there only confirmed a new suspicion of mine—that she had been avoiding me.

The second I watched as she dismissed herself from the conversation with Gemma and some of our associates, only to head in the direction of the washrooms, my heart squeezed, and there was no doubting it then.

She was definitely avoiding me.

Something about that thought both made my blood boil and spurred me on, prepared to get even a moment with her if that was all I could have.

I didn’t know what I wanted out of speaking to her, but I just knew I had to. I needed to use the event to my advantage and spend as much time with her as I physically could.

That building need to be around her was only getting worse and it irritated me, but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t be without it. I couldn’t be without her.

Ever since I started that godforsaken operation in the office, my fixation on her had only gotten worse, and I wasn’t prepared to let Sky slip away again. Regardless of her hot and cold attitude toward me, I knew we had something between us, and I wouldn’t drop it until she outright told me to. Buteven then, I knew it would be near impossible for me to quit altogether.

I tasted her once, and I was determined to again.

As annoyed as I was about having to track her down, I couldn’t help but let my eyes linger on her black dress and how it seemed to hug her so perfectly.

Shaking those usual stubborn thoughts away, I picked up the pace just as she turned toward the hall leading to the washrooms, and managed to get a few steps behind her.

“Sky—wait.”

She startled at the sudden intrusion of my voice, and her shoulders fell slightly as she froze in her place. With a hint of reluctance to her movements, she turned to face me. A sheepishness seemed to emanate from her, surely at being caught at last.

“Damien…”

The way she didn’t say my name with any kind of enthusiasm made my chest burn slightly, but I urged myself to ignore it, and I took a step closer as I forced myself to be as normal as possible. Rather, to be cordial and more of a gentleman than I had been.

Essentially, I needed to tone down how overbearing and upfront I had been around her.

I didn’t know what she was hung up on or why she was avoiding me, but I was determined to not give her a reason to continue that way.

If my previous behavior had been an issue, then I was determined to change it for her. But before that could happen, I needed to understand what was going through her head.

“Can we talk? Please?” I asked, hoping she wouldn’t use some kind of flimsy excuse to get away from me. I didn’t know what I’d do if she tried.

Sky avoided my gaze for a moment, letting go of a sigh, and then she finally looked at me and nodded. While reluctant, it was still a yes, and I wasn’t about to fumble it.

Gesturing with my head for her to follow, I began in the direction of a more secluded spot in the bar, hoping to not be interrupted by anyone. That was the last thing I needed after finally getting the chance to get some things off my chest.

Even if her arms were crossed and she looked half willing to hear me out, Sky followed and didn’t try to weasel out of it even as we reached the more secluded spot. While her attention seemed half splintered on listening to me and wanting to find a way out, I was going to take it anyway.

Taking a moment to glance around, ensuring we were alone, I focused entirely on her and let go of a quiet breath while I psyched myself up. It was important, and I didn’t want to ruin the moment.

For perhaps one of the first times in my life, I felt genuinely nervous—afraid of saying the wrong thing and pushing her further away. But that was how I knew she was important to me.

“I don’t think it’s a secret of how…weird things have been between us recently, but I don’t want it to stay that way,” I said, trying to keep my voice as full of conviction as I could without sounding too demanding. “I don’t know how you feel about us hooking up a few weeks ago, but I want you to know it’s not something I regret, and it's not something I can just easily forget. I just…I want to know what I did wrong. What I did to push you away, or why you’ve been avoiding me.”

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