Page 37 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

For a moment, I half expected Damien to demand I not leave, almost able to see the words on the tip of his tongue. Instead, his gaze smoldered on my face, eyes softening with a faint desperation.

“…just consider what I said.”

Feeling useless still, I swallowed hard and nodded. “I should go…goodnight, Damien.”

The way his eyes seemed to convey so many thoughts and feelings at once made my heart ache, but in that moment, I just needed to get away. I needed to process it all on my own time and find a way to navigate through the confusing feelings I couldn’t begin to understand yet.

“Goodnight, Sky,” he said, looking as if parting ways was the last thing he wanted.

Even so, I gave him one last glance before slipping away, finding Gemma waiting not too far away.

I did everything in my power to not reveal how rattled I felt from the conversation with Damien, smiling faintly as Gemma looped her arm through mine and led me out of the bar, heading for the waiting SUV.

“Thank God,” she mumbled, taking her heels off once we got in the back and the driver pulled away. “Being sent home earlier than the guys is a blessing in disguise.”

In a sense, I couldn’t help but agree with her. Even if a lot was left in the air between me and Damien because of it, leaving while the others continued their socializing and deal-making instilled me with a sense of relief.

After a moment of not saying anything in response, Gemma glanced at me with curiosity in her eyes. “You and Damien were talking for a bit there…what was he bothering you with this time?”

A brief flicker of alarm moved through me at the mention of him and how she had seen us talking at the bar. But I pushed it down and kept my cool. “He had some thoughts about the assignment and made a few suggestions for finding more leads.”

She seemed somewhat surprised to hear it as if wondering why Damien would want to discuss the project while at the event, but she didn’t question it further. Instead, she nodded and pulled her hoop earrings out, sighing with relief before placing them in her clutch. “I guess he never really turns his work brain off, huh?”

If only she knew just how easily he could turn his brain off when he wanted to…

“He doesn’t seem to, anyway,” I replied instead, letting a beat of silence fill the space between us before I glanced over at her again. “What do you know about him? I find he’s difficult to read most of the time.”

Gemma considered the question for a moment. “I don’t know a whole lot about him…even if our families are closer now, the Novikovs still tend to be more on the secretive side. I do know he’s Alex’s right-hand…he’s the second oldest, not toocommitted to anything other than his work, and even if he seems intense, he tends to joke around when he can.”

While everything she said didn’t come as too much of a surprise to me, I found the zero-commitment part interesting, given how he had shown me everything but that.

If his confession and actions spoke for him at all, then it seemed he had been wholly committed to being near me and following that apparent infatuation regardless of how it made him appear.

“Why? I hope he hasn’t been causing any problems for you,” Gemma added, lifting a curious brow at me.

Quick to cover for him for whatever reason, but also not prepared to dive into that conversation with her just yet, I shook my head. “No, no, he’s been fine. I just feel like I don’t know much about him despite him always being around.”

She hummed and nodded at that. “He’s just like the rest of them. Novikovs and Levovs both. They can all be pretty elusive in their own ways, but if you’re lucky enough, they’ll show you their true colors…good and bad.”

I nodded to myself, aware that she knew better than anyone. She had her whirlwind romance with Benedikt, and even if they were in a great place after learning to understand one another, it didn’t start that way from what she told me.

“That must be frustrating at times.”

Gemma smiled faintly as if considering it more deeply herself, then she nodded. “At times, yes. But somehow, he made it all worth it.”

Even if I didn’t know Damien that well beneath the surface, I couldn’t help but feel like she was making a solid point. While he could be arrogant and irritating beyond belief, having those moments with him, exchanging glances, or being able tofeel his skin against mine, made the payoff feel worth the parts of him that drove me insane.

Still, I wasn’t sure if I could handle being with someone as intense as Damien, even if he made his intentions very clear that evening. Even if he made me put all of my previous decisions into question.

There was no questioning the danger that surrounded him, or the potency of his attention and affection, all of which put me on edge. But even then, I was still intrigued by him.

While it was in my best interest to stay away, I still found myself gravitating towards him, wondering just how far he’d let that obsession go.

Chapter 17 - Damien

The usual rush hour traffic moved past me as I pulled off the highway and turned onto the road leading to one of our warehouses on the outskirts of the city. I did it mindlessly, used to the drive and able to let my mind wander.

I didn’t remember most of the drive…not when I was preoccupied with thinking about Sky and everything I said to her the other night.

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