Page 36 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

I was speechless.

No matter how hard I tried to wrap my head around everything Damien said, or how badly I wanted to say something in return, I just couldn’t find the words.

While his attraction to me hadn’t been a secret, it still came as a complete surprise to hear just how intense it had been for him. Regardless of how strangely the two of us had been acting more recently, he still wanted more of me and wasn’t deterred by that fact.

Even with me being so unsure and back and forth about it all, he still needed me.

A confession of that magnitude felt like so much to absorb at once, and while a part of me was flattered and honestly a bit giddy about it, I couldn’t ignore how unideal the time and place were.

I couldn’t ignore the subtle jabs of discomfort down my back, knowing we were in public, surrounded by his family and the Levovs, along with their associates.

Even if our conversation was mostly private, we still ran the risk of someone overhearing us, or wondering what we were doing engrossed in a conversation between just the two of us.

It wasn’t the place to have such an overwhelming conversation, but given the veiled desperation in his eyes, I knew Damien needed it. He needed to express himself and give me at least a semblance of an explanation.

As much as I wanted to believe he was just being overdramatic or getting ahead of himself, there was no mistaking the genuine gleam in his gaze, and how he was looking at me like I was the sun itself.

Like he couldn’t stand to be without me.

It was both excruciating and exciting at once, and it didn’t help the already confusing bundle of emotions I had been contemplating over those few weeks riddled with internal doubt and questioning.

Being able to see his sincerity for myself made it even more startling, and by being put on the spot like that, I didn’t know what to do. What to say.

He had me completely stunned, and my brain and mouth both felt so useless.

“I know this isn’t exactly fair, and I know I’m asking a lot of you right now, but I just need something,” Damien said, voice somewhat strained as he looked down at me with an intensity in his eyes that made me ready to fawn. It was tempting given how overwhelmed I felt. “Please, Sky…just tell me what you’re thinking…anything.”

I wanted nothing more than to be honest with him, but I was still torn—the very thing I was getting sick of feeling.

Even if it wasn’t in my best interest, I wanted him. I wanted to throw all caution to the wind and go along like everything was perfectly normal and understandable.

But I was never one to be careless, especially when it came to my safety. Not when it came to the path my life was on.

In the best and worst ways possible, Damien was like a typhoon. He was intense and commanded everything in his path to move, regardless of the consequences. There was a sense of danger that came with just knowing him, and something about that felt like leaving my whole life up to chance.

The very life I made myself, acted out according to the plan in my head of what I thought was right.

He was a means of flipping all of that on its head, and I wasn’t so sure I could even control whether or not that might happen. With him, everything felt up to chance, like I had no choice but to give in and accept whatever outcome might fall into my lap.

Even if everything about that seemed terrifying, I still wanted him. I wanted the luxury of feeling his touch and knowing his affections for myself…of being showered in his scalding attention and unbridled infatuation that seemed to border on obsession.

It was agonizing, especially knowing just how intense he was.

If his interest in me drove him to constantly seek me out in the office and feel the need to protect me so fiercely as if I were something precious, then I could only imagine just how deep those feelings ran within him. That thought alone was a lot to take in, and I could feel it constricting around my throat, stopping me from vocalizing everything he wanted to hear from me.

“Please…” he repeated, surprising me by the rare softness in his tone and how vulnerable he looked.

Seeing him like that was beyond out of character, which only solidified for me just how brutal it all was for him.

I went to open my mouth in an attempt to say something…anything, but whether fortunate or not, Benedikt seemed to appear out of nowhere as he clapped a friendly hand on Damien’s shoulder, glancing between us before settling his gaze on me. The sudden intrusion seemed to shake him within his skin.

“The driver’s waiting for you and Gemma out front. She’s just saying some last-minute goodbyes before you two head out.”

Blinking the shock and fluster back, I nodded, somewhat grateful for the break in the stifling conversation I couldn’t bring myself to contribute anything to. “Alright…I won’t make them wait.”

“Good, good,” Ben said, giving Damien another jostle, unaware of what he interrupted. “It was good seeing you both, save travels home.”

We both managed to mumble our responses, maintaining some sort of competence as Ben eventually turned and continued through the crowd.

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