Page 15 of Claimed Bratva Virgin

My mouth curved upward, and I couldn’t even pretend that I wasn’t enjoying every second of this moment. Ivan only took the version I’d forced on him but didn’t know that money was a small reward for a job well done. Comical how his pettiness had resulted in a strategic advantage.

My eyes raked down her body, greedily drinking in every detail, from the purple and black patch on the right half of her face, past the nasty cut on the swell of her lips, to her heaving bosom. Even though she looked like she’d gotten the crap beaten out of her, there was no denying the unexplainable thrill that took laps in my chest at the thought of sharing the same breathing space with her again.

“We meet again, Daddy’s princess.”

She flashed a phony smile, evoking pure laughter from me.

Leonora Colombo was unlike any woman I’d ever met. Beautiful wasn’t the word to describe her. Gorgeous seemed profoundly underrated. I wasn’t sure what it was or why I was unable to place a finger on it, but this Italian princess intrigued me.

She’d done so from the first moment I’d set my eyes on her. Two years ago, when she interfered in my brother’s business by helping his wife escape. She was stubborn. Perhaps the first woman I’d seen who refused to cower in Timur’s presence. Her audacity had fascinated me, sparked a bit of interest, and riled me up enough to want to slice her throat and tongue with a knife.

Who knew? Today might just be her lucky day.

She arched her back and shifted her legs forward, slouching against the chair to appear comfortable—morein charge.“Let me guess, this was the plan, wasn’t it? You couldn’t get the job done, so you sent the other one to do it for you? I didn’t think you’d bother.”

“The other one, eh?” No wonder Ivan wanted her piece of meat. “I see you’re as spirited as ever.”

She swished her head to the side, readjusting her hair. It had grown a few inches longer than it was the last time I saw her—more shiny and brown. More feminine.

More pretty.

Those extra details shouldn’t have concerned me. Like the mole on the right corner below her lip or the frequent scrunch between her brows, indicating how much she disapproved of being detained by me. She was a woman and should have beenjustanother woman to me. Another pretty thing with beautiful eyes and something tasty beneath the skirt, or in her case, black leggings.

But this one was clearly different, more feisty, extremely insufferable, and it was inevitable…. I was still calling spades, spades—she intrigued me.

“I heard you won the championship.”

She nibbled on the inside of her cheek and tapped her feet, obviously distracted by more thoughts in her mind than the conversation we were having.

“What a surprise there. I wonder how the news got to you.”

“Go figure, Daddy’s princess. You’re famous now. That means you’re on the news.”

Her laughter was short and empty, and the look in her eyes was glacial when they met mine. “Silly me. For a minute there, I thought your idiot messenger was a big blabbermouth. My apologies, then, and thank you for the hearty congratulations. Need an autograph? I’m done for the day, but I can make an exception for a huge fan.”

“Fuck you and your autograph, sweetheart,” I clarified.

Like a loosely worn cloth over a bleak painting, the façade slipped off, and she surprised me by appearing more tired than apprehensive.

“Then what? What, Rafayel Yezhov? Why the fuck am I here? What do you plan on doing to me if you didn’t, I don’t know, drag me in to shower praises on me like a doting fan?”

Finally, she was slowly bringing out the Leo I wanted to see—the tough one with a sharp mouth who dealt with no-nonsense. The one that rammed insults at Ivan hard enough to shatter his walls of nonchalance and spark the Yezhov blood running through his veins. The same peevish, ill-tempered bitch that broke her father from his cell and eternally planted herself in my memory when she smiled up at the CCTV cam.

I dropped to my haunches and grabbed her chin roughly enough to leave some pink imprints for temporary remembrance.

My speed scared her, rendered her stiff and cautious in my grasp.

“Me? You should know, I didn’t do anything. Turns out, fate is on my side. You stepped on my cousin’s toes—well, more like stabbed his pride in the fucking chest with your razor-sharp mouth, and he didn’t like it. At all.”

Her brows dipped, and she eyed the glinting silver knife in my other hand. “So, you’re saying Ivan grew the balls to kidnap me without your help?”

“Exactly what I’m saying. He wanted to teach you one or two brutal lessons when he dragged you in. On a normal day, I wouldn’t care about how he’d like to play with you, but this time, the odds rolled in my favor. I’ll be kind enough not to hurt you, though.”

She didn’t look like she believed me, and I didn’t want to believe me, either. But I did. I knew, if she behaved and I gotwhat I wanted out of this arrangement, I’d keep to my word and spare her.

Softly, I ran my thumb across her jaw and stuck the tip of the blade under her chin.

She gasped, and her head jerked backward. I thought I heard her hold her breath.

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