Page 53 of Claimed Bratva Virgin

I’d done it anyway. I crossed the lines with her, stalked her, and ran after her when she was in trouble. I was starting to be convinced that thiswasa case of bad obsession, but living in denial wasn’t going to hurt anyone.

I dropped the half-empty bottle, kicked off my shoes, and headed straight for the shower. But it didn’t work. Not when the water was ice cold or scalding hot. I grabbed my cock, closed my eyes, and succumbed to the rage of the confusing war going on in my head. I welcomed the image of her naked body and legs spread on my bed. I thrust my hips at the glistening sight of her dripping pink pussy taking in all of me. My nails dug hard against the wall when her lips brushed the scar on my eyebrow, and her tits brushed my chest. And a seizure-like vibration rippled through my core when her lips touched mine.

After ten minutes of miserably jacking off, I washed my load off the wall and went back to the room, dripping wet and more frustrated at the stagnant energy inside of me.

Vodka didn’t work, smashing something didn’t work, and a shower didn’t work. Maybe breaking a few noses here and there would.

No doubt, Tikhon and some of the men were already smashing faces at the boxing gym. And I knew the lot of them would jump at an opportunity to spar with me, to try and prove they could beat me. I could do with those, whether or not they could handle the load I needed to get off.

I was halfway through slipping on a t-shirt and a pair of sweats when Varya knocked once on the door and voiced that my cousin was in the parlor waiting for me. Which cousin, shedidn’t say. But if it was Andrei, I’d willingly take him on right there to vent. Partially, my decision to stay away from her was his fucking fault. If he hadn’t come along, putting those rational thoughts in my head, I’d have her bent over on my desk by now, possibly with her pants down and ass up, ready for me.

Christ. I needed to get a fucking grip. Worse, every thought about yearning for the softness of another woman died like wilting grass. Leonora was the only woman I wanted.

I descended the stairs in seconds. As it turned out, today was Andrei’s lucky day.

Ivan sat on one of the couches with a brown envelope in his hands and his elbows propped up on his knees. I frowned. He looked different, surprisingly mature. Gone were his casual all-the-time party or racing clothes. Now, he wore a dark blue suit, looking like a serious-minded young man with important business to attend to.

When his eyes landed on me, he jumped to his feet, shakily wiping a hand on the back of his pants.

“Privyet.”

I gave his clothes another once-over, raising a questioning brow. “Missed your turn?”

“What?”

“I’m asking If you missed your turn.” I sat on the armrest on one of the sofas, and when he didn’t catch on, I added, “For your job interview.”

He looked at his outfit and laughed, but it sounded forced. “Oh, actually, no. I didn’t miss it. I got the job as a computer analyst at Charleston’s four months ago.”

“Hm. Not bad.”

“Da. Not bad at all.”

“I didn’t know. Congratulations.”

“Yeah, you didn’t. Especially not after I told you about it and you said, ‘Fuck off Ivan, I’m not in the mood. I have moreimportant shit to handle, a drop to monitor in twenty minutes and a meeting with Santana.’”

“Do I remember that?”

“Do you?” Without the slight twitching of his eyebrows giving it away that he was pissed, his poker face was a tight mask. “Doesn’t matter. I got it; you were busy.”

“If you got it, why do you look like you want to lay one on me?”

“Because you’re an asshole sometimes?”

Smirking, I folded my arms over my chest. I liked it when this kid was feisty. It reminded me a lot of when I was younger and constantly irritating the shit out of my brother. “You came all the way down here to call me an asshole.”

“Not necessarily. But I’m glad I got it in. I’m here because I have something you want to see.”

“A receipt of your new toy? What is it this time? An Aston Martini?” I was picking on him, and while it was a small routine between us anytime I saw his face, today’s irritation wasn’t entirely his fault.

“Rafa, I’m not fucking around. It’s about the alliance with the Italians. You’ve been blindsided.”

“Blindsided, you say.” The smirk fell off my face. “And how would you know that?Whatdo you know about the alliance? The last time I checked, if I recall correctly, you wanted nothing to do with this shit, or am I wrong? What made you get bored of your race tracks and nightclubs?”

“I’m not bored,” he clarified sternly. “Not like you understand any ofthatshit, but I care; there’s a difference. I might not be in the loop to know every detail, but I’ve got ears and eyes open, Rafa. You have me at arms-length, but you’re family.Thisis family. When I heard about the alliance with the Italians, I didn’t like it one fucking bit. Especially because that bitch was involved—”

The bitch being Leonora. Even now, as Ivan spoke, his face contorted with so much disgust and rage I knew how much he hated her.

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