Page 43 of The Bratva's Sold Bride

Then he hissed in pain. “Fucking ants.”

I sat up, finding a trail of them heading our way, a couple already swarming up Dima’s thigh.

Swatting them off, one bit my hand, and I yelped. Laughing and swearing, we jumped up and found our clothes, running as if wildcats were after us and not from a few fire ants. Halfway back to the house, we paused to get dressed so we wouldn’t shock the workers or guards.

“I’m officially off today,” he said. “I just decided. Get changed, and let's go into town early.”

“I need a shower after that,” I said.

“Great idea,” he told me, picking me up and carrying me into the house, up the stairs, and only putting me down in the shower in our bathroom.

He joined me under the stinging spray, sudsing me up with care. I returned the favor, and we had a makeout session until the water turned cold, and I shivered in his arms.

“We could skip going into town,” he suggested as he dried me with a fluffy towel until the goosebumps disappeared.

I stared past him, through the open bathroom door to our bed. We still hadn’t used it for anything other than sleep. It was tempting.

Too tempting. I wasn’t about to allow myself to lapse into despair because I slipped up again, and I wasn’t about to lose out on a chance to go into town, either. But holy hell, it was really tempting.

Thankfully, I took too much time to answer, and he started getting dressed, so I was saved from making a bad decision. Another one, anyway.

Downstairs, he called for one of the guards to drive us in. “I want to sample all the local wines,” he explained when I stiffened. “He’s just the designated driver.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

He slapped me playfully on the bottom. “You didn’t have to. I can read that pretty face of yours like a book.”

In town, we found Ivan in the coffee shop, already sitting with Zoey, deep in conversation like they were new best friends. I wasn’t sure how that would work to my benefit, but since Dima was taking the day off of work, maybe I could also take the day off plotting and planning. Just one day.

“I promised myself I’d actually do some writing today,” Zoey said as we sat down at their table. “But he’s been a bad influence.”

“That’s what he’s best at,” Dima agreed, looking fondly at his brother.

We ordered coffee and the delicious sugar cookies the place made fresh every day, and Ivan and Zoey got refills. After we finished, Zoey mentioned she found a shop selling handmade dresses in a neighborhood we hadn’t explored yet, so the guys tagged along as we went to check it out and shop.

The afternoon flew by, and it was easy to believe I was living the life I would have wanted. I shouldn’t have let myself sink into the fantasy, but what was one day off? As the sun got lower, we all agreed that the fresh fruit cups we stopped to sample weren’t cutting it, and it was time for dinner.

We decided on the restaurant instead of the cantina, since it would be quieter. Ivan and Zoey were getting along so well it actually felt like a double date, but his flirting was notorious and I wondered if I should let things play out or warn my new friend about his reputation in the real world.

Because I was still very much in the real world, despite the wonderful afternoon of pretending I wasn’t. I didn’t want Zoey to get caught up with a man in the Bratva any more than I wanted to be shackled to mine.

It was time to start thinking about my plan to get her on my side again, but it was difficult when both Ivan and Dima were being so charming, and Dima was coming across as the perfect, attentive husband.

Not the tyrant I needed her to believe he was.

Halfway through dinner, a man I recognized as being one of Dima’s new business partners rushed in, hurrying to our table. He spoke in rapid-fire Spanish, and all I could make out was that there was some kind of trouble. Whatever it was, Dima seemed to think it was important, and Ivan rose when he did.

Our designated driver sat at the bar sipping a fruit juice, and Dima tasked him with keeping an eye on me while they went to take care of whatever was wrong. The guard switched positions, so I was in his line of sight, but stayed at the bar, not exactly obvious, but there was no way of hiding what he was.

After the guys left, there was a long, awkward moment at our table.

“I don’t mean to pry,” Zoey said. “But are you someone important or something?” She nodded toward the guard, who pretended to ignore her, though I was certain he was aware of everything.

Now was my chance. “That’s Andre,” I said. “He’s actually one of the nicer ones.”

“You have more than one?”

I nodded, trying to look brave, but also beaten down. “I’m not allowed to go anywhere on my own.”

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