Page 72 of Innocent Bratva Hostage

I swam toward him, resting my elbow on the edge just by his feet and tilting my head to look at him. “It’s called a two-piece swimsuit.”

“Ah, I see.” He whipped his head around and glared at his guards, a silent signal for them to look away.

I laughed. He hadn’t just grown more protective; he’d become even more possessive and jealous as well. It was cute to see. “You know they’ve been watching me swim every day for weeks now, right?”

“Well, they’re not allowed to watch you swim anymore. No man is allowed to watch you swim beside me.”

I huffed. He’d just saved me from having to discuss the bodyguard situation. “How was work today, husband?”

“I had a couple of meetings with thePakhanand a couple of members of the Bratva. All I could think of while I was there was coming back home to you.” He placed a finger beneath my chin and leaned in. “I missed you.”

“Me, too.” I squinted and grinned. “I think I missed you more.”

He pretended to think for a moment. “I doubt it.”

Something about the way he said it reminded me of my dad. He would pretend to think the same way and always claimed he missed me more than I did.

I heaved a sigh. Maybe he used to miss me more, but now I was the one missing him. There was a splinter of pain in my chest at the realization that I’d never see Dad or hear his voice again, no matter where in the world I went.

He was gone forever.

“You’re thinking of your dad again, aren’t you?” Andrei asked, scrutinizing me.

We’d grown so close over the last couple of weeks that I didn’t have to pretend when I was around him. I didn’t need to hide when I was sad or when something was bugging me. Andrei had become that shoulder I knew I could lean on whenever I needed it.

I nodded. “You just reminded me of my dad. When I was little, I used to tell him I missed him more, and he would tell me he doubted it—thathemissedmemore.”

“What’s your fondest memory of your father?” Andrei asked.

I thought for a while. There were many of them, but I couldn’t choose any as the fondest because they all held equal importance to me. However, there were a few that stood out the most in my memory.

“When he gave me piggyback rides.” I chuckled as a mental image of those moments flashed in my mind. “Oh, and I think my fondest memory of him was when he took me on a fancy date at the age of ten.”

“A date?”

I bobbed my head. “It was a seafood restaurant an hour’s drive from where we lived. We spent time together, just the two of us, and he fed me lobsters. I ended up chasing him with a crab leg.”

Andrei’s head rolled back, and he let out a throaty laugh. His blue eyes gleamed with sheer happiness, and a pool of heat gathered between my legs. I was amazed at how incredibly handsome he looked.

He was a beautiful sight to behold.

“Did you actually chase him with a crab leg in a restaurant?” he asked, a wide grin stretched on his lips.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. And he didn’t even care what others would think. He played along.”

“So, my wife has been crazy for longer than I thought.”

“I was born insane.” A shiver ran through me. The sun had started to disappear beyond the horizon, and the water had gotten colder.

Andrei walked to the lounge chair, grabbed the towel I had placed there, and returned to the pool. He wrapped the towel around me and said, “Let’s take you inside before you catch a cold.”

I climbed out of the pool and noticed his gaze lowering to breasts. My nipples were hard, both from the cold and the intensity of his stare, and they were poking against the fabric of my swimsuit.

My breathing grew harder, and my pulse spiked.

“You look magnificent,” he whispered as he inched closer, his eyes dark with dangerous desire. “Let’s get you warmed up.”

Before I could say a word, he lifted me bridal style.

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