Page 21 of Innocent Bratva Hostage

On the other hand, it could be interpreted as a man killing old habits and walking down a new path to self-discovery. The pieces of his soul vanishing could also be seen as them returning to him. It was a beautiful yet thought-invoking painting. I wondered what it meant to Andrei and if he had a different perspective.

I jerked away from the painting when I heard the creaking of the bathroom door as it suddenly opened, but before I could slip away, Andrei stepped out.

My heart stopped beating, and my jaw dropped. He’d been home all this while. When then the hell had he returned, and how come I never noticed?

Goodness, it must’ve been when I was sleeping. Shit. How was I going to explain this—me being in his room, so close to his bed, and staring at the painting on his wall? What if he thought I was here to steal from him?

Those were real problems, but what bothered me the most was the look of him with his wet blond hair and a white towel wrapped around his waist. His bare chest was exposed,giving me a perfect view of his broad shoulders, abs, muscled chest and—Goddamn it, he was hot.

His piercing blue eyes met mine.

I wished he’d look away just so I could gather my thoughts and regain my composure, but I was completely taken aback by him, by those beautiful blue eyes that held nothing but darkness and that handsome face. This man was gorgeous in a way that should’ve been illegal.

No one had the right to look that good, especially not him.

My heart rate doubled, and my stomach fluttered with heat. It was dangerous to be in the same room as him when he was barely covered. I wasn’t afraid he would do something inappropriate; I was afraidIwould want him to do something inappropriate, like stride over to him and….

That was it; I had to stop my mind before it went too far with thoughts like this. “I-I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “I shouldn’t be here.”

Holding my breath, I turned around, intending to walk away as quickly as I could, when his deep voice stopped me right before I could take my first step.

“You shouldn’t, but here you are anyway.”

I could feel his gaze on me, burning up my skin and making it harder for me to breathe, to think, to talk.

I turned around to face him. “I saw the door open, and I—”

“You saw it as an invitation to sneak into my room,” he said with a smirk, drying his hair with a small towel. “You’re very gutsy,solnishko.”

My eyes darted to the painting on the wall and right back at him. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I should leave now.”

He scoffed. “I was going to come see you anyway. I have something to tell you. It’s better I do it now.”

God, I really hated my life. There was no escaping from this man. He’d been away for the five days I’d spent at his house, and suddenly, tonight, when I was in his room, and he was only in a towel, he had something to tell me?

I let out a deep breath. “What is it?”

“The news of you being my fiancée spread like wildfire. I wasn’t expecting it to, but it seems people can’t ignore other people’s business very much.” He gave me a look that made me want to vanish into thin air, like he was judging me for trespassing, too.

I rubbed my clammy hands on the thick flare dress I was wearing and forced myself to stare into his eyes. I had to keep my chin up. I couldn’t show fear or nervousness around this man or he’d feast on it like a wild beast.

“Good thing the news spread. Isn’t that what you wanted when you lied at the police station?”

“It wasn’t what I intended, but I don’t mind,solnishko.” He walked to a drawer at the other end of the room and grabbed a bottle of deodorant. “Now that I think of it, you’d make a perfect fiancée.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and frowned. “You’re not thinking we’re actually engaged now just because the news went round, are you?”

He stared at me, a witty grin emerging on his face. A fire of amusement danced in his eyes for a moment before he finally spoke again. “Do you hate the idea of being my fiancée that much?”

I shrugged. “For starters, I am not your fiancée, and if it were up to me, I wouldn’t be here. There, you have your answer.”

“You and that smart mouth of yours.” He inched closer, his chest flexing with every step.

Seriously, how often did this man workout, and how much protein did he consume to grow all that muscle? As ifbeing tall wasn’t enough, he just had to be intimidating as well. Nature wasn’t being fair at all when it gave him all the good looksandthe attitude.

I hated to admit it, but I could totally see myself falling for him if we’d met under different circumstances.

Who wouldn’t fall for a man who looked like a God, even though he might’ve been the devil himself?

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