Page 11 of The Bratva's Prisoner Bride

Something about those words seemed to strike a nerve in Daria as her eyes widened fractionally, and while she didn’t move, I could practically feel the nervous hum emanating from her body.

Before I did anything stupid, I turned and headed for the door, at least glad I maintained enough restraint to hold back. Caving was the last thing I needed.

Not leaving the opportunity open for her to speak, I slipped through the threshold, spared one last glance in her direction, and then closed the door behind me.

The mental image of her sitting there on the side of the bed, looking completely helpless and unable to do anything else, burned into my mind all the while I locked the door—the very thing I once said I’d never do.

I scoffed at my brothers before for holding women as their prisoners…for enabling a chase, and for not giving up despite the obvious resistance they faced. I thought it was absurd and wondered why they would ever waste their time.

But my circumstances felt different. I excused it with thoughts of exacting revenge on behalf of my whole family against Daria. I wasn’t chasing after her...I was planning on putting her in her place and reminding her of every reason to not cross a Fokin. That was all.

Even with that thought in mind, I still couldn’t completely block out the whispers of temptation that called to me...telling me to get back into that room and take what I wanted.

Huffing out a breath, I moved down the hall to my room, urging myself to let it go. To forget about Daria for a while and just focus on unwinding.

Regardless of how I tried, the sight of her shivering from my touch kept replaying in the back of my head, along with the way she seemed to be enraptured in my proximity. She looked as every bit hungry as I felt, and as much as it made me feel more wound up, it was dangerous.

I didn’t care how I had lusted for her before; I couldn’t let my guard down. I had to keep my nerve.

With business handled for the night and too much restless energy inside me, I slipped out of my clothes, pulled on a pair of compression shorts, and went down to my home gym. If I couldn’t get the release I wanted, then I’d just have to find it differently…

Reaching the room, I flicked the lights on and watched as they lit up at once, revealing the state-of-the-art equipment waiting for me. Once I started playing music through the built-in surround sound, I got started on some cardio.

As much as I didn’t want to think about Daria for a minute, I couldn’t help myself.

But instead of thinking about her or the infuriating need she triggered inside me, I contemplated my next steps.

Part of me wanted nothing more than to torture her…to put my back into it and prove to her that I meant every word I said to her. I didn’t want her to think I could be swayed, or that I wasn’t committed to keeping my word.

But, I also knew I couldn’t use my usual methods.

I wasn’t known for being gentle with those who deserved it, and while I maintained the opinion that she at least partially deserved it, I had my a moral code. My brothers and I were in the Bratva, but we never raised a hand to women or children. At least, mostly when it came to women.

Our lifestyle was abundant in every breed of monster, regardless of sex, yet I still knew I couldn’t hurt her.

We were brutal when we needed to be, but even I knew when to draw the line.

That meant I had to do something big. Something that would make her squirm without needing to even lay a hand on her.

I was furious with her regardless of how beautiful I thought she was, and I needed to find a way to sate that craving for absolute revenge. Somehow, some way, I’d throw all of her lying and manipulating right back in her face.

The more I pushed myself, causing a light sheen of sweat to break out across my skin, the more the cogs in my mind moved, and the clearer that vision of revenge seemed to become.

Even if I couldn’t use outright violence to get back at her, I knew there had to be a viable option.

Panting and engaging my core, I delivered blow after calculated blow to the punching bag, operating on autopilot. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to keep going, regardless of the burn.

All the while, Daria and my need to get back at her never left my mind.

But the moment it hit me, I paused, grabbing the bag to stabilize it again.

It was genius. The very thing that would make her suffer without me touching a hair on her head…and of course, she wasn’t going to like it one bit.

Chapter 6 - Daria

I hated that room. I hated Ivan. And more so, I hated being his prisoner in said room.

Even if it had been no more than an hour since he locked me in there, I felt like I was losing my mind. Being stuck there with nothing to distract myself with, left with only my thoughts to pour over, time seemed to stretch on far longer than usual.

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