Page 36 of Forced Prisoner By the Bratva

She pulled away, her brows arching in disbelief. “Wow, she's that good?” Jennifer asked, shocked that I’d turned her down.

“Better than good,” I said, regardless of how harsh I might sound. Anything to get her out of my sight would suffice. “She's the best.”

A glint of jealousy flickered in Jennifer's gaze, and a momentary scowl flashed across her face. However, she was quick to mask it with a plastic grin, pretending to be unaffected by my words.

She walked round to my back, her hands caressing my broad torso as she leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “Does your precious wife please you the way that I did?”

As I was about to pluck her hands off me and retort, my attention drifted to the door where someone had just knocked.

My heart skipped a beat.

It was Tessa.

She stood there in silence, her eyes shifting across Jennifer and me with an unreadable expression. Jennifer'shands splayed across my chest, painted a compromising picture even though it wasn't what it seemed.

I sprang to my feet, flinging that witch's hands off my body. “Tessa,” I called, speechless, my brain abandoning me for a moment.

She tightened her grip on the door handle and said in a crisp voice that concealed her true emotions, “I didn't realize you had company.”

“She was just leaving,” I replied, shooting a deadly glare at Jennifer.

“No need,” Tessa said, maintaining her blank expression. “Carry on.”

“Tessa,” I called softly, feeling the weight of this situation.

She turned around and left without another word or a promise to hear me out.

“Oops! Guess someone's jealous.” Jennifer let out a light, triumphant laugh, her voice dripping with smug satisfaction.

My hand snapped to grab her jaw, and she flinched at my sudden move, her eyes widening in fear. I held her gaze like I was basking in her terror. “If I ever see you around me again, I'll feed you to my hounds.” I leaned closer, my voice dripping with venom. “They will rip you apart, limb from limb….”

Jennifer's eyes brimmed with tears as I spat the soul-crushing words that put the fear of God in her. Her face paled beneath my grasp, and she trembled, her jaw shuddering in my hand.

I edged closer, my breath brushing against her skin as I whispered in her ear. “You'll be nothing but a mangled mess…a feast for my dogs.” I pulled back to revel in her fear. “Do you understand?”

She swallowed hard and tried to nod, but my grip on her jaw held her in place. However, I was certain that she got the message, so I let her go.

She wrenched free and stumbled backward, her chest heaving with heavy breaths. Jennifer's heels clicked wildly as she grabbed her bag and ran out of my office.

As she disappeared out the door, I was left alone amidst the echoes of my own irritated thoughts. My jaw tightened as I sat in my chair, rubbing my eyes. Tessa's reaction was more unsettling than I thought, and now I had to figure out a way to fix this mess.

Jennifer was mistaken. It wasn't jealousy that flickered in Tessa's eyes. No—it was something much deeper. It was the pain of betrayal.

Shit.

Chapter 15 – Tessa

I never should have popped up unannounced!

At least I wouldn't have stumbled upon what I had, and now, I couldn't get that bloody image out of my head. I was so stupid to think that our night together might have meant something to him. Obviously, it didn't. He didn't give two shits about it.

I was just another woman he'd crossed off his list. The reason he was gentle with me was because it was my first time. There was nothing special about it, nothing special about me. He'd taken my innocence, and it meant nothing to him. I was a fool to have thought otherwise.

And why the hell did this hurt so much? I should've known better. He was Erik Tarasov, the man who could get anything and anyone he wanted, anytime he wanted. Did I really think that he'd be faithful simply because he deflowered me?

As I drove, my mind was a thousand miles away, consumed by the image of Jennifer's hands all over Erik's chest. My jaw tightened, and I blinked rapidly in an attempt to push back the tears that welled my eyes, my thoughts tangled in a web of hurt of betrayal.

I hated how much this unsettled me, but I couldn't help it—it hurt so badly. But why? Why did I feel so much pain because of his actions?

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