Page 56 of Captivated By the Bratva

I gasped, jumping up and running to lunge at him. He laughed, catching me as I landed on his lap. I framed his face with both hands and stared at him. My pulse skyrocketed as elation took over. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“What do you think I’m saying?”

“That you won’t deliver me to Mr. Avilov.”

“That’s the last thing I want to do.”

I had a hunch of what he wanted—me. He’d shown me how much he desired me last night.

“Is that what Alek thinks youshoulddo?” I gnawed on my lower lip again, too nervous to just believe him, too cautious to not assume this was a trick.

“He thinks that I can use my judgment here.” He reached up to free my lip. His thumb remained near my mouth as he gripped my chin. Then he tugged me down so he could kiss me.

“Is this a trick?” I asked. I had to. I couldn’t leave anything to guesswork.

“Can you trust me, sweetheart?”

Oh, shit. When he used that nickname with his voice so low and husky like that, I was a goner. I nodded, still furrowing my brow.

“I’m not taking you to your father. I’m not delivering you to Lev—yet.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Yet?” When he said that word before, it filled me with excitement. Knowing he counted on more time with me felt like a gift.

Thisyetmade me uneasy.

“I have to do this wisely,” he said as he reached around me to pick up his coffee again. “It’s going to get cold,” he warned.

Food—or coffee—was the last thing on my mind right now.

“Wisely?”

He sat back, bracing his hand on my side as I remained in his lap. Sipping his coffee, he made me wait. “Yes, wisely. Unlike Alek and Nik. They both took their wives rashly. Impulsively. And it caused… issues.”

“More Mafia drama,” I summed up wryly.

“In short, yes. If you and I can stay together without any threats hanging over us and my family, then preparations need to be considered. Precautions need to be taken.”

I grabbed my coffee, then leaned back against him. Settled in, I tested the brew. It was decadent, and my seat on his lap was perfect. “What kind of preparations?”

He picked up his fork laden with eggs and offered it to me. As I chewed, he shrugged. “Making sure things won’t backfire.”

I huffed a laugh after I swallowed the bite. “Backfire? Well, it’s obvious that Mr. Avilov will be mad.”

“He will.”

“And Alek is fine with taking him on?”

He didn’t make eye contact, opting to feed me another bite. “He doesn’t want to ‘take him on’.”

“Then what does he intend to do?”

He stalled again, giving me another bite. I wasn’t helpless. I could feed myself. But for the first time ever, I relaxed to let him pamper me like this.

“It depends.” He shot me a look that advised me to give up asking anything else.

He was being vague, and I couldn’t help but get a hunch that this meant his Bratva was looking into removing the threat of the situation. As in removing Lev.

For good.

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