Page 29 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride

That night, we were so close to crossing the line and finally sating that long-running desire. It was exactly what I needed, and I swear it would’ve cured me of every problem I’d ever had.

But she stopped me, physically pulled herself away and removed herself from the situation without giving it another thought.

It was like torture, especially when my self-control had already been splintered beyond repair.

Tia had kissed me back; she had given in for a second, but right when I thought I had finally broken through her defenses, it was all over.

She had clearly enjoyed it, which only made the whole thing even more infuriating.

I hated how often my mind went back to that moment, and I especially hated how badly I just needed that relief.

She was a total infestation in my mind, and like it or not, she was there to stay.

Regardless of how intense that moment had been, Tia was back to her cold self, and it was getting increasingly harder not to explode.

But I couldn’t. No…I just needed to try harder.

I needed her to see that she was just as desperate as I felt.

In hindsight, I should’ve expected that utter whiplash, given how she still felt a certain way about me thanks to the arrangement and her unwilling participation. Still, it bothered me.

As prepared as I was to up the ante and continue rolling with the punches just to get on her good side, something in me just wanted her to relent. I wanted her to see that I wasn’t the bad guy, regardless of my involvement in our arrangement.

I needed her to trust me, so I figured a meal was a suitable place to start.

The dining room was fixed up nicely with silverware, candles, and wine, along with whatever decor we had stored away. While I didn’t have a hand in it myself, it looked nice, and even if she still despised me by the end of it, at least she wouldn’t be able to say no effort was put into the meal.

I was after a semblance of civility and peace between us, but of course, I shouldn’t have expected much.

With her arms crossed, Tia sat across from me at the table, and she seemed very intent on not looking at me. Instead, she trained her focus on the centerpiece.

Despite it being only the two of us while we waited for our food to arrive, she didn’t even acknowledge me.

Instead, those pretty brown eyes of hers wanted as little to do with me as she did.

She was driving me so insane that I had half the mind to beg her to look at me, but of course, I wasn’t about to slip up that badly.

Tia had been warm…or at least, almost warm, but at that moment, only a frigid cold was left.

She made that switch back to avoiding me so easily, as if she never let me get close in the first place, like I didn’t already have the feeling of her curves memorized.

As petulant as it sounds, I didn’t like being ignored.

I enjoyed the teasing and the game of it all, as she implied, but it was getting to a point where I was beginning to question my own stamina.

Tia wasn’t all that easy to read, and it seemed she was far harder to impress than I once would’ve believed. It certainly didn’t help my cause, and it didn’t make things any easier.

Eventually, the food was brought out and our plates were placed before us.

My stomach was in knots while I tried to force down that unrelenting need inside me, but I at least still had an appetite.

Tia, on the other hand, just looked down at the food on her plate and hardly touched it.

“It won’t get any warmer with you staring at it like that,” I murmured before taking a sip from my glass, eyes focused on her.

Finally, she looked up at me, but her eyes lacked all warmth. “I’m not hungry.”

“That’s a shame,” I returned, trying not to give away my irritation lingering beneath the surface. The longer she sat there with every intention of acting like I wasn’t even there, the more I longed to watch her squirm. “You’re missing out.”

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