Page 20 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

“Taking you home,” he replies, heading for the stairs. He hesitates and turns toward me. “Which apartment?”

“I can make it from here on my own, don’t you think?”

He shakes his head and leads the way up the stairs, his fingers twined with mine. We’re both breathing hard, and it has nothing to do with the climb. At my door, he pulls me toward him again, pinning me against the wood and stealing another kiss. Can he steal it when I want to give it, wanting to give all of myself to him? Alarm bells are screaming in my head, and his hand finds that slit in my dress. His fingers slip beneath the silk.

They dig into my thigh as his mouth plunders mine, then move up toward the center of me. The first brush of his fingertips against my soaking panties makes my knees tremble, and it’s only the desperate grip I have on the front of his suit that keeps me standing. His fingers slip my panties to one side, and his thumb brushes my clit, my gasp captured by his lips.

One finger, then two pushes inside of me, stretching me as his thumb circles my clit. I don’t even care that we’re right here where anyone can see us, all I care about is centered on his fingers and the way they’re making me come undone. He’s sinking them in as deep as they’ll go now and still, I want more.

No man has ever made me feel the way he does. Clothes on, standing in a hallway, and he has me wanting to scream his name. His other hand unzips the top of my dress, then finds my breast, pinching and kneading my nipple mercilessly.

I’m close. So close. One more rub of his thumb and he sends me hurtling over the edge, my teeth finding his lip to keep from crying out. With my orgasm comes a touch of clarity, just enough to make me realize the scene I’m making. With my boss. I unwrap myself from Mr. Milov and make a half-hearted attempt to smooth my dress down. Even from here, I can see he’s hard, his dick straining against the fabric of his suit.

If he asked me to, I don’t think I could say no to taking him to bed. I know I couldn’t. I want him inside of me so badly I’m trembling, but he doesn’t ask.

Like he can read my thoughts, he smooths my hair back and says, “I keep my promises. Not until you beg me to. Goodnight, Ella. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.”

I nod because words are too hard right now. My mind is a puddle. He’s waiting still, so I guess he’s really not leaving until I’m safely inside my apartment. Overprotective. Domineering. But kind of endearing at the same time. I slip inside and shut the door behind me, even locking it because I can practically hear him scolding me if I don’t.

My heart is racing, and I know sleep is a long way off, even though I’m exhausted. Tomorrow is going to be rough.

Chapter 11 - Anton

I’m really going to regret this. Anya is twenty minutes early, because of course she is, and I haven’t had enough coffee to cope with her level of enthusiasm, if such an amount even exists. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister, but she’s a lot, especially at eight-thirty in the morning after four hours of sleep.

“Wow, you have the best view,” she says, standing behind my desk. “Well, I guess Luka does. Why do you face that way?”

“So I can focus,” I reply, dropping my head into my hands. Focus is not something I’ve been great at lately. Not since Ella started working for me.

That woman has me completely off balance, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Except I slipped up last night, driving her home without even asking for her address. Luckily, she accepted my excuse that I’d seen it in her file. Which wasn’t strictly a lie, but I left out the part about having already driven to see it once or twice, and I didn’t feel good about keeping things from her when I was trying to get her to trust me. She wouldn’t have understood that I just wanted to make sure she was safe, and I didn’t want to scare her off.

Especially when she was already pissed at me for not spending any time with her at the event last night. It was a dick thing to do, so I couldn’t even argue, just had to hope she’d understand my hands were tied. But I had a feeling she was tallying it up in the column of reasons not to be with me, and I was losing my mind not having her. God, she’d looked so fucking hot in that dress. Even better when I had her up against the door, had her messy and panting for me.

“Earth to Anton,” Anya says, snapping her fingers next to my ear. “Did you have too much to drink last night? A littlehungover this morning? Or maybe there’s something else on your mind?”

She says the last in a singsong voice and points energetically toward the door, where Ella’s office is. I glare at her, but unlike with most other people in my life, it has no effect. She just gives me a grin.

Speak of the devil. Ella appears in the doorway, her hand poised to knock on the frame, when I wave her in. Her hair is pulled back into a no-nonsense ponytail, and she’s wearing a knit dress that fits her perfectly, as everything does. The woman has no flaws.

“Good morning, Mr. Milov,” she says, coming in with three coffees. “I got one for you, too, Anya.”

“Mr. Milov?” Anya says, wrinkling her nose. “You make her call you that? It’s just Anton. Don’t inflate his ego, he’ll start thinking he’simportant.”

“Yes, Ella, why don’t you call me Anton?” I ask. “You wouldn’t want to inflate my ego.”

She shoots me a dirty look but gives Anya a smile. “It just doesn’t feel right. I’ve always called my bosses by their last names.”

Conveniently leaving out that she really just does it to spite me. Typical.

“How about I shadow you today?” Anya loops her arm through Ella’s, claiming her. “Give Mr. Grumpy over here a chance to chug some coffee and wake up. All he’s given me so far is about two grunts and frown, so I’m thinking I’ll learn more with you until after lunchtime at least.”

Ella answers before I can. “Perfect. I’m just getting started on some documentation and a second set of eyes is always handy.”

The two of them saunter out of my office and shut the door behind them. Guess I’m extraneous to both today. I’d wanted to call Ella in and have her working beside me today, but it would just look like I was being obstinate now. Every time there’s space between us, it seems to make trouble, but Anya is here doing exactly that.

I take my coffee back to my desk and get started on the day’s agenda. There are the numbers from Mrs. Kozlov to sort out, the daily operation of Luka’s casino, and, of course, my side gig of getting Ella’s apartment condemned. A top priority for me, but it’s been difficult getting hold of the landlord. No surprise there. Dodgy landlords have a way of not being where you need them to be.

It’s hard to concentrate when I can hear the two of them giggling together out there. Worse, it makes me feel jealous—jealous of my own little sister, which has to be the most pathetic thing I’ve ever heard. Yet here I am because she’s the one making Ella laugh when it should be me.

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