Page 19 of The Bratva King's Auctioned Bride

Then flew open at the sound of his laugh. He had turned away so fast that there was a whoosh of air between us. He pulled out his phone and became engrossed in scrolling as if I didn’t exist.

All while my breathing was erratic, my heart was thumping like a rabbit signaling danger, and my skin still tingled where he had touched me. Oh my God, how did he do that? Furious, I slid as far away as I could and stared out the window.

This crazy chemistry between us wasn’t good. Not good at all. I had to dig deep into our shared past to remember how much I truly hated the man who could now so easily make me forget everything he’d done to my family.

It didn’t do a thing to erase that yearning he’d awakened in me with the merest stroke of his fingertips. Sure, I hated him with everything in my soul, but I had working eyes, and there was no denying the man was hot. Not just handsome, but my exact type. Dark as sin and not fooling anyone with his ultra-clean cut hair and smooth-shaven, chiseled jaw. Tall enough to stand eye to eye with my giant brothers, and with a lean, muscular body I knew far too well from being smashed against it repeatedly in the last couple of hours.

Was it his expert touch that had me so on edge? Nothing about his good looks had ever affected me before. Not much, anyway. Maybe there were a few times I wished things could have been different, but only because it seemed such a shame that the man I found so attractive was off-limits to me. And now here he was, teasing those feelings to life when it didn’t mean a thing to him.

Anger and lust were a terrible combination. As much as I tried to get myself to focus on revenge, the ways I kept thinking about making him suffer didn’t seem very vengeful at the moment. I didn’t dare turn back to him to show him how pissed off I was, because, with every stolen sideways glance, he was still completely ignoring the fact I existed. How was he not affected at all? And why was my mind returning to ways to make him be affected, instead of ways to make him suffer?

The dark scenery passing by in a blur eventually lulled me to sleep, physically worn out and mentally exhausted from being put through the wringer. I only woke up when Arkadi lifted me out of the car. Still muddled from blissful sleep, my first instinct was to snuggle into his warm, strong chest. Then I fully woke up.

My struggles didn’t last long as he clamped his arms around me, holding me close. It wasn’t his firm grip on me that made me go still, but the sight of the huge mansion we’d pulled up in front of. I had grown up in extreme wealth and had seen my share of stately homes, but this place was something else, bordering on palatial. It was completely unlike any of the Southern California mansions I was used to, but it might have actually housed royalty at one point in history.

Pillars that were so tall I had to crane my neck while I was in Arkadi’s arms lined the front entry like giant, white marble soldiers. I expected men in togas and olive wreaths on their heads to stroll past the perfectly manicured lawn, complete with a maze of shrubs and a pond laden with bright lilies. The splash of a fountain and the distant call of birds was the only sound once the driver continued around the circular drive and left. The sun was just beginning to peak over the top of the third-story roof, glistening off the olive leaves from the gnarled old trees that shaded the front steps.

It was morning. We drove all night.

“Where are we?” I asked, dragging my attention away from the palace in front of me.

Arkadi grinned down at me, another shock to my system. “You’re supposed to be in Rome for a meeting, so we’re in Rome.”

Everything was so upside down, I actually took this in stride, despite my feet not being on the ground. Except, wait. What? Was I actually going to that meeting like nothing had happened? He laughed again, settling me on the floor once we were through the huge front doors.

I barely registered the cool, open entryway or all the rich art lining the walls in gilded frames. “I’m going to the meeting?”

“Sure,” he said, maddeningly acting like everything was normal.

Nothing was normal. “Why?” My voice was much too high, and even after getting some much-needed sleep, I was as off-kilter as before.

“You’re in charge of my business now, so I’m not letting you run it into the ground.”

That stung more than I cared to admit, hitting too close to home. “You never thought about expanding into custom statuary when you were in charge,” I clapped back.

“I know. The reason you’re going to the meeting is that it was a good idea. I’d like to see it through.”

I couldn’t help but swell with pride because I had lobbied hard for this expansion so early in the game. Despite everything, I couldn’t ignore how hungry I was and asked if he was going to feed me. “You can’t exactly let me starve,” I said, looking around the vast space, with no kitchen in sight. “I haven’t eaten sincebreakfast yesterday. Even my brothers adhere to the Geneva Convention.”

There was a brief flash of something that looked like remorse in his eyes when I mentioned how long it had been since I saw food, but then it was gone. He snickered.

“No, they don’t,” he said.

Well, I couldn’t argue with that, and after following him down a long hallway lined with more art, we ended up in a surprisingly old-fashioned kitchen. Arkadi explained that the place was several hundred years old, and certain parts of it hadn’t been renovated in decades. There wasn’t much to be found in the fridge, which led me to believe that whatever this place was, it wasn’t used much. We shared a bag of chips and some dried figs, with a promise from Arkadi that he’d uphold my human rights and get me something better after the meeting.

After our sorry breakfast, he led me up a grand stairway and down another hall to a bedroom that was decked out for a prince. The bed was at least twice the size of a normal king bed, swathed in jewel-toned covers and piled high with pillows. Arkadi shook his head, perhaps in amusement, and pointed toward another door.

“There should be something for you to wear in there,” he told me, before turning and heading into the adjoining bathroom. A few seconds later, the shower started.

My head was spinning, not sure how to react to this odd turn of events. I wasn’t locked up in a dungeon somewhere, but instead supposed to get ready for my scheduled meeting. I had been kidnapped and forced to marry my enemy, but here I was going about my business like none of that had happened.

Was I somehow disappointed, or just freaking confused, because what the hell was going on? The same man whopromised me a nice meal had pointed a gun at my head last night and asked me if I would truly favor death over being with him. I couldn’t figure Arkadi out, and it scared me every bit as much as if he were being outright intimidating.

Hell, just his mere presence was intimidating, especially with him being naked in the shower only feet away.

No, it was better not to think about that. I had an important meeting to prepare for. With a sigh, I went into the closet to find some clothes to change into just like nothing was wrong, when in fact, nothing at all was right.

Chapter 15 - Arkadi

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