Page 46 of Forcibly Sold to the Bratva
“Agafon’s spare apartment,” I explain.
Once at his penthouse, I put in the security code, and at last, I let go of her trembling form, letting her pass before me.
She stands in the foyer, her eyes taking in the height of the ceilings, the spaciousness of this place.
“This is nice,” she says, but I see she clutches her hands really tight. Her voice is small, and she’s trying so very hard to be brave.
“Come on, Arina,” I say softly, taking her hand and leading her into the kitchen, and showing her to a barstool. “Let me get you some water.”
I pour her a glass, and she sighs, ignoring the water altogether.
“Drink up,” I suggest, but she drops her face into her hands. Her hands…they just won’t stop shaking. Without thinking, I walk up to her and take her hands in mine, gently caressing her wrists until they stop trembling.
She looks up at me with tears pooling in her eyes. “Are you sure your sisters are okay?”
“They’re fine, princess. They’re with Bogdan now,” I say gently and give her hands a little squeeze before I set them down on her lap. “Are you sure they didn’t hurt you?”
She nods and, at last, takes a sip of water. She sets down the glass as she speaks. “They didn’t hurt me.”
I step back and run a hand through my hair, the adrenaline now leaving my body. Arina is alright. She’s safe. But there’s a high chance this could have ended differently. “Katya told me what you did, how you stayed behind.”
“I needed them to get out,” she says, and for some reason, the relief I feel at seeing her safe also flows into a river of anger I can’t keep to myself.
“What the hell were you thinking?” The words burst out of me.
She looks startled when she meets my glare. “What?”
“You told my sisters to run while you stayed behind. Seriously? How could you put yourself in danger like that?” I don’t mean to, but my voice comes out louder.
“I couldn’t let anything happen to them,” she says firmly. “They were in danger!”
“So were you! You could have been killed. And the things they could have done to you before that… tell me, Arina. Tell me you’re not that stupid!”
“Don’t call me stupid!” she fights back, jumping off the stool and jabbing a finger in my chest. “I made a split-second decision, okay? And guess what? It seems to have been the right one because we’re all okay. So back off!”
“You should have all stayed together!” I bellow.
“We were cornered,” she screams back. “So what was I supposed to do? Let your sisters get hurt when I could prevent it? I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to them because of me.”
“And I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you!” I scream as I reach out and cup her cheeks in my hands, forcing her to look at me.
Arina’s pretty oceanic eyes widen, and for a moment, we just stare at each other, the anger retracting into itself until all I feel is my heart pounding against my ribs.
“Ilariy,” she whispers and places a hand over one of mine. She leans into my touch, and that motion is so soft, so sweet that I realize I’m angry at the wrong person.
“I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that,” I whisper. “You did more than I could have asked for. Thank you… for getting my sisters out.”
She shakes her head and bites her lower lip. “I did what anyone else would have.”
“No!” I say forcefully, stepping closer, so close until I feel her breasts curve against my chest. “They wouldn’t have.”
She tilts up her head and gets on her toes, now wrapping her arms around my neck and whispering my name again, in a way that sets my nerves on fire. I let go of her cheeks and slide my hands around her waist until she’s in my grip, and I don’t know who moves first, but it’s like there’s a space between us and gravity is pulling us closer and closer and closer until I feel the soft brush of her lips against mine.
She pulls back with a gasp, and I lean in, brushing again. She whimpers and digs her hand into the nape of my neck,pulling me closer. I bend, I mold, I shift until there’s no space between us.
Raw need, pure raw need from that day we left unfinished in Cancun, rushes back, and I think she remembers it too, how close we were to feeling each other, to being one, for she parts her lips for me and I slide into her, tasting her, exploring her.
She moans into my mouth, and I’m drunk on the sound, a heat settling low in my abdomen.
