Page 28 of Bratva Bride

"Hmm?" For what felt like the millionth time, my eyes roamed up and down her body. I couldn't stop it. It was like they had a mind of their own and all they wanted was Illayana.

She chuckled. "I said, do you want me to treat that?" She pointed at my foot and I only just realised I had been favouring my left side.

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. I barely felt it."

Right, that's a fucking lie. Good way to start off, Turo.

She opened her mouth, about to speak when the sound of someone knocking on her bedroom door interrupted her.

For fuck sake.

Her beautiful blue eyes shot to the door and irritation flashed on her face, clear as day. She didn't like being interrupted either. "What?!" she barked, her tone laced with anger.

"Don't shoot!" someone immediately yelled from the other side of the door and I had to refrain from laughing out loud. "It's just me."

Illayana immediately tensed, her body going rigid. She knew who was behind the door, but she looked. . . uneasy. She didn't look that way when her brothers knocked earlier. Interesting.

She moved quickly to my side, light as a feather on her feet. She crooked her finger at me and I lowered my head so she could whisper in my ear.

"You need to hide," she whispered.

Because I was dying to touch her, I gripped her hips with both hands and brought my lips to her ear. "Why? Just tell them to go away like last time."

She shook her head feverishly, her long, black hair flowing over her shoulders. "That’s Aleksandr out there. He won't go away like Lukyan and Nikolai did, especially if they ran and got him. Which I have a feeling they did," her eyes narrowed at the door accusingly. "Aleksandr isn't afraid of me like they are. If I don't open that door, he'll kick it down."

"Illayanaaa," Aleksandr called out. I could hear the subtle warning in his voice. That fucker would definitely kick that door down.

"Just a second," she yelled back.

She looked at me with those ocean-coloured eyes and started moving me to the back of the room. "Hurry up," she hissed. She quickly flicked off the lamp on her bedside table, encasing her room in darkness.

"Fiiine," I groaned, moving in amongst the shadows. "I don’t get what the big fucking deal is," I grumbled as I moved into position.

I picked a spot that gave me a clear, unobstructed view of the door so I could see what was going on. It was probably smarter to move so there was no chance of being spotted, but I love to live dangerously. I was there after all, wasn't I?

Illayana opened the door and sure enough her brother, Aleksandr, was standing just outside.

Man, he really was a big motherfucker. And he had to be just as - if not a smidgen - taller than me. Just a smidgen though. His bright blue eyes landed on Illayana, scrutinizing every detail. Then his gaze swept the room behind her. His eyes moved over me in the shadows and I tensed.

"Everything okay, Illayana?" he asked, looking back at her.

"Da. Why?" She tilted her head to the side, like she was confused why he was even asking.

I saw her other brothers pop out from behind Aleksandr's large frame. One was on the left side, the other the right, and they looked like they were using his big, overgrown body as a shield. Man, they look terrified.

Well, she did throw a knife and shoot at them all within a thirty-second period. I'd say, their fear is warranted.

"Just. . . making sure," he replied, his eyes sweeping the room once more. Just as his gaze fell on me, his eyes narrowed.

Fuck.

I didn't realise my hand was moving until I felt the hilt of Illayana's knife in my palm.

No! I couldn't kill her brother. . . could I?

No. Just no.

Aleksandr continued to talk with Illayana, yet his eyes never left mine in the shadows.

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