Page 6 of Bratva Queen

I decided to value my life instead and spread out my arms across the booth behind me, gripping the backrest hard enough to turn my knuckles white. Isabel stood up and peered over her shoulder at me, then lowered her ass into my lap with her hands on my knees.

My hands quickly flew to her hips and lifted her slightly. “It probably isn’t a good idea for you to dance for me, let alone sit in my lap.”Let alone feel my cock rising for you.

“If I’m not dancing for you, I’m dancing for someone else.” She stood up and turned around, setting her hands on my shoulders as she placed her knees on either side of my thighs and lowered herself down, straddling me. “And if I’m being honest, I’d much rather dance for you than some cheapskatesvoloch’.”

“Oh, so this is about the money then?” I couldn’t help but ask, gesturing to her in my lap and realizing too late that I was flirting.

Her responding smile was sultry, flashing her white teeth that had a sexy little gap in the front. “If Stepan asks, that’s the reason.”

If Stepan even saw this, he’d have me disemboweled and would string my intestines from the ceiling like streamers, let aloneaskme why she was dancing for me.

Letting that comment hang in the air, her eyes said it all. At least that was how it seemed to me when they fixed onto mine for much longer than was necessary. She leaned back, arching her back as she displayed her fucking fantastic, perfectly spherical tits for me. Her sheer robe was merely a scrap of material, hanging from her elbows, leaving her body exposed. I stared in awe at her magnificent figure, mesmerized by the beauty of her curves and the flawless softness of her skin. I felt my heart pounding in my chest as I marveled at her stunning beauty and my desire for her increased with each passing moment.

“And if I ask you?” My voice was breathy, I was getting too lost in the dance to think about what I was saying. “Why you would choose to dance for me?”

She pushed herself back up, and with her hands dragging over her sides, rolled her hips in my lap. I felt like losing my shit and touching her, everywhere. With all the willpower I could muster, I managed to keep my hands to myself, gripping the sides of the booth tightly. However, the opposite was true for my eyes. They feasted on her as much as they possibly could.

When she pressed forward again, lifting her chest to nearly swipe my nose between her thick breasts, she finally answered, “I have a feeling that you wouldn’t dare ask, Aleksei.”

I kept quiet, tightening my jaw. She was right. It wasn’t my place to flirt with her, to ask her anything about her intentions toward me. Once again, my hopes were doused in ice-cold water as she reminded me that Stepan was my boss, and she was essentially his toy to play with, not mine.

“Whyareyou here?” she asked eventually, letting her hands stray from my shoulders to tease the hair at the back of my neck, sending delicious chills down my spine. “Without Stepan? Did you want to speak with me alone? Without him taking my attention away?”

If I wasn’t set on being realistic and professional about this, I would swear that she looked hopeful.

“I’m here because he can’t be here.” She frowned slightly at me, cocking her head to show her confusion, so I continued explaining in my straightforward, professional voice. “I’m here to make sure no one else touches you.”

“Oh… and that includes you?” She narrowed her eyes and lifted the side of her lips playfully. “Because you know… youcantouch me.” Her voice had almost softened at the end, as though her suggestion was more intimate and real than anything else she’d said tonight. Her slight fingers even slid down my arms, over the swells of my biceps to settle gently on my hands, ready to guide them to wherever she needed them to be.

“No… I assure you… I cannot,” I ground out.

She took her hands off mine. Was that a look of disappointment? A pout? I’d be so lucky. She stood up again and turned around to continue dancing between my legs, rolling her hips and bending down low, only to pop her ass back up in front of me again.

With an inaudible sigh, I pulled out the stack of cash I offered earlier, and tucked it into her thong, at her hip. She glanced back with a smile, thanking me, but I could see that all sense of genuine flirtation was gone. I was pure business to her again.

I felt a sense of responsibility wash over me. Isabel was not mine to want. I was a bratva man; I had obligations, even if they were toward a man I did not truly respect. Because of that, beyond my attraction to Isabel was shame; the shame of wanting her anyway, of fantasizing about having her to myself.

Stepan trusted me to keep other men away from her. Little did he know, it was me he had to worry about.

Chapter3

Isabel

“Here, that’s all I have.” I handed Mr. Gusev a stack of money to pay the back rent that was owed.

“This is only three months’ worth,” he said, flipping through the bills and tossing them back into the envelope before shoving it in his desk. He made the extra measure to lock the drawer, as if I’d steal it back from him.

“I know,” I answered, looking away. “I can get the rest of the rent caught up if I can have just another week or two…”

He huffed out a long, deep breath. His eyes scanned over my body and his eyebrow lifted. “Maybe we can have a little transaction of our own,” he said, lids growing heavy with an anticipation I’d grown to recognize. “You know, something to solidify the deal. Something along the lines of your new profession.”

“You want a dance?” I asked, flat out. He nodded slowly in response. “Why now? You didn’t ask for this kind of ‘transaction,’” I quoted with my fingers, “last month.”

He shrugged, unfazed by my disgust. “You weren’t dancing last month.”

That was probably the first time I realized my mother’s concerns were valid. Mr. Gusev had always treated me like a young woman and was respectful and, for the most part, nice. But as soon as word spread through the building that I was a dancer, he transformed into a disgusting pig.

What else could I do? If a mere dance was what it took to avoid my family being evicted, then I’d have to do it. It would chip away at my dignity, but at least I wasn’t prostituting myself, right?

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