Page 25 of His Disobedient Bride

It was the “for now” that I didn’t quite care for, but I folded my hands in my lap and tried to look inconspicuous.

Everyone here looked like stereotypical gangsters and I couldn’t help a fleeting thought that I never could have put them in a book because they were too obviously and perfectly Bratva thugs. It was pretty obvious why Dmitri and Cerise had been on the run when I met them. They were mixed up in this Mafia business, too.

There was another man in the room, introduced to me as Frederik. While his brother was big and broad, he was tall and lean, with neat silvery hair and an aristocratic face, with sculptured cheekbones. He was quiet, yet I could tell that his brother the Pakhan respected him. He nodded politely to me, and I twisted my fingers in my baggy skirt.

Why was it that I could never think of anything to say when I saw a hot man? And the fact that he was in his 50s made him even sexier. Older, more experienced, confident. I would never have anything to say to a man like that. But when he brought me a cup of Russian tea his hand brushed mine and I felt my stomach clench with a pointless desire for him.

That was the problem with being a virgin and never having sex.

Every hot man you saw made your core hot and your insides liquid, but nothing ever came of it. I would rather die before telling a man like Frederik that I was a virgin.

I realized with a start that he was talking to me.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I asked, stuttering slightly.

“I asked if you liked the tea?” he said, his voice low and rich.

“It’s good. Very good,” I added, wanting to kick myself for my lack of witty conversation.

He nodded briefly and turned back to his brother.

I wondered to myself if Cerise could give me some tips on how to woo a man with fresh and saucy conversation, but I reminded myself depressingly that I wouldn’t be able to keep a fresh and saucy façade up for very long.

I couldn’t help glancing out the window to see if Andrei and Cerise had caught up yet. Although it seemed impossible for anyone to catch up with how fast Dmitri had insisted we go, he had never stopped looking behind him. All I saw was the rolling waters of the Black Sea on one side, and the long, fully guarded driveway into the Petrovic beach house on the other. The gates were securely locked. I knew I would have time to see them coming.

Just as my heart had begun to slow down, I saw the gates opening, and two people who could only be Cerise and Andrei came in on a motorcycle.

Dmitri gave me a nod, which I hope meant, “don’t worry,” but I still sat there in a flutter of panic. I noticed how Dmitri’s big, broad body tensed as he saw his cousin coming down the driveway.

I couldn’t decide where to look or what to say. What was the proper social protocol in Russia for meeting someone who had been preparing to kill you? I saw Andrei’s tall, imposing body come in the door and my heart clutched in panic. Surely he wouldn’t kill me in front of his father? I reminded myself that Grigoriy was the boss, not Andrei.

“Hello, son,” said the Pakhan.

I saw Cerise come in after him, a cup of iced coffee in her hand.

I admired how nonchalantly she came in the door, but she squealed when she saw Grigoriy, and immediately ran and threw her arms around him. I remembered that the Bratva boss was her father-in-law, and I began to feel better. Cerise obviously had him wrapped around her finger. Maybe I would be saved after all. Andrei stood impassively, not saying anything, but his cold eyes darted between Dmitri and me as we sat opposite each other at the table.

“I presume you have been talked into extending protection over this stranger,” said Andrei.

I thought I had never seen anyone so terrifying-looking in my life. He was at least half a head taller than every other man in the room, huge broad shoulders and arms folded across his chest.

“Yes, Andrei, I have,” said the Pakhan firmly, and I felt the breath all leave my body as I exhaled in relief. “You are not to harm her. She is under my protection.”

Cerise did not smile in relief. If she had been worried, she didn’t show it. She looked as cool and confident as if she had predicted this outcome already. Maybe she had.

Andrei turned angrily to his cousin.

“Why did you allow Cerise to pick up an outsider?” Andrei asked.

“She wanted to,” Dmitri said, his dark face and his voice expressionless.

I am glad she did, but this answer seems a bit inadequate, even to me.

“You are fucking soft,” Andrei said.

“Luckily for you,” Dmitri retorted.

Andrei took a sharp intake of breath but said nothing. I knew Dmitri must be referring to the fact that he had been the one to save Cerise. Not Andrei.

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