Page 30 of Bratva King

That earned him another laugh. The sound wrapped around his heart. Without another word, he closed the small distance between them. He jerked her close, resting his forehead against hers.

"So," he murmured, "am I forgiven?"

“Let me think,” she said.

Natalia searched his eyes for another long moment. Then, slowly, she rose onto her toes and captured his lips. The kiss began softly and tentatively.

Alexei answered it by cupping her face with both hands, kissing her with all the gratitude and relief that had built inside him since the first shot shattered the limousine's window. She melted into him with a quiet sigh.

Natalia curled her fingers into the lapels of his white jacket, pulling him closer until there wasn't an inch of space between them. Everything else but them ceased to matter, save the steady rhythm of their breathing and the warmth they shared.

When they pulled up for air, Natalia smiled up at him, her cheeks faintly flushed.

"You're very distracting, Pakhan."

"So are you.”

Alexei traced her cheek with his thumb. He made a reckless decision on the spot. “Stay with me tonight.”

She looked at him, surprise flickering across her features.

"I'll make it up to you for not following your orders," he said with a rueful smile. “So spend the night with me.”

“I'd like that,” Natalia said, and that answer pleased him immensely.

Chapter Nine

Natalia lingered in the doorway. The bedroom was larger than any apartment she’d ever stayed in.

Dark walnut furniture filled the spacious room, softened by warm lights. A fire cast flickering light across polished wooden floors and the enormous four-poster bed dominating the far wall. Every inch of the room screamed Alexei.

Behind her, the door clicked softly shut. The sound made the room suddenly feel much smaller. For a long moment neither of them spoke. The events of the evening still clung to them.

She flexed her fingers unconsciously. There were tiny cuts across her knuckles where fragments of glass had caught her during the shooting. It was nothing serious. She'd barely noticed them.

He reached for her hand, and she almost pulled away. In the end, she allowed him to turn it over gently in his own. His hands were large and warm. He brushed his thumb lightly across one of the tiny cuts.

"You were bleeding." His voice carried an unexpected sadness.

“It’s not serious,” she told him. “I’ve had worse.”

“I know,” he murmured.

Natalia looked up. He wasn't staring at her injuries, but at her. The intensity of his gaze made her heartbeat stumble.

"I couldn’t help but worry about you,” he admitted quietly.

"You shouldn’t. My job is worrying about you,” she reminded him.

He chuckled. The sound warmed something inside her she had spent years convincing herself no longer existed. Without thinking, she reached up and loosened the knot of his white bow tie.

"You've been wearing this thing for six hours. Allow me,” she said.

She slipped the silk free before smoothing the collar of his shirt, aware he watched her like a predator. It dawned on Natalia that she liked that his attention was fixed solely on her and nothing and no one else.

“Turn around. I’ll do your dress,” he instructed, and she obeyed without thinking.

Slowly, he reached toward the zipper hidden along the back of her gown. The zipper slid downward with a quiet whisper. She felt the evening gown loosen around her shoulders. After spending hours enclosed in fitted satin, the release felt unexpectedly comforting.