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Anna chuckles and loops her arm through mine, pulling me down the hall and into the kitchen. “Coffee is right this way. The kitchen is in the center of the house so if you’re ever looking for something, just head down this way and the chef will be able to get something for you. He’s on break right now but I’ll make you a cup of coffee.”
“Thank you.” I look around the kitchen at the black cabinet and counters. “This house is pretty dark. You must have a hard job keeping all the dust from showing. How long have you been working for Ivan?”
“Since he was a little boy.” Anna’s smile widens and she gets a distant look in her eyes. “I know you're new to this house and that Ivan seems harsh at first, but he's a good man at heart.”
I highly doubt that.
I keep the thought to myself as Anna grinds down coffee beans for the espresso maker before starting the machine. The scent of coffee fills the room as I take a seat on the white leather stool at the kitchen island.
Anna seems to love Ivan as if he were her own. I don’t want to get on her wrong side as I suspect she is one of the few people he is truly kind to. I couldn’t imagine her working for him as an adult if she didn’t love him.
“You are the first woman to live in this house. The first woman he’s ever brought here, to be honest.” Anna takes out some cream and sugar. “Ivan doesn’t get attached to people that easily.”
“I didn’t know that I was the first.” I trace my finger along a vein of gray stone in the marble countertop.
Anna nods and takes the cup of coffee, fills it up with cream and sugar, and passes it to me. “He finds it difficult to trust people. He's a hard and unyielding man, but something in him softened when he met you. I noticed it the very first day. He smiled when he came home. I can’t remember the last time I saw him smile before that.”
My heart skips a beat as I grab the mug and hold it with both hands. “If he cared for me that much, don’t you think that he would have tried to date me instead of forcing me into a marriage?”
“Ivan has a way of getting what he wants fast.” She gives me a sympathetic smile as she leans against the counter. “Bratva men have their way of doing things, especially marriage, but you can be sure he'll take care of you and protect you like no other.”
I take a long sip of the coffee, not sure what to say to that. The truth is that I don’t know anything about Ivan. There is no doubt in my mind that he will protect me but beyond that, I don’t know.
I want to love him over time. At least I think that's what I want. What I don’t want is to spend my life in a loveless marriage. There's no denying that the physical attraction is there, but a marriage can’t be just based on that.Is he even capable of truly loving someone?
A door creaks as Ivan walks into the kitchen. The shirt he wears hugs his torso, showing off the muscles beneath the thin fabric. He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans, the corner of his mouth curving as he darts his eyes at me and Anna.
“Good,” he says as he walks over to me. “I was hoping that the two of you would meet. The chef prepared lunch for us before he went on his break. I have it waiting in the sunroom.”
My stomach growls as my cheeks turn pink. “Sorry, I didn’t eat much this morning. The food you had sent up was delicious, but I’m not hungry in the mornings.”
I take my mug of coffee and follow him into the sunroom, shooting a smile to Anna over my shoulder before leaving the kitchen. Ivan leads the way into a small room off the kitchen with walls made of glass. A couple of small couches surround a little table. Plants cover the corners of the room and the top of the walls, their vines growing and weaving along the rafters.
It's a beautiful room. I can see myself curling up on the couches in the early mornings while I study.
He takes a seat on one of the couches and stretches out a little. I stand next to him, as I don't know where he expects me to sit. As I place my coffee on the table next to the covered plates, he grins.
“I have a trip to LA in a few days and you will come with me.”
I furrow my eyebrows and think of the piles of work I have to do for school. “Why do you want me to go with you? Is it important? I have a lot of schoolwork I need to do. I have three papers due next week and more studying to do.”
Ivan grins wickedly at me and his gaze wanders up and down my body. “I want you with me so I can have an eye on you, and … fuck you when I need to. You can bring your schoolwork with you.”
Flames ignite in my body, spreading through me like wildfire as he stands up and walks toward me. He moves like a predator stalking its prey as I take a couple of steps back.
“I need to finish my schoolwork. This is important to me.”
“Are you saying my request isn’t?” His chuckle is dark as his hand wraps around my throat. His fingers press against my pulse. “You are my wife now, Sophia. Don’t you fucking defy me again.”
I squeeze my thighs together as his thumb drifts along my jaw. “I really do need to get the work done. It counts toward my final grade.”
He steps toward me, forcing me to take a step back. “You are coming with me and that is final. No more fucking arguments from that pretty little mouth.”
Ivan continues to walk towards me until my back is pressed against the windows. He pushes my thighs apart and steps between them. His hand runs down the side of my face and to the curve of my breast. My pussy clenches as my nipples poke against the fabric of my shirt.
“End of discussion.” He growls as he dips his head to my neck, grazing his teeth along the sensitive skin.
I put my hands on his chest, intending to push him away until the tip of his tongue drags up my throat. As I fist the soft material of his shirt in my hands, he picks me up, wraps my legs around his waist, and pushes his hardened cock against my core.
