Page 81 of Sexting the Bratva Beast

I sit up and pull her onto my lap. I love this playful side of her. I could get used to being trapped inside this perfect bubble with her, watching movies, snacking on grilled cheese, fucking in every room while the snow keeps on falling. But it isn’t reality. And playing won’t keep her alive.

“What changed your mind?” I ask.

She straddles my lap, her hair forming a golden curtain around us. “It was always going to be yes, Andrej.”

My heart soars to the moon and back when she says this.

“But Gianna reminded me that you’re not a bad person.”

“Careful, you’ll destroy the image I worked so hard to cultivate.”

She smiles. “Bad boys and bad people are two entirely different things. And you have a good heart in there, Andrej Ivanov.” Her hand rests over my heart.

“Some might not believe you.”

“It’s their loss.”

“Baby, you’ve made me the happiest man in the world. We should celebrate.”

Her eyes slant wickedly. “Not here though. I don’t want to risk Ivana walking in on us again.”

My recent conversation with Ivana flashes through my mind, but I dismiss it.

She said yes. I’m getting married!

I stand up, Cartier’s legs wrapped around my waist and her arms around my neck. “You head upstairs, and I’ll get champagne.”

I don’t want to let her go, but my baby deserves champagne to celebrate.

I watch her disappear at the top of the stairs before heading to the kitchen to grab a bottle of Moet that is traditionally kept in the fridge to celebrate good news.

Two minutes.

I’m practically floating which is why my reactions are a beat too slow. Pain flares in my chest and the world goes black before I even register the movement behind me.

21

CARTIER

It feelswrong to be this excited when I’m halfway around the world during the holiday season, and I know that Mika and Gianna are coping without me. I can’t even remain angry about Andrej drugging me and bringing me here without my consent. It’s impossible to be angry when you’ve found the person who completes your life.

I literally feel as if this is the first day of the rest of my life. It’s such a cliché, but it’s true. Andrej makes me feel special. He makes me feel alive. He makes me feel things that I always believed only existed in fiction.

Inside the bedroom, I lean against the door and squeeze my eyes and fists shut.

This is my life now. I’ll be part of a Bratva family and will have to accept all that comes with that status, but it doesn’t faze me because I’ll be with Andrej every step of the way.

I cross the room to the dresser, sliding open the drawers in the hunt for some sexy lingerie. It probably won’t stay on for long, but I want to see Andrej’s expression when he comes back andfinds me waiting for him on the bed in something black and silky.

It doesn’t surprise me when I open the third drawer. Andrej has thought of everything: there’s enough underwear in here to open a store.

I rummage through lacy thongs, transparent bralettes, satin camisoles and silky tap pants. Finally, I settle for a luxurious champagne-colored set, lace-trimmed tap pants, and a camisole as light and sheer as a feather.

Peering at myself in the floor-standing mirror, my nipples instantly harden, and I can already feel the damp patch between my legs.

Satisfied, I lie down on the bed and try to strike a seductive pose. It’s hard when excitement is gurgling inside my chest, and I’m conscious of my reflection staring back at me from the mirror across the room.

It’s too contrived.