Page 43 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride

“Yes?” I snap.

“Sir, the guys are leaving now. I just wanted to check if that was ok with you?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

“Thanks, sir, have a nice evening.”

“You too.”

I close the door and let out a heavy breath of relief.

Dammit. What is this girl doing to me?

She makes me lose my mind. I glance at Angelika, who is casually flicking through a magazine.

“That was close,” she says calmly, not looking up at me. “You sure you don’t need to deal with that?”

I narrow my eyes, studying her.

“No, they were just letting me know they were leaving for the night.”

“Ok, because if you have things to do, you can do them, don’t let me stop you.” She flashes a quick smile at me. “I can find my own way home.”

Shaking my head, I scoff. “No, you’ll be escorted home by your bodyguard, Angelika. We just spoke about this. Staying out of danger?”

She shrugs, still acting so casual, as though we didn’t just have the best sex of my life on my office desk and nearly get caught.

Fuck, thank goodness we weren’t interrupted even a minute earlier. That ending was… it was intense. How is she acting like there wasn’t so much more to it than just physical pleasure?

“Well, do you need to do anything else here, or are you going to give me a ride home?” she asks, standing up and brushing her hands over her jeans.

It actually hurts.

Usually, I’m the one brushing someone off after a very casual encounter. Something meaningless and, in all honestly,boring and utterly empty compared to what just happened between Angel and me.

She’s making one thing very clear here. This was just sex and nothing more.

I’m about to tell her we can leave when my phone rings.

Jaroslav’s name flashes across the screen, and my stomach tightens.

“Jaro, hey man, how are you?”

“Good, good. How are things on your side? I heard you and Angelika are back in town.”

“Yes, we got back a little while ago. I was just about to bring her home.”

“Nice. Listen, I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for us again and let you know you’re a free man.” He laughs, as though this should be a relief to me.

“Free?” I murmur, turning my back toward Angel, trying to think of any reason to prolong my time with her.

“We discussed it, and we don’t think she needs a bodyguard anymore. It’s been quiet. All the talk has died down. We’ll keep her at home, and she’ll be fine. But seriously, I can’t thank you enough. I know it stole a lot of time from you, and we owe you, man.”

“Don’t even mention it. It wasn’t a problem at all. I’m glad I could help, and that Angelika is safe.”

My heart is sinking. It’s over.

The whole thing is over.