Page 11 of The Pakhan’s Forced Bride (West Coast Bratva Pakhans #3)

She tilts her head back as my mouth plays over her throat, my breath hot against her skin. Her taste is on my lips, fueling my desire, making me wild with need. All I want is her. I want all of her. She is everything in this moment, and I can’t stop.

My hand wraps tighter around her thigh, pulling her leg up the side of my body as I thrust my hips forward and rub my throbbing cock against her. My heart beats faster, my body screaming that she’s all I’ve ever wanted.

This isn’t supposed to be happening.

She moans, a sweet, innocent sound that teases me. I’ve never wanted something so badly in my life.

She isn’t supposed to have this power over you.

My fingers knot tighter in her hair, and my lips find hers again. Her taste drowns me in desire.

Stop, Ardalion, she’s your enemy’s sister.

My body hesitates as I fight for control. I pause, breathing heavily, my cock aching as it presses against my pants—and against her.

“Ardalion?” she whispers my name, a breathless sound that brushes over me. Calling me.

My hands drop away from her, and I step back. “I’m sorry,” I mutter. “I don’t know what came over me.”

She is my path to revenge, and I’m getting confused.

Belle quietly clears her throat and lifts her hand to touch her fingers against her lips, swollen from the kiss.

Her cheeks are glowing in this red light, her skin bright, her eyes shining as she steals a glance at me.

The softest smile brushes over her perfect heart-shaped lips.

It makes me want to kiss her again, but I drag my eyes off her.

“It’s okay,” she giggles, then dusts her hands over her dress, pulling it straight, smiling as though she doesn’t have a care in the world.

Why isn’t she upset that I stopped? Why isn’t she begging me to carry on? Belle straightens her hair, brushing it through with her fingers.

She purses her lips, a tight smile on her face as she tilts her head to the side. “Shall we get back to the party before they wonder where we went?” she asks, calm, composed. How did she pull herself together so quickly?

Why isn’t her heart beating as wildly as mine? I haven’t even caught my breath yet, and my body is still rigid with need.

It doesn’t matter. All that matters are the boundaries that you have to keep between the two of you.

I sneer, unreasonably disappointed, despite the fact that I’m the one who pulled away, not her.

But from where I’m standing, watching her, it looks as though the kiss didn’t mean anything to Belle.

“I need a moment,” I say stiffly, glancing down at my obvious issue.

“Oh, right, of course,” Belle mumbles. “This whole thing was silly. I think I had too much champagne. That’s all.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Mm. That’s probably it. Too much to drink. I doubt it would have happened without that.”

“And anyone could have seen us.”

“Risky. It was irresponsible,” I say, imagining myself thrusting into her up against this wall.

Stop that, you’re body needs to calm down, not get worked up all over again.

I turn to the side, looking down the hall, in the direction of the party.

I don’t know if it’s the red light or the risk of being caught, but she looks too good, too sexy—too everything. I have to turn my attention to something else to clear my thoughts.

“We can have another drink and then go get something to eat if you’re hungry?” I ask.

I’m hungry. Just not for food.

“That sounds great. I’d love to see LA at night.” I sense her perking up next to me. “Ardalion,” she says my name excitedly. “Can I change our deal?”

My eyes are back on her, exploring her beautiful face. “How so?”

“Instead of teaching me to box, can you allow me to leave the house more often? I really want to explore the city and honestly, tonight at this party—I don’t know anyone, but it was so nice to be around people.”

She’s lonely at home.

I sigh, understanding what she’s struggling with.

I’m at work most days. Even when I’m home, I’m in the office, and she doesn’t have people to talk to.

I pulled her from a very social life in Vegas, and now she’s pacing inside the walls of my mansion, and it’s going to wear her down eventually.

I don’t want to break her spirit. That wasn’t part of my plan.

Or maybe it was to get back at her brother, but that was before I knew her.

She’s looking up at me with wide eyes, full of hope.

“You can have both, Belle,” I say, mesmerized by her.

“Both?”

“Yes. You can train with me, and you can explore the city.”

She jumps up and wraps her arms around my neck, hugging me. I wrap my arm around her waist and hold her until she pulls away. “Thank you,” she says happily. “Shall we?” she gestures down the hall towards the party.

I nod, looping her arm around mine as I lead her back to the event.

I ask her to dance with me, which is a lot of fun, but only adds to the desire I’m already struggling with. After two songs, I can’t handle it anymore. I can’t bear to have her body that close to mine as she moves against me, sensual and beautiful.

We go to the bar, drink, laugh, and talk.

When we’re bored with the party, I take her out for a very late dinner.

It’s almost midnight when we settle into our seats at the Sky Tower Mosaic Restaurant in the middle of the city.

It’s on the top floor of one of the highest buildings in Los Angeles.

From here, you can see the city lights stretching in every direction, glittering far below us in hundreds of different colors.

It’s beautiful to watch the city from afar.

You can hear the noise and chaos, but you can see the beauty.

I love the chaos as much as I love the peace. But this view is special.

Belle rests her elbow on the table and leans her chin on her hand as she stares dreamily out of the window.

“It’s it wonderful how the city can have so many faces. All you need to do is change the time of day and your perspective.”

“Very poetic,” I tease her.

She shoots me an amused glare and playfully punches my shoulder.

I grab her wrist, and for a second, I contemplate pulling her across the table towards me and kissing her.

My fingers release, letting her escape my thoughts.

I still can’t stop thinking about that kiss, about her taste on my lips.

“What do you feel like eating?” I ask, picking up the menu to distract myself. “Steak, pizza, burgers, nachos—"

“Nachos!” she says excitedly. “With extra guacamole and extra cheese.”

I chuckle. “A girl after my own heart. Do you want it spicy or not?”

She tugs the corner of her mouth to the side and knits her brows. “Seriously? Are they even nachos if they aren’t spicy?”

I laugh harder, shaking my head. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s ridiculous to even consider nachos without spice.”

“So silly of you,” she teases.

The waiter arrives and I tell him our order. He jots it down.

“And to drink? A margarita?” I ask Belle.

“Gosh, I don’t think so. A water for now. My head is still spinning happily from all the champagne.”

I turn to the waiter. “A bottle of sparkling water. Thanks.”

The waiter nods and leaves, and I’m alone with the most beautiful girl in the world again.

She looks happy.

Happier than I’ve seen her in a long time.

I can see why she wants to get out more.

She comes alive when she's out in the world, exploring, enjoying it, taking in everything it has to offer.

And through her, I have a sense of enjoyment, too.

Watching her gorgeous smile, watching her eyes drift over the views—it fills me with excitement, too.

It makes the view that much more beautiful.

***

We get home at half past one in the morning.

The party drinks have worn off, our tummies are full of nachos, and we’re both yawning and relaxed.

I walk Belle to her bedroom door. Still, the kiss is on my mind, and I toy with the idea of pushing her into her bedroom, onto her bed, and kissing her again.

But instead, I lean down and kiss her cheek. “Sleep well, little bunny,” I say.

She smiles, scrunching her nose as she says, “You too, Ard,” then backs into her room and quietly closes her door.

I stand there for a moment, fighting with myself, demanding that I turn away and walk to my room. It takes everything inside me to do it.

Exhausted from an amazing night, I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

But I dream of her. All night, I dream, then wake, needing her.

I fall asleep again and dream again, then wake, and struggle with the desire.

The kiss plays over and over in my mind.

It haunts me and taunts me, and I’m going crazy, unable to stop it looping in my thoughts.

It goes on for hours, frustrating me, until at half past five in the morning, I climb out of bed, unable to take it any longer. If I go back to sleep, I’ll just dream of her again, and it’ll push me over the edge.

I need coffee.

I’ll watch the sunrise. Maybe I’ll go for a run. But I can’t lie here fighting my own demons anymore.

The house is quiet as I walk downstairs to the kitchen.

I don’t turn any lights on. It’s close to the full moon, so the sky is glowing soft blueish-gray, and the sun will be up in the next two hours, so that early morning glow is beginning to shine.

The house is easy to navigate in this light.

It’s peaceful like this.

I make the coffee, taking deep, slow breaths of the dark, rich aroma as it pours into my mug.

It’s a good feeling to be up before everyone else, but I could have done with a few more hours of sleep. The mug is hot in my hand as I climb the stairs, up to the sunroom to enjoy my coffee in peace and catch the first rays of light as the day starts.

I walk into the sunroom, and I’m about to sit on the sofa when I hear a little giggle. My heart jumps.

“What are you doing awake?” I ask, staring in surprise at Belle, sitting on the sofa with her feet curled beneath her, drinking a cup of tea.

Her hair is pulled onto the top of her head in a wild, messy bun.

She’s wearing silk shorts and a soft silk cami that flows over her breasts like water.

Pink. She looks absolutely gorgeous in pink.

“I couldn’t sleep.” She shrugs. “What about you?”

I sit down across from her, doing my best not to stare. “Same. I was having weird dreams last night.” Imagine if I could tell her what I was dreaming about.

Her.

All night, it’s been her.

“It must have been all the excitement.” Mischief flashes across her face for a second before she takes a sip of tea.

I want to respond. It’s tempting to flirt, to try and charm her, to move closer, but I’m already playing with fire around her.

“So, you came here to watch the sunrise?” I ask.

“Yes, at this time of morning, there isn’t too much going on, and it seemed like a nice way to start the day. It’s peaceful.”

“I was thinking of going for a run, but seeing as you’re awake—maybe you want to get an early start on your training?”

“Oh,” she says, sitting up straighter, her body tense. “Sure.”

“Are you nervous?” I chuckle.

“A bit. I’ve never done anything like it before. I might take a complete fool of myself.”

“Everyone starts out not knowing anything. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll be great.”