Page 16 of The Pakhan’s Forced Bride (West Coast Bratva Pakhans #3)

Los Angeles has become a second home to me.

Ardalion is no longer locking me away like a prisoner, and I am free to come and go as I please. He lets me go on full-day shopping sprees, roaming the entire city with a driver to take me anywhere my heart desires. Some days I go alone, and others he joins me when I go out exploring.

All I know is that I have a limited time here in LA and I want to make the most of it.

The more time goes by, the more I worry about how I’m going to feel when I have to leave.

I can’t even imagine going back to live with my mother.

I most certainly can’t imagine going on another stupid blind date with some idiot she’s trying to set me up with.

But at some point, this whole thing is going to come to an end.

Ardalion will let me go, and he'll file for divorce, once he’s gotten what he wants from Benedikt.

The thought aches inside me. Every time it pops up in my mind, I push it away, refusing to face it. I’d rather make the most of this moment and deal with that whenever it happens. When I have no other choice but to do it.

At first, I thought it would be a drag to have Ardalion tag along on a shopping trip; I’ve been shopping with my brother. He’s a boring buzzkill. He doesn’t even like giving his opinion on things I’m choosing between.

Ardalion is completely different. He’s interested in the things I show him. And he lets me drag him all over the place when I spot something I want to get a closer look at.

He’s so much fun to hang out with, and ever since we spent that very intimate night together, he’s actually been letting his walls down and showing me a different side of himself. A softer side. Someone who enjoys joking and teasing and smiles often.

And he often reaches for me, brushing his hand over my arm affectionally or letting his fingers trace up and down my back. He’s constantly wanting to touch me.

He’s taken me by surprise with this secret side of him.

“The blue one,” he says, tilting his head to the side to examine both options I’m holding up.

“Really?” I ask, thinking it's a bit too revealing.

“Yes, it matches your eyes,” he says.

I hold the blue top up against my body, and he nods. “Definitely. It’ll also show off your gorgeous curves.” He winks at me, and my cheeks flush pink with desire. He can turn me on with a glance, never mind these playful comments and gentle touches.

“You must be mindlessly bored with all this shopping,” I say, bumping my hip against him as we walk out of the store, my shopping bags swinging in my hand.

He shakes his head and wraps his arm around my waist. “It’s hard to be bored with you around, little bunny. You are an endless source of entertainment.”

“ Entertainment ? And here I thought you were enjoying my company.”

“You’re the full package, a front row seat. Beautiful to look at. Funny. Cheeky. Feisty. Full of laughter and easily excited by the smallest things.”

I giggle, realizing he’s describing my personality pretty well.

We get iced coffee and cinnamon donuts and sit on a bench near the waterfront, people watching and rating surfers’ skills as they catch waves, even though I have no knowledge of surfing. I throw little pieces of donuts at the seagulls despite Ardalion's warning me that it’s a bad idea.

One or two seagulls quickly turn into five, then ten, then suddenly it feels like we’re in that old movie by Alfred Hitchcock— The Birds .

Except it’s seagulls. And now I’m laughing so hard I’m crying because we’ve both lost our donuts to those greedy little birds, and we’re running away from the bench with Ardalion’s arm covering my head.

When we’re a safe distance away from the seagull horde, Ardalion snorts an indignant laugh and says, “I told you so.”

I roll my eyes. “You always know better, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do. This is my city, after all.”

I lean into him, grinning. “Sorry about your donut.”

“You owe me one.” He winks, his eyes full of mischief.

“How about I take you on a date on Saturday?” I ask, spontaneously.

“You—take me on a date?”

“Girls can take guys on dates,” I huff.

“I’d love to,” he grins, wrapping his arm around me as we head back towards the car.

***

On Saturday morning, I’m in an overexcited mood. I think I’ve got everything perfectly planned, and I’m really looking forward to the date with Ardalion.

I wanted to do something quiet and relaxing, so I chose a picnic on the grass promenade overlooking the ocean. We have a lot of fun just talking and people watching, and what better place to do it.

The picnic basket is packed, I have a blanket for the grass, cups, plates, a nice assortment of snacks—I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything.

And this time, I won’t be feeding any seagulls.

To keep it a surprise, I take the car and head to the beachfront early to set everything up, telling Ardalion to meet me a little later in the morning.

I spread the blanket out beneath the shade of a palm tree and even put a pretty arrangement of flowers in the center. Men deserve to get flowers, too.

In the distance, I see Ardalion walking towards me, and my heart flips excitedly. I stand up and brush my hands over my pretty summer dress, smoothing the knee-length skirt and straightening the thin straps over my shoulders. Why am I so nervous? I’m just being silly.

It’s Ardalion. I see him every day.

But it’s nice to be doing something for him for a change, instead of the other way around.

“This looks incredible, little bunny,” he grins as he gets closer. His entire face is lit up, his eyes shining. “You did all of this for me?”

“I did.” I stand on my tiptoes and give him a quick kiss, then step back and gesture for him to find a comfortable spot on the blanket.

“Flowers.” He smiles, leaning down to smell them. “They’re gorgeous. A nice touch.”

My heart swells with warmth. It’s nice to have someone notice the details of your effort.

“What’s that for?” he asks, pointing at a little pile of tiny pebbles next to the blanket.

“Defense.” I nod seriously.

“Against what?” he asks, confused.

In perfect timing, a seagull lands near the edge of our picnic area, and I toss a pebble at him. I miss horribly, but he squawks, annoyed, and flaps away.

Ardalion cracks up laughing. He ends up lying on his back on the blanket, clutching his stomach because he’s laughing so hard.

And that’s how our picnic starts.

And all through the day, the laughter doesn’t stop.

The food is perfect, the conversation is lovely, the sun is warm, and the fresh salty air is crisp and wonderful.

Ardalion leans over with the bottle of champagne. “Can I top you up?” he asks.

“Yes, please,” I say, holding my glass towards him.

My eyes drift to the horizon, and I stare out across the ocean.

The last time I went on a picnic was with Benedikt and Ulyana.

We laughed a lot then, too. I’ve been missing them so much lately.

It’s been ages since I saw or spoke to either of them.

“Hey, are you lost in thought over there?” his voice pulls me back into the present moment.

“Mm? Oh, yes, sorry, just thinking about things,” I answer, smiling with a touch of sadness traced into my expression.

“What’s wrong? What were you thinking about?” Ardalion asks.

“I picnicked like this with my brother and his wife. We did a lot of stuff together. I’m not used to going this long without talking to either of them. I just really miss them both. It’s strange not to know what they’re up to or how they’re doing,” I say wistfully, sighing as I sip my champagne.

“And your mom? Did she also join you guys?”

“Mmph,” I huff. “My mother wouldn’t dare be caught sitting on the grass like this. She might get a little dirt on her precious slacks or something.” I giggle. “No, Mom didn’t like stuff like this. She only goes out if it involves fancy restaurants or overpriced art galleries. She’s more of a…"

“Snob?” he laughs.

“I don’t think I’m allowed to say that about my mom.

” I laugh too. But the laughter trails off.

“She and I are so different. It wasn’t easy growing up with her because she wanted a daughter who was perfectly in her image.

And I’m the furthest from that that I could possibly be, yet I still have to learn to play the role to avoid the inevitable drama that would follow if I didn’t.

I had to be the perfect daughter, prim and proper and obedient. ”

I let out a heavy sigh. “It’s only since I came to Los Angeles that I truly realized how much she suffocated me. I’ve been walking on eggshells my whole life.” I shrug, trying to make light of how heavy the conversation suddenly became.

Ardalion’s dark eyes are piercing into me when I glance at him. I laugh nervously. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get so intense,” I say apologetically.

He reaches over the touches my leg, his fingers sending a hum of electricity through my body. “I want you to share these things, little bunny. I’m happy you felt you could talk to me about it.”

His phone rings, bringing an abrupt end to the moment. He picks it up from the blanket and sees Nestor’s name flashing over the screen. Answering, he pushes it against his ear.

“Hello? Is it a real emergency or another bull shit call like we got the other night?” he huffs.

There is a pause, Ardalion’s body tenses. “Fine.”

I see his jaw clench, muscles rippling over his face. “I’ll be there.”

He hangs up. His eyes lift, and I can already see it written on his face.

“You have to go?” I say, pouting my lip out and turning the corners of my mouth down.

He nods. “I’m really sorry. I’ve got to go into the office for a few hours. It’s nothing to worry about—nothing for you to worry about, I mean.” He grins and touches my face. “But I can’t get out of it.”

“It’s okay. I understand,” I say quietly. I was thoroughly enjoying my time with Ardalion.

“Will you keep our picnic basket for when I get home? We can just move it to the balcony, finish the snacks and the champagne while we watch the sunset?” he suggests, making me feel a little better about cutting it short.

“That sounds perfect.” I smile, leaning over to kiss him. “You can go. I’ll pack up here. The sooner you get there, the sooner you’ll be home.”

He nods, standing up from the blanket.

“I’ll see you a bit later, Belle. Thank you so much for this. No one has ever taken me on a date before. This was—it was really special.” His smile is genuine and filled with warmth.

“Go on, I’ll see you in a bit.” I wave him off, my cheeks glowing with pride.

While I’m packing up, I think about how lovely it is to be around Ardalion.

Maybe, instead of waiting till late afternoon to see him again, I’ll surprise him at the office with the rest of the picnic.

He works so hard, and it’ll be so boring there for him all afternoon.

I can make his day a little brighter by stopping by and saying hello.

I can’t believe no one has ever taken him on a date before. I imagined women would have been falling over themselves trying to impress him in the past. He’s a very dominant man, though; maybe he just never allowed anyone else the chance to take care of him in this way.

I’m happy it was me.

It means a lot that he let down his walls to allow me to do that for him.