Page 199 of Wicked Proposal

She hesitates for a moment, but then opens her mouth. I watch her with rapt eyes as she bites into the pulp, her face going from uncertain to delighted. Her throat bobs as she swallows.

“It’s sweet,” she whispers, licking the juice off her lips.

If it weren’t for the crowd, I would have pushed her up against the tree trunk and started fucking her already. Everything she does, even something as innocent as eating fruit, has the power to draw out the worst, most primal instincts in me.

I’m not sure I dislike it.

She finishes off the pear in a couple of bites. “What do I do with this?” She dangles the core. “Do I just—toss it?”

“Yes,” I tell her. “But first…”

I pull her to me and kiss her. The sweet taste of the pear lingers on her lips, but it’s her own I’m after. Her unique, addictive taste.

Soon, whistles and whoops rise around us. I distinctly recognize Kazimir’s voice starting the“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”chant.

“Hate to interrupt, lovebirds.” Maksim clears his throat. “But it’s time. Should we kick off the ceremony?”

I don’t want to part from her, but I can’t stay glued to Mia all night, no matter how badly I wish I could. The sooner we get this over with, the better.

“Let’s.”

“Good luck,” Mia whispers against my lips. “I’m really curious to see what this infamous swearing-in ceremony is about.”

“The good part’s after that,” I rumble. “When I tell the world.”

We’ve decided to get married a week from now, in a small private ceremony. We’ll have a big wedding afterwards, but getting the bureaucracy out of the way will allow me to start the adoption process immediately. This way, when we celebrate publicly, Eli will already be under my protection, and Brad won’t be able to do shit.

And a week from now, Mia will be untouchable.

What makes you so confident?the cold voice inside me sneers.You’ve been avoiding marriage exactly because of the target it’d paint on your wife’s back. Now, you’re marrying Mia to protect her. Isn’t that ridiculous?

“Things are different now,” I mutter under my breath. Before, I didn’t know my enemies were leaving. I thought they’d alwaysbe sticking around, in the shadows, waiting for me to find happiness again before snatching it right out from under me.

Now, it’s only a matter of time before I’m free of them.

And until I am, I’m not letting Mia out of my sight.

“Recruits!” I call from the stage.

Six men walk up to me, standing at attention, their nerves palpable. A couple of them are older, but most are barely out of boyhood—caught in this life by the harshness of the world. My Bratva will give them a place to sleep, food to eat, strength to protect what they love.

Most of all, it will give them purpose.

I beckon the first one from the left. He walks up to me on unsteady legs and kneels at my feet.

“Do you swear your loyalty to the Lozhkin Bratva?” I demand.

“Yes.”

“Do you swear your loyalty to your comrades?”

“Yes.”

“Do you swear your loyalty to me?”

“Yes,moy pakhan!”

I make a mental note to change up the oath. After tonight, these men will no longer be swearing themselves to me alone. Mia will be theirpakhansha—they must vow to obey her as much as me.