Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
We walked into the restaurant and the maître d’ was all smiles as he escorted us to a table.
“There’s been a mistake,” Ive said. “We’re meeting someone.”
“Ah, yes, Mr. Volkov wanted me to tell you that something came up and he wouldn’t be able to make it. He hopes you enjoy the meal and said he’d make up for it some other time.”
Ivan wasn’t coming. This was all for nothing. I expected Ive to leave. His jaw tensed, but then he turned toward me, nudged the maître d’ out of the way, and then helped me into my chair.
“If you’d like to leave, we can.”
“No,” Ive said. “Arrangements have been made for us to enjoy a meal, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen. We’re going to enjoy this.”
And he appeared to be gritting his teeth.
“I understand if you want to be somewhere else.” An image of a naked Sophie offering herself up to him entered my head and I hated the idea of him being anywhere near her.
I shouldn’t care. I know this. But I did. What the hell was wrong with me?
“No, I’m happy to eat here. Hubert informed me you didn’t eat this afternoon?”
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“Do you need me to call a doctor?”
“For not eating?”
Ive didn’t respond but merely looked at me. I was about to respond to him, but the waiter brought us the menus. I thanked him and opened the menu. I had no idea what to order.
“There’s nothing wrong. I wasn’t hungry.”
Ive stared at me for several more seconds before returning his gaze to the menu. Did he care or was he going through the motions?
I had no idea how to handle men. I’d never had a boyfriend. Most boys at school hadn’t been interested in me. The rumors surrounding my birth were always quite elaborate and no one wanted to get involved with the MC, especially not with the unwanted daughter. So I was ignored. I don’t recall ever having a secret crush on a guy, especially not anyone within the club. I wasn’t used to dealing with men like Ive. I didn’t know what was happening.
“What do you want to eat?” Ive asked.
I looked up and shook my head. “I have no idea.” Closing the menu, I offered him a smile. “Will you order for me?”
He nodded and signaled for the waiter.
Was it clear that I didn’t have the first clue what I was doing?
Chapter Eight
Ive
I’d heard many rumors about Ivan over the years. Especially when it came to Slavik and Andrei’s marriages. I’m aware we all had spies in each of our territories, and Ivan, well, he had eyes on everyone. It was why he knew everything about each of us. Ivan interfered with their marriages as well. Of course, there are always two sides to every rumor. The truth and fiction.
I believed the rumors of Slavik and Aurora’s as well as Andrei and Adelaide’s loving relationship. They hid their feelings well, but there was no mistaking how they felt for each other. I’d seen it at my own wedding.
Ivan was attempting to do the same thing with my wife, and I didn’t like it. Charlotte was young. Way too young. Even though I saw the darkness in her eyes that suggested she was a lot older than her years, I still didn’t like it.
My father, the sperm donor, had a penchant for young girls. I remembered them coming and going before I’d been removed from his home. I’d tried to save them, and in doing so, I’d incurred his wrath. I never thought of my time with the previous Bratva. The one Ivan invaded, killed, and took complete control of, and made his own. I’d gotten a beating for helping one of my father’s favorite girls escape. I hadn’t been able to walk for weeks, nor sit down. He’d taken a belt to me, a stick, and then he’d nearly grabbed a sledgehammer.
My father had been a disgusting pervert. Is that why Ivan had given Charlotte to me? He didn’t think I fell far from the tree. I didn’t like that thought. I never had anything to do with underage girls.
Ordering us both steaks with a spicy tomato sauce and some roasted seasoned potatoes and bread, I hand the menus back to the waiter, and look across the table at my wife.
Charlotte is beautiful. She doesn’t see it, but she is a natural beauty. The kind that gets overlooked. Even though she had experienced a great deal of pain during her life, I saw the kindness in her gaze.
She took a deep breath and I saw the hint of her tits as they pressed against the bodice of her dress. There were no straps, so it was held up by a few buttons at the back, and some tightness. The moment she came out in the dress, I’d been stunned in my seat. The red really made the sparkle in her eyes shine. What the fuck was I talking about? I didn’t give a flying fuck about eyes sparkling or any of that kind of shit. This is what having a wife did to you. They made you weak, and I wasn’t weak.