I lifted the glass to my lips and took a sip, then closed my eyes for a moment. I drew in a deep breath, letting my thoughts float like a leaf. Emika had been running through my mind all day, and I just needed a break from thinking about her.
The problem was, the more I tried to think of anything other than her, the more the images of her face flooded my head.
Yes, we agreed not to be intimate with each other. But at this point, it was starting to look like we were only delaying the inevitable.
I gripped the polished railing, imagining how it would feel to teach her how to make love. She was inexperienced, but I had the remedy for that; all she’d have to do was surrender.
She was my wife, even if only on paper, and I couldn’t wait to make a woman out of her. I knew this feeling was mutual. She was attracted to me as much as I was attracted to her. So, it was only a matter of time before it happened.
As I considered the possibility of being her first, a strange fire began burning within me. No amount of scotch was enough to put it out.
I combed my fingers through my hair, my lips suppressing the faint grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.
Emika was mine, and there was no way another man was going to taste her first. No way another man was ever going to taste her. Maybe this was a sign of obsession, but I didn’t give a shit. She was my wife. Period.
The next morning, despite myself, my attitude toward her suddenly turned cold. I decided to keep my distance, refusing to let her distract me from work. Emika had not only gotten under my skin, but she’d also made herself the fire crawling through my veins.
Later that day, I asked my lieutenant, Sergei, to take her along with him to a deal. I was supposed to do that myself, but I had an important Bratva meeting. Since Emika had the brains to handle such a task, I put her in charge.
The instructions I gave to him were clear: Drive her to the location, but follow her lead.
It stung him a bit, but there was nothing he could do about it. I’d made my decision.
Thirty minutes into the meeting with my Bratva brothers, I received a devastating phone call. The convoy driving my wife had been attacked.
Time froze in that moment, and the only thing I could think of was her.
Chapter 13 – Emika
Was he avoiding me because he’d found out that I was a virgin?
Last night, he seemed rather intrigued by the revelation—at least the grin on his face said so. He looked at me with a hint of amusement and something a bit darker. Hunger.
I was certain that whatever sexual emotions he had for me before had now heightened. Deep down, I felt some sort of relief. And because of that, I stayed up all night, creating fake scenarios of us together in my head.
Only for me to wake up this morning and find him detached. He seemed cold toward me when I first ran into him in the hallway. Usually, he’d tease me or simply flash that smarmy grin of his.
Not this time.
Adrik’s expression was blank when we locked eyes, and that single gesture weakened my knees. I felt like I’d been stabbed in the heart.
It fuckin’ hurt that he saw me and didn’t acknowledge my presence. He just turned around and walked away, pretending like we didn’t lock eyes seconds earlier.
I couldn’t understand what had happened or why he ignored me the way he did. However, I told myself that I wasn’t going to think much of it. It wasn’t until I reached his office and realized he wasn’t there that I began suspecting something was up.
When I asked one of the guards where he was, I was told that he was working in his study upstairs. According to them, he said he wanted to be alone. That was when it dawned on me that he might’ve been avoiding me.
But why?
What did I do?
While I sat on the couch in his office, I wondered what had caused him to change his attitude overnight. I thought of the possibility that he might be dealing with something and just needed some time to set things straight.
It didn’t make any sense to me that I was the reason for his sudden withdrawal. He couldn’t have been acting strange simply because he found out that I was a virgin.
Right?
Or was he mad at me for spilling the beans to his mistress? He hadn’t been yesterday, so why would he be today?
