Page 78 of The Bratva Enforcer and His Virgin Bride

I pull my knees up to my chest, staring blankly out at the darkening grounds. I had spent weeks building walls against Lukyan Rusnak, framing him as the villain, the captor, the man I was forced to endure. I knew how to handle anger. I knew how to navigate hatred.

But as I press my fingers against my lips, still tingling from his touch, a terrifying truth settles into the silence. The neat boundaries of my resentment have been completely dismantled. My feelings toward my husband are no longer defined solely by anger, and that uncertainty is the most dangerous thing of all.

Chapter 10 – Lukyan

It’s been a week since I started trying to trace Karl, and I keep hitting dead ends.

Every lead folds in on itself. Every name I pull up leads to another name that leads nowhere. It’s the kind of work that should have my full attention.

I have my laptop open in front of me, screens filled with data I normally don’t miss.

But I miss everything right now.

Because I can’t concentrate.

All I can think about is Sofia.

She’s been burning through my mind since I had her pinned to that mattress. Crossing that line is rapidly becoming one of the biggest regrets of my life, if only because I haven’t been able to get the taste of her out of my mouth since. It’s entirely consuming. I want more of her. I want to rip that quiet composure away again and see how much louder she can scream my name.

But seeing the way she panicked and fled the room afterward, I’m grounded by reality. I don’t know how to push forward without fracturing whatever fragile arrangement we have left. So, I’ve forced myself to give her space. I’ve let her be.

But it’s a losing battle. She’s entirely in my head, and the constant, heavy ache in my cock is a relentless reminder of exactly what I’m depriving myself of.

But I keep seeing the way she looked at me. The way she didn’t run until she did. The way she stayed just long enough for me to see that she was affected too, even if she’d never admit it.

And that’s the problem.

Because Sofia reacts to me in ways she clearly doesn’t understand. And I react to her in ways I don’t particularly like. I exhale slowly and force my attention back to the screen.

Karl.

Focus.

Find Karl.

Finish this.

That’s what I should be doing. Instead, my thoughts drift again.

To her voice when she gets irritated.

To the way she looks at me like she’s trying to decide whether I’m a threat or something worse.

Something she might not be able to control.

I shut the thought down immediately.

I’ve dealt with men who became distracted before.

It never ends well.

Especially not in my position.

I drag a hand through my hair and stare at the data again, forcing myself to read line by line.

Nothing sticks.

I groan under my breath and lean forward, trying again.