Page 19 of Caught By the Bratva Boss

“Well?” Tap ta tap went his fingertips against his leg as he towered over me. It gave me little choice but to crane my neck backwards to stare at him.

“Excuse me?”

“You are not excused,” he said easily, like that was what I had been asking. “You left work without even a note telling me where you were.”

“I—”

He cut me off again. “There are even these little things called cell phones that you can send a message on. I was worried when I arrived to take you home, and the office was empty. If it hadn’t been for Dunc—”

My eyebrows shot down. “Who the hell is Dunc?”

“Security. I’m paying him to keep an eye on you when I can’t.” He said it so nonchalantly that I felt sick. All of this was an everyday thing for him. But for me, this was all new and a little scary.

“You’re paying someone to watch me?” My voice shook. “Is that really necessary?”

“Yes, and with good reason, like you like disappearing. What gave you the right to run off like that, Lily?”

“I didn’t run off, Mr. Popov.”I purposely didn’t use his first name. “I went for drinks after work with my colleagues. It’s something we do a lot.” I didn’t mean for my voice to be so combative, but that’s the way it came out.

Daniil’s eyes narrowed.

Shit, I shouldn’t have said it like that.

“Are you hoping to fuck one of our co-workers, Miss Rdgeway. Is that why you were sitting so close to the one you called Clive? Do you fantasize about his hands on you?”

“Jesus,” I swore. “I sat close to him because you wedged yourself next to me. Where else was I meant to go? On your lap?”

Daniil’s eyes darkened almost instantly. “Yes. But maybe not in front of everyone. There’s certain things even I don’t like an audience for. I like my private life to be private.”

“Then you probably shouldn’t have turned up here and—” Grumbling, I stood up. “God, I need a drink.”

Forlornly, I looked at the bar. There was not one bartender in sight. He had cleared out the entire place. Even the lights were mostly off, and the blinds drawn down.

“Make yourself a drink then. Or do you need—”

I wandered off before he could finish, sliding behind the bar and reaching for a clean glass. It didn’t matter which one. I just needed to take the edge off before dealing with the insufferable Mr. Popov.

“So tell me,” coming up behind me, he slid his hand around my waist and drew me harshly against his front, “have you fucked him?”

There was no judgment in his voice, but I felt it anyway. It hung between us like a dark cloud. “No.” I trembled. “I wouldn’t even class Clive as a friend.”

“He doesn’t look at you like a friend, Lily.” Daniil’s thumb brushed over my lower stomach, and my trembling increased.

“How does he look at me, Daniil?”

“Like he wants to devour you,” he said simply. “You can’t be so blind as not to see how men look at you, Lily.”

I went perfectly still in the circle of his arms. “Well, I don’t want Clive or any other man to devour me.”

He spun me around so fast that my head spun. “Good.”

Daniil’s mouth came crashing down on mine, hard and insistent. There was nothing gentle about his kiss or the way his hands moved down my body to lift my skirt to my hips. For ten whole seconds, I fought the urge to kiss him back, and then I got into it.

Strong, firm hands lifted me, forcing my legs to wrap around his waist as my boss deepened the kiss even further. His tongue snaked into my mouth with the kind of ownership I had never felt before, and it woke something inside of me.

I met each crash of his lips with my own. I moaned into his mouth when his tongue swirled against mine.

“Daniil,” breathless, I tried to tear my face away from him.