Page 34 of Caught By the Bratva Boss

“This is non-negotiable.”He took a bite and stared at me as he chewed. “If you want our arrangement to continue, then this is happening. Now if you are finished eating you are excused to spend the rest of the evening anyway you like.”

My eyes went between them, first to Anya who was staring down to her plate with a frown, “Danill.” she muttered under her breath. “We talked about going gently.”

He ignored her completely, and I was powerless to look away from him.

I let out a shaky, uneven breath. He was serious. “Thank you.” I scraped back my chair and paused. “It was a pleasure meeting you Anya and you as well Timothy.” I flashed them both a smile that didn’t meet my eyes. The beautiful woman smiled warmly in return. Her whole face lighting up.

How was it possible that she was ok with all of this? I wouldn’t be. If Daniil were my husband, I would never be ok with having an open relationship.

Only he would never be mine because he was hers I reminded myself, and I had to stop letting good sex cloud my judgment. I wasn’t falling for Daniil. I was just enjoying the sex, and it was making me crazy.

Finally turning my attention back to Daniil, I gave him a polite nod. “Thank you for dinner, Mr. Popov. I will give you my answer shortly.”

With that, I walked away.

“No need for an answer, Lily.” his voice followed me. “You are doing it.”

Chapter Fourteen

Lily

I had come out to the inside pool to calm down instead of staying locked up and festering in my beautiful bedroom. Growing up, I did a lot of swimming. In high school, I was on the swim team, and my parents took me to the beach and the lake regularly. It was still one of my favorite pastimes, and I went as often as I could so I could escape the city.

I had no chance of escape now, so the pool at Daniil’s house was where I had spent the entire weekend. There was just something about the water that calmed me down, especially as this one was heated and had the most spectacular views of the snowy grade. This evening was no exception, right up until I had completed my fifth lap and Anya had called out my name. Then the unease flooded back.

“I’m not Timothy’s mother, Lily, and I am not Daniil’s lover either. I’m the younger sister of Claudia,” Anya said, her smile fading, and a sad look filling her eyes. She didn’t cry, but I could see she was sad.

“Daniil’s late wife.”

My head snapped up so quickly that I almost chinned myself on the side of the pool. My mouth fell open and pool water rushed in so quickly that I choked on it. Spluttering, I tried to make sense of what she had just said.”His late wife?”

Anya continued to stare at me but didn’t offer any help. She just sat demurely with her legs and feet under the patio table as I coughed the water from my lungs.

“Late as in dead?” I whispered.

“Yes.” Anya cocked her head to the side. “Did you seriously think I was his wife?” she giggled, but it was a sarcastic sound. “And that I would just be ok with him bringing his mistress into our home?”

I blushed. That was exactly what I had thought, but I was ashamed to admit it.

Anya’s laughter faltered. “Daniil is not like that,” she said and sounded almost angry at me, like I had offended her. “I mean many men are, especially men in our circle, but he has always been a one-woman kind of man.”

She met my eyes and didn’t look away. I was the one who broke eye contact first. Daniil wasn’t married. He had been married, but his wife had died. That made him a widower, not a cheat.

“Daniil is loyal to a fault, especially to those he loves and cares for. He would be loyal to you if you gave him a chance, just like he was loyal to my sister.”

“Claudia.” I said her name before I could stop myself.

“Yes, Claudia. Would you like me to tell you about her?”

Did I? Without thinking, I nodded my head.

“They were high school sweethearts, but our families had known each other forever.” She rolled her eyes. “It was always expected that they would get married, but neither one of them minded because they were crazy about each other. Claudia would have liked you.” Anya’s grin grew far away. She was remembering things about her sister, and they were making her both happy and sad. I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to interrupt her.

“She always challenged him as well. Just like you do.”

“I don’t even know what to say.” I admitted with a sigh.” When, I mean, how long ago?” I trailed off.

Did she die? Timofey was just a baby, a few months old. Sadness filled her face, and this time, I could see tears flooding her eyes. “It hit everyone hard, but it hit Daniil hardest of all. He poured all of his effort into raising Timothy. I did too. Raising that little boy saved me.”