Page 35 of Caught By the Bratva Boss

Chin resting on my crossed arms, I looked from her to the little boy. How old was he? Five? Maybe seven? I made a mental note to ask. Daniil had been on his own for years.

“What happened? Do you mind me asking?”

“Of course, I don’t mind. Daniil should have explained all of this instead of letting you think we were in a relationship. Sometimes that man is just the worst.” She shook her head. “It was a car accident. We were hit by a drunk driver—T-boned at a red light.”

“You were there?” My voice shook.

“Yeah, but on the other side of the car, Claudia and our driver were killed instantly.”

“Oh.” I couldn’t help it. A half sob ripped its way out of my throat. “I am so sorry.”

And I was. Of all the stories I had expected, this was the saddest. I couldn’t imagine Daniil’s grief or Anya’s, and poor Timothy had lost his mother before he had even known her.

“That’s enough, Lily,” Daniil’s voice came from the open door behind us. I hadn’t even realized he was there, and I didn’t have a clue how much he had heard.

Pulling out a chair, he folded his long, toned body into it. “If Lily wants to know about Claudia, she can ask me directly.”

“I am sorry about your wife, Daniil,” I whispered.

Daniil’s eyes clashed with mine. “Thank you.”

He didn’t look away, and neither did I. It wasn’t a clash of wills, more the first real point of understanding we’d had between us. I tore my eyes away, biting my lip. “Why didn’t you tell me your wife was dead, though?” I blurted out. "Why did you make me think Anya was your wife?”

Before he could answer, Anya did. “Because he is a moron, and as for me being his bride. Yuck.” She made a gagging sound. “He’s much too old for me, and I would have been a child bride.”

Ignoring her, Daniil put all of his attention on me. “I never said she was my wife. If you jumped to that conclusion, that’s your own fault. You should’ve asked, Lily. And as for the other.” He shrugged his massive shoulders. “Claudia is gone, and I didn’t see the point of bringing up the past with you. I didn’t lie to you, I just didn’t tell you the whole truth.”

Which was kind of the same as lying, I thought angrily. Instead of speaking out, he made things worse between us. I bit my lip so hard that it was painful. Crying out, I pushed away from the edge, and my hand shot to my mouth.

My fingers came away with a smear of fresh blood on them.

“Let me see.”

Confused, I lifted my head to find Daniil crouched on the pool edge. His hand reached out for me. I kicked towards him, and he caught my wrist and pulled me closer. “You’re bleeding,” he said in a choked voice.

“It’s nothing, Daniil,” I said quickly. “I just bit my lip, that’s all.”

His eyes glued themselves to my lip, and he half pulled me out of the water. He lifted me so easily, it was like I weighed nothing at all. I stood in front of him, dripping water onto the tile and completely oblivious to Anya and Timothy, who were sitting just to the side of us. The world just seemed to drift away until there was nothing but him and me.

“I don’t like you hurting yourself,” he growled. The pad of his thumb brushed against the small cut, which had already stopped bleeding, and I trembled. High above me, Daniil’s eyes narrowed, and his thumb swiped against my mouth again. Only this time, I parted my lips just enough for the tip of my tongue to taste him. He let out another low growl.

“If anyone should be biting your lips, it should be me,” he said gruffly.

My heart sped up, pounding away so hard and fast that I was sure everyone could hear it. Every time he was close or touched me, my body reacted, which was strange because it had never happened with another man.

But the scariest thing of all? The fact that I was relieved that he was single and that I didn’t have to share him because, so help me god, I was beginning to have feelings for him. It was hard to admit it to myself, but it was true.

There was something about Daniil Popov that sucked me under, and it didn’t matter how much I tried to deny it, I could already feel myself drowning in him. I agreed with him wholeheartedly. “Ok,” I whispered.

“So no more hurting yourself. Is that clear?” He drew me even closer. Wrapping one arm around my waist so I couldn’t escape. Not that I was going to. Now that I knew the truth about his relationship with Anya, I didn’t want to be anywhere but in his arms, which was strange because of Greg.

Fuck, how had I forgotten about my boyfriend? Not that he cared. I hadn’t spoken to him at all since the night I left with Daniil.

“Don’t,” Daniil said angrily, “think about him when you are in my arms.”

“I’m not—” I began to say and stopped. He had said no lying. So I wouldn’t lie. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. If it makes you feel better, they weren’t good thoughts.”

A crooked smile spread across his face. “Yes, that makes me feel better. But only a little bit. He never deserved a woman like you.”