Page 51 of Caught By the Bratva Boss

I froze halfway up the stairs. That wasn’t it at all. Well, it wasn’t the entire reason anyway. The urge to kick off my stilettos and throw one at his head was so overwhelming, I almost did it. I had one in my hand before I knew what I was doing. Staring down the stairs, I met Daniil’s eyes. He arched his eyebrow, almost daring me to throw it.

He wanted me to lose my temper. It would give him a reason to punish me, and I already knew that I liked that too much to happen. Mumbling under my breath, I lowered my arm and stomped up the stairs.

“You beat her ex?” I heard Anya say in a shocked voice.

In my mind’s eye, I could almost see him shrug. Because to Daniel, random violence was nothing at all. “He had her pinned in the bathroom. Those marks around her throat are his fingertips. He had his other hand under her fucking skirt. So, yes, I hurt him. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him.”

Anya’s laughter floated up. “Don’t you dare say you don’t care for her, Daniil,” she whispered, but somehow the sound carried. “Don’t you dare.”

I fled before I could hear anything else, retreating to the safety of my own room. I didn’t bother with the lock because I knew that if Daniil wanted in, then nothing would stop him. Stripping my clothes off, I left them in a pile on the bedroom floor and turned the shower on so hot that it peppered my skin with balls of fire. I washed quickly just in case he came in.

But he didn’t. I managed to shower in peace and crawl into bed, but it didn’t matter how exhausted I was. Sleep wouldn’t come.

My mind and feelings seemed to be at war with each other. I had loved Greg. I still cared about him, but I was beginning to realize I didn’t know him at all. I didn’t know Daniil either. He was an enigma. More than my boss, more than a lover as well.

He was a man who expected me to give myself over to him completely, and I didn’t know if I could. Anya might even be right. Daniil might have feelings for me, but that didn’t help me in the slightest because I didn’t know how I felt about him.

Yanking up the covers, I clutched a pillow to my chest and buried my face into it, sobbing silently.

I honestly didn’t know how much more I could take. It felt like being with Daniil was consuming me, turning me into a different person.

And I wasn’t sure I liked myself anymore.

Chapter Twenty-One

Daniil

I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. All I knew for certain was that the plan to use Lily’s body for my own gratification and nothing more wasn’t what was happening.

There was just something about her that drew me in, even when I fought against it. That even when I was cruel or domineering, and she looked at me with those wide eyes, I wanted to comfort her.

I was beginning to have feelings for her, although beginning was probably not the right word. If I were honest with myself, I’d had feelings for her for a while now. I wanted to make her happy, but at the same time, I needed to keep her under my control. It was a double-edged sword.

“Good morning,” I said softly from the open doorway of the dining room. She jumped with her back to me. Her shoulders went from relaxed to hunched just at the sound of my voice.

I couldn’t help but sigh. She was still mad at me for what happened three nights ago on our disastrous date. Maybe, just maybe, I had been a little overzealous in my reaction to seeing her with her ex, Greg.

Even thinking his name was enough to make me clench my fists at my side.

“Good morning.” She placed her spoon down with a clatter. The cereal in her bowl was only half eaten. “I’ll leave you to have breakfast in peace.”

I was behind her in a second. My hands came down on her shoulders to keep her seated. “Don’t go,” I ground out.”

She froze. “Ok.”

She didn’t sound sure at all, but she picked up her spoon and began eating again. It was almost like she was forcing herself to act natural, when in reality, this was as forced as it could get.

“I just mean I would like to have breakfast with you this morning. It feels like a long time since we had some time together.” I stayed standing behind her. My hands balanced lightly on her shoulders.

“We go to work together every day.” Lily’s voice was clipped.

Sighing, I let my hands slide from her body and took my seat. “I know, but that’s work, and this is,” I shook my head. “This is different.”

Her eyes flicked towards me and then scampered away. “Ok.”

It was such a noncommittal answer, and I didn’t like it one bit. “So.” I tried again. And for the first time in my adult life, I was unsure of myself. When I’d been with Claudia, it had been easy. We were always together first as friends and then as lovers, so I never had to worry about rejection, but things with Lily were different.

She wasn’t overly impressed by my station. In fact, sometimes I got the impression she didn’t like it much. She was an independent, mature woman, and she knew what she wanted. I just wasn’t sure if what she wanted was me. But I refused to believe it was the asshole Greg.