Page 25 of Forced By the Bratva

It sounded ridiculous once he said it out loud, and I instantly felt silly. But then again, it was the closest thing to a weapon I could find.

“It doesn’t matter; it has a pointy edge, and it can inflict pain,” I insisted.

“Why would you want to inflict pain on me?”

“Because you’re here to ‘eliminate the witness’!” I said, my face twisting into a frown. “You might end up killing me, Ilya, but I swear to God, I’ll leave a lasting scar on your face before I draw my last breath.”

His expression cracked a bit, a hint of something that wasn’t quite anger flickering in his gaze.

“Okay,” he mumbled under his breath.

In a heartbeat, he surged forward, grabbing my wrist in one swift movement. His body was pressed against mine, his head lowered to meet my gaze. My makeshift weapon was suddenly nowhere to be found, and my eyes were wide with fear.

His warm breath tickled my face, those steel-blue eyes boring into mine. “You stubborn little menace,” he whispered, jaw locked. “Didn’t I ask you to stay in your room and not step outside?”

My scowl deepened. “That’s not what you said.” I held his intense gaze despite my racing heart. “You told me to stay in my room and not come out until morning. How was I supposed to know you’d extended the curfew?”

His jaw tightened, and for a second, neither of us said anything. The air between us had shifted from anger into something else entirely, something sharper, hotter, harder to breathe through.

I noticed how his cologne wrapped around me like silk, how his eyes had dropped briefly to my mouth before snapping back up to meet my gaze.

My pulse was going too fast for reasons that had nothing to do with fear anymore.

For a second, it genuinely felt like he might kiss me. Just to shut me up. Just to end the argument the only way that made sense in that moment, with his mouth instead of his words.

The thought should have terrified me.

It didn’t.

I didn’t move away.

I didn’t know why I didn’t move away.

Then something shifted in his expression, and he pulled back so suddenly it was as though he’d caught himself in an act he hadn’t given himself permission to commit. He stepped away, putting real distance between us this time, jaw locked, breathing harder than he probably wanted me to notice.

Ilya didn’t say anything else. He turned and left the room, the door shutting behind him.

I stood there against the edge of the table, breathless, furious, and disturbingly aware of exactly how much I hadn’t wanted him to stop.

My hand darted to my mouth as I fought the illicit thoughts forming in my mind—what might’ve happened if he’d kissed me.

Why wasn’t I repulsed by the idea of his lips meeting mine? Why did the thought alone fan the flames of a fire already burning within me?

Chapter 10 – Ilya

After the incident in her room the other day, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind. I’d come so close to losing control and claiming those enticing lips of hers.

Part of me was glad I walked away. But another part of me wished that I hadn’t—and now all I could think about was what would’ve happened if I’d kissed her.

I recalled the look in her eyes that morning, the way her chest rose and fell with slow breaths and the subtle quiver of her lips. That wasn’t fear. It was something else, something I dared not label yet.

The scent of her perfume and shampoo, coupled with the expression on her face, made my cock twitch in my pants.

What was supposed to be a scolding session ended as something else, something almost intimate. The sight of her body, even when shrouded beneath the fabric of her clothes, always unraveled me.

That morning, she’d been wearing a simple flared gown, and I couldn’t help admiring how beautiful she looked in it. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders, her skin seemed to be glowing under the lights, and her hazel eyes held a hint of defiance.

Even now, seated at my desk, I couldn’t help but let a faint smirk tug at the corners of my lips as I remembered her reaction when I walked into her room. She thought I was there to finish her off, and to save herself from me, she grabbed a pencil.