Page 45 of The Bratva's Bounty
Chuckling, I nodded in response to his—very surprisingly—not-so-bad pronunciation of the traditional Vietnamese dress I wore, anáo dài. It was a very stiff pronunciation, but he got it maybe 80% right. "Very close for a first attempt," I praised him with a proud smile before quickly teaching him how to say the word correctly and urging him to continue with his train of thought fromearlier.
Rubbing the back of his head, he flashes me a sheepish smile before picking back up, "Well, as I was saying… You put on your fancy outfit, and you usually get yourself all dolled up, like more than your casual makeup. Your eyes are all done, and so are your cheeks, so all you have left are your lips." Nonchalantly, he shrugged his shoulders with a slightly confused look. "So, it makes sense that you were looking for your lipstick, and rather you get all pissy and take longer, I figured I'd just help." His voice dipped at the end, making him sound crestfallen.
Yeah, way to make me feel like the jerk… Asshole.
Cracking a sad smile, I set the lipstick down and turned around, cupping Lev's face. "Thank you for helping me. I really appreciate it." Pity gripped my heart tightly until my chest ached from sadness at seeing Lev's eyes brighten up. "I'm not upset at you or anything. I was just kind of caught off guard with how observant you are." Not gonna lie, still freaked me out a little at how hard he tried.
Pulling him down, I pressed his head into the crook of my neck. Soothingly, I rubbed his neck and upper back. "It's okay, Lev, you don't have to put yourself out there like that for me." I stroked the back of his head and adorned his cheek and temple with kisses. "You'll never have to fight or earn my attention."
Lev said nothing in response as he buried his face deeper into me. "Probably wasn't easy being the middle child, huh? Nikolai naturally gets the attention being the oldest, Stepan is the second caretaker, your sister being the only girl, and the twins are the youngest." Middle child syndrome or whatever society liked to label it as. "You don't have to vie for my affection or attention. I can promise you that with all the certainty in the world," I assured him with a firm kiss on the side of his head. "All of me naturally belongs to you, just like how you are all mine."
Peeling his head back, he looked up at me with glassy, hopeful eyes. "Promise?" His low voice croaked with a smile.
Letting my emotions widen my smile naturally, I nodded with a hum before kissing him deeply. "You will always be the apple of my eye, little lion."
"Nicki, I'm pregnant, not invalid," Angel argued with a disgruntled glare.
Rolling my eyes at my good friend, I nudged her toward her husband. "And I told you before, this is my problem, not yours." Well, that was arguable, but I didn't want Angel to have a lot on her plate.
My parents, my problem… Unfortunately.
If I thought about it, I could easily feel the guilt of leaving my family's problems to Angel after I went deuces. I was no better than a coward pulling what I did—at least, that's what it felt like to me.
"Besides, it's just a meeting," I told her with a casual wave of my hand. "And," pausing to look up at Lev with a confident smile, I took his hand tightly, "I have my Lev." Knowing and having Lev next to me made me feel invincible and carefree. No more worrying about having my back exposed or looking every which way with anxious eyes and bated breaths.
Warmth coiled around my waist as Lev's large arms swallowed me into his hard body. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to my little empress." His chest vibrated against my back with his chuckle. "You guys enjoy your date." Lev's hand lifted from my body to give Angel and Nikolai small and curt flicks.
Clearing his throat, Nikolai lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head at us. "Lev." Nikolai's inquisitive voice was shot straight at Lev with a stern look.
Dragging out a sighing groan, Lev rested his chin on my head. "No unnecessary violence, no killing unless absolutely necessary, no lethal shots, yada yada." Lev deflated with a scoff. "You make it sound like I don't know what I'm doing at this point," he snarked at his brother rather playfully.
The two brothers quickly exchanged with each other in Russian before Nikolai took his leave with his arm protectively around Angel.
"I'm surprised he let her leave the house that pregnant," I commented aloud as I watched my friend walk away with her husband.
"You and me both, but I heard something about Angel threatening him with pacing around the house and stressing and possibly going into some pregnant crisis if she went another stretch of not having a date night with him," Lev mused with a low chuckle. "At least I know not to fall for any tricks from you once you're pregnant."
Nowthatmade me whirl around and stare at him in disbelief. "Who said anything about me getting pregnant? Who says I want to have kids with you?"Alright, I had to admit, that last part sounded silly because I obviously didn't mean any of it.
The blank expression on Lev's face barely lasted a second before an amused smirk sent chills down my spine. Pulling me flushed against his body, he leaned down until his lips brushed against the shell of my ear. "You say that, yet your body clings to me whenever I make any mention about stuffing you full with my seed until your belly is big with our baby," he whispered with a very deep chuckle, making me shudder from the tingles of excitement rushing my body. "Every time my cock is seated deep in you, you tighten and clench greedily around me as I fill you, and you squeeze out every last drop out."
Heat bombarded my face, particularly my cheeks, until I was sure I looked like a damn cherry. "You get so happy, so smiley, whenever I rub your stomach while we lay in bed and talk about our future." Kissing the side of my head, he remained there, letting me feel the widening of his lips. "The way your eyes sparkle and light up like the stars in the night whenever you look at baby names and ask me about them always makes my heart flutter with happiness for your joy."
Pressing his forehead against mine, he locked his hypnotizing blue eyes onto mine, staring deep into my soul. "What really gets me is when your whole face brightens up like the sun on a clear day whenever you sit there and stare at me with those lovey-dovey eyes of yours before you start talking about our future."
There were no words to describe the never-ending pools of adoration and euphoria in Lev's eyes that seemingly swallowed me with comforting arms. "I can't help it." My airy words fanned against our faces as I ghosted my lips against his. "Every time I look at you, it's like something flips a switch in my brain that constantly plays our happy endings." Kissing him softly and longingly with a big smile, I held his face against mine for a while. "It's getting to the point where I really can't imagine my life without you in it."
Well, if I were honest with myself, I wouldn't have been able to imagine my life without him for a long while now. Even if he started off as an annoying little puppy dog, he warmed his way into my heart. Honestly, he was like thestray that you couldn't help but fall in love with and take home. I mean, I kinda did just that… Kind of…
Technically, I barged into his life… After I tattooed him… And collared him… Yeah, I kinda gave him no choice with picking me out of all the women in the world, especially after I practically moved myself into his place. Yes, he offered his place to keep me safe, but I kind of planned to show up either way. His offer just expedited things a little, ignoring the part of me being hesitant because of my independence, of course.
"Good," Lev replied cockily with a big grin, laughing a little when I wailed at his chest with playful smacks.
Stepping away, I slipped next to him and looped my arm around his. "Way to ruin a moment," I remarked playfully. "Come on, let's grab a small bite real quick before the meeting." We had nearly an hour before the scheduled time, so might as well make some use of it. "So, lead the way because I can't pick." Seriously, if he expected me to picksomefood items fromallthe delicious food that lined nearly half a block of this damn place, then he would be sorely mistaken.
Rolling his eyes, Lev chuckled down at me, kissed my forehead, and then dragged me down the aromatic and bustling street. Now, I let Lev direct us to the carts, but I ordered whenever we stopped at one. I was mindful to keep things light, though, not wanting to eat a full meal before a meeting, so I mainly ordered snacking food.
"I would ask if you could make these for us at home, but I rather like living. Or, at the very least, I like not puking my guts up." Lev stifled a laugh, clamping his jaw tightly and failing to keep a straight face.