Page 36 of Cruel Bratva King
The man looked at me as if he was seconds away from strangling the life out of me. Although I had to admit I’d also caught him stealing glances at me, but that was because he had a weird lust over my body. It wasn’t lost.
However, I didn’t argue with Linda. I allowed her to think what she liked. Girls liked to daydream about men like Sergey. If only she knew the truth.
By the time I finished what I needed—and what I didn’t need, my legs were already aching from walking around the store so much. I was already fatigued and hungry.
Sergey passed his credit card to Linda without caring to ask about the total. Trust me; it was a lot. I didn’t know I had it in me to live so extravagantly until this moment.
The bodyguards came in to help carry the shopping bags. On our way out, I tapped Sergey. “Can we check out the baby section?” I needed to start shopping for the baby soon, and I needed to begin prenatal care too. I would suggest the latter to Sergey when we got home.
He gave me a curt nod, and we followed the lift up to the third floor, where they sold baby items. I strolled around the store, checking out baby clothes and gadgets. When I returned to the spot where I’d left Sergey, I caught him staring at a cute, pink baby romper. He’d tried to be discrete, but his dark eyes glistened as he looked at the cloth. He didn’t even notice me walk up to him and stand beside him.
“Should we get that?”
He whirled his head towards me. “Get what?”
“The baby romper,” I answered. “You seem to like it very much.”
“No. Let’s get out of here if you’re done shopping.”
I couldn’t help the smile splitting my face. Sergey was embarrassed that I’d caught him staring at the baby romper. “We can get a pink set and a blue set, just in case,” I teased him, enjoying the shy look on his face.
He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone buzzed in his hands. He brought the device up to his face to check who was calling, then excused himself to answer his call. When he came back a few minutes later, his countenance had changed into a darker one.
Something was wrong. “Is there a problem?”
“It’s nothing you need to know.” He looked over my shoulder to where Nikolai was and signaled for him to come over. They both went to a corner of the store to discuss something they didn’t want me to hear.
“I have a business to care of,” Sergey announced when they joined me again. “Nikolai will take you home.”
I glanced at Nikolai. He had the expression of a wall, which was even worse than Sergey’s. He terrified me, truly. “Can’t you take me home first?” I whispered to Sergey so Nikolai wouldn’t hear and find out I was uncomfortable around him.
Sergey cupped my face in his hand. It was warm, strong, and rough. The warmth from his touch seared deep into my skin. It was oddly soothing. “I’ll see you when I come home, okay?”
I inclined with a bobbing of my head. “Come home quickly.”
He slipped one hand into his pocket and the other through the back of my head, then he leaned in and pressed a kiss as soft and light as a speck of dust at the top of my head. “I will.” He handed me his credit card and left.
My gaze followed him until he was completely out of sight, and even after he left, I continued to stare at the door. For some reason, I felt empty standing here without Sergey around. It was almost as if my heart was longing for him. Almost.
I ambled to the baby rompers he’d been staring at and bought each pair in pink and blue. I had no idea why I even bothered, but I wanted to surprise Sergey with them on our gender reveal.
After I paid for the rompers, I strolled out of the hall with Nikolai. We’d come with two cars, a Mercedes Benz and an SUV. Sergey and his bodyguards left with the Mercedes, leaving the SUV for me and Nikolai to go with him.
We both got into the car. I’d insisted on sitting in the front seat with Nikolai simply because it was weird sitting in the back seat while he drove. Sergey hadn’t introduced us yet, but Nikolai was my brother-in-law, not my chauffeur. He’d been against the idea but finally gave in when he saw I wasn’t backing down.
Halfway through the distance from the shopping mall to the mansion, I couldn’t take the silence brooding in the car anymore. It made me uneasy and nauseous, so I tried to strike up a conversation.
“So, you’re Nikolai.”Of course he is, you idiot. Think of something better.“We haven’t been properly introduced to each other, but thanks for agreeing to give me a ride home.” It didn’t matter that I sounded like an anxious teenager; it was enough that I was even able to speak.
“I didn’t agree to,” he said simply. His voice was deep, and it sounded similar to Sergey’s. Turned out their uncanny resemblance didn’t just end at their physical appearances; they sounded and behaved alike. “I’m driving you home because I was asked to.”
“Thank you still,” I persisted. “You could have said no.”
A smile flashed across his face, taking me by surprise. Considering my experience with Sergey, I couldn’t believe Nikolai could smile so easily. I’d just spotted one difference between the two brothers, and I had a feeling me and Nikolai were going to get along just fine.
“I can’t say no,nevestka,” he said. “My brother is the boss. No one can say no to him. Not even me.”
“That’s weird.” I didn’t push it further, though. “What doesnevestka mean?”