Hating the Bratva

by K. D Clark

  Just get through dinner, Delaney and then you can come back and vent to Robin.

  I open the door and get inside. The car smells like one of those cheap pine cone air fresheners.

  “Ivan,” I say, looking over at him. His jet-black hair is cut into a military-style. He’s much leaner than Alek, but I can still see some muscle definition under the dark dress shirt he wears. His face is more square than the average man, almost like a rectangle. He has a bit of a scuff, which tells me he didn’t even bother shaving for our first date.

  When I finally get to his eyes, they aren’t glowing green like Alek’s. They’re brown, dull, and slightly glazed over. I wonder if he’s high on something. I wouldn’t be surprised. I don’t know much about Ivan, but from what I’ve overheard and seen at events, he tends to overdo it with the alcohol. Despite that, everyone says he’s a good soldier. So basically, my future husband is a functioning alcoholic. Great.

  “Delaney,” he greets, my name sounding so wrong on his heavy Russian tongue. His accent is more prominent than the other men.

  “Ivan,” I repeat, just as cooly.

  He smiles, showing off a set of straight white teeth. “You look beautiful tonight.”

  I avert my eyes to the floorboard.

  “Thank you,” I mutter.

  “Listen,” he reaches out like he’s going to grab my hand, but I quickly pull it away. He lets out a sigh and runs a hand through his short hair before speaking again. “I know this is awkward. I don’t want you to be nervous. I just want to get to know the person I’m going to marry, and I thought you’d want to get to know me too. I know you’ve heard rumors-”

  “Like how you’re only letting me stay with Alek so you can fuck other women.”

  His eyebrow lifts in surprise. “Alek tells you too much.”

  I don’t reply.

  “Don’t you want the freedom to do what you want for the next few months before your someone’s wife?” he challenges.

  I shrug. “Yeah, but I’m not fucking other men.”

  His eyes narrow on me. “I’d hope not. That would be unfortunate for them.”

  “That’s so sexiest, you know. You can sleep with half of Boston, but I’m supposed to stay a virgin until marriage.”

  He shifts the car into gear. “I don’t make the rules, baby. I just follow them...usually.”

  He drives out of the circle drive and down the steep hill. The tree’s surrounding us look eerier at this time of night.

  He makes a right turn at the end of the street. “Where are we going?” I ask.

  “You ask a lot of questions for a Bratva woman. We’ll have to stop that.”

  “Excuse me?”

  His eyes flash to me, and he has a grin on his face. I can’t tell if he’s joking or not, but I let it go. I rest back in my seat and watch as we drive through neighborhoods until we get to a nice restaurant. We pull up to the curb, and the valet opens my door for me. I meet Ivan on the sidewalk. He holds out his arm, and I reluctantly take it.

  The hostess greets us with a smile. Her fake boobs sit high on her chest, and her face is caked with make-up. I don’t miss the way Ivan’s eyes zero in on her breast. Who does that?

  “Ivan long time no see,” she says, and I stop myself from rolling my eyes. This is probably the go-to place he takes women to impress them with his money before sleeping with them.

  “Cara, nice to see you again,” he replies.

  She looks down at the reservation list in front of her and then up again.

  “Just two?” she asks Ivan without taking her eyes off me. She’s sizing me up.

  If you want him, please take him.

  “Yes,” he says.

  She grabs the menus, and we follow her to the back of the dimly-lit restaurant. Every table is filled except for a small booth in the back where she sets down our menus.

  “Thanks,” Ivan says as we take a seat.

  “Your server will be right with you.”

  The restaurant is nice and quiet. Soft music plays over the speakers, and a candle flickers in the middle of the table. I grab my menu and look it over. If I can order as soon as the waitress gets to us, maybe I can get this over with fast. I already want to leave, and we haven’t even started dinner.

  The silence stretches across the table, and when I peak up from the menu Ivan’s brown eyes are drilling into me. He opens his mouth like he’s about to say something, but the waitress walks up to the table at the same time.

  “Can I start you two off with something to drink?” she asks.

  “Iced tea.”

  “Rum and coke,” Ivan says. Is he seriously going to drink hard liquor when he has to drive me home after this?

  “I’ll be right back with your drink,” the waitress said before walking away.

  “Are you serious right now?” I ask him not able to hide the annoyance in my voice.

  “Huh?”

  “You have to drive me home.”

  He shrugs. “Okay, it’s one drink.”

  I cross my arms over my chest and lean back in the booth. “I’m not getting back in that car with you.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “You’re not? Then how are you going to get home?”

  I don’t say anything. I’ll figure it out, but there’s no way I’m getting in the car with him if he’s going to drink. I already suspect he’s not entirely sober, to begin with. The waitress comes back with our drinks, and Ivan clears his throat.

  “Can I change my drink to Iced tea as well?”

  “Of course,” she says before taking the glass of rum and coke away.”

  “Once we’re married, you’ll have to loosen up a bit.”

  His words feel like grease settling in my stomach. Once we’re married. As if after I walk down the aisle, I’ll go along with whatever he wants to do.

  “Maybe once you’re a married man, you’ll rethink how heavy you drink,” I retort.

  “Doubt it.”

  My hands ball into fists in my lap, and it takes everything in me to hold onto my self-control. I grab my menu and read over it again so that I won’t have to look at his face. The waitress comes back with Ivan’s tea, and we both place our orders. We don’t talk much until we get our food.

  Getting our food signifies the half-way point of the date. So if I eat fast enough, this will be over quickly. If I can barely stand to have dinner with this man, how in the hell am I supposed to marry him? How am I supposed to roll over every morning to see that face? He isn’t bad looking but not my type.

  “So about the wedding...”

  I look up from my food to see him staring at me as he takes a sip of his drink.

  “What about it?”

  “I talked with Bethany. Three months. She said that enough time to get everything in order. My only request was that it happens at my grandfather’s mansion. He has a nice backyard that will fit everyone.”

  Great, because I want to get married in the backyard of someone I don’t even know. And, of course, my mom is already playing the role of a wedding planner.

  I fake a smile. “Okay.”

  “I live near Beacon Hill if you’re curious about where we’ll be living after the wedding.”

  “That’s kind of far. I’ll need a car to go back and forth to school.”

  He furrows his brows. “School?”

  “Yeah I’m a nursing student.” Wow, this guy knows nothing about me.

  He shakes his head and takes a bite of his pasta. “You won’t need to do that anymore.”

  “I wasn’t asking,” I say a little too loudly because the couple at the next table looks over at me.

  His jaw twitches. “Neither was I.”

  I’m going to kill him. There’s no way we’ll survive an entire marriage together. I’ll be on some crazy crime docuseries about women who kill their husbands. It’s a mystery how he’s lasted this long in the Bratva without someone killing him.

  “I only have a year left,” I try.

  “What’s
the point? I won’t have my wife working outside the home. It’s insulting.”

  I stop talking because obviously, I’m not going to get anywhere with him. The rest of the night, we eat in silence. At one point, the waitress slips Ivan a piece of paper that I’m sure her phone number is written inside. Instead of telling her he’s on a date with his fiance, I watch him tuck it into his pocket. He thinks I’m blind to the whole thing, but nothing surprises me out of this man.

  By the time we headed towards Alek’s house, I’m holding back tears. I never thought I’d have to grieve for my old life, but I guess I was wrong. When he stops the car on the cobblestone driveway in front of Alek’s, I open the door, trying to get as far away from him as possible. He grabs my arm, gently stopping me from bolting.

  “I have your number, so I’ll text you.”

  I nod. He lets out a sigh before releasing me, and I unfold myself from the car. I walk up the stairs to the door and go inside without looking back. Hot tears slid down my face stinging my eyes from the make-up. I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with that man. A man who takes the waitresses phone number right in front of me and doesn’t believe women should work outside of the house. The sound of footsteps makes me snap my head up. Alek rounds the corner.

  When he sees the tears on my face, he narrows his eyes. His jaw twitches, a habit of his I’m noticing. He looks deadly, dangerous.

  “What happened?” he grits out. His hands ball into a fist. “Did he fucking touch you?”

  I quickly shake my head and wipe at my face. “No, no, nothing like that.”

  I try to sidestep him to go up the steps, but he blocks my path. His body is like a wall taking up the entire space. He grabs my chin and lifts it, so I have to look at him. His hair holds droplets of water. He’s shirtless, and my eyes immediately go to his tattoos that wind and twist over his muscles. Black sweatpants hang low on his hips, exposing that deep V that women go crazy for.

  “What happened?” he asks again.

  “Nothing.”

  “Bunny,” he warns.

  “You can’t call me that anymore. I’m not yours. I belong to that monster. That monster who doesn’t believe a woman should have a job outside the house. Who hits on women right in front of me. That’s what I have to look forward to.”

  His face softens, and the tears start flowing down my cheeks again. I already feel alone, and I’m not even married yet. That man has put a wedge between me, and my parents’ relationship that I doubt will ever recover.

  “I just want to go to sleep.”

  Alek lets me go, and I walk around him up the stairs.

  *****

  The sound of footsteps walking across my bedroom floor wakes me up. I open my eyes right before a large body slides into the bed behind me.

  “Alek?” I ask, my mind still froggy from sleep.

  “Yeah.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Go to sleep Delaney.” His arms wrap around me, and I take comfort in them. After the shitting night I had, it feels good to be wrapped in his arms. His warmth surrounds me.

  “Why are you here?” I ask him. This is against all the Bratva rules. Me staying in his house is already frowned upon, but this, this is crossing the line.

  “Because you need me here.” I can smell the Vodka on his breath as he talks. As far as I know, Alek doesn’t make a habit of drinking, so it doesn’t bother me in the least. My ass presses against him, and I can feel his erection digging into me. Is this what he came up here for?

  “Ignore it,” he grumbles like he can read my mind. That’s impossible. I’ll be expected to sleep with Ivan on my wedding day. There’s no way. There’s no way in hell I’ll be able to sleep with that man. Let alone lost my virginity to him.

  “Promise me something?” I ask.

  He lets out a sigh. “What?”

  I mull over the words before I speak them. “Don’t let me lose my virginity to him.”

  Silence answers me. I turn around in his arms to face him. His slightly red eyes are staring at me. He looks more handsome when he’s somewhat buzzed like this. He’s calm and soft. A part of him that very few get to see. He always comes off as angry and in control, but not now. Now he’s the man I’d much rather marry.

  When he still doesn’t answer me, I speak again, “All of my choices have been taken away from me. Let this be the one thing that I choose.” My voice breaks at the end, and a single tear slides down my cheek. Alek catches it with his thumb before it can hit my lips.

  “You’re killing me, Bunny,” he says, his voice coming out deep and gruff as if denying me this request would hurt him.

  “Please Alek. I know sex can be good, but it will never be good with Ivan because I can’t love a man like that. Don’t let me give that part of myself to him. At least let me choose that. I can’t-”

  “Fine. I promise.”

  I press my lips against him before he has a chance to change his mind. Unlike the last time we kissed, he doesn’t hesitate to respond. His soft lips immediately take control of mine.

  Everything else in the room and all my problems fade to the background. The only thing that matters now is his lips against mine. His tongue demands entry, and I open my mouth to let him explore. The taste of Vodka is heavy on his lazy tongue. The bed creeks as his arms tighten around my petite body until I’m flush against him. His erection digs into my leg. Warmth spreads through my blood, and I want to be closer to him. My nipples poke out of my thin tank tops, and I know he can feel them against his naked chest. This is all I want; Alek. He pulls away too soon, and I’m left panting.

  “Go to sleep, Delaney.”

  Alek

  I woke to the scent of her shampoo as she snuggled against me in the same position we fell asleep in. It was stupid of me to come to her room last night. After she went upstairs, I’d sat in my office with a glass of vodka in front of me. I’d wanted to hunt Ivan down and bury my fist in his face for making Delaney cry like that. She isn’t a weak woman, far from it, but that asshole broke her. If she’d told me he put his hands on her, I would’ve killed him. Killing another member of the brotherhood would result in my death, but it would be worth it to see Delaney free. But she wouldn’t be free. They’d marry her off to someone else. Maybe someone worse than Ivan and I wouldn’t be around to protect her. She said she wasn’t mine anymore, but she’s wrong. She’ll always be mine even if she belonged to someone else. The way she’d made me promise last night, I hadn’t been thinking straight. I sneak out of the bed before she can wake up and go down to the home gym in the basement. The basement is a temporary spot for it until the real gym is finished. The grey walls and concrete floor will have to do for now. I jam my earbuds into my ear and turn the volume up. Getting a good sweat in is how I think clearly, and right now, I need to get my head on straight.

  I start on the treadmill to warm up, letting my thoughts flow through my head. Once I move on to the weights, I lose track of time. I work out until my muscles ache because I don’t know what else to do. I rack the weights and turn around to see Delaney standing at the bottom of the steps. She’s dressed in blue scrubs with her hair in a tight bun. Even like this, she’s gorgeous. More beautiful than any other woman I’ve come in contact with. I pull out my earbuds and use a towel to wipe the sweat off my forehead.

  “I saw your car was still here. It took me a while to find you.”

  “School?” I ask, nodding at her outfits.

  She looks down at the scrubs. “Yeah. Even though classes are over for the semester, I still have to do my clinicals.”

  “Let me clean up real fast, and I can drive you,” I say, crossing the room towards her.

  “I can drive myself if you let me take one of the cars.”

  I wave her off. “I’ll drive.”

  I walk past her up the stairs. She stays in the kitchen as I go upstairs to hop in a hot shower. I make it quick, so she doesn’t end up late for her clinicals. Her words from last night come back to
my mind as I head back downstairs after changing into my clothes. She said that Ivan doesn’t believe a married woman should have a job outside the house. What kind of man is so insecure that he doesn’t even want his wife working? Ivan, that’s who.

  Nursing seems to be the only thing that Delaney is passionate about, and even while staying here, she’s been adamant about going to all her classes. Even now, when she knows Ivan won’t allow her to work, she continues to do her clinicals. Through the kitchen, I notice the glass door to the backyard is open. I walk outside to see her standing on the grass. Her arms are crossed over her chest as she stares at the space where the hot tub will soon be. The rest of the yard is a mess with construction supplies and papers weighted down by various tools. Her dark hair blows in the wind. It’s gloomy outside today, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it rained for the rest of the day. She lifts a hand to her mouth and sucks on the lit cigarette. I hate those things. I used to smoke a long time ago, but it’s hard to be in good shape when you can’t breathe. I watch her for a while. Even in her scrubs, I can see the curves of her petite body. The same body that I held last night until we both fell asleep. The body that I promised I’d take.

  “Are you just going to stare at me?” she asks, not bothering to turn around.

  “Yes.”

  She turns around to face me. Her big, round eyes roam over me. I’m not naive. I know I’m good looking. I’ve never had a problem picking up women in the past, but it feels different when Delaney looks at me like she wants me all to herself. Something deep inside me starts to stir. Maybe it’s because I know that at some point, I will get to have her. Perhaps it’s just a piece of her, something that Ivan will never get, but it’s something.