Page 94 of Obsession of the Bratva

His mouth curved slowly as he stepped inside. “Like what?”

“Like you’re planning a crime in a bridal suite for the second time in your life.”

“I am planning a crime.” I narrowed my eyes, and his smile widened. “This time, I’m planning to steal my bride.”

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “That was a terrible line, Nico.”

“But it made you laugh, which means it worked.”

“It absolutely did not.”

“It did.”

His gaze swept over me slowly, and the confidence vanished from his expression for the first time all morning. That alone made me smile. Nico Romanov was feared by half the criminal world. Men twice his age hesitated before speaking in meetings. Entire organizations thought carefully before crossing him. Yet somehow, seeing me in a wedding dress had rendered him speechless. The realization was deeply satisfying.

For a moment, he simply stared, and then he exhaled. “Jesus Christ.”

I laughed. “I look that bad?”

His eyes snapped to mine. “You know damn well you look anything but bad right now, Vera.”

Heat crawled up my neck. I turned back toward the mirror before he could see how much that one line affected me. The dress had been Ilana’s idea. Well. Mostly. I had originally chosen something elegant and simple. Then Ilana, Elisse, and Misha had decided that I was apparently incapable of making good decisions for myself.

Their words. Not mine.

The result hung around me now.

The gown was ivory silk with a fitted bodice that flowed into soft layers that moved whenever I breathed. Delicate embroidery climbed across the fabric like vines. The sleeves rested just below my shoulders, exposing my collarbones, and the train stretched behind me in a graceful sweep of silk.

It was beautiful. Timeless. Romantic.

Everything I had secretly wanted. Everything I had once thought I would never have.

Nico pushed away from the doorway, slowly and dangerously, and I immediately knew what he was thinking. I recognized that look a little too well. I pointed at him immediately with a raised finger.

“No. Don’t even think about it.”

His eyebrow lifted. “No?”

“You are not ruining this dress.”

His expression became deeply offended. “I wouldn’t even dream of it.”

“Nico.” My tone was filled with warning.

“I wouldn’t.”

“Nico.”

He sighed dramatically. “Fine. I wouldn’t ruin it much.”

I threw a makeup sponge at him, and he caught it effortlessly. The man actually looked pleased with himself. Just as he stepped forward, the door opened behind him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ilana shrieked as she appeared, carrying flowers. “Did no one tell you that it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding? Get out. Leave her alone.”

Avgust followed a second later, carrying approximately twenty things at once. Neither looked remotely surprised to find Nico trying to get himself kicked out of the bridal suite.

“Nico, what the hell, man? You should be outside,” Avgust said, shaking his head.