Chapter 17 —Ravyn
“You look absolutely stunning, Ravyn,” Maria said to me, her voice tinged with admiration.
“Oh, thank you,” I replied, my cheeks flushing at her remark, a hand casually resting on my chest. “I love your dress, and you look amazing too.”
She turned to her man, clad in an impeccably tailored black suit like all the men around the dinner table tonight. “See, I told you it wasn’t that bad.” She tapped his shoulder with a stern glare.
He raised his hands defensively. “I never said it was.” His tone was thick with the Russian accent.
“Anatoli, you should learn to always compliment your woman, not talk down on her dress,” said another one of Lev’s Bratva brothers, his voice laced with playful mockery.
“I do not talk down on her dress,” Anatoli grumbled, gesturing with his hands as he tried to explain himself. “I only said that I preferred the green gown because it matched the color of her eyes.”
“So you’re saying that you didn’t tell her the dress she decided to go with was bad?” Mikhail asked him, his fork and knife carving into the stake in his plate.
Anatoli paused for a moment, stealing a glance at Maria. “Well…now that you put it like that….” His voice trailed off into silence.
“Guilty,” another Bratva member teased.
The table erupted into a low laughter—raw and true. And even I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. I hadn’t felt so much bliss ever since the wedding. I hadn’t felt so much freedom. Honestly, I was grateful to Lev for bringing me out to dinner with his family tonight.
At first, I was reluctant about hanging out with a bunch of soulless Mafia folks. I thought the dinner would be as boring as the Bratva meeting I’d attended the other day.
My expectation was simple: mean old men with cold expressions and zero tolerance for good humor.
I couldn’t have been more wrong!
With Anatoli and Maria at the table, it was almost impossible not to laugh every ten minutes at least. I had no idea Mafia men could be this fun to hang out with.
Right here at this table, it wasn’t a gathering of cruel men plotting against their enemies. It was just a few family members and friends having a nice dinner together.
Tonight was the closest I’d come to feeling happy since Lev forced me to marry him. At least this time, I wasn’t the only woman at the table, and that alone made me feel a lot more at ease.
However, there was someone else at the table that I wasn’t comfortable with.
Viktor.
Yep. He was there too.
Having dinner with my ex-boyfriend and my husband at the same table felt awkward. Viktor’s subtle gaze at me clearly showed he disapproved of his older brother’s plan to marry me. In his eyes, I saw a hint of pain and something darker.
Each time Lev leaned in to whisper something in my ear—just to mask the tension between us—Viktor’s jaw would tighten. It was clear he wasn’t comfortable seeing Lev and me together.
It wasn’t my fault that he messed things up between us, and I hated the way he looked at me with his eyes when he blamed me. Every time I felt like sympathizing with him, I’d remember how much pain he had caused me.
Viktor never really apologized for his actions, and looking back now, I realized that he was part of the reason I was stuck with his brother anyway. This whole thing started shortly after I smacked him across the face.
What’s to say he hadn’t played a role in my current situation?
My time in his life was over. That chapter had ended. The sooner he got that into his head, the better.
Lev, on the other hand, had been a different version of himself lately. Several times, I caught him scanning my body with a hint of desire in his eyes over the past few days. He paced too close to me, and his gaze lingered on me a little longer than usual when he thought no one was watching.
Despite the hint of longing in his eyes, Lev still hadn’t made a move to touch me. He tried to hide his lust behind his flat expression, but I could see right through him.
I should weaponize this—use it to my own advantage. But there was just one small problem. That glint of longing and desire in Lev’s eyes was also in mine. I hated admitting it, but it was true. I wasn’t sure how or why, but something was growing inside me—an emotion I could only name as lust.
I hadn’t given in to the feeling. Not yet, anyway. Still, if we kept going down this path—if we kept feeding our minds with forbidden thoughts—then it was only a matter of time before one of us broke.
“So, Ravyn,” Maria called me, her voice slicing through my thoughts.
I met her gaze.
She continued, “Tell us, what’s it like being married to Lev Tarasov?”
The question was harmless—at least it seemed that way. But the silence that followed was quite unsettling, especially with everyone staring at me.
Everyone was anticipating my response, and I wasn’t sure whether this was a trap. One thing was certain, though; I had to be smart with my response.
I reached for my glass of wine, gave it a little swirl, then lifted it to my lips. “Do you want the truth, or would you like me to lie?” I teased, a small grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.
“Please, lie,” Anatoli chipped in, playfully pleading with his eyes. “I know we Bratva men can be a handful; you don’t have to rub it in our faces.” He chuckled, his eyes darting toward my husband. “Right, Lev?”
Lev’s gaze wouldn’t leave my face, and as expected, he insisted that I tell the truth. “Actually, I wanna know what she has to say.”
“Bad idea, man—really bad idea. We all know you’re a horrible person.” Anatoli simply couldn’t stop joking about everything.
I liked it.
It helped ease the tension rising at the table.
“He is indeed a horrible person,” I answered, wearing a majestic smile. “Stubborn as a mule—he never listens to me.”
“Oh, sweetie, I know exactly how you feel,” Maria said to me. “My honey bunny here doesn’t listen to me either.” She playfully nudged his shoulders.
“Right? I think it’s a Mafia thing,” I added.
A low laugh rose from the others, including Lev, surprisingly.
And just like that, with Anatoli’s and Maria’s help, I was able to drown the rising tension amongst us. Quietly, I placed my hand on Lev’s, flashing a faint smile at him.
Viktor finally spoke, his voice calm but laced with traces of disdain. “You two look good together.”
I glanced at him, then back at Lev before responding. “Thank you.”
Silence.
No one said a word, and it was almost like we all sensed the pain in Viktor’s voice. Another one of Anatoli’s jokes saved the day again, and while the others returned to their food, I decided to get some air.
“Um, excuse me, I wanna use the ladies’ room,” I said, dabbing my mouth with a napkin.
Lev’s response was a faint smirk, and that was all the permission I needed. I rose to my feet, my heels clicking softly against the floor as I walked away from the table. Their voices faded in the background as I drew closer to the restroom.
I pushed the door open, my heart pounding in my chest. Standing in front of the mirror, I wrapped my fingers around the ceramic sink and released a heavy sigh.
I thought that I didn’t care about Viktor’s feelings, especially after what he’d done to me. But hearing him say those words struck me like a dagger to the heart.
With my head lowered, I rubbed my eyes, resenting being caught between two brothers. It was never my plan—I was dragged into this.
“Really, Ravyn?” His voice startled me.
“Jesus Christ!” I flinched, my hand flying to my chest as if to stop my heart from jumping out. When I looked in the mirror, he was standing behind me.
Viktor.
“What’re you—what’re you doing here?” I turned around immediately. “This is the ladies’ room. You shouldn’t be in here.” I glanced back at the door.
“Of all people, you chose to marry him—my brother?” His face contorted into a frown, his voice laced with venom.
My brows drew together, and my expression darkened. “Don’t do that,” I warned him, raising my index finger. “You don’t get to blame this on me.”
“You were supposed to be mine, Ravyn. Mine!” he snarled, his eyes red with fury.
“Okay, first, I am not a piece of property to be owned by you or your brother,” I began, my voice dripping with rage and a tinge of disdain. “And second, you were the one who blew what we had—so this is on you, not me!”
“Is that reason enough for you to rush into my brother’s bed barely six months after our breakup?” he growled, his tone low and disrespectful.
My scowl deepened. “You’ll mind the way you speak to me, Viktor Tarasov.”
He snickered. “Why, because you married my older brother? Because he’s fucked you?”
My jaw tightened, fingers clenching into fists on my sides. I was so furious I could smack him in the face again. Or worse, throw a punch hard enough to break his nose.
Despite all that rage coursing through me like electricity, I decided not to act on my anger tonight. “We’re done here.” I walked past him.
However, I had barely taken two steps forward when he grabbed my wrist. “No, we’re not. You don’t get to walk out on me.” He pulled me toward him.
Disgusted by his touch, I squirmed out of his hold. “Let go of me!”
Immediately, he did. He let go.
However, I noticed he was looking behind me, kind of like the way the guy in the kitchen had the other night. That was when I caught a whiff of his cologne in the air and felt his commanding presence.
Lev revealed himself and stood beside me, his imposing frame towering over my small stature. His gaze was fixed on his brother, his jaw clenched, emphasizing the scowl on his face.
Viktor glared back at Lev, masking his fear with anger.
The air was thick with tension, and I could almost hear the sound of my own racing heart. Nobody said a word, but we all could sense the storm brewing.
Unable to stand the suffocating tension, I walked out of the ladies’ room in silence, leaving the two brothers to themselves. Ain’t no way I was going to be caught up in the middle of this madness.
I was in this mess because of them in the first place, so they should sort things out between themselves and leave me the hell out of it.
Period!