Chapter 8 #5
“Close your mouth, Ivanov, you’re drooling,” Kenji’s voice suddenly mocked, an existence I had completely forgotten.
An existence I promptly forgot again when Sienna slipped her arm through one of the men’s and they began spinning, laughing loudly together.
I liked that a lot less. Suddenly the crowd grew excited again, and the women and men on the dance floor split into two lines, forming an aisle.
A woman dressed in a pink sari stepped onto the stage, the bride.
The music slowed as she entered the dance floor with a wide smile.
Sienna, still breathless, smiled back at her, and suddenly the upbeat rhythm resumed, launching them into another choreography with the bride.
And for the entire duration of it, I didn’t take my eyes off Sienna.
It was simply impossible. The final notes echoed through the air as cheers and applause erupted, congratulating the dancers and the bride.
Sienna wrapped the bride in an embrace, and the woman nestled against her, they looked close. How could Sienna know all these people?
It was a question I was about to get an answer to, because her gaze caught mine over the bride’s shoulder and she froze, her eyes widening.
She separated from her friend, who went on to hug others, while Sienna’s eyes never left me.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly from the exertion, a light sheen of sweat covered her skin, making it glow, more tempting than ever.
I swallowed as she apologized to her friends and started walking toward me.
“The real show starts now,” Kenji murmured, and I saw him tense out of the corner of my eye.
Kamal did the same, casting a worried glance at the green-eyed storm striding toward us.
“What the hell are you doing here?!” she exclaimed, her eyes flashing, her hands landing on her hips, drawing my attention to the skin of her stomach, also glistening with sweat.
Holy fucking hell.
I wanted to taste her skin, to tangle my fingers in her hair and hear her beg me to go further, all while she wore that outfit, those bangles chiming with every movement.
Her lily-of-the-valley scent had mixed with jasmine, and I was practically salivating.
Her green eyes, rimmed with kohl, were enough on their own to enchant me.
Suddenly I frowned when my gaze locked into hers, she was angry, but I sensed something else. Worry. Maybe even fear.
She didn’t want me here. She wanted to hide this connection she had with the Indians.
I tried to think, but my thoughts slipped away in her presence.
She licked her lips, and I completely lost my train of thought.
“Sienna,” I breathed, almost out of breath, my mouth dry.
I heard Kenji chuckle beside me and I swung my arm, my elbow landing in his abdomen.
He wheezed and staggered back, but my eyes never left Sienna’s face.
“Sasha, what are you doing here? How did you even find me?” she asked again, crossing her arms over her chest this time, lifting her breasts in her bodice. Oh Good Lord. The things I wanted to do to her.
But a promise echoed in the back of my mind, a promise that I was not supposed to touch her.
“My eyes are up here, Ivanov,” Sienna suddenly growled, snapping me out of my trance, I lifted my gaze from her chest. When had I even looked down?
“How did he even get inside the estate?” she snapped this time at Kenji, shooting him a dark look.
I hated the way her attention shifted to someone else.
He merely shrugged. “He was waiting at the entrance like a beggar. I wasn’t going to leave him there,” he replied.
I turned to him with a raised brow. “A beggar?” I repeated, and the bastard actually smirked.
“And how did you know where I was? And what the hell are you doing here?” she asked, her gaze returning to me. I felt my lungs loosen, but a sharp apprehension seized me. She was going to kill me. No, death would be far too easy once she discovered what I had done.
I clenched my jaw. I hadn’t thought about what I would say if she caught me following her. I certainly hadn’t expected to find myself in the middle of an Indian wedding, watching her dance barefoot with the Indian mafia. The fucking Indian mafia !
“It’s my turn to ask that fucking question, Sienna!
” I snapped, suddenly remembering where we were, at a goddamn Indian mafia wedding.
“What the fuck are you doing with the Indian mafia?” I growled, grabbing her upper arms. She pressed her lips together, and I saw hesitation flicker in her eyes.
“That’s none of your business,” she retorted simply, pushing her hair back over her shoulders, exposing her long, slender neck, the very one I had left marks on just a few months earlier.
Memories of our entanglements came rushing back: her scent, her warm, damp skin, her moans, her shallow breathing, just like now.
I suppressed a groan as I rubbed my face.
Surely there had to be a bedroom somewhere in this massive villa, right?
“Sasha,” she started again, but stopped when another figure joined us, “Sasha Ivanov, what an honor to have you at my niece’s wedding,” Ganesh Rajawat greeted me as he stopped beside Sienna.
My hand instinctively wrapped around her arm, pulling her closer to me.
A gesture that did not go unnoticed, though no one said a word and Sienna didn’t resist, aside from rolling her eyes.
“Ganesh,” I greeted him, extending my hand and he shook it with a faint smile, casting a glance toward Sienna.
When I looked down at her, I saw her avert her gaze, a soft blush rising to her cheeks. What the hell…
“I didn’t know we had invited you. I would have asked for you to be placed on the VIP list,” Ganesh continued, releasing my hand and resting it on the head of his cane, which he tapped lightly against the ground.
He was a respected man in the underworld, affiliated with no one, yet on good terms with everyone.
Easy to talk to, but never to be underestimated.
A tiger beneath the mask of a wise man. “He wasn’t on the guest list, sir,” Kamal answered, clearly flustered, while I kept my expression closed.
“Sorry for showing up unannounced like this, but I’m simply here to take Sienna back,” I replied evenly, taking a step back, my only thought being to get her somewhere safe.
But Ganesh’s cane suddenly pressed against my chest, stopping me.
“Sienna is old enough to decide where she wants to be, Ivanov,” Ganesh said, his dark gaze locking onto mine.
I clenched my jaw as, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed several men slowly moving closer, sensing the tension rising.
If a conflict broke out here, I had no chance of getting out alive, let alone protecting Sienna. I have to call my brothers.
“That’s enough!” Sienna suddenly growled, pulling free from my grip and stepping in front of me, pointing a finger at my chest. “You ! Stop with your alpha-protector bullshit,” she ordered.
Then she swung her finger toward Kenji. “And you! Stop mocking him. I’ll deal with your case later,” she snapped.
Her finger slid toward Kamal. “You, stop stressing over nothing and go find your sister, she’s looking for you,” she informed him.
Finally, she turned to Ganesh, tapping his chest with her finger.
“And you, old branch, drop the act and go sit down to enjoy Anjali’s most beautiful day.
” And with that, she turned away, tossing her hair over her shoulder and rejoining the women on the dance floor.
Mouth agape, my eyes followed the sway of her hips and quickly realized I wasn’t the only one watching, plenty of men were staring at her.
I even spotted a few who clearly intended to approach her, judging by the way they were moving closer.
I snapped out of my trance when Ganesh burst out laughing, shaking his head and breaking the heavy silence.
“Ah, that good little Sienna,” he sighed, still chuckling, as Kamal hurried off, no doubt in search of his sister.
“Come on, follow me, Ivanov,” Ganesh said, turning away.
“You’re important to my Sienna, we can certainly consider you a VIP guest,” he added as he returned to his seat. My Sienna ?
I shot a look at Kenji, who merely shrugged once again before following the Indian man, that one seriously needed to work on his communication skills ?
My eyes drifted back to Sienna on the dance floor, where she was already taking position again to dance with the bride and her friends.
I clenched my fists and followed the two men.