Chapter 16
Dominic
I sit at the head table next to my intriguing wife.
Katerina isn’t just a pretty face, a porcelain doll, after all.
She has fire in her.
Granted, the little fierce dragon doesn’t spit enough to burn me, but it’s entertaining.
Her little episode in the limo changes everything. She’s sparked my interest. I want to see her spit fire at me again. I want to piss her off just to see the way those blue eyes fill with heat.
Good God, when she tried to hit me, it was the most excited I’ve been in as long as I can remember. Not because of the risk of pain, but because she tried to come after me. Because I was able to get under her skin enough to crack that boring exterior.
Some parts of me may have gotten a little too excited from it. I had to get some space from her before she saw it. Or before I did something I’d regret.
I don’t understand how kissing this woman did nothing for me, but her fire, her violence, fuels me in a way I haven’t felt before. Maybe there is something wrong with me.
I’ve been trying to rile her up all evening, but I’ve been unsuccessful. There’ve been a few times I’ve seen her lips purse or her fist tighten under the table, but she always remains composed.
It’s infuriating. I hate the porcelain doll she becomes. She doesn’t speak unless spoken to. She’s timid and quiet and pretty. I don’t want that. I want sassy and bold and rebellious. I want fierce and sexy.
Someone approaches our table, and Katerina stiffens. She straightens in her seat, pulling her shoulders back in perfect posture.
Interested in seeing who elicits such a response, I look up and see none other than her father.
“I wanted to give my congratulations to the newlyweds,” Viktor says with a smirk.
He holds his hand out to me, and I shake it. He tightens his, but it’s not enough to concern me. I refuse to flinch at the bite. His little game of dominance won’t work on me.
He speaks to me for a few minutes but never addresses his daughter. It’s starting to piss me off. How can a father talk business at his daughter’s wedding? How can he just ignore her on such a special day?
I finally snap.
“Are you going to miss having Katerina around the house? I’m sure it’s a hard day for a father.” My voice bites. I don’t know why I care, but I can’t ignore it.
But Viktor just waves his hand dismissively at his daughter.
“I’m sure she’ll be of better use to you,” he says with a wink. Katerina scoffs in disgust, catching her father’s attention.
“Slushay syuda, ty, malenkaya suka. Ty budesh’ yego ideal’noy zhenoy, ili za eto zaplatish’. Sleduy planu, inache Sergey budet naimenshey iz tvoikh problem.” His endearing tone doesn’t fool me. The way he says it through clenched teeth, and Katerina’s reaction are a dead giveaway.
She blanches, then nods jerkily. Only when Viktor sees her cower and comply, does he turn from her. But I see the way her fists clench. I hear the way she mutters curses under her breath.
“I’ll let you two settle in. Have a wonderful night.” Viktor sly smile brings to mind the distasteful way he spoke of his daughter.
He’s disgusting, and it pisses me off.
As soon as he’s out of hearing distance, I turn to her.
“What did he say?” I demand.
“Nothing important,” she says quickly, but she won’t meet my gaze.
“Tell me.” I leave no room for argument.
“No. It’s none of your business,” she spits out, and it comforts me to hear her back to her bitter self.
I reach out and grip her chin. I turn her towards me more aggressively than I intended. I lean forward until our noses are almost touching, ready to demand answers. With my other hand, I twirl a lock of her long, white-blonde hair around my fingers.
“Actually, my wife is my business. So, tell–” I whisper lowly, but am cut off.
“Look at them! How adorable!” a female voice says, then a flash of light blinds me.
I pull back, one hand reaches for my gun, and my other arm goes across Katerina in protection.
I scan our surroundings for the threat, only to find Margot and Matthias standing at our table. Margot has her phone out, and I realize that the light was her taking a picture.
Katerina grips my arm that’s trapping her against her chair and digs her nails into it. Even through my suit, I can feel the pricks of pain. They shoot a jolt of excitement through me. Then she violently pushed my arm off her.
“Kat! You looked beautiful up there! And this reception, it’s just amazing!” Margot continues to talk, never one to be quiet. It appears she may also be fueled by alcohol. “I’m so glad we got to talk earlier. I’m so excited to have you in the family! Welcome to the Montclairs!”
As she rambles, my brother looks at me helplessly. He pulls her into his arms, as though he can’t go minutes without touching his irritating wife.
I look at my wife, and note she’s looking at the couple with the same confusion as I am. I guess my wife doesn’t understand happily-ever-after either.
Margot mostly speaks to Katerina, and to my surprise, my wife actually entertains the conversation.
Soon, Roman, Cecilia, and Bash find their way to us.
The women keep talking, and it seems they’ve pulled Bash into the conversation as well. He’s just as animated as they talk about… are they talking about the time Roman, Matthias, and I conned our entire middle school class into a Ponzi Scheme? What the fuck?
I open my mouth, ready to put an end to the conversation, when I witness something breathtaking.
Katerina throws her head back and lets out a stunning laugh. My heart stops. It literally skips a beat. I paw at my chest, sure something’s wrong.
I find myself softening, seeing her so calm and happy. I’ve seen perfect, pretty, porcelain doll Katerina. I’ve seen fierce, sassy, sexy Katerina. But I realize I’ve never seen her happy.
I watch her converse for a few more seconds then realize what I’m doing. I scowl at my behavior and turn to my brothers.
They’re both grinning at me.
“What?” I question them harshly.
“It’s okay, big bro. It took us both by surprise,” Roman says cockily. “I’m so glad this turned out well.”
“What took you by surprise?” I grit out, pissed he’s being vague.
“Being in love. Neither of us expected it, but it’s the best thing that ever happened to us,” Matthias cuts in, adding his opinion.
I scoff offendedly.
“I am not in love!” I seethe in a whisper, not wanting Katerina to hear.
“This is just business.” I start to add that I could never be attracted to that porcelain doll.
It’s what I’ve been telling myself for weeks.
But I realize how untrue that statement is.
I am attracted to her, and it’s because she’s not a porcelain doll.
“You’ll see,” Roman says ominously. I glare at him, but he just laughs.
“This is just the beginning. It’s going to get so much better.” Matthias laughs too, then turns to Roman. “I bet he’s going to be the worst of us. I bet he’s going to be the craziest one.”
“I’m not like you!” I hiss out. I’m not like them! I’ll never be as psychotic as they were about their wives.
My brothers open their mouths, but I’m done with this conversation.
I grab Katerina’s hand and stand up. She must not be expecting it, because she doesn’t pull away. She just looks at our joint hands questioningly, then raises those scrunched brows to me.
“It’s time to go home.” It actually isn’t. The reception doesn’t have an end time, one of the perks of owning this establishment. But I’m ready to bed my wife.
She follows me without protest. As she slowly stands, I realize how tired she must be. It’s been a long day for her.
As we walk through the crowd towards the back doors, an older Bratva man grabs her wrist. I recognize him as Sergey Petrova. He’s a higher up, close to Viktor.
What the fuck is he doing grabbing my wife?
“U tebia yest’ odin god s nim, chtoby razrushit’ Sindikat, potom ty budesh’ moey. Esli net, ya ub’yu ego, a potom zaberu tebya,” he spits out at my wife.
Katerina scoffs at him, then clenches her fist. I can see her warring with herself. Does she play sweet and innocent or does she fight back?
“Fuck off, Sergey!” My beautiful wife straightens her back as she bites into him. I couldn’t be prouder of her.
Until this fucker raises his hand as if to hit her.
Without a second thought, I push in front of Katerina, pulling her behind me, effectively breaking his hold on her.
I grab his throat, tightening my grip until no air can get through. He claws at my wrist, but he’s no match for my strength.
“If you ever raise your hand towards my wife again, I’ll end you. There will be no other warning.” It’s not an empty threat. If he, or anyone, touches my wife, they won’t live long enough to regret it.
I drop his worthless ass on the floor, grab my wife’s wrist, and storm out of the fucking party with her dragging along behind me.
We get in the limo, and she tries to speak, but I put up a hand, silencing her.
“Give me a minute,” I grunt out, needing to calm myself, so I don’t project my anger onto her.
“Too bad. I’m not a dog, don’t fucking order me with your hand,” she says as she swats my hand out of the air. “I don’t need you to pick fights on my behalf. I’m a big girl. I can handle it on my own.”
My body tenses, my fury now justifiably aimed at this beautiful fool.
“Are you insane? He was going to hit you!” She doesn’t get it.
“I know. And I can handle it!” She continues to push into me.
“FUCK THAT! YOU’RE MY WIFE! NO ONE HITS MY WIFE! I WILL ALWAYS DEAL WITH ANY MAN THAT TRIES!”
She scooches out of her seat and thrusts a finger in my face.
“In name only. I am your wife, in name only. I can fight my own battles, so stay in your lane.” She then straightens the finger with the rest of her hand and lightly pats my cheek. It’s the most condescending thing anyone has ever done to me.
It’s unacceptable.
I crawl across the bench seat until she’s pressed against the window, and I’m caging her in.
“Don’t ever fucking slap me again. I will always protect my wife. Deal with it,” I seethe in her face, speaking in a low, threatening tone. This tone has had grown men cower.
But she just laughs bitterly.
“Oh, big boy can’t control his emotions.” She makes a pouting face, then flicks my forehead.
How dare she?
I’m about to… I don’t know what I’m about to do. But I’m cut off by the car stopping abruptly, then the door opening.
She almost falls out of the car since she was trapped against the door, but I grip her waist, holding her to me.
I won’t let her fall.
No matter how infuriating this woman is, I’ll never let her get hurt.