Page 74 of Captured Obsession

Her eyes sparkle, and she bites down on her bottom lip before quickly pressing a kiss to my cheek.It’s timid and sweet, and contains a message I don’t entirely grasp.

“You know,Udav, for a man of few words, you seem to have found all the right ones now. I’m not going to shrink myself anymore or live for anyone else. You should consider the same.”

It hits me in the chest, where my cold heart beats. I’ve never once thought of myself that way, always selfishly paving my own path. But what if I no longer want to do that alone?

She looks past me, a huge grin arcing her lips. “Oooh, look how cute those cheesecakes are.” She points to the window display, and her expression lights up with pure joy as she runs over to get a better look.

I smirk as I follow behind her. I point to the same cheesecake she’s drooling over and say to the lady behind the counter, “We’ll purchase this one.”

Sienna’s head whips in my direction. “We don’t have to buy it. I don’t usually?—”

“I thought you weren’t shrinking yourself anymore. You’re drooling over this cheesecake,mishka.”

She stiffens, wiping at her lips, and I chuckle.

“I am not!” she snaps, then laughs once she realizes I’m toying with her.

And it hits me that we aren’t acting like captor and captive. We’re in a bubble of our own making, where the bratva and the mafia and douchebag ex-fiancés don’t exist. The chaos and noise of the city fizzles into the background. And all I can see is her.

And the asshole in the hoodie who’s still following us.

When the lady hands over the bag with the cheesecake, I quietly say to Sienna, “Stay here for a moment,” then I head in his direction.

He’s leaning against a lamppost, hands shoved in his pockets. When he looks up, I notice he’s wearing a white mask that denotes him as one of Luca’s hounds, and the gem affixed to the mask is light blue. His blue eyes sparkle almost as much as the gem in the glow cast by the streetlight.

“Didn’t get me any cheesecake?” he asks mockingly.

“If you follow me into this alley, I might have one for you. I’ll even force feed it to you.”

He chuckles, and I’m surprised. I often find the ones who seem most carefree and hide behind smiles and mirth are often the most unhinged. And once they snap, they’re like a livewire. But it can also be a weakness.

He pulls out a black envelope. “Here, a personal invitation from my boss.”

My gaze drops to it, and I slowly take it. When I read it, my eyebrows dip. It’s an invitation to Balmere, the club that conceals his underground fighting ring.

“Your attendance is expected in two days’ time. Sienna Falcone is to accompany you.”

“So you can steal her from me?”

He casually kicks off the lamppost. “Possibly. I don’tthink you should complain, since that’s how you started this whole thing. In what world do you think someone like her would choose to stand by your side?”

My grip tightens on the bagged cheesecake, too tempted to pull one of my blades out. His eyes crinkle beneath the mask, and I can tell whoever this fucker is, he’s smiling, purposely antagonizing me, hoping for a fight.

“Pretty, though,” he adds.

“Nikolai?” Sienna calls out as she walks our way, and she pulls up short when she sees the masked man.

The hound makes no attempt to speak with her directly, so I turn my back on him. It’s been a long time since someone’s words have unnerved me. And perhaps his do because I know they’re true.

31

NIKOLAI

“Wow, I feel like I’ve been living under a rock,” Sienna says as she looks up at the Balmere Club sign. She’s wearing a tight beige dress that I promised to spank her over if she didn’t wear a long coat to cover it. She told me I had no right to tell her what to wear and wore it anyway. My cock jumps at her defiance, and I admire the way her hips shift beneath the fabric.

“You and me both,” Romi says from beside her.

My temple pulses as I glance at Sienna’s friend and Dante, the latter of which glares at me.