Page 21 of Bratva Holiday

My brows creased in thought. “How are you going to do that? He seems pretty determined to win.” Pretty determined was an understatement, actually. I’d never seen a man so locked in to win anything before.

Lukyan’s lips twisted, and he rose to his feet. “I don’t know yet, but that big fucker isn’t winning another year. With you at my side, this is our year, baby.”

My smile was wide. I didn’t really care if we won or not, but I would do everything in my power to win it for him.

Lukyan and I made our way over to the others in the center of the field. It was the same orientation as the last games. Lukyan walked in front, glaring at Aleksandr as we walked past. His brother glared back. When Aleksandr’s gaze shifted to me, he stiffened at the look on my face, an air of uneasiness vibrating from him.

I’d been well accepted into the Volkov family. The transition from stalker to wife had been easy. All the shit I had done to make Lukyan mine—the stalking, the kidnapping, the tricking him into marrying me…none of it seemed to matter. All that mattered was that I made him happy.

In saying that, though, they were all a little…wary of me.

They were used to crazy. They had Illayana to thank for that. But with me, I think it was the unpredictability that freaked them out. With their sister, they knew what to expect. With me…Well, fuck, even I didn’t know what to expect.

“Okay, okay. Let’s kick this shit off,” Mikhail announced.

Lukyan and I quickly took our places and linked pinkies as we listened to Mikhail.

“Game three is tug-of-war.” Mikhail marched down the line, hands behind his back. “Now, since we have uneven numbers, we’re going to do things a little differently.” Sitting on a small podium off the side was a hat. Mikhail retrieved it, holding it in front of him. “You’ll be playing in teams. One at a time, I’ll pull two papers from the hat to reveal who will be playing against who. Again, since we have uneven teams, that means one team will be left remaining, but don’t worry, that team will still have a chance to play. The first four teams will play against one another in a traditional tug-of-war match, one team against one team. The winners of those rounds will then compete against the remaining team in a three-way body tug-of-war.”

“What the fuck is a three-way body tug-of-war?” Aleksand grunted.

Mikhail clicked his fingers in Aleksandr’s direction. “I am so glad you asked.” He clapped his hands twice, and three soldiers emerged from the house, each carrying a harness of some kind in both their hands. “The three teams will each strap on a harness and use their bodies in the final round. They will have to yank and crawl and pull against the other teams to reach their end goal first. Because of the unique situation, only the team who reaches the goal line in the final round will score. All the other teams will receive no points. Everyone understand?”

All down the line, everyone nodded in understanding.

Mikhail clapped his hands together once. “Good. Any questions?”

We all shook our heads.

“Good again. Let’s pick names and get this show on the road.”

I wrapped my hands around the rope, strengthening my stance. Behind me, Lukyan did the same, any sign of playfulness gone from his expression, replaced with a hardened resolve.

Across from us stood Aleksandr and Drea, just as focused, just as determined.

It was rotten fucking luck that we had pulled their names. I think everyone was hoping not to get them as opponents, and I didn’t blame them one bit.

Not only was Aleksandr undefeated in this specific game, but he was also built like a fucking freight train. No one here had the size or weight to take him on.

And yep, you guessed it…By some fucked-up, twisted form of luck, we got paired against him.

Lukyan wasn’t worried, though. No. My wonderful genius had a plan, and as his very supportive wife, it was my job to bring that plan to fruition.

“Remember the plan, baby,” Lukyan whispered from behind me.

“Got it, baby. You let me know when.”

Fingers entangled in my hair, and then my head was snatched back a second before Lukyan curved over the top of me, bringing his lips to mine. His tongue, his taste, burst into my mouth, and I moaned, my entire body shivering at his touch.

He kissed me once. Twice. Three times. “Love you, Huntress.” He kissed me again and again, and I could do nothing but smile against his lips.

“Don’t call me that now.” I groaned, wanting nothing more than to have him beneath me, completely under my control. “Not when I can’t do anything about it.”

He playfully nipped at my lips. “Save it for later. I have a feeling when I give you my Christmas present, you’ll be even more excited.”

Curiosity had me practically buzzing with giddiness. “What did you get me?” I breathed.

He let go and pulled back, that devilish smirk that always got me hot and fucking heavy firmly curled on his lips. “You’ll see.”