Page 18 of Innocent Bratva Twins
For a moment, we’re both staring at the door. My heart is beating heavily. My fists are clenched at my side. I’m waiting for him to come back in, but when it’s obvious that he’s hightailed it out of here, I turn towards her.
“Are you okay?” I ask, taking a deep breath and trying to push the anger down. That brief second of laughing helped ease some of it away, but I still want to wrap her in my arms and hold her, apologize to her for not being here sooner to stop him. I hold myself back. I need to stay professional.
“I’m completely fine, but you just lost a new business partner. He was going to invest a lot,” she says, horrified. “You didn’t have to do that, Nico.” There's a quiver in her voice. When I look at her hands, I see they’re shaking.
“I did. Why the hell would I want to work with someone like that?”
Sera shakes her head, confused. “But you lost that deal because of me.” She takes a deep breath, and for the first time, I see her brave facade slipping away completely. Drake got to her a lot more than she let on.
When she looks up at me, her eyes are shining, bright green and gorgeous, but glittering as though she’s fighting tears.
She fidgets with a pen on her desk and smiles tightly, trying to rein in her emotions.
“He’s such a dickhead,” she stammers.
“Fuck. He’s a complete asshole,” I agree, rushing over to her, because I can’t bear to see her so upset. “Are you okay?” I whisper, pulling her into my arms.
“He was really intense before you got here,” she sniffs.
“What did he do?” I growl, moving back a little, wrapping my hand beneath her chin, lifting her face up to mine so that I can look at her. “Did he hurt you?”
“He was—he just—“
Chapter 6 - Serafina
Nico is standing so close to me I can smell his cologne, and the way his hand is wrapped around my face makes me want to lean into him again. Oh my word. His body feels incredible against mine.
The situation with Drake was already intense enough to cause my adrenaline to spike, but now it’s spiking even more.
“Serafina, if he hurt you…“
“No, he was just really pushy. Um. Touchy.”
“Touchy?”Nico clearly does not like the sound of that.“I’ll kill him.” He moves as though he’s going to run after Drake and tear him to pieces, but I grab the side of his shirt, holding on to him tightly.
“No, let it go, Nico. He’s not worth it,” I say, because I don’t want to cause issues. He’s already lost a potential business deal.
“Sera, the thought of him hurting you in any way…“ His eyes lock with mine, and the darkness in them is terrifying. My heart hammers in my chest, beating against my ribs as though it wants to smash its way free of the bone cage.
I shake my head. “He didn’t hurt me. He would have if you hadn’t arrived. But he didn’t.”
Nico growls, a deep, terrifying sound that vibrates against my chest.
I still haven’t let go of his shirt, my fingers wrapped in the fabric, pulling him closer to me. Having him with me like this makes me feel safe—and it’s turning me on in ways I didn’t know were possible.
I’ve never had a man want to protect me like this.
And of all the men in the world to do it, Nico is the sexiest man I’ve ever met, so every cell in my body is screaming at me to basically throw myself at him.
My hero.
My protector.
My boss.
Nico brushes his hand up my side. His eyes soften and his voice becomes gentle. “Are you sure you’re okay, Sera?” he asks, his tone low.
I nod, unable to speak, not trusting my voice to sound normal.
