Page 17 of Bratva Prince

It was not exactly a threat, but it was close enough.The silence stretched, then Victor raised his hands slightly in surrender.

“Fair enough,” Victor said.

For once, Victor made a smart choice. A moment later he excused himself and disappeared back into the crowd.Dmitri watched him go, making sure he kept going.

Only when Victor was fully across the ballroom did he return his attention to Sofia.She was looking at him with unmistakable amusement.Dmitri frowned.

“What?”Dmitri demanded.

“You scared him away.”

“He seemed intelligent enough to scare himself,” Dmitri replied.

For one glorious second, Sofia’s composure cracked.A soft and unexpected laugh escaped her.The sound hit Dmitri harder than it had any right to.Judging by the way Sofia immediately tried to hide it, she knew it too.

The orchestra began a slower piece shortly afterward.Couples drifted toward the dance floor.A few seconds later Alexei appeared beside them.

“Brother, you should ask your wife to dance,” Alexei said.

Dmitri sighed.He wasn’t in the mood.“Not right now.”

Alexei’s expression remained unchanged.“That wasn’t a question.Dance.”

Then Alexei walked away.Dmitri looked at Sofia.She looked equally unimpressed.

“Apparently we’re dancing,” she said.

“We could fake our deaths,” Dimitri joked.

“I suggested that before the wedding,” she said.

God.Were they actually flirting with each other?

“Good idea.”

Despite himself, Dmitri smiled, and it was a real one this time.He extended his hand.Sofia stared at it, then placed hers in his.The contact felt unexpectedly significant.The dance floor welcomed them instantly.

Observers tracked their every movement.Dmitri settled one hand against Sofia’s waist.She gazed up at him expectantly, and not for the first time that evening, he admired how well that dress fitted her.How it emphasized the curve of her tempting breasts and curves.

The orchestra swelled.They moved together perfectly.Dimitri wasn’t surprised.Everything about Sofia suggested years of etiquette training.She followed effortlessly, matched his pace, and adjusted instinctively.

The ballroom blurred around them.For some reason, Dimitri stopped caring about their audience.His gaze was entirely on his wife.Dmitri tightened his grip slightly during a turn, and it turned out to be a mistake.

His awareness sharpened immediately, to the silk beneath his hand, the warmth of her body, and the faint scent of expensive perfume.

“You didn’t have to rescue me from Victor Reznikov,” Sofia murmured.

“Rescue you?”

“I could have handled someone like Victor on my own,” she said.

“I know.”

Sofia glanced up at him.“Then why intervene?”

Dmitri’s gaze stayed on hers.

“I was watching out for my wife,” he said.