Page 25 of Bratva Prince

“I know where my room is,” she said.

“I wasn’t asking.”The response came automatically.

Sofia merely rolled her eyes.Somehow the gesture felt familiar now, comforting, even.

“Fine,” she muttered.

They walked through the house together.Most of the lights had been dimmed.The chaos was largely contained, and only scattered guards remained visible in the corridors.For the first time all night, comfortable silence settled between them.

Eventually Sofia spoke.“You almost died.”

Dimitri glanced at her.His wife was direct as always.

“Almost,” he said.“That’s the important part.”

“You sound remarkably calm about it.”

“I’ve almost died before,” he told her.

She didn’t look impressed.

“That isn’t reassuring,” she said.

Unexpected warmth stirred in his chest.The fact that she sounded annoyed instead of indifferent felt strangely significant.Neither spoke again until they reached the private wing.The hallway stood empty.

The tension from earlier returned slowly, but it was different now.No longer fueled by suspicion, but something far more dangerous.Adrenaline still hummed in his veins.Dimitri doubted he’d get any sleep tonight.

They stopped outside her door, and for a moment neither moved.The estate suddenly felt very quiet.Sofia looked up at him.Her gaze lingered there on his neck.Dimitri noticed the bruise forming around his throat had darkened.

“You should let someone look at that,” she pointed out.

“At what?”Dimitri asked, feigning ignorance.

She pointed toward his neck.“The fact that you were nearly strangled.”

“You seem concerned,” he couldn’t help but point out.

“I’m concerned about appearances,” Sofia said far too quickly.

“Liar.”

The word slipped out before he could stop it.Sofia stared.Then, surprisingly, laughed softly.The sound hit him harder than it should have.Neither looked away.The air shifted.Dimitri became aware of how close they were standing.How easily he could reach out, and the little distance that remained between them.

Sofia seemed to realize it too.Her gaze dropped briefly to his mouth, then returned to his eyes.It was a dangerous mistake for both of them.The hallway felt smaller.Dimitri stepped closer slightly, just enough to test her and see if she’d retreat, but she didn’t.

That was all the encouragement he needed.Dimitri lifted his hand and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.It was such a simple gesture, but the effect wasn’t.Sofia’s breath caught, and his pulse immediately accelerated.

The realization that she affected him this strongly should have been alarming, but instead it felt inevitable.They had been circling each other for weeks, testing, challenging and watching each other like wolves.Tonight something had changed, because she’d saved his life, and he’d stopped seeing her as an obligation.

Sofia was no longer just a political alliance or an enemy.It felt like Dimitri was finally seeing her for the first time.The woman underneath the cool armor.Sofia, his strong, stubborn and brilliant wife.Not to mention beautiful.The realization settled heavily between them.Sofia looked at him for a long moment.

Then quietly said, “You were really worried.”

Dimitri considered denying it.Instead he surprised himself.“Yes.”

Her expression softened slightly.The final piece of distance disappeared.When he kissed her, it wasn’t planned.It was inevitable, and Dimitri was pleased when Sofia kissed him back immediately.The tension that had been building between them for weeks had finally found somewhere to go.

Dimitri cupped her jaw, drawing her closer.She grabbed the front of his shirt, holding him there.The kiss deepened, not rushed or gentle.It was the kind of kiss born from adrenaline, relief, and weeks of mutual fascination neither had wanted to acknowledge.