Expose' (Born Bratva Book 3) (26 page)

“Are you ready?” Kodiak asks. “I won’t lie to you, it’s gonna hurt.”

“Yeah, I know. Like you didn’t have anything to do with the decision.”

“Of course I did, I’ll be in on every decision you make for the rest of your days,” he replies serenely.

I look at Kodiak as he watches the tattoo artist put the finishing touches on his new ink. He seems unaffected by the pain of the needle that’s marking his body with his new brigadier stars. It makes sense that one of the stars is located above his heart. His heart is Bratva. His heart is mine.

As Glazov has proclaimed so many times, the Bratva legacy will indeed carry on to the next generation. I may not have been born into this life but I know it is my destiny. Kodiak and I…we were chosen. This
is my family. This is my life now and though I was not born Bratva, I know I will die Bratva.

I smile mischievously as I hop onto the padded table that was placed next to Kodiak’s chair while his tattoo artist applied a cream and bandages over his new ink. Kodiak has every intention of overseeing my new tattoo, the one that will mark me forever as his - but, just this once, I’m one step ahead of him. I have no idea how he’ll react when he realizes that I snuck out with Roksana yesterday to get the tattoo. It hurt like hell getting that much ink in a single session, but I knew I would only have one opportunity to surprise him. It’s been damn near impossible to hide it from him since then, but I managed to somehow. Fortunately, he’s been amused by my coyness, just biding his time because he thinks I’m playing hard to get.
My man still enjoys the chase.

I settle onto my stomach and start to slip my jeans down over my hips as Kodiak closes his eyes and clenches his jaw at the prospect of another man, even one he trusts, seeing and touching such an intimate part of my body -- hell, any part of my body. But when his eyes open, his reaction abruptly changes. As my skin is exposed to his gaze, his eyes flare with a seething mix of primal ownership and more than a little displeasure. He shifts his livid stare over to me as he bites out the accusation, “You. Let. Another. Man. Touch. You? Without me in the fucking room?” Those black eyes bore into me and steal my breath.
Oh, shit.

“R-Roksana was with me--” I start to say, but abruptly stop when he raises a brow skeptically.

“Think about that for a minute. Is that really supposed to help?” he asks sarcastically. “Enjoy your freedom, baby, because your next stop is the dungeon for a little play time.” He leans in closer to me to whisper for my ears alone, “And I’ll be the only one having a good time. Hope you’re comfortable like this because when I’m done, you won’t be able to sit for a goddamn week.” I bite my lip and wince at the thought of what awaits me in the dungeon, and accept that this surprise isn’t going to go the way I had planned at all.

His posture as he leans over me gives him a better view of the offending hip and he freezes in place. As his gaze returns to the finished tattoo and lingers there, his eyes gleam with masculine satisfaction and pleasure. I have no doubt there will be delicious consequences for sneaking out with his sister, but it’s so worth it when he finally sees exactly what I’ve done.

“Can I?...” he asks reverently, his eyes looking suspiciously shiny as he reaches out to trace the letters of his name along my hip, just above the dimple that he always finds so captivating. The tattoo marks me as his woman. It marks me as Bratva. And in this moment, it changes everything.

The tattoo artist’s rendering is exactly what Kodiak had wanted – with one important difference that is my gift to him. Above his name there is a bear. A beautiful beast, fierce and proud as it emerges from the flames.

The end for now.