Arranged Bratva Love

Ive

I don’t know why Ivan insisted on coming to visit me and mywife. I’d not been back to my country home in just over a month. Stepping through the front door, I didn’t expect to see Hubert waiting for me. He was supposed to stay by Charlotte’s side whenever I was away. He reported to me daily as to how she was settling in. So far, she didn’t seem to be suffering with any kind of cabin fever and appeared to enjoy being kept at my home, without me for company.

I heard the soft laughter and it startled me. Was that Charlotte? I’d never heard her laugh. Fake laughing, hysterical, forced laughter, but not genuine laughter. This was a beautiful sound-real, pure, sweet-and I felt myself being pulled toward it.

I walked toward the dining room. Hubert took a step back, and I looked into the room to see Charlotte and Ivan sitting together at my large table. My wife had a hand covering her mouth as she tried to stifle a laugh and even Ivan looked completely distracted as he told some kind of witty joke that caused him to distort his face, which sent Charlotte into another fit of hysterics.

I also happened to notice Charlotte had changed into a beautiful red dress. The kind that tightened around her tits and waist, and flared out at the hips. Even with it showing a great deal of cleavage it still had a way of appearing elegant on her.

“Ah, I see your faithful husband has returned.”

His words caused the laughter to stop and Charlotte tilted her head toward my direction. She quickly scrambled to her feet, and rushed toward my side.

“Ive, I didn’t hear you come in,” she said. Her hands were clasped together and one quick look over her shoulder, and I knew Ivan was expecting something. I didn’t know what they’d been talking about, but I’d need to make sure these little visits were few and far between. I couldn’t help but wonder if Ivan had done this on purpose. To make sure my boss and my wife were not alone, I’d have to take Charlotte with me.

She put her hands on my shoulders, went onto her tiptoes, and kissed my cheek. “It’s good of you to come home. Dinner won’t be long now.” There was a smile on her lips, but this time, it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Ivan stood and held out his hand for me to shake. I took it without hesitation. His grip was tight and I couldn’t help but feel like he was warning me. I helped my wife into a chair before rounding the table and taking a seat opposite her, seeing as Ivan had taken the head of the table. This was my house, and the head of the table should be my seat. Silence descended on the table. Charlotte kept her gaze averted from mine.

“When did you arrive?” I asked, turning toward Ivan.

“This afternoon. Your lovely wife had taken over Michael’s kitchen and was in the process of making some delicious biscuits. You’re going to have to try them.”

“Yours are delicious, mine are…”

“Homemade, sweetheart,” Ivan said.

“You’ll have to show me how you get them so uniform,” Charlotte said.

“You baked?” I turned to Charlotte but was more curious to hear that Ivan could bake as well. This was news to me. I knew he was a man of many skills and talents. He’d survived a great deal in his life.

Even though he and I went way back, I knew he also had history with Slavik, Andrei, Victor, and Peter. Each of us had a tale that involved Ivan Volkov. Our stories connected in all different ways. Oleg had always been the odd one out. From what I had learned, Slavik had been with him first, in the beginning when they were kids. I didn’t meet Ivan until my early twenties.

Pushing the past aside, I focused on my wife and my boss. Both seemed to share a secret smile. This was new. What the fuck was going on? I knew my wife hadn’t cheated, and that wasn’t Ivan’s game, but I didn’t like feeling out of the loop.

“The key, my dear, with all things, is tohave a little patience. If you have that, then everything else is a piece of cake.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Charlotte chuckled. “I see what you did there and don’t thinkfor a second you can leave before you show me your famous lemon cake.”

Ivan winked at Charlotte. They were sharing a secret moment. I couldn’t help but watch the two of them. This was the first time Charlotte had come out of her shell.

Three women came out of the kitchen and put plates in front of each of us. Staring down at the food, I saw a huge bowl of pasta with what appeared to be spaghetti sauce and meatballs. I’m not going to lie, I’m not a big pasta fan. I’m more of a meat-and-potatoes lover. Pasta was okay, but I hadn’t eaten it in a long time.

“Eat up, Ive. Your beautiful wife made this.”

“You made this?”

“Yeah, it’s, er, it’s my favorite meal. I wasn’t going to cook for you but Ivan insisted that I do.”

I also noticed she referred to him as Ivan. Most women were quaking in their boots around Ivan, and yet Charlotte seemed comfortable. In fact, she appeared more comfortable with him than she did with me. I wasn’t the one who’d married her off. That was all Ivan’s idea.

Picking up my fork and knife, I slice into a meatball, and it did appear to be buttery soft. I pierced it with my fork and then took a bite. Flavors exploded across my tongue and I couldn’t help but close my eyes at the taste. They were delicious, and considering I didn’t like meatballs, this was indeed a shock to me. I finished the meatball and decided to try the pasta. It was the first time I actually enjoyed the meal.

“What do you think?” Ivan asked.

“It’s delicious.”

“You know, Charlotte happens tolove Italian food,” Ivan said.

Turning my attention to Charlotte, I see her offering Ivan a smile. “Come on, it’s not a big deal. I’m surea lot of people love Italian food.”

“True, true. A lot of people do, but it just sohappens we have an Italian restaurant. I’ll put a word in with the chef, and I’d love for you to visit sometime.”

“That sounds lovely.”

“It would be nice to see you and Ive going out on a date. It’s not healthy to stay in this big house all the time.”

“I don’t mind this big house. Honestly.” Charlotte kept avoiding my eyes.

On my way to this dining room, I’d already spotted the sticky notes on my office door. Hubert had informed me my wife explored the house and because of how big it was, she placed sticky notes letting her know which rooms she’d already been in. She hadn’t extended this into the gardens, but according to her guard, she liked to go out walking, not too far from the house. She also enjoyed taking a book out to the lawn, sitting down on a blanket, or lying down, and reading for hours.

Ivan kept up the conversation, drawing me and Charlotte into discussions about food, what we liked and disliked. Charlotte hated peas of all kinds. She also had an aversion to cauliflower and she hated the taste of raw onion. For me, I had no dislike of any food. There were some I enjoyed more than others, like meat and potatoes, but it didn’t stop me from eating.

After the mainmeal, Charlotte disappeared into the kitchen and came back holding a tray. There were three small plates with biscuits on each, beautifully presented.

“Charlotte, that is cheating,” Ivan said. “Go and get your biscuits. I’m sure Ive would like to try them.”

She disappeared a second time.

“Not that I have aproblem with it, Ivan, but why are you here?”

“As you know, when the Bratva faces problems, I’m always aware. I think it’s time we talked about important matters.”

Charlotte returned carrying a platewith three more biscuits, only these didn’t look uniform or out of a box. These were different sizes and shapes, and they didn’t look great. They were homemade.

“I totally understand if you don’t want to try them,” Charlotte said.

“Then it’s his loss,” Ivan said, taking a biscuit and immediately having a bite. “Because they’re delicious.”

I wasn’t going to have my wife liking Ivan more. Taking a biscuit, I put it on my plate and sliced my knife through the center. I wasn’t a big fan of pasta or meatballs, but I did happen to love a sweet treat and some cream. Charlotte had brought two small bowls with her, one with jam, the other with cream. Spreading jam onto both sides, I then added some cream so every bite had some of what I wanted. The biscuit was buttery, soft, and not too sweet. The jam fixed the sweetness for me, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open as I released a tiny moan. It had been a long time since food had made me do this. Food was merely fuel to me. I liked good food, but this was different. This was delicious and mouthwatering, and I couldn’t quite contain myself with the taste. It was so good.

Within a few bites the biscuit was gone. I complimented my wife and noticed how her cheeks turned a beautiful shade of red. It was rare to see a womanblush, or at least it was for me.

I had every intention of sending her away so Ivan and I could depart to my office. Ivan insisted on coffee, and only after we had a nice cup did Charlotte leave, and wewent to my office.

Other than our wedding, that was the longest time I’d spent with Charlotte. Stepping into my office, I went straight to the hard liquor. “Can I interest you in a drink?”

“You refuse to spend any time with your wife,” Ivan said.

“Work takes priority. You know this.”

“Ah, I know this, but I also know the value of doing what I say. You and Charlotte are not expecting,” Ivan said.

This caused me to grit my teeth. Slavik already had a child with rumor of a second on the way. I believe Andrei and Adelaide were already pregnant and she was due soon, perhaps. I wasn’t sure on the finer details.

“Charlotte is not pregnant.”

“Ah, but you haven’t consummated your marriage either.” Ivan took the glass of whiskey I offered.

“She’s eighteen years old.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, Charlotte will be nineteen in a couple of weeks. She’s also legal.”

“She is young,” I said.

Ivan chuckled. “All women start out young, Ive. They are born as babies and grow into children, eventually teenagers, and then young women.”

“My wife is still a teenager.”

“True, but she is your wife, and if you stopped being anywhere else but at home, you’d see there is more to Charlotte than her age.”

“You had business to discuss with me.” I wanted to get off the topic of my wife. Eighteen, nineteen, it made no difference to me, shewas still young.

Ivan smiled and after a second, he started to talk. “I have twocandidates with potential for taking over Oleg’s territory.”

“Who are they?” I asked.

He finished off his whiskeyand gave a yawn. “You know, after all this traveling, I suddenly feel rather tired.”

“I have business to discuss with you,” I said.

“And we’ll talk tomorrow.”

Ivan had brought our conversation to a close and I knew it was because he was pissed at me over Charlotte.