Free Bad Apple (Part 1) by Kristina Weaver Page B

even more that I don’t think he’d even care at this point that it left a mark.
    He’d probably take satisfaction from knowing that he avenged Mama’s tears.
    “Angel, Jesus, what the hell happened here?” he asks again between clenched teeth, his fingers tenderly probing at the bruise with a frown.
    “I, uh, I fell?”
    His head comes up swiftly and I meet the terrifyingly intense blue eyes I stared into as I climaxed.
    “Never lie to me, Irina. I do not like it. Now get into that bath and tell me what happened to your back or I will not be very nice.”
    “Chill out, Misha. I fell. I’m a klutz and accidents happen to me all the freaking time. Stop being such an asshole,” I mutter, grabbing my hair into a bun as he scoots me forward and slides in behind me.
    I feel like a freaking whale and more exposed than I have ever been in my life, but the man reacts strongly to all attempts I make to curl into myself and hide my body, instead pulling me back into his chest and resting his hands over my belly.
    His sigh of bliss wafts over my ear, even as I giggle at the way he has to bend his knees just to fit.
    “I like all this softness, Irina. It’s a huge turn-on to have no bones poking into me, and your ass is perfect for cradling my cock. Now stop squirming around and trying to hide what is mine before he takes the hint and you’re walking bowlegged for a week. Now about that bruise…”
    “Drop it.”
    “I will. If you agree to move into the store I have bought and paid for,” he demands.
    He paid…
    “No! I don’t want or need you throwing money around to fix my life. I made my business a success and—”
    “And now it is on the verge of ruin unless you do something about it, Irina. I have already paid for the building and started Vadi and Nikita on the path to setting it up for you. It will be ready tomorrow.”
    “But, but I can’t afford it, Misha. I put everything into the other shop and I have no collateral for a loan now that it’s closed and—”
    “Woman, I am your husband. I can buy you a shop without explaining—”
    “No, you can’t. You can’t because I refuse to have my business overtaken by anyone, Misha. I love that shop, but I can’t afford it, and I won’t have you paying for all of my stuff. I want one thing that belongs only to me. Not my family. Not you. Nobody. It’s mine. My accomplishment,” I hiss, pulling up and struggling out of the bath to grab a towel.
    It’s not that I mind his sweetness, but I’ve fought my whole life to be out from under my family’s money. You think I couldn’t have skipped the fifteen-hour workdays and the Ramen noodles for two years? That shit sucked, but I relished very single minute of it because when Sweetness started doing good business, I had only myself to pat on the back for it.
    Misha comes out of the bath with a snarl, his body sending my wits scattering as he gets out and stalks my way, pinning me to the wall with a frown and ticking jaw.
    “Then sell the old shop to me. It will be a trade of sorts, and I’ll recoup my outlay.”
    He’s being reasonable…and he just came up with the perfect way for me to get what I need.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Fifteen
    Irina
    “This place is great, Ri! Don’t get me wrong, I loved the other shop so much with its quaintness and the way it was just tucked in between the bigger buildings like the Stewart Little house, but this is so much bigger,” Mrs. Pots coos when I hand her her change and the massive box of goodies she’s been coming in for twice a week, every week, for two years.
    “Thanks, Pots, we likes it too.” I wink before giving the register over to Nik and heading to the back to collect another tray of just cooled croissants.
    It’s been a week since I found out I was married and that I had a new shop. Since then, time has moved a mile a minute. I’m doing so much business that I’ve had to accept that bitchy chef as my assistant just to keep the