Page 27 of Betrayal and Vows (Bratva Vows #2)

"And then I met you." I turn to face her fully. "You have to understand, Lena—you were never part of the plan. Never. When I first saw you at that party, I had no idea who you were. I just saw this beautiful woman who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else in the world."

Her eyes search mine. "When did you find out? About the engagement?"

The memory still makes my stomach turn.

"I wanted to kill Mikhail right then. Forget the plan, forget everything. Just put him in the ground before he could touch you."

"But you didn't."

"No. Because I realized something." I take her face in my hands, needing her to understand. "I realized that if I killed him then, your father would just find you another monster to marry. The system would continue. More girls would suffer. I had to be smarter."

“The night at the club…”

“No. That wasn’t planned. You were never part of the plan.”

“But you knew I was to marry Mikhail.”

"I couldn't stay away from you." The confession rips from my throat. "I tried, God knows I tried. But every time I saw you, I fell deeper. You weren't supposed to matter to me, Lena. You were supposed to be just another casualty I had to work around."

Tears shimmer in her eyes. "Was any of it real? Or was I just?—"

"Everything was real." I press my forehead against hers. "Every touch, every word, every moment I spent falling in love with you. Real. All of it. I love you.”

"I changed your plan."

"You became my plan." I stroke her cheek with my thumb. “Getting you away from them, keeping you safe—that became everything.”

She's crying now, silent tears that break my heart. “I love you, Anton. I just… I don’t know how we survive this. How do we live?”

“I’ll find a way. Do you trust me?”

“With my whole body and soul.”

“I’ve never felt worthy of love, Lena. I was made for violence. Trained for death. Everything else… kindness, softness, even joy… it wasn’t for me. Until you.”

“Anton—”

“You’re the first person who ever made me want to be human,” I say. “The first one who looked at me and saw something good underneath the blood and the darkness.”

She reaches for my face, cupping my jaw with her good hand.

“You are good,” she says. “Maybe you were broken before. But we all were. That’s how we find each other.”

I turn my head and press a kiss into her palm.

“I’m done being what other people made me,” I whisper. “Help me figure out who I want to be.”

Tears spill down her cheeks. “We will. We’ll find a way. Love conquers all, right?”

I smirk. “I don’t know about that.”

I kiss her.

A slow, aching reverence blooms from deep inside my very soul. She sighs into my mouth.

Her hand slides into my hair, tugging gently.

I slide my hand to her waist, careful of her injury, but she moves closer anyway, climbing into my lap right there on the steps.

My hands roam her back, her hips, her thighs. She’s warm and real and mine.

And I’ll never let her go.

“Lena.”

“I’m fine. Please, Anton. Please make love to me.”

“Inside.” I gently push her off my lap and stand.

We rush inside the cabin, desperation making me feel jittery.

I close the door behind us and turn to find her already pulling off the oversized sweater. She's beautiful—bandaged and bruised but still the most breathtaking thing I've ever seen.

"Let me," I say softly, crossing to her.

My hands replace hers, lifting the sweater over her head. She's wearing nothing underneath. I have to pause just to look at her.

"You're staring," she whispers.

"Always," I murmur. "I will always stare at you."

I trace the line of her collarbone with my fingertips, featherlight touches that make her shiver.

She’s so small.

So fragile.

I nearly lost her.

She would have never survived Mikhail.

When I lay her down on our nest of quilts, I hover over her, drinking in the sight of her blonde hair spread across the handmade blanket. Her blue eyes are dark with want but soft with trust.

"I love you," I breathe against her lips before claiming them.

This kiss is different from all the others. Deeper. More desperate. Like I'm trying to pour my entire soul into her through this connection.

I have nothing to offer her.

Nothing but my heart.

Her good arm wraps around my neck, pulling me closer.

I'm careful of her injury, supporting my weight on my forearms as I settle between her thighs.

She's already reaching for my shirt. I help her push it off my shoulders.

When skin meets skin, we both gasp.

The sensation is electric. I trail kisses down her throat, across her chest, mapping every inch of her with my mouth.

She arches beneath me. Her soft body molds against mine.

"Anton, please."

"I want to take my time with you," I murmur against her skin. "We have nowhere to be, solnyshko . Let me love you."

And I do.

With hands that have only known violence, I touch her with infinite gentleness. With lips that have spoken only harsh words, I whisper soft devotions. Every movement is deliberate, reverent, designed to show her exactly how precious she is to me.

When we finally join together, it's with a tenderness that makes my chest ache.

She gasps my name, her fingers digging into my shoulders as I move slowly with more gentleness than I have ever given before.

"I'm not fragile," she breathes against my ear.

"You are to me," I whisper back. "You're everything to me."

We move together in a perfect symphony of love and tenderness.

Two broken souls finding wholeness in each other.

This moment only the two of us matter. The rest of the world can fuck off.

I’m with my woman.

When she falls apart in my arms, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed.

And when I follow her over the edge, I know with absolute certainty this woman is my salvation.

Afterward, we lie tangled together.

Her head rests on my chest, my fingers stroking through her hair.

I can feel her breathing slowly evening out as exhaustion finally claims her.

For the first time in my life, I understand what peace feels like.

And I'll kill anyone who tries to take it away from us.