Page 8 of Cruel Russian Monster (Safin Bratva #2)

Slowly, my body started to wake.

Why was I so tired?

My back and neck ached.

Did I run a damn triathlon and forget?

My eyelids felt heavy as I forced them open. That wasn't my ceiling. Where was I?

Then I remembered.

I wasn't at home, I was at Jaroslav's.

I didn't run a triathlon; I was in a shootout, and Jaroslav came in like the badass Bratva mafia man that he was, saving me from getting kidnapped and raped.

I sighed, closing my eyes.

He had gotten shot, and Tomas and I brought him back here.

The last thing I remembered was giving Jaroslav a sponge bath to keep his temperature down.

After Tomas and I brought him inside, the doctor arrived. He’d stitched Jaroslav up and assured us he’d be fine. He’d been given antibiotics, painkillers, and a prescription, which Tomas filled. Tomas stayed with me the entire two days Jaroslav was unconscious. He was still somewhere in this house.

I groaned. Those were the longest two days of my life.

Yes, the doctor said he’d pull through, but I needed to see his eyes open, to hear it from him. I had barely slept, and probably passed out sometime last night without realizing.

I hadn’t wanted us to take Jaroslav to his room. I didn't want to feel his bed under me, or have his scent waft into my nostrils. It would be way too awkward.

So we brought him to…mine.

We were in my room…on my bed.

Together.

I bolted upright, eyes wide.

I patted the empty space next to me, as if patting it would magically make him materialize.

Where was Jaroslav?

My body felt like it was made of lead, but I needed to find him. What if he’d gone back to his room and collapsed? What if he was passed out somewhere in this big-ass house?

Just as I stood to head for the door, Jaroslav stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped low around his waist.

I hurried to him.

The large white bandage that had been wrapped around his torso was gone. In its place was a smaller patch, tucked slightly beneath the towel. I gently shifted it aside to check the bandage. It was clean, no blood. I stepped around and checked the one on his back and found that clean as well.

I exhaled with relief. The worst was over. My efforts had paid off.

Without thinking, I ran my hands over his chest and back, searching for bruises, under the wet hair that hung limp on his forehead, for any sign he might’ve fallen or hurt himself again in the bathroom.

“I’m sorry about your car,” I rambled, still checking him. “It’s all bloodied from the drive back. I meant to get someone to clean it, but I’ve been with you the past two days. I didn’t have time for anything else, besides a quick shower, because I was so worried about…”

My voice faltered.

Jaroslav just stood there, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes.

That’s when I realized my hands were still on his chest—his muscular, very well-toned chest. I jerked them away and took two steps back, heat rushing up my neck and blooming across my face.

I cleared my throat. “H-how do you feel?”

I tried to keep my eyes on his, willing myself not to remember how his skin had felt beneath my hands, or notice that he wore nothing beneath that towel. Nothing to hide the way the deep V of his torso disappeared beneath the fabric, leading where my eyes and memory had no business wandering.

His lips curved into a smile. “Thanks to you,” he stepped closer, voice softer, “I’m alive.”

Jaroslav smiling at me was one thing, but when he talked to me in that soft, sexy tone, goosebumps erupted on my skin, and the slow burn of desire sparked between my thighs.

I quickly turned away, desperate for a distraction. I yanked open the nightstand drawer way too hard. The entire drawer clattered to the floor, spilling everything onto the carpet.

Swearing under my breath, I crouched and grabbed the bag of medication from the pile, trying to pretend like my face wasn’t burning like a damn scorpion pepper.

“These are for you. The instructions are written on everything.”

He took the bag, his fingers brushing mine.

“Thank you,” he chuckled.

His fingers lingered just long enough to make my breath catch.

No. No. No.

Jaroslav and I had already been down this path, and it didn't work. I couldn't get caught up in feeling anything for him.

I had to remember the plan: escape.

I yanked my hands away from his, cursing my feelings back to the dark void where they belonged.

I glared at him.

He wasn't the man I had fallen in love with three years ago. He was a different man now, detached and cruel.

Don't forget he kidnapped you and forced you to marry him.

I folded my arms across my chest. “Are you laughing at me?”

“No, I'm just wondering why you're so nervous around me.” He smirked. “Do you like what you see?”

Did a tiger have stripes?

Why was this man sexier than he was three years ago? And would he be even sexier three years from now?

I moaned inwardly as I felt myself becoming moist at just the damn thought.

Shit.

I really wanted him to leave my room.

He was standing there looking like a tall glass of ice water, and I was feeling thirty levels of thirsty, like I’d just walked from one end of the Sahara to the other.

“Tomas is also here,” I said, ignoring his question, hoping it’d prompt him to go. “He didn’t want to leave in case either one of us needed him. He stayed in one of the guest bedrooms.”

Maybe he'd go check in with Tomas, and finally put on some damn clothes.

What I didn’t expect was the way Jaroslav’s eyes narrowed.

Was he angry that Tomas had stayed in his house?

One thing I noticed about Jaroslav was that he didn't have anyone else living in this house with him. No housekeeper…no chef…no security detail. Which was weird for a man of his status.

I rushed to explain. “Please don’t be mad at him. I asked him to stay.”

Jaroslav didn't say anything.

My eyes widened. “God, I overstepped, didn’t I?”

I started pacing, my nerves getting the best of me. “I just…I felt safer knowing he was here in case something else happened and I couldn’t…and then you wouldn't wake up…and I…”

Jaroslav stepped forward and gently turned me to face him, his fingers tilting my chin until I met his gaze.

“It’s fine,” he said, tenderly. “I was just surprised he agreed to stay, considering he has two small kids at home.”

Why was he touching me?

And why was I allowing his touch to affect me this much?

I nodded slowly. “The last thing I wanted was for him to get fired. I don’t think I could’ve handled that…” My voice cracked slightly, and I lowered my eyes. “After everything.”

After almost losing the only man I’d ever loved.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Now that Jaroslav was awake, standing here, talking, my body sagged with the weight of the last two days.

And before I could stop them, the tears rolled down my cheeks.

He kissed my forehead, then pulled me into his arms.

I slid my hands beneath his arms, gripping his shoulders as I let him hold me, the scent of the soap he used filling my nostrils.

One of his hands pressed firmly against my upper back, the other tracing slow, gentle circles at the small of my back, sending shivers through my spine.

I tightened my hold on him.

He whispered into my hair, “It’s okay, Vera. I’m fine. Tomas won’t be fired. You’re amazing…thank you.”

He kept murmuring soft reassurances, sweet words just like he used to, all those years ago, until my tears finally subsided.

I looked up at him, and he pulled away just enough to look down at me, but my gaze was plastered on his lips, not his eyes.

Those lips.

The lips that, in the past, devoured my mouth, pleased me until I screamed his name, who caressed me with butterfly kisses when I was nervous.

Those lips…in the present.

They called you selfish…

A coward…

Told you his feelings for you died…

Not so graciously informed you that he didn’t give a fuck about your family or you…a week ago.

So you had better wake the hell up and smell the coffee. He is just thankful you didn't leave him to die, which you should have, to weaken the Safin faction even more.

Or are you now your rival’s keeper?

You are a Safin by forced marriage. A Rykov by blood! Your loyalty is not to him. Get it together, Vera.

Focus on getting him not to go after your family. That's what you should be focused on, not his damn lips!

I stepped back, gently pushing myself out of his arms, and they fell away from me.

You're smarter than you were three years ago, act like it!

“I'd like to make a deal,” I stated firmly, continuing to not give him a chance to respond. “I won't try to escape again, if you promise to give me a bit of freedom, and promise not to hurt my family. Leave them out of it.”

In real time, I watched the walls shoot up behind Jaroslav’s eyes. The concern in his expression hardened, and his smile disappeared into a thin, tight line.

“Fine,” he stated. His voice hardened, and his eyes grew two shades darker.

“I'll agree to the deal, as long as I can announce that we're married soon. The alliance between our families must be instated so Artyom will stop the war between our families and, particularly, cease from isolating us from the other Bratva factions.”

“Fine.”

Jaroslav extended his hand. “Let's shake on it.”

I placed my hand in Jaroslav’s, ignoring the fire that trailed along my arm as we shook hands firmly. But, instead of letting go after that handshake, Jaroslav tightened his grip and stepped into my space.

He growled, “If you decide later on to go back on your word, since you have done it in the past, I promise you…it wouldn't end well for you, or your family.”

Jaroslav dropped my hand and walked out of the room.

I sank onto the bed, realizing I had become exactly what I didn't want to be—a pawn. The only difference was that I wasn't playing on anyone else's board but mine. I just hoped that I hadn't played my own damn self.