Page 42 of Innocent Prey of the Bratva

Kaz stiffens.

His hand doesn’t release me. But he stops breathing. Eyes locked to mine. Something flickers behind the blue—like confusion, maybe even disbelief. His hold softens just slightly, but the weight of his stare only grows heavier.

“What do you mean?” he asks, voice rough, barely above a whisper.

I inhale shakily, trying not to look away. “I’ve never…been touched. Not like that.”

The silence that follows feels like it could shatter glass.

Kaz stares at me like I’ve said something impossible. His brows twitch. His jaw goes slack. “You’re a virgin?”

I nod, throat dry. “Yes.”

I hate how small my voice sounds. I hate that I’m even saying it. But it’s the truth—and it’s the reason why my body recoils and reacts all at once every time he comes close. I don’t know how to process this—the intensity in his eyes, the way his presence fills every room and every inch of me.

“That’s why you…?” He trails off, blinking slowly. “Why my touch scares you?”

I nod again. “You’re deep and dark and intense, Kaz. You look at me like you could swallow me whole. And I don’t even know how to breathe around that. I’ve never been with anyone like that. So yes—your proximity scares me. Because I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t know what to do with you.”

To my surprise, Kaz lets go of me.

He doesn’t say a word. Just turns on his heel and walks out of the dining hall, leaving me standing there, breathless and shaking in silence.

I hesitate for only a moment before following him.

Down the hallway, the air is colder—sharper. I stop at the threshold and watch as he stalks toward the far end, fists clenched at his sides. Then, with a low growl, he slams one fist into the wall beside him. The sound makes me flinch. A framed painting rattles against the force.

He leans there, chest heaving, jaw tight, looking like he’s fighting himself.

I should leave. I should turn back and pretend I didn’t follow him.

But I don’t.

I stay.

And then Maxim appears.

He comes from the opposite direction, walking into the scene like he already knows what just happened. He doesn't see me. Instead, his gaze settles on his boss—his friend—with a knowing expression.

“What the hell happened?” Maxim asks, voice low but not without concern.

Kaz doesn’t answer. He doesn’t even look up. Just grunts, jaw clenched so tight I can see the muscle ticking from where I stand.

But Maxim seems to understand anyway.

“Don’t,” he says, stepping closer to him. “If you touch her now, she’ll never come back from it.”

Kaz still says nothing.

“She’s not like the others,” Maxim adds. “You know that. You’ve always known that.”

I don’t move. I don’t breathe. Maxim drops his voice even lower. “Don’t ruin her, Kaz. You’ll have to let go eventually. As soon as she’s safe, send her back to her life. Please.”

That—that—makes Kaz finally lift his head. He looks at Maxim with something like fire in his eyes, but it’s the kind of fire that’s burning him alive from the inside.

And I don’t know what stuns me more.

The fact that he walked away from me…or the fact that someone like him could be holding himself back.