Page 31 of Toxic Temptation (Krayev Bratva #1)

I sigh. “Do I get to talk now?”

She crosses her arms. “Fine. Go ahead.”

“Luka’s been through hell. I don’t want him getting attached to you when we both know how this ends.”

Genuine confusion crosses her face. “How does it end?”

“We’re not really together,” I remind her.

“Once I get custody, you and I aren’t riding off into the sunset.

We go our separate ways. We can handle that; we’re adults; we signed a deal.

But Luka’s different. He’s lost too much already.

I don’t want him to keep on losing. So I think it would be easier for him to leave you behind if he didn’t start seeing you as a mother figure in the first place. ”

She arches a skeptical brow. “Moving him into my home seems counterproductive then, does it not?”

“No plan is perfect. But my hands are tied.”

She exhales, exhaustion written in every line of her body. “What do you want from me, Kovan? Should I push him away every time he comes to me?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“Be his companion. His friend. But never his parent. That’s a line you can’t cross.”

“It’s a fine line.”

“Not really. I’m his parent. I do the raising. You just provide?—”

“Background decoration?”

I rub the heel of my hand into my aching eyes. “If that’s how you want to put it.”

“Fine.” She grabs her plate again, stabbing noodles with enough force to commit murder. I can tell she’s imagining my face on that plate. “But I have one condition.”

It’s strange to be faced with a woman who would think to give me conditions at all. Most women just offer me whatever I want. Usually, all it takes is a smile here, a compliment there, and they’re putty in my hands. Mine to do with as I please.

Not anymore. Not with this one, at least.

“I’m not always going to get it right,” she continues. “I’ll make mistakes with your boundaries. When that happens, just talk to me. No screaming. No snide comments.”

I hesitate for just a moment before I give her the only possible answer. “I can do that.”

She nods and goes back to eating her noodles. When she glances up, there’s something different in her eyes.

“You look like shit, you know.”

I laugh. “That’s rich, coming from you. You look like you were the one on the operating table today.”

She scowls. “I’m running on two hours of choppy sleep. Jeremy thinks if he works me to the bone, I’ll start making mistakes and he can fire me for them.”

“Smart strategy.”

“Not with me.” Venom laces her voice. “I used to spend hours in the library studying medical journals, then show up for my internship the next morning. I can function on no sleep and still concentrate. If he thinks he can break me, he’s fucking wrong. He’s so fucking wrong.”

Admiration and lust hit me in equal measure. My cock stands at attention, ever appreciative of a strong woman who doesn’t back down.

It doesn’t help that her top has slipped lower, giving me a glimpse of the upper curves of her breasts. Any woman who wears scrubs is wasted potential, but especially this one. She belongs on a stage, on the cover of a magazine.

On my arm.

In my bed.

“I wouldn’t bet against you,” I say in a quiet rasp.

That almost gets me a smile. Almost. She sets the plate aside. “Thank you. That was delicious.”

“I’m happy to be your personal chef as long as we’re living here.”

She squirms, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “You’re ducking the question, though. I know why I look like shit. Why do you?”

I’ll be damned before I admit she’s the reason I haven’t slept. It’s not that I missed her. It’s merely practical concern. How can we maintain this charade if we’re constantly at each other’s throats? That’s all.

“I love Luka, but having him with me these past few days has wreaked havoc on my schedule.” Not a complete lie.

“I thought he had a nanny.”

“She quit last week. I need someone new. Someone who hasn’t been terrorized by the she-devil Luka calls a mother.”

Vesper straightens. “Actually, I might have a candidate.”

“No.”

Her face falls. “Why the hell not? This man will pass any background check you throw at him.”

“‘He’?” My blood pressure spikes.

“Yes, he’s a he. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Only that I don’t know him from fucking Adam.”

She rolls her eyes. “Then test him. Do your background checks. Vet him. Interview him. This guy is above board. He’s also great with kids.”

“What’s his background?”

“He’s a qualified teacher. Just left his position?—”

“Why?”

She throws up her hands. “I don’t know the details of it. Internal politics, basically—plus, being a teacher is the most thankless job in the world. And he doesn’t like drama. He’s considering tutoring, and I think this could be a perfect change of pace. Luka will love him, I promise.”

My jaw clenches. “You’re really going to bat for this mudak .”

“There are only two people in this world I’d vouch for completely,” she says. “Waylen is one of them.”

I’m about to ask what her relationship to him is, but I stop myself. It doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter. And if he’s an ex-lover, I don’t want to know.

“Do you trust him?”

She doesn’t hesitate. “With my life.”

I’ve never wanted to kill a man I’ve never met more than I do right now. But I force a smile, if only for the sake of keeping this fragile peace between us.

“Alright then. Give him a call.”