Page 25 of Born into Sin

“Well, can’t you handle him without telling our dads?”

Natalya’s soft voice has me darting my eyes to her. “I’m sure he won’t make the same mistake again.”

Their family might run the most notorious Bratva in America, but it’s painfully obvious that they aren’t privy to all the horrific details of what they do. They may have an idea of the violence that goes on, but that’s all they have—just a vague idea that’s nowhere close to the truth of how gruesome and unforgiving this line of work can be.

My eyes stay locked on hers when I say, “No, he will not.”

She pales a bit, finally realizing that their little stunt is going to have consequences that neither one of them ever dreamed of.

“Can we please just go?”

Her whispered plea shouldn’t affect me like it does. She looks so fucking small in her tiny dress, and the heels that still only barely bring the top of her head to my shoulders, and all my instincts are telling me to pick her up and never fucking let her go. I grip the edge of the desk tighter, refusing to give in to such an asinine urge.

“Please,” she begs again, and if she had any idea how much I liked hearing that word on her tongue, she’d never utter it in front of me again.

“I don’t appreciate the position you’re putting me in.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry, Dominic, but I swear we’ll never do anything like this again. We’ve learned our lesson, and we just want to go home and forget this ever happened.”

“How the hell did you sneak out?”

Her eyes dart quickly to Svetlana before she says, “We’re staying at the farmhouse tonight. Val, Luka, and Max are there, and we told them we were just going to hang out and watch movies in our room. Feliks and Grigori are there, too.”

“And you just walked past them?” I ask, disbelief lacing every word.

“Not exactly.”

When she doesn’t elaborate, all I have to do is raise a brow at her and she starts talking.

“We snuck out the window and climbed down the trellis, then we snuck through the woods. We had an Uber waiting for us on the side of the road.”

I close my eyes and groan “Jesus Christ” as I think about all the millions of things that could’ve gone wrong with their plan. Before I can talk myself out of it, I stand back up and look down at her. “I’m taking you back, and I swear to god, Natalya, if you ever try anything this stupid again, I will march your ass to your dad so fast it’ll make your damn head spin.” I look over at Svetlana in case she thinks I’ve forgotten her part in this. “That goes for you, too.”

They both quickly nod their heads, willing to agree to any damn thing I say as long as it keeps their dads from knowing what they’ve done tonight. Before we leave my office, I reach down and grab Natalya’s wrist again, keeping her close to me while she reaches her other hand out for Svetlana’s so we’re forming what has to be the world’s most fucked-up line. I’m hard as a goddamn rock for the eighteen-year-old standing next to me while she’s clutching her cousin and scared to death. Something is truly fucked in my head, but I don’t have the time to analyze it right now. I’m too busy trying to figure out how to sneak their asses back before anyone notices and all hell breaks loose.

Her heart pulses against my fingers, rabbit fast and sexy as fuck, while I lead her back through the club. Men stare at her because it’s impossible not to, and my grip tightens on her when I see the way they slowly drag their eyes up and down her body. When one man’s mouth lifts up in a predatory grin, I move my arm so it’s wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her flush against me while I give him a look that has him quickly turning away.

Aside from two flimsy straps that crisscross along her back, her skin is almost completely bare and so fucking soft. The urge to run my fingers lightly down her spine and trail a line along her lower back before cupping one round ass cheek in my palm is strong. It’s all I can think about as we weave our way through the crowd. When we’re close to the front, the two bouncers on duty see me and immediately step aside.

I ignore the curious looks, knowing I need to get their asses out of here before anyone recognizes them. The Bratva doesn’t normally come into our side of the city, but it’s not unheard of, and I’d rather not take the risk of someone spotting them.

“Damn,” Svetlana whispers when I stop in front of my Lamborghini and open the passenger door for them. “Those scissor doors are so cool. It might have been worth sneaking out if we get to take a drive in this.”

“Sveta,” I warn.

She gives a soft laugh. “Too soon for jokes?”

“Way too soon.” I eye the two of them. “There’s no backseat, but I’m sure you can figure something out.”

Svetlana nudges Natalya, letting her know she should go first. I release the tight grip I still have on her, letting my fingers drag down her shoulder before stepping back and walking around to the driver’s side. There are few things that I allow myself to love in this world, but my car is one of them. It had cost a small fortune to get a manual transmission Lamborghini, but my god it was worth every damn penny. Sinking into the buttery soft, leather seat, I look over at my two passengers and shake my head. They’re so scrunched up they can barely fit in the seat. Without thinking, I grab onto Natalya’s slender waist and scoot her closer so she’s sitting on the console—an improvised middle seat that would piss me off if she were doing it in any other car, but I know she’s safe with me.

Doubting her ability to keep herself safe after the stunt she pulled tonight, I feel the need to say, “Don’t ever sit like this in anyone else’s car. You need a seatbelt.”

“I won’t,” she whispers, keeping her thighs closed while trying to remain as small as possible.

Her bare leg is right by the gearshift, and I know this is going to be the longest damn drive of my life. Starting the car, the purr of the engine momentarily puts me in a good mood, but as soon as I shift into first and my hand brushes against her thigh, that good mood starts to sour. The harder my cock gets, the more irritated I become.

We’ve haven’t even been in the car five minutes when Svetlana asks, “Can we listen to music?”

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