Page 26 of Innocent Bratva Virgin

After a few seconds, more than other times, Vlad held up the phone. This time, however, he slid it into my palm while he got up from the couch. I only watched him for a second, then turned my attention to the screen.

“I’m not sure how, but I get what you’re saying. Being cut off from people because of circumstances. I’ll admit that life has never been the same for me as it has for my brothers or the Vadims that I’ve worked for. I’m not like them, so noticeably, in fact, that to stave off the snide remarks while we were making a name for ourselves, I had to lean into the ‘silent’ thing. I’m the Unholy Ghost, and a lot of times, I do feel like one.”

When I looked up, Vlad stood before me with a fresh glass of wine.

I chuckled, taking the glass from him and having a sip. “Thanks. And look, I’m not trying to force you into anything. I just…yeah, you get it.”

Vlad looked over at me from his position on the other end of the couch. He gave a slight nod, a crooked smile sitting on his face. And then the silence started to crowd back in around us. I traded off between taking tiny sips of my wine and flicking my stare back to Vlad.

Watching him was fascinating, and I remembered how much I’d enjoyed having his attention on me the time we were...intimate.

Emory, no. That’s not a good idea.

Still, when I glanced his way, Vlad met my stare across the couch, and we were both locked into each other. The air thickened, and my skin tingled, my fingers itching to touch him again.

“Why did you come to me for help?”

Vlad’s stare dropped, his jaw working as his thoughts visibly churned. When I was about to say something again, he scooted forward on the couch, his knee brushing mine where I’d dropped it to the cushion.

I swallowed, trying to hold his stare stoically as he looked up, and Vlad’s gleaming yellow-gold eyes met mine. He pointed at me and then turned the corners of his mouth down as he shrugged subtly. And for some strange reason, when we made eye contact again, I could actually parse out what he was getting at.

“I was the safest option at the time.” Vlad nodded. “Well, what about now? Am I still safe?”

Meeting my eyes hard, Vlad dropped his chin, shifting forward on the sofa and closing a few more inches that stood between us. He pointed at my chest again, then back toward hisown. Then he slashed his hand through the air, his expression severe.

“You won’t let anything happen to me.”

Vlad nodded.

“Why? Why do you care?”

I wasn’t sure why I asked. It was a stupid, self-damaging question. But I couldn’t hold the words back behind my lips. They took off with a mind of their own.

Leveling his stare at me, Vlad pushed in closer still. As he did, I had no choice but to move my leg out of the way so that Vlad could shift onto his knee in front of me. He was so damn close, and my heart thundered as my head spun.

I wasn’t drunk. I wasn’t even tipsy. And this wasn’t the bar like last time.

Still, having Vlad this close, feeling the weight and warmth of his presence so strongly, there was little I could do to keep myself from falling into that same place we’d been the other night. Something about Vlad just called to me, and it was proving more and more impossible for me to deny that.

“Vlad, I…”

But what was I supposed to say? I couldn’t think, and his proximity was making that so much more challenging. The couch dipped where Vlad knelt on the cushion, and my body was forced to lean toward him.

Either that or I’d moved closer to him on instinct.

He leaned over me, sucking in a rough breath as he planted his hands on either side of me on the armrest. Vlad’s broad body pressed between my legs, and I just stared up into his gorgeous eyes, unable to look away.

Vlad had ditched the phone before he moved, and I was desperate to know what he was thinking. Being held in this silence was maddening, particularly for someone whose entire life was built around talking things out.

Then, his hand was coming up to the side of my face, and I immediatelyknewwhat was on his mind. It was on mine, too, after all. My lips parted as he stared down at me, locking me beneath him. I could scarcely breathe, and then Vlad’s grip on the back of my neck tightened.

He inched closer, lowering his mouth to hover over mine. But then he waited. Vlad didn’t move another inch, holding the space for me to say no, push him back, or even shake my head.

I didn’t do any of that.

Instead, I tilted my face toward his, looking into those golden pools before I clamped my eyes shut and crashed my lips against his.

Here we go again.

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