Her brows furrow. “Oh, I’m sorry. About your mom, I mean.”
“Thanks.”
I don’t like thinking about my mother. The shit she went through. How she was burned alive by Sergey, Pakhan of the Bratva at the time and Konstantin Marinov’s father.
I fight the thoughts and concentrate on the beautiful woman before me, my gaze leisurely sliding down her body, not doing adamn thing to hide my desire. Her arms come around her, like she’s trying to hide from me.
Too bad she can’t.
“I’ve gotta know, why the hell were you with an asshole like that?” The thought of him has my blood boiling. “I hope you’re not thinking about going back to him.”
No fucking way will I let that happen.
Just say the word, and he’s already dead.
“No, I think this is it.”
“Better be.”
Her lips thin with a sad smile while my features grow tenser at the thought of how he must’ve treated her all this time.
“I don’t know why I was still with him.” She settles on the edge of the bed, while my pulse beats louder in my temples, wanting to kiss that emptiness out of her eyes.
Wanting to do far worse than that.
These damn thoughts are going to ruin us both.
She’s too young. Too innocent. Too utterly tempting.
And I know right now this woman will be my downfall.
“Shit,” I mutter, running a frustrated hand down my face.
“What?” Her brows furrow.
She’s going to start thinking I’m talking to myself, which I guess isn’t that far off.
“You’re too good for him.”
Her body sags. “You sound like my friend.”
“Maybe you should listen to her.”
She releases a heavy sigh, staring up at me. “I know I do. Deserve better. But I’d spent so much time watching everyone else date that I started to feel…I don’t know, like no one would ever want me, you know? Then he came along.” She shrugs, her face growing crimson like she’s embarrassed. “I probably sound pathetic. Because of course you wouldn’t know what it’s like tofeel lonely. I’m sure you have a hoard of women chasing after you.”
I almost chuckle. This woman thinks she has me all figured out. But she has no fucking clue who I am. What I want. She knows absolutely nothing, and that’s probably for the best.
A girl like this doesn’t belong in my world. Yet I find myself moving toward her, somehow needing to be in her aura.
Her breath hitches when I stalk another step forward, a smirk tilting my mouth.
“Well, babe, it looks like right now you’re the only woman who has my attention.”
Her cheeks turn pink.
Is she that unused to a man flirting with her?
“You’re beautiful. You know that, right?”