Page 41 of Voracious

I can’t carry books with me all the time, they’re too heavy and they’ll get damaged in my bag. After wearing contacts all day, and sometimes all night, it hurts my eyes when I stare at the pages.But I ignore him, so he shuts up.

Every time he stops me pressing play, the urge to throw him off the roof increases. One quick shove and I’d be able to get back to my relaxation. He opens his mouth, again, and my foot movesbefore he can utter a word. He slides against the tiles as I kick his leg and his face falls around his cursed scrambling. “Oh shit.”

Doing it again because it’s funny, he wraps his hand around my ankle to stop me doing it a third time.I’m quicker than him and pull myself up, forcing his hand away. He’s still holding onto the tile as I go back inside. He’s faster than he looks and follows me, wrapping his arm around my middle as we get inside, and he grabs my jaw so I’m flat against his chest. There’s no heat to his words as he walks us forward.

“You trying to kill me, hellion?”

He wouldn’t die, probably break a few bones at the worst.Dropping all my weight down until my ass touches the floor, he’s still too slow and I manage to free myself. I’m smug as I turn around and declare myself the winner. “You can’t beat me.”

I’ve won all of my fights, the one tomorrow will move me up to better opponents and I fill with excitement knowing I’ll be worse than Vlad and Dima soon. Both of them dominate the cage, it isn’t even purposeful. Dima is precise and focused when he fights, and I’ll beat him to get the top spot.

SEVENTEEN

Dima

Fuck, I want to kiss her. Feel those lips that are currently tipped up in a satisfied grin against mine. There’s no fantasy about fucking Ana, it’s a need inside me to have her close and just fucking hold her. The thought hasn’t left me since I nearly acted on it while she laid under the starless sky. Those beautiful eyes were open and honest, she wasn’t hiding or being anyone else.

I’m nearly ten years older than her. She’s got a family of fucking psychos for brothers, and I’d kill any little cunt who had as much blood on his hands as me for going near my sister. But I want to risk it. I’ve never stepped outside of the bounds of whatever order I’m given; I follow the code and do all the shit I’m supposed to. The only person who could stop me when it comes to this is Ana herself.

I shouldn’t be thinking of her while I’m stood around all four of the psychos in Vlad’s office, but I can’t stop myself. Especially when she looks at me for help after Val’s finished having his current tantrum. He does the same as he looks around the room for back up.

“She’s not fucking fighting.”

It takes me a second to realize he’s talking about my hellion, and I’m inclined to agree. The thought of her taking any more hits has me hardening and she faces off against everyone. It’s easy to see the resemblance to her brothers when she doesn’t have her contacts in, now it’s only visible in the deadly tone.

“You can’t tell me what to do.”

She could easily beat the shit out of him, but he’s too hardheaded to back down as he stares her out and Tali joins our side.

“Not happening, little sister, no one gets to touch you.”

We’re in some fucked up parallel universe and Vlad sounds bored as he, of all people, takes her side.

“Pipsqueak chooses. The same way you two got to.”

Her face wars between gratitude and loathing before the smug smile comes back.Tali’s dumbass makes it drop as he keeps arguing and I’m going to beat the shit out of him.

“You’re not fucking fighting, Ana. Do you know what could happen to you?”

As much as she denies that the bond is there, she always proves it, and she steps closer to him, arguing in a way only family can.

“I know more than you do.” It turns into bickering when he acts like a prick rolling his eyes, and she begins ticking items off on her fingers while my awe grows. “I can play the piano and violin. Drive a yacht and helicopter. Shoot better than you. And I can fight better than you because you’re a little bitch.”

Valentin’s jaw drops and he quietly asks, “Where the fuck did you learn that shit?”

My good mood turns to smoke as she says the same fucking answer she does for everything.

“The clients taught me things, I’m not dumb.”

The two idiots don’t know about Ana’s childhood, they think we brought her into the Bratva after seeing her fight and Vlad hardens at the thought of his secret missions being revealed.

I’ve watched the fuckers grow up. They may be feared once they step out of the house, but at home they’re still pea-brained teenagers. They don’t allow the topic to drop and look between the three people who have information as they both ask, “What fucking clients?”

I don’t say shit, it’s not my place to give either of their secrets.

But Ana is Ana, she doesn’t pause or show any emotion as she answers their follow-up questions that have the atmosphere turning murderous.

“Yulia was a madam, a child pimp, she was training me.”

---