Page 24 of Bratva's Vow
“Why are you doing this to me?” Maxim’s voice came through, low and not angry now—just… broken.
My chest caved a little.
His tone wasn’t sharp anymore. It was soft, hurt. Like I’d taken something from him.
I exhaled, sitting on the edge of the bed again. “You can’t just swear at me every time you’re upset.” I tried to stay calm, even though my pulse was jackhammering in my neck. “It’s rude, Maxim. It’s disrespectful. And you don’t get to treat me like that and then expect me to open my legs for you later. That’s not how this relationship is going to work.”
He didn’t say anything.
I swallowed. “I’m not a child, so don’t talk to me like one. Yes, you’re older, smarter, wealthy, but I’m still your partner, and I should be treated like your equal.”
Silence stretched. Too long. My heart dipped.
Maybe Ihadgone too far.
Maybe I?—
“You’re right,” he said softly. “I was wrong, solnyshko. I’m sorry.”
I blinked. That… hadn’t been the response I expected. Maybe more swearing and arguing until he either broke up with me or gave in.
“It’s okay,” I said, quieter now too. “I just need you to treat me like someone you love. Not like I’m looking to get away from you so I can take a ride on the first dick I see. Is that it? You think I’m going to cheat? Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course I trust you. It’s the world I don’t trust withyou. I can’t help feeling if I’m not with you, I can’t protect you in case something goes wrong.”
“Well, you can’t be with me all the time, and you can’t stop fate from happening.”
“Can’t I?”
“Max!”
“I know, I know. You’re right. It’s just that…I’ve never loved someone before you, Wren. Sometimes I don’t know how to deal with it.”
Fucking hell. I was supposed to be mad at him, but he was being all sweet and making me mushy inside.
“Well, I love you too, and you need to believe in that. I won’t let anyone else play in your sandbox, Mr. Morozov.”
He chuckled, the sound tired.
“And get some sleep. You’ve been working too much lately.”
“I’ll sleep when you get home. Did you turn the phone on?”
I reached over, hit the side button on the new phone. The screen glowed to life. “Yeah. It’s on.”
“Good,” he said. “When will you be home?”
I rolled my eyes and smiled. “I’ve been gone for twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes too long.”
“I can’t believe you’re so needy.”
“I blame you. Witch.”
“Well, I’m almost done packing. Jess and Nik might need like five more hours of recovery time given how they’re going at it, but I’ll be ready in another half an hour.”
“Make it fifteen,” he said. “I miss you.”
