Page 5 of Bratva's Vow
“Does that mean getting offoffor getting off Darius?”
“Same difference! Now go away.”
I shook my head and went over to the mirror in the hall to check that my hair wasn’t doing that thing where it stuck up in all directions after being washed. Jess wasn’t the only one running late, though technically, it was her fault. I’d almost called Nik in the middle of the night to take me to Maxim’s.
Two things had stopped me.
Not being convinced Nik wouldn’t join them.
Not wanting to show up at Maxim’s place unannounced like I’d done at the office and getting another nasty surprise.
I tried not to think about those Russian men, convincing myself it was a one-off experience that would never happen again. That whatever Maxim had to discuss with men like that was aboveboard.
My relationship with Maxim had never been better. Even when he was brooding, he was still affectionate with me. I’d heard him shout at people over the phone. He’d fired two employees since I started working for him. But whenever he saw me, his eyes softened as if he never wanted me to be afraid of him.
Although we spent most of the time together at his house—half of my belongings having magically shifted there—he took me out for dinner a few evenings. Always to expensive places I would never have been able to get into without him. Always with a bodyguard hovering, but I hardly noticed them anymore. As long as they kept Maxim safe, I could tolerate them.
My phone buzzed, and I checked it.
Jess
I promise it was worth the wait. Getting dressed now!
I rolled my eyes. Worth the wait for whom? Her orgasms were her own, as mine belonged to me. In my case, I’d been so sore from all the sex that after dinner with Maxim last night, I stood my ground that I would sleep in my own bed.
My legs had a habit of spreading themselves for him and making me love everything he did to me in the moment. It was the after that left me rubbing my back and sitting in a sitz bath.
A knock sounded on the door, and my heart skipped a beat. My pulse tapped furiously in my neck, and I automatically tightened my fingers on my phone. I had to force myself not to run to the door like an overeager puppy, but my heartwas racing. Maxim was on the other side of the door, and a night apart only intensified everything I felt for him.
I took a deep breath and opened the door. And stared.
Maxim stood there, dark coat open, shirt crisp, collar loosened just enough to tease. One hand in his pocket, the other holding his phone, scrolling through something he clearly hadn’t finished reading. His hair was slightly mussed, like he’d run his fingers through it in the car, and the faintest shadow of stubble lined his jaw.
He looked expensive.
Unbothered.
Utterly untouchable.
He looked at me.
Just one glance and every defense I’d braced myself with crumbled. His mouth curved into that rare, crooked half smile that was just for me. The one that said, “There you are.” The one that made my chest ache.
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. I didn’t run into his arms or throw myself at him, but god, I wanted to. My body thrummed with barely contained energy, my fingers itching to touch him, to reach out and remind myself he was real. Thatthiswas real.
How had a man likehimended up with someone like me? A powerful, calculating, dominant force of nature. Yet when he looked at me like that, I didn’t feel small.
I felt…chosen.
Belonged.
I couldn’t understand it, but I craved it, clung to it like a lifeline. I wanted to memorize this moment. Bury it somewhere deep. And then I wanted to drag him into my bedroom and kiss him until neither of us could remember our names.
But I didn’t move.
Sergei and Nik stood behind him.
I smiled. “Hey, you made it.”
