Page 61 of Alexei (Belles & Mobsters 4)

Maybe when all this shit was over with Ivan, I’d get a dog. There’d be no judgment there and dogs were excellent listeners. They never repeated the shit you confessed to them. And God knew, I had some fucked up shit to confess.

I stood in front of the elevator in Aurora’s building. Pushing the button, I waited for the door to open. Seeing her through cameras was all well, but it didn’t compare to the high of seeing her in person. And her chocolate scent… I fucking loved it. My car still smelled like her from two days ago, and I forbid anyone from touching it.

Lavender calmed normal people. Aurora’s scent calmed me.

As I took the elevator up to Aurora’s apartment, I readied for the tension that was always there between us. Sexual tension along with animosity. Possibly loathing.

My chest tightened.

I deserved her loathing. Eventually, she’d remember I was the boy from the zoo. She’d realize I betrayed her. After her father backed out of his deal with Ivan, I had been studying the Ashford family routines - school time, practice time, bedtime. I was there when the family woke up and when they went to bed. I knew they’d go to the zoo that day. The nanny who happened to be sleeping with their father shared it with another nanny.

It was me that told Ivan about the open window we’d have. I led him to her and her brother. A little girl that offered me the first glimpse at kindness in a long time. And I burned it all to ashes.

Maybe it was the reason I couldn’t stop stalking her. My fucked up brain thought of it as a way to atone for my sins against her and her brother. So I was overcompensating the only way I knew how.

By watching her.

She was my responsibility. And when I saw that prick Starkov grip Agent Ashford’s wrist, I almost lost my shit. Again. I came to a conclusion that I fucking hated any man touching her.

Because she’s mine,my mind whispered.

I buried the words somewhere deep down in my soul, hiding them from the world. Fighting the urge to tattoo them onto my skin. If people knew she was mine, someone would surely come and take her from me.

Fear still lurked underneath my skin. As cold as the winters in Siberia. I realized I might be losing my grip on shit when I went back and taught Starkov a lesson. I knew Agent Ashford wouldn’t take it kindly to me beating him up in broad daylight or in front of her. So I found him in the middle of the night - harassing another woman.

And taught him a lesson.

The knowledge he’d never hurt another woman soothed me. For now.

Thanks to my stalking, I knew she dug for information on Igor and Ivan. When I mentioned Ivan’s name, the flicker of recognition in her eyes didn’t escape me. She had heard the name before. Not surprising considering he was on the FBIs radar, but I had to wonder if she heard his name anywhere else.

I let out a frustrated breath as I stood in front of her apartment door. I should back off, let her go to the club with her partner. It would have been the right thing to do. He was only unavailable because I made it so.

Yet, I couldn’t let her go.

I wanted to be there when she finally got her justice. And I wanted her there when I got my justice. But somehow hers took priority.

It had been two weeks since I laid eyes on her again and nothing would ever be the same. My obsession ran deeper with each breath I took. It wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t right. Yet the more I told myself I couldn’t have her, the more I wanted her. I had never wanted anything as much as I wanted her.

It was like I was an addict that needed another fix. With each glimpse of her, she fed my addiction, and I feared any moment I’d reach a point of no return. Quite possibly, I was there already.

I raised my hand to knock on her door and my hand trembled. It fucking trembled. A cold sweat broke out across my skin, and I stood there with my hand hovering in the air. Fuck, I had to shake this off. I wanted her so badly, it was fucking with my mind.

My hand curled into a tightened fist.Bang. Bang. Bang. I banged on the door like a madman.

The door swung open the next second, and I came face-to-face with my obsession. Instantly, my heart stalled and a calm washed over me with her scent.Chocolate.Her unique scent and the sight of her had my shoulders relaxing.

Jesus, the impact this woman had on me wasn’t right.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” she snapped, annoyed. I let out a sardonic breath, my lips twitching. She was certainly happy to see me. Or not. “Did I invite you and forget?”

Instantly any thoughts of doing the right thing evaporated. Fuck. That. Shit. With her mouth, she’d get herself killed if she went after Igor and Ivan alone. She was mine to protect and nobody would steal her from me. She was within my reach, and I’d keep her that way, even if I had to handcuff her to my wrist and throw away the key.

I lifted up the package I held. I got her an entire outfit. First time ever I bought a fucking dress and shoes for a woman.

“What?” Her eyebrow shot up, annoyance still clear on her face. “Please tell me you didn’t come here to show off your shopping skills.”

I shoved it into her chest. “It’s for you,” I told her. “We are going out tonight.”

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