Oh dear Jesus fuck. He was serious about everything—immediately.
“I-I have a boyfriend?” I whispered, blinking innocently and fully aware of the way his fingers gripped my waist.
My words were like delicious, dark witchcraft.
“Tell me you don’t think that.” His voice turned deeper, slower. Dangerous. “Tell me I’m not your boyfriend.”
Lazily, his hand drifted from my waist to my neck, but he held me tenderly, grazing his thumb on my jawline.
“You’re my boyfriend,” I squeaked out, mesmerized by the darkness in his eyes. Alex was gentle, careful, and accommodating, but I had just caught a glimpse of something unhinged. He wasjealous,and it was like tasting honey on my tongue.
He nodded diligently, picking up my hands and bringing them to his neck. “Good. Now say it like you believe it, Malyshka.”
“I-I believe it,” I stammered, still not sounding convincing, so I cleared my throat, trying again. “You’re my boyfriend.”
Alex wasmy boyfriend.My reality turned upside down in a very short time.
He seemed satisfied, the smile on his face growing wider and his grip tightening. “Better.”
“Is my boyfriend going to return to my original question? Did he save kittens to have this house? Is this his house?”
Alex stepped closer, wedging his leg between my thighs and letting his hands roam my back. “It’s one of my houses. It belonged to my father and he left it for me when he passed away. We couldn't go to my house right now. Not safe enough.”
His nose brushed mine, the closeness more intimate than anything we’d ever participated in before. I tightened my grip on him and closed my eyes, drowning in the sensation.
“I’m sorry your dad passed away.”
“Don’t be,” Alex assured me quietly. “He lived a dangerous lifestyle.”
Thunder rumbled outside, but it was all quiet and warm with him.
“Dangerous like you?”
He chuckled into my neck, sending wild shivers through all of me. “No. I lead a very safe lifestyle in comparison to him.”
I pulled back slightly, showing him my disbelief. “We had to leave in a matter of minutes. Sounds like a dangerous lifestyle.”
“That’s just crazy Gianna.” The softest kiss landed on my forehead. “I still have to figure out how the hell she found me.”
“Wait…what did your father do?"
Alex sighed, his hands settling on my hips. “He worked for a big organization, and for a while, he split his time between Russia and here, maybe until I was twelve.” He looked me over, such tenderness in his eyes. “He was…” Alex trailed off, searching for words. I sat there quietly, not daring to interrupt. “My father was a drug dealer. He was the head of the Miami chapter. He sold cocaine."
I blinked at him, feeling my face turn red at this new development. It all rolled off his tongue so easily—my father was a drug dealer.
There was a little knock on my conscience, becausemyfather wasthe law.
“Which…large organization?” I held my breath, afraid of any answer at that point, but Alex didn’t hesitate.
“Bratva.”
The word oscillated in my mind, the heaviness of it seeping into my chest. Well,fuck. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but notthat.
One second. Three. Five.
He waited for me to ask.
“And you? Do you work for the…Bratva too?” My tongue could barely turn to say the word, and I was sure Alex would say no. I was sure he’d shake his head side to side—
