Page 99 of The Bratva King

And it pisses me off.

I shift, pushing my weight off her. I look down at her face. Her eyes are closed. Her chest is still rising and falling hard.

I brush the hair back from her face.

She opens her eyes and looks up at me. For once, there’s nothing guarded in them.

For a long moment, we lie there, breathing hard, and tangled together.

Finally, I roll off her and pull her against my side. She curls into me, her head on my chest.

“Luke will wonder where I am.”

“And this is why he needs his own fucking room.”

She laughs. “I know, I know.”

She pulls away, kisses me, and then slides out of bed. “Goodnight, Nik.”

I watch her leave.

Letting her walk away is becoming a problem.

23

Gabby

I slip out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake Luke. My body aches in the most delicious way. Muscles I forgot I had are reminding me what Nikolai did to them last night.

Heat floods my cheeks. I press my hands to my face and try not to grin like an idiot.

I walk into the adjoining bathroom and catch sight of myself in the mirror. My hair is a disaster. There’s a faint mark on my neck where Nikolai’s mouth was. I touch it gently and feel my stomach flip.

This has stopped feeling temporary. I’m getting attached. Luke is getting attached. We’re building something here that I know can’t last. I want to believe we can make a permanent home here, but I also know better than to get my hopes up.

But damn, it feels good.

I’ve kept up with my weekly calls to Greg. I let him know that everything’s fine. I left out the eviction. And Nikolai.

I need to call him. My license can’t be replaced at a DMV. The first couple of identities I had were from the government. But with every identity blown, Greg was suspicious someone might be on the inside. He’d switched to a private seller.

Could I get a new ID with the same name? I don’t know if that’s possible. If I get a new ID, how will that work with my job?

“Fucking asshole,” I mutter.

A million people to rob, and he picked me.

I call Greg and explain what happened. He says he can replace it under the same name, but that it will take a few days. Until then, I’m careful not to give anyone a reason to ask for it.

And then, I remember the flowers. I forgot to thank Nik. Between the adrenaline from the attack and everything that happened after, it completely slipped my mind. Then I remember my promise. No more thanking him. I’ve noticed it makes him uncomfortable. It feels wrong not to thank him, but I’ll have to be more subtle.

I shower quickly and dress in jeans and a T-shirt. I’m off today and hope to spend time with Luke. Maybe a visit to the park or somewhere indoors that’s nice and cool.

When I come back to the bedroom, Luke is sitting up, rubbing his eyes.

“Morning, buddy.”

“Morning.” He looks around like he’s checking to make sure we’re still here. Still safe.