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“Boss?”Eduardo shouted, and the Grizzly Bear Shifter came running into the room.“What the hell happened?”
Konstantin growled ferociously at the man, trying to block her with his bruised body.Yasmin pressed against him, knowing the contact would soothe his beast until his human side could resume control.
“Ivanovich is here, in New York.He sent his sons with a demand I launder their dirty blood money,” Konstantin replied and spat on the floor to the side.The Grizzly seemed to know what he was talking about, if the narrowing of his eyes were anything to go by.Yasmin had no clue, but this Ivanovich sounded like a bastard.
The big Tiger turned to Yasmin, icy blue eyes raking over her as if to ensure she was uninjured.He turned and winced slightly, probably due to more than his share of busted ribs.
“Are you sure you’re okay?They did not,” he said, closing his eyes to bite back the growl.“I mean, were they here when you---”
“No.No, they were gone, and you were alone and bleeding out.Konstantin, I had to---”
Yasmin was caught between wanting to reassure him and needing to apologize for what she’d done.It was the only way she could have saved him, but she hadn’t really thought past that.
“I know,moya lyiveetsa,” he returned, cupping her cheek.
His beautiful eyes glowed, and she saw his Tiger peeking through.Konstantin pressed his forehead to hers, and the rest of the world fell away.He held her still like that for what felt like eons but was no more than a moment.She wanted to kiss him.
Hell.What Yasmin really wanted was to back him against the wall and beg him to fuck her long and hard.She was in such big trouble.Her heart thudded and damn near stopped when his chest rumbled against hers like a cat purring only that much more intense.
“If I kiss you now, my Tiger will demand I kill Eduardo for seeing you all soft and perfect.You must only look like that for me,lapatchka.”
“You’re going to have to tell me what all these things you keep calling me are,” she said, making a concerted effort to lighten the mood.
“I will, soon.”
“Boss, we need to get you to a doctor,” Eduardo interrupted.
The Tiger turned, baring his teeth, and he stared.The Grizzly stared for a split second, and Yasmin tensed, fearing more fighting, but then, Eduardo averted his gaze.The Grizzly was clearly used to the dominant side of Konstantin, and as a good and loyal friend, conceded to the other male’s strength and dominance.
He was loyal and strong, and Yasmin had never been so grateful to have the man around.He would take care of any trouble coming for Konstantin.Seeing as how she’d just given him a piece of prime real estate inside her heart, she needed him safe and protected.
“I will take care of this,” he told her.“You do not have to worry.First, let’s take you home, then I can explain,” he moved to walk, sucking in a sharp breath at the pain he must have been feeling.
“No.I want to know now.What happened here?”
Her Lioness growled and paced, the animal anxious over his injuries.She stood up and helped him rise in the process.He was still tense, and she knew his cat was not happy about appearing weak in front of the other male.Or having to depend on him.Konstantin exhaled carefully.His glacier blue stare held hers, then he nodded.
“When I was a boy in Russia, my father was killed by thugs from the local bratva.The mob,” he explained.“He would not work for a man like Gleb Ivanovich, and for that, my father paid for years and years with beatings and brutal punishment.Still, my father refused.For his wife and children, he wanted to remain clean, untouched by criminal activity.”
“What happened?”she asked in a small voice.
“They murdered him in front of my mother while I hid with my little sister in the building next door.But even the cement walls could not drown out his suffering,” Konstantin said, averting his gaze and she was sure he was reliving the horror.
Her heart broke for him, and she reached out clasping his hand firmly in hers.Deep down, Yasmin knew Konstantin was a loner like her.Maybe that was why she couldn’t help but fall in love with him.They were like souls in this great big world, and she’d been alone for so long.
“I was forced to leave.My mother, she begged, scared what the bratva would do to me.You see, I am a full blooded Siberian Tiger Shifter, and we are rare.The bratva wants me for my strength and bloodline.Like stud, they want to breed strong males.Not weakidyotilike his own children,” Konstantin snarled.
“Is that who he sent after you?”Eduardo asked, remaining on the other side of the room.
Smart bear.
“Grigory, Evgeny, and Gavriil were all here.They grew up, bigger and meaner than before,” Konstantin said.
“I doubt they wanted to kill you,” Eduardo replied thoughtfully.“I mean, how does that help Ivanovich?”
“It doesn’t,” Yasmin said with a growl.“They got carried away.”
Her Lioness was feeling a bit possessive of the Tiger, but perhaps she could dial it down.Maybe she was a fool for holding out hope, and he obviously had his own ghosts and baggage.He’d been attacked, savaged by Russian mobsters, but he would deal with it.She believed in him.Besides, Yasmin could wait to see where this thing between them was going.She’d bitten him.Claimed him to save his life, but maybe she was trying to save hers as well.
