Page 38 of Born into Chaos

“You need something that doesn’t come out of a wrapper.”

“Says who?”

“Me and the entire medical profession.”

“You know I need my sweets, Vitya.”

“Oh, believe me, I know it.”

“I think I liked you better when you just grunted.”

I laugh before I can stop it and then start loading the cart with things that might actually encourage her body to do more than just process sugar around the clock. She raises a brow at the yogurt, granola, and fresh berries I grab, but she doesn’t toss them right back out, so I keep going. I add in some fresh vegetables, and since they have a grill there, I get several packages of chicken and some steaks.

“You’re planning on cooking this, right?” she asks. “Because I’m noteven completely sure about how to cook that can of soup I brought you.”

“I’m well aware. And, yes, I’ll be cooking.”

“Perfect.” She smiles and tosses in a box of cupcakes on our way to the checkout. When I raise a brow at her, she says, “The least I can do is handle dessert.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

She grins even bigger. “I thought so.”

We find an empty lane and start piling everything up on the conveyor belt. The older woman behind the counter sees us and smiles. I know what this must look like to her—a happy family out doing some grocery shopping together, and for just one second I allow myself to think about what that would feel like. It’s nice, way nicer than I want to admit, and when she says, “You three make a beautiful family,” we have no choice but to go along with it. I’m not at all surprised when Sveta goes all in.

She wraps an arm around my waist and looks up at me with a smile on her face. “Did you hear that, sweetie?”

“I did,” I say, trying to keep my distance while not blowing our cover. “What the fuck are you doing?” I ask her in Russian.

She ignores me and snuggles in even more, insisting that there not be an inch of space between us, while the woman looks at Samantha. “Such a cute baby. You’re a cute little thing, aren’t you?”

I’m barely listening to the cashier, because all I can think about is how good it feels to have her body pressed up against mine. She’s wiggled under my arm, and when I wrap it around her, I swear I hear her give a soft moan.

“She looks just like you two.”

The cashier’s words pull me from my trance, but before I can respond, Sveta lets out a soft laugh.

“I think she looks just like her daddy. I mean, I’m the one who carried her and pushed her into this world, but she’s a daddy’s girl through and through.”

I nearly choke on my own spit. Sveta smiles while keeping herarm locked around my waist, playing the part of wife and mother so damn perfectly that I almost buy it. Now that she’s started the lie, I’m forced to go along with it. We filled our cart, and the cashier, whose name tag readsJane, is in no rush, so I know my ass isn’t getting out of here in the next couple of minutes. They have a young kid bagging our groceries and putting them into the cart, so I can’t even use that as an excuse to break myself free of Sveta’s very firm grip.

When I try to put a little bit of distance between us, she just smiles up at me and slips her hand under my T-shirt so her fingers are now wrapped around my bare waist. She grazes a finger along my skin, and I’m in serious danger of getting an embarrassing erection in the checkout lane. I wonder what Jane would think about that.

“Careful,” I whisper to Sveta in Russian.

She just smiles bigger and says, “Or what?”

I bring my hand to the nape of her neck, slipping my fingers beneath her hair so I can wrap them around her slender neck. I give her a warning squeeze when she drags her finger along my skin, dipping just slightly into the waistband of my jeans, but instead of scaring her, she lets out a sexy moan that’s only loud enough for me to hear.

Jesus Christ.

Feeling my cock start to stiffen, I nearly cry with relief when Jane scans the last item. I grab my wallet and quickly pay for everything while the kid loads up the last few bags. As soon as I grab the receipt, I start pushing the cart while Sveta smiles sweetly and says goodbye to Jane. Instead of stopping the ruse, I’m forced to stop the cart and dig around for the knit hat she took off while we were shopping. I find the damn thing and pull it on Sveta’s stubborn head right as I hear Jane behind me, whispering, “Well, isn’t that the sweetest thing,” while Sveta holds back a laugh and I bite back the grunt I want to give. I might as well go all in, so I zip her jacket up and then tuck Samantha’s pink blanket around her so they’re both warm.

Sveta gives a soft laugh and wraps her arm through mine as we walk out of the store.

“What the hell were you thinking?” The question is out as soon as the sliding doors shut behind us and we’re in the parking lot.

Keeping her arm intertwined with mine, she shrugs and gives a soft laugh. “Relax, Vitya. We needed to make it look believable. We couldn’t very well tell Jane that the baby she thinks is so cute was one that you found a couple of days ago and that we’re on our way to hide out in the country. Think that might raise a few red flags? We needed to blend, so I made us blend.”

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