Page 74 of Born into Chaos

She shakes her head and fists my shirt. “Don’t say that. Promise me nothing is ever going to happen to you.”

“I gave you my word that I would never lie to you. You know my job is dangerous. I promise that I will love you and be faithful to you for the rest of my life.”

I’m surprised when a tear falls down her cheek. “Not good enough,” she whispers on a shaky breath.

“I promise I will do everything I can to always come back to you.”

She shakes her head again as I guide her to the wall behind us, andwhen she’s flush against it, I start to unbutton her jeans and slide them down her legs.

“I promise that I will worship your body every chance I can, and I promise that you will always be surrounded by my love.”

“And that nothing bad will ever happen to you,” she says again.

I yank her panties off and unzip my pants so I can free my cock. Grabbing her hips, I lift her up and bring my mouth to hers.

With the head of my cock pressed firmly against her pussy, she clasps her hands behind my neck and begs me for a promise that I know is stupid to give. I can’t guarantee that I won’t be killed while working for her family’s Bratva, but I also know that I can’t deny her this when she needs it so badly. Her soft brown eyes search mine, begging me to give her this reassurance, and when I start to slide into her, I meet her eyes and say, “I promise I will always come back to you, Sveta.” I slam into her, the force of it pulling a groan from both of us. “Nothing could ever keep me from you.”

Relief fills her eyes before she kisses me hard. I know the promise is reckless, that I’m tempting fate and giving her a hope that will shatter into a million pieces if something happens to me, but I can’t take the words back now that I’ve said them.

Her arms and legs wrap around me, clinging to me as I fuck her hard against the wall. Our mouths lock in a hungry kiss, neither one of us able to get enough of the other as she clenches so damn tightly around me, reminding me with each thrust that she’s my home, my life, my entire fucking world.

When she moans into my mouth and I feel her body tense with her release, I let go with her, swallowing her screams as I fill her pussy with everything I have. She leaves me breathless and shaky, disoriented in the best way possible, and it happens every time I’m with her. I lose myself in this woman so easily.

“I love you, Sveta, so fucking much,” I whisper against her lips.

I feel her smile, the lazy kind she always gives me after a good orgasm. Her fingers run through my hair, dragging her nails along my scalp in the way that she knows drives me crazy.

“I love you too, Vitya, so fucking much.”

“No more worrying, baby. Everything is going to be fine.”

She nods and kisses me again while I slowly lift her off me. A familiar wave of sadness hits me when our bodies part. I hate leaving her. I hate breaking that connection and putting distance between us. I know she feels the same way, because as soon as I set her down, she closes the distance again and presses her body to mine in a tight hug, burying her face in my chest as I wrap my arms around her and cup the back of her head. Neither one of us is in any hurry to move, so we don’t. We stand just feet from where she saved my life two years ago and hold each other.

“Have I ever told you how much I love knowing that at one time your blood was running through my veins?” I ask her.

“No,” she whispers, and then she gives a soft laugh. “You’ve also never thanked me for giving you that blood.”

I kiss her head, breathing in the scent of her. “Maybe I’ll have to do that one day,” I tell her, smiling when she huffs out a small breath of air.

She lifts her head to say something, but the oven timer goes off right as she opens her mouth. I smile down at her and kiss the tip of her nose and smack her bare ass.

“Time for supper,pcholka.”

“I swear you planned that somehow.”

“That would be pretty amazing if I had. I’m good, baby, but I’m not that good.”

She laughs and grabs her panties off the floor while I tuck myself away and then help her with her jeans. We walk back hand in hand, determined to enjoy every second of our last night here.

Samantha wakes up as I’m getting the chicken out of the oven, and after we eat, we spend the rest of the night together as a family. Sveta eats her weight in s’mores and tries like hell to get me to try one. I don’t. I kiss her afterwards, though, and it’s enough to give me a sugar rush. It’s a perfect night, better than perfect, and later on when I fall asleep with Sveta’s body tucked in tightly against mine, I can’t imagine life getting any better than this.

I should’ve known it was too good to last. My brother’s death should’ve taught me that lesson, that everything I love will always be ripped from my grasp and there’s not a goddamn thing I can do to stop it.

As soon as I open my eyes, I know something is wrong. I can sense it, a dread that burrows its way into my bones, making it hard for me to breathe. The room is dark, but even before I reach for Sveta, I know she’s not there. The bed is empty, and when I turn on the light and sit up, all I can see is an empty crib in front of me.

I try to tell myself that everything is fine, that Sveta is probably just giving Samantha her bottle on the couch so she doesn’t wake me, but I know it’s not true. The sinking feeling in my gut is screaming at me that they’re gone. Throwing the covers aside, I grab my gun from the nightstand and run out of the room, hoping like hell that my instincts are wrong, but instead of seeing a smiling Sveta, who’s rolling her eyes and telling me I’m overreacting, there’s an empty house, and the weight of it is oppressive.

Keeping quiet, I do a quick sweep of the downstairs, but every passing minute has my heart racing and my mind spiraling out of control. When I see that her shoes and jacket are missing, I throw on my own boots and walk outside. I’m only in my boxers and it’s started to snow, but I don’t feel anything. I’m numb to everything except the weight on my chest that’s growing heavier and heavier. When I see the fresh tire tracks in the dusting of snow, I let out a ragged yell, my heart breaking in my chest at the realization.

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