Page 14 of Born into Chaos

Today is one of those days.

“Seat belt,” he finally growls when I don’t immediately hop to and obey him.

“Oh my god,” I groan. “For being such a badass, you sure are a rule follower.”

He raises a brow at me, clearly not amused. His blue eyes stay on mine, waiting for me to buckle in. Even though he looks like he could use a few more hours of sleep, the man still takes my breath away. It’s infuriating. As painful as it is to be around him day in and day out, I can’t imagine not seeing him every day. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I fell in love with him the second I stumbled upon his unconscious, bloody body. I’ve never been so scared in my life, and I still have nightmares about it, dreams where he doesn’t wake up, dreams where no matter what I do, his body remains lifeless.

I push the thoughts aside and grab my seat belt. When he hears the click that lets him know I’m secure in my seat, he puts his focus back on driving and starts the SUV. He’s wearing a black henley under his black leather jacket, and the man looks fucking scrumptious. The neck tattoo that I’ll never be able to get enough of is peeking out from the collar of his jacket, curling up his skin in a way that makes me want to lean over and lick it. It’s a black dragon with red highlights, done in a brushstroke style so it almost looks like it’s floating on his skin. The artwork is stunning, and every time I see it I want to reach out and touch it. I’ve tried copying it, but I can never seem to get it just right. I’m embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve drawn this man. I will never be able to face him again if he ever finds my stash of sketchpads, especially the drawings I did of him naked. I had to get creative, but something tells me the giant dick I gave him is spot-fucking-on.

Finishing my muffin, I toss the liner into the small trashcan he keeps behind his seat. I’d once thrown an empty fruit snack wrapper onthe floor, and the man had nearly had a stroke. You’d think I’d pissed on his grandma’s grave with the fuss he made. The next day, there was a tiny garbage can in the back, and I’m under strict orders to use it.

When we’re stuck in traffic on our way to Natalya’s and I can’t stand the silence any longer, I ask, “So did you have a fun night?”

“It was all right,” he says, and that could mean a thousand different things and doesn’t tell me at all what I want to know. I swear that’s why he said it.

“Well how nice for you that you get to go out and meet people,” I mumble, hearing the grumpy tone of my voice but unable to do anything to hide it.

“We’re going out right now,” he reminds me. “We’re on our way to Dominic’s, and you’re about to spend the afternoon with your cousins and their babies.”

I look over at him. “Yeah, that’s exactly the same thing. Is that what you did last night? Went out and spent some time with family members and their babies?”

“Not exactly.”

“Yeah, I thought not. I swear, one of these days I’m going to sneak my ass out again.” I’m so irritated that the words come out before I can stop them, but when we hit a red light and Vitya puts his full attention on me, I know I’ve fucked up.

“What the hell did you just say?”

“Nothing,” I whisper, determined to not say any more about the time Natalya and I snuck out and went to Dominic’s club. That was before they got together, and he’d been just as livid when he caught us as Vitya is now.

He surprises me by reaching across and hooking a finger under my chin before gently turning my face to his. “Have you snuck out on me, Svetlana?”

Even if I wanted to lie, I wouldn’t be able to. No way in hell can I look into his gorgeous blue eyes and say something that’s not true. If he asks me if I’ve fallen in love with him, I’m pretty much fucked.

“No,” I whisper, trying not to think about how damn good it feels to have his hand on me, to feel his skin against mine.

“But you have snuck out at some point?” he presses, determined to get the full story.

I stay silent, and his mouth tightens in a hard line. Someone honks behind us, neither one of us realizing that the light has turned green. He hesitates, keeping his finger hooked under my chin, and before he lets go, his thumb gives my cheek the softest caress. It’s over before I have a chance to fully savor it, and when he starts yelling at me, I convince myself that it must’ve been my imagination.

“You’d better start fucking talking, Sveta. When did you get out, and what the hell did you do?”

When I keep my mouth clamped shut, he smacks the steering wheel and yells, “I swear to god, I will pull this fucking car over!”

I laugh because he sounds like an angry dad, and right after I’ve done it, I realize what a colossal mistake it was because he jerks the wheel, cutting through traffic while ignoring all the angry honks that surround us.

“What the hell?” I look around, gasping when I see how close the car next to us comes to hitting the side of our SUV. But as mad as Vitya is, the man is always in control, and when we arrive safely at the curb, I can’t say I’m all that surprised.

“Talk.” He hisses the word out in Russian while slamming the gearshift into park and turning to face me. “Right fucking now.”

“Okay,” I say, using mylet’s calm downtone, but he’s having none of it. He’s radiating anger, and I’ve never seen him look so close to losing control. Vitya is usually so calm and that’s partly why I try so hard to get a rise out of him, but right now he’s squeezing the steering wheel like he’s about to rip it in two and his jaw is clenched so tightly shut that I’m surprised he hasn’t cracked a tooth yet. I’m also slightly worried about the vein I can see throbbing near his temple.

“Just calm down,” I try to tell him, but he just narrows his gorgeous blue eyes at me.

“Talk,” he says again, and the tone of his voice has me opening my mouth to try and explain.

“It was a long time ago. I was eighteen.”

“How did it happen, and where the hell did you go?”

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