Page 34 of Cruel Russian Monster
I glanced at his hand, for a moment, then glared at him. He dropped his arm and exhaled. He closed his eyes for a brief second before reopening them.
“Is it so wrong for me to want to keep you safe?”
I arched a brow. “You think I can’t protect myself?”
“Should I remind you of the fresh scar added to my collection the night you ran off?”
I winced. “I was more careful this time. I checked the rearview mirror constantly…and everything.”
He rolled his eyes.
“And besides,” I continued, “I’m a Bratva heiress. Give me some credit. I know how our world works. And now that I know your cars are tracked, I figured you’d know exactly where I was. Not to mention the phone you’ve probably bugged. So really, how much trouble could I get into at a library?”
His brow lifted, clearly amused.
I shook my head and gave him a teasing look. “The real question is, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be out there putting out fires from all those enemies you keep talking about? The ones that keep multiplying by the day?”
The corners of his lips lifted slightly. “Do I look like a firefighter to you? Talking about putting out fires…”
“I remember the fires you used to put out,” I said, a sly smile playing on my lips. “Back when we were in Delaware.”
I walked to the next shelf, fingers grazing the books, hoping he'd follow. He did.
He leaned in close behind me, his breath warm against my ear. “As far as I remember,” his voice dropped low and sensual, “you were the one who started most of those fires…”
If I shifted my weight just a little, I’d lean right back into him…and God, was I tempted. But I was enjoying the back-and-forth between us too much. It felt like old times.
I stepped away and turned to face him. “Did you blame me, though? You might not have been a firefighter, but you did have the body of one.”
“Did?” he asked, lifting a brow.
I grinned. “Yup.Did.”
I pulled another book from the shelf and added it to the stack in my arms. Jaroslav extended his hand, and for a second, I hesitated, confused.
“The books,” he said.
“Oh.”
I handed them over.
“You know you could just buy these online and keep them forever, right?”
“And where would I put them? In my room?” I chuckled. “I love reading, and trust me, my room wouldn’t be big enough to hold all the books I’d end up buying.”
“I can renovate one of the rooms at the house into a library for you.”
Wait…was he serious? That would be amazing, but then…
I shook my head. “There’s nothing better than flipping through a used book, knowing someone else enjoyed it before you. The more worn out, the better.”
Jaroslav held up one of the books. “Is that why you’re borrowing the most beat-up ones in here?”
“Yup.”
He scrunched up his nose. “Some of these look like things crawled inside and died.”
I laughed softly. “One time, I was reading this amazing mystery novel and found the skeleton of a lizard tucked between the pages. It was so cool.”
