Page 146 of Bratva Jewels Box Set
“Maxim, it’s Grace. Please wake up,” I say, shaking him a little harder this time.
“Grace?” Maxim jumps up and turns himself over. He rubs his face, trying to focus on me standing before him. His chest is bathed in sweat and his inky black hair is a tangled mess.
“You had a nightmare.”
He stares at me and doesn’t say a word.
“Do you want me to get you a drink?”
He nods, and I head over to the drink’s fridge in the bar area on the side of the pool and grab us a bottle of water each. Returning, I hand him the bottle, and he eagerly takes it from my hand and throws back the entire bottle in a couple of gulps.
I notice a droplet of sweat slide down his cheek, he looks as if he’s burning up. Grabbing my bottle of water, I pour some onto my towel and then take a seat beside him on the sun lounger and reach out to wipe his face with it.
Maxim flinches and eyes me suspiciously. “What are you doing?”
“You’re covered in sweat. I was trying to cool you down.”
“Oh,” he says, staring at me and then down at the towel as a confused look crosses his face.
“Will you let me look after you this time?” I ask, holding up the soaked towel.
Maxim seems stunned and doesn’t argue with me.
I take this as my opportunity to help him like he has helped me as I pat his face with the towel. Then I move it down his chest and up over his arms. I shuffle forward a little more to try and reach his neck which brings his face near mine.
His warm breath is against my neck, making goosebumps appear on my skin.
Easy, now is not the time to jump him.
Next thing I know, Maxim has reached out and pulled me to him, burying his face in my hair, his nose lightly touching the thin skin of my neck. I let out a gasp as my body starts to tingle.
“Thank you,” he says huskily as I pull away from his embrace.
“You have helped me with my nightmares. I thought it was time to help you.”
“You might be the first person who has shown me compassion,” he confesses, looking away from me as if ashamed.
That’s sad.You don’t become a killer if you have compassion in your life, Grace.
“Maxim,” I call his name, but he doesn’t look at me. “Maxim, look at me.” My tone is commanding, and finally he looks up at me, his dark eyes like black swirls. He looks lost, and for the first time since my arrival here, helpless. His face breaks my heart because it’s so full of pain and loss—emotions I know well.
Leaning forward, I press my lips against his.
He doesn’t move nor open his mouth, he’s a solid rock.
I let my tongue glide along his lips, but still nothing. My teeth sink into his bottom lip, and I suck on it hard. Next thing I know, Maxim picks me up and flips me onto my back against the sun lounge.
His arms are a cage around me, tight muscles straining as if holding himself back. His breathing has increased, those dark swirls of hopelessness in his eyes are replaced by sparks of wanting.
“Grace,” he growls, sending shivers over my body. “Please don’t tease me, not now.”
“I’m not teasing you,” I say, looking into his handsome face. My hand strokes his prickly cheek. “I wanted to kiss you.”
He frowns. “Why?”
“You needed it.”
He continues to stare at me, his body stiff as a board, every muscle
