Page 160 of Bratva Jewels Box Set
“In that moment I had flashbacks. They felt so real, and I couldn’t escape them. I’d been working with a therapist, and I thought I had put my trauma behind me. You’ve been the first guy since …” I tell him as I stare down at our hands linked together.
“Wildcat, I had no idea,” he says, tugging my hand to get my attention.
“I wanted to be okay. I wanted you to be the first since it all … but it seems that I couldn’t.”
“You never have to explain yourself over that,” he says as his thumb caresses my hand.
I give him a small smile. It feels right, him being back with me again. I’m surprised at how much I’ve missed him this week. How much this villa is starting to feel like home.
“I missed you, Grace.”
I look up and see the sincerity in his dark eyes.
“You did? Even after I treated you horribly.”
“Hey. I will not hear you say that about what happened. It wasn’t your fault,” he tells me sternly.
“I missed you, too.”
Maxim’s head lulls back as a wide smile falls across his handsome face. He then brings my hand to his lips, kisses it, and his eyes close.
“Max. Hey, Max. Come to bed, it’s late. You don’t want to sleep down here on the sofa.”
Maxim sits up and blinks a couple of times. He shakes his head as if trying to clear it. “Yeah, I think I might head to bed.”
Helping him up, we walk arm in arm through the corridor toward the grand staircase. We slowly take each step as I’m worried he will lose his balance and fall back down them. We turn, and I head toward his bedroom, he probably wants to sleep there tonight. Walking in, I pull back his sheets and fluff his pillow for him.
“You need to get changed. You can have a shower in the morning.”
He nods like a rag doll as he sits on the edge of his bed. I grab his gray sweats and place them down beside him on the bed. I kneel and begin to undo his shoes, sliding them off then unbuckle his belt and help pull his gray suit pants off him. My heart acerates as I am face to face with his dick which is hidden behind black boxer briefs.
“Here, first leg through,” I tell him as he slides one leg through and then the other. He then falls back against the bed. “You’re going to make this hard for me, aren’t you? I can’t lift you.” I groan as I try and lift the rest of him onto the bed.
Maxim groans but soon picks himself up and slides onto the bed properly before getting under the covers. “I wish you could stay,” he mumbles.
“You want me to stay with you?”
He nods. “I never want to let you go, Wildcat.”
Oh.
“Let me go get my pajamas and I’ll come back.”
“No,” he calls out with a groan. “Grab one of my shirts. I love seeing you in my shirts.” Next thing I know, Maxim is snoring away.
He wants me to wear his tee, this is so cute. How could I ever believe this man would hurt me, not after everything we’ve been through together. I grab one of his plain white shirts, take off my sundress, and slip on the shirt. Then I creep back into his bedroom and slide in under the covers. It doesn’t take long for my eyes to flutter shut because I’ve had trouble sleeping since Maxim left, nightmares have been plaguing my dreams. I’m hoping tonight I will have my first good night’s sleep this week.
“Did you tell him?” Sergei asks, finding me in the kitchen where I’ve decided to make pancakes and a fresh pot of coffee for Maxim.
“It wasn’t the right time.”
“It wasn’t the right time to tell him his sister is alive?” Sergei questions me.
“Maxim was shot. He could have died.”
Sergei tsks me. “It was a flesh wound, nothing more. It’s just another scar to add to his collection.”
“Sorry, I’m not used to this life. Usually, I’m on the other side of the law.”
