Page 62 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)

I grit my teeth and let the anger crash over me. “You’re wrong. Let me show you how much.”

With that, I launch myself at him. As wise as he thinks himself to be, he doesn’t see that coming.

My lips crash down on his and a second later, his arms engulf my body, lifting my feet off the ground. His scent mingles with the ocean salts and the ashy ruins and it all fills my nose, as intoxicating as a drug.

I can feel him. I can smell him. I can touch him. I can love him.

And for the first time in a while…

The voices in my head go quiet.

14

Phoenix

Her lips seal over mine. She clings to me with more power than I knew she had—and I don’t have the strength to push her off.

So I do what I swore I’d never do again.

I kiss her ravenously. I kiss her with every intent that this will be our last.

But even as I make the promise in my head, my will wavers, unsure if I’ll follow through. Because she throws everything I’ve ever believed into question. She makes me feel as though giving up the chase is a viable option.

And I can’t allow her to make me abandon my mission. The only thing that matters now is destroying Astra Tyrannis. Killing the people who stole my life away from me.

If I don’t succeed in doing that, then she will be in danger for the rest of her life. So will Theo. I will have to relive the nightmare I lived through with Aurora and Yuri. And I’m not sure if I’ll survive that pain a second time.

But for now—for this moment, if nothing else—none of that matters. Her lips are too comforting. Too fucking irresistible.

I lose myself in the moment as the wind laps around our bodies. I press my erection into her and she moans into my mouth.

My hand slides down her back. I try and memorize the curve of her spine, the way she’s twisted her body into mine. If I never touch her again, I at least want to have the memory to comfort me.

It would take so little effort to part the fabric that separates us and enter her. To claim her again like I want to do every waking second.

She wants me. Every part of her body shivers for me.

But she doesn’t know the risks. She doesn’t understand this world.

She’s bartering away her life without pausing to think of the consequences. She may think she wants me now. But will she still feel the same way in a year? In three? In five? When enemies are knocking down our walls and our children are in danger?

She might say yes to all of that.

But she doesn’t even know the meaning of the word.

I allow my tongue to explore her for a moment before I pull away, tearing myself apart from her and setting her down on her feet again.

She still clings to me, but I push her away gently. “No.”

She shakes her head. “What are you so scared of, Phoenix?”

“The past repeating itself,” I reply. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”

“There has to be more to life than revenge,” she whispers, her eyes widening with hope and passion. “There has to be.”

“Not for me,” I tell her. “Not anymore.”

Her eyes glisten with unshed tears. The wind laps at her face causing her hair to flutter off over her shoulders. She looks like a daydream come to life.

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