Page 10 of Beautiful Broken Obsession

“If you had taken the car from Peter and not kicked him, you never would have.” The words are so cold, I don’t doubt him for a moment.

I ignore him, lock the door. And turn to— I’m up in Milos’s arms again, being carried to the SUV. He carries me across his chest as easily as I would a kitten. It doesn’t matter I’m struggling against him. His grip tightens in warning. Shock at how much I like being in his arms makes me fight even harder against him—against what he does to me. It doesn’t help in the slightest. I’m in the back of the SUV, again.

“Answer me. Do they leave you alone to close all by yourself?”

“Go away, you fucking psycho.” None of it should matter to him. I need him to go away and never come back.

An exhale of air that might be considered a laugh comes out of him. “If you don’t answer I’ll burn the place down tonight. You can’t work there if it’s a shell.”

I don’t doubt him for a second. Holy freaking crap. “Youarepsychotic.”

“If I am psychotic, don’t you think it’s best not to anger me? Seat belt, Celia.” My words don’t phase him in the slightest. His eyes don’t even flicker. Definite psycho.

“Fuck you.” The words are barely out of my mouth before he’s pressing me back and putting the seat belt on me. Koshka is meowing up a storm. This close, I inhale Milos’s scent deep into my lungs: citrus, woodsy with a hint of moss green, and underlying those already appealing notes is something that is pure Milos—something heady, captivating, so enticing I want to lick his skin to taste it on my tongue.

His large hand grasps my chin, and it happens again, electricity surging through my entire body. It’s so strong—almost violent—causing me to shudder. A thumb runs over my lips. Holy fuck, the touch kicks over a hive of bees I had no idea were inside my tummy, spilling hot honey through my veins. “Such beautiful lips should not say such dirty things. Behave,kotyonok. Icanturn you from hissing and spitting into purring—you aren’t ready for it…yet.”

It isn’t just his words that are a promise, it’s his touch and the way those yellow eyes flare hot with intent. I have no control of my body and want to die from embarrassment at the wet heat flooding my core. My body hasneverdone that before, not even while reading my sister’s smuttiest manga.

His body goes tense against mine. Koshka’s little head pops out of the carrier and she hisses at Milos. He pushes away with what has to be a curse word in Russian.

“Let me out.” I hate the way the words tremble. I’m shocked I found the air to get them out at all.

Milos turns his attention back to me. “Were you the only person left in the building?”

I sigh. “Yes. It’s fine. This is a safe neighborhood. I’m only two miles from home. If you burn it down I swear I will never forgive you. My nonna might have taught me how not to take shit from anyone, but I learned how to be a bitch at the feet of Carlo and his psychopathic men—you think I’m bad now, you have no idea how bad I can be.”

I’m more than willing to let loose everything I’ve learned on this man who I need to go far, far away from me. The longer I’m with him, the less I recognize myself. “Besides, my fat ass needs the exercise anyway.”

His jaw goes tight. Violence fills the air until I can barely breathe. “Do not call yourself that. If anyone else were to call you fat I would make them bleed. You do it again and I will ensure you regret it.”

What? I amnotturned on by the menace in him…damn it, I am.

“Either you take the car or my men take you to and from work every day. The decision is yours.” His tone is clear: pick one, or he will.

“How the hell am I going to explain a car like that to my family? If Carlo finds out you bought me a car, you will be completely fucked. He’ll pin you into a marriage with me so fast it will make your head spin, and he’ll take every dime he can get while he’s at it.” I warn him.

An odd exhalation comes out of him, almost like a laugh but not quite. What the hell would he think is funny about that? Probably that anyone would force him into a marriage, especially with me. “The car is a donation from someone thanking you for caring for the kitten. And it is. You will care for the kitten day and night for the next few weeks—something I have no inclination or time for. I don’t believe you are not clever enough to keep my name out of it. It is unacceptable for you to be out walking the streets alone. I don’t care if you think the streets are safe. A beautiful woman like you alone, is a tasty treat no one who saw you would be able to deny.”

I roll my eyes. In that time he’s pulled out a phone from his inner pocket and is dropping it in my lap. “What’s this?”

“Your new phone. The one you have is not safe. It is too old and undependable.” He says it like it’s not a big deal and he gives away phones to everyone he meets.

Holy crap, this is a thousand dollar phone. I shake my head. No fucking way. But I’m not allowed to get my mouth open.

He holds up my old phone. How the hell did he get it out of my pocket? In a few deft moves, he’s pulled out the sim card, then opens his window and tosses my phone out of the moving vehicle. He offers me the sim card. “You will take the phone and the car.”

When I don’t take it, too stunned to move, he drops it into Koshka’s pouch with a gentle caress of his fingers over the tiny kitten.

The SUV stops in front of my house. “I really hate your guts.”

His chuckle is rich and smoky and I swear it’s somehow a threat. “You wish,kotyonok.”

Sliding out of the SUV, I slam the door and practically run my ass into the house.

My sister is waiting in my room. “Hey, what’s up with the car in the driveway? Did Carlo finally buy Mommy a new car?”

I shake my head. Lying is my only choice if I don’t want to keep tangling with Milos Levin. And I don’t want to. I really don’t.

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