Page 39 of Paved in Venom

“You still haven’t told me what that word means.”

“I know.”

When he doesn’t elaborate, I lift a brow and say, “And?”

“And I’ll be back as soon as I can. Will you be okay here? Emily’s upstairs with Roman. Matvey’s around here somewhere, and Lev’s coming with us.”

He scoots us back over to his desk. Digging around in a drawer, he pulls out a phone. “Here, you can use my old one until your new one comes in.” He turns it on and sends a quick text to his new number so I’ll have it. “Text me if you need anything at all.” He gives me another smile. “Or if you just miss me and want to say hi.”

“I don’t want to bother you while you’re doing scary Bratva stuff.”

“You couldn’t bother me if you tried.”

“I might put that to the test one day.”

He gives another laugh. “Please do. I’d love to see you try.”

I run my fingers over his thick stubble. He didn’t shave this morning, and it’s already noticeably thicker. He watches me as I trace the lines of his face, familiarizing myself with the chiseled jaw, the almond-shaped grey eyes, the dark lashes and eyebrows, the slope of his nose, and the full, kissable lips that I will never get enough of. I could spend the rest of my life kissing this man, and it would never be enough. My fingers run down the tanned skin of his neck.

“Be careful,” I whisper.

He smiles at my words. “Always.”

Cupping the back of my head, he pulls me closer and kisses me. It’s a gentler kiss than the half-crazed, feral way we were kissing earlier, but it’s just as heated, and it causes the same reaction in my body. He pulls away before I’m ready to let him go.

“This is happening fast,” I whisper against his lips, because it is, way too fast than is probably smart, but how do you stop feeling things? How do I turn my body off when he so easily turns it on? I can’t fight the attraction I feel for him. It’s impossible. The only thing I can do is hope I survive it, because I’m falling hard for a very powerful, very dangerous man, and there isn’t a goddamn thing I can do to stop it.

“We have all the time in the world,” he reminds me. “I’m not going anywhere, Simona. There’s no rush, but I want you to know that I’m feeling everything you are.”

“I seriously doubt that.”

He smiles. “Well, believe it. In fact, I’d say I’m probably feeling more, but I don’t want to scare you, so I’ll leave it at that.” He gives my ass a soft smack. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

I give him one more quick kiss before standing up. I immediately miss the feel of him, the warmth of his body, the way he makes me feel safe, I miss it all. He stands, giving me a wink when he reaches down to adjust his cock. I feel bad that he has to walk around uncomfortable, but there’s no denying the thrill I get at seeing his reaction to me. I love knowing that I’ve made this incredibly gorgeous man hard. I still find it hard to believe, but the proof is impossible to miss. The man is huge, and when I hear his soft laugh, I realize I’m still staring at the massive bulge in his pants.

He closes the distance and cups the back of my head, pulling me in for one last kiss. “Make yourself at home, sladkaya. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay.” I wrap my arms around him, giving him a hug. A flicker of fear runs through me when I start thinking about the dangerous kind of life he leads. He kisses my forehead and then to prove my point, he grabs a gun from one of his desk drawers and tucks it in the waistband of his jeans against the small of his back so his T-shirt hides it from view and then puts his laptop in his messenger bag and slings it across his chest.

With one last sexy wink, he says, “Stay off the balcony, baby,” and then disappears out the door.

I look around his large room, having no idea what to do with myself. Too antsy to stay in one place, I venture out into the hall, and when I see it’s empty, I start walking. I’m not about to start barging into closed doors, but I do investigate the ones that are open. The room closest to Danil’s bedroom has another amazing view of the city. The room is empty except for a desk and a couple of leather chairs. There’s a bathroom attached to this room as well, but it doesn’t look like anyone does much of anything in here. This place is so big that they probably have several rooms that really don’t serve a purpose. My entire apartment could fit in these two rooms alone, and instead of floor-to-ceiling windows with an amazing view, I have a shitty window above my sink that’s nailed shut and looks out onto a brick wall. It’s super awesome. The window in my living room looks out directly into the window of my neighbor—an older man who loves to walk around in his tighty-whities and scratch his balls while he binges Netflix. I never open the blinds because for some ungodly reason he always keeps his wide open. I’d rather stare at the brick wall.

Continuing down the hall, I pass a couple of closed doors before finding a room with a pool table. Stepping in, I let my fingers graze the edges of the table while I take in the large TV on the other wall and the assortment of gaming consoles. There’s also a bar, and I seriously think about making myself a drink to take the edge off. I decide to forgo the alcohol for now and walk over to the couch. I’m not much of a gamer, but I could use the distraction, so I get myself set up with the first game I find. It’s a racing game, and I have zero hopes that I’ll be good at it, but I don’t care. I just need something to do with my hands. I’d kill for a piano or, hell, even one of those tiny keyboards for kids. Anything that I can play that has keys on it.

I’ve just crashed my car for the third time when I hear someone say, “Mind if I join you?”

I turn to see Matvey staring at me from the doorway. He’s in a black hoodie and jeans, but he doesn’t have the hood pulled up today. His dark eyes watch me, waiting for me to say it’s okay before he walks in to join me.

“Sure,” I tell him, “but I’m really bad.”

“I can see that.”

I laugh, but all he gives me is a small smile. I wonder if he ever gives full ones. I’m guessing not. He grabs another controller and gets himself set up. I see the scars on his large hands and the tattoos that cover them. They creep up his wrists, disappearing beneath the hoodie. My heart breaks for him, but I don’t say anything. I’m not sure it would be welcomed right now, and I don’t want to bring up painful shit. I don’t want to make him feel any worse than he already does, so we sit in silence and we play the game.

He wins every time, over and over again, and it’s the exact kind of mindless entertainment that I need. When I crash yet again, I laugh and relax deeper into the cushion. I’m so caught up in the game that it takes me a second to realize the phone Danil gave me is buzzing in my pocket. When the race is over, I pull it out right as I hear Matvey’s phone give a soft ding. We both check them at the same time. I smile when I see the texts.

You doing okay?

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