“Y’okay, mate?” I ignore O’Neill’s stunned whisper,
Sloppy. So fucking sloppy. This is why Mariya couldn’t be on my team. She’s a distraction I can’t afford.
“Kon, hey, wait up would you?” I want to pretend I don’t hear her voice as Mariya tries to catch up with me, but I force myself to slow down. Her hand carefully touches my sleeve. “Are you all right? I could swear I heard a crack when Zimmerman sucker-punched you.”
“He didn’t-” I take a deep breath and I’m instantly sorry as my ribs throb violently. “He didn’t sucker punch me. I’m fine. My side will be bruised up for a couple of days, that’s it.”
“But the challenge is in four days,” she says, gnawing anxiously on her lower lip. “Maybe you should go to Dr. Giardo and just-”
Taking her arm, I swing her toward me. “I’m fine,Pchelka.”Knowing it will infuriate her, I give her an insolent grin. “Unless you want to play naughty nurse?”
It works.
“Take your cheesy porn fantasies and indulge in them on your own time,” she says crossly. “I have a planning meeting with Lucca’s group in thirty minutes anyway.”
I’m still holding her arm. “Do you know what would make me feel better?”
Her narrowed gaze does not look inviting. “Is this going to be another porn reference?”
“No…” My hand slides behind her neck. “Just a kiss.”
“What’s the catch?”
That makes me laugh, even though the feel of ribs scraping together is not promising. “No catch. One kiss.”
She looks around us and my grip tightens slightly. “Aren’t you worried people will see us?”
“Are you?” I lean closer, smelling the sweet, peppery scent of her. “Weareengaged.”
“You spent your first two years here sleeping with half the women on campus, and then ignoring or fighting with me all of last year.” Mariya’s posture is stiff, her hands clenched into fists. Her concern from earlier has melted away. “Now, you want to make this public?”
Resting my forehead against hers, I close my eyes for a moment, lightly stroking the soft skin on her neck. “I’m sorry the women I was with before you came here tried to hurt you. I don’t know what they’ve said, but I’m sure most of it was exaggerated.”
“Not all of it,” she mumbles.
“Oh yeah?” I ran my lips down the side of her neck, “What part,Pchelka?”
“God! If you’re just going to tease me and call me a- a- abee,I’m going back to class.” She’s getting herself riled up, putting her armor back in place.
“We’ll talk about what wasn’t exaggerated later,” I said, smothering my laughter. I wouldn’t put it past her to punch me in the ribs. “But about that kiss?”
“You’re outing us,” she warns, “I’m just-”
It’s only been a couple of days since I kissed her last, butBozhe moy,my god, it feels good. Not only because my mouth on hers effectively silences her, it’s the taste of her on my tongue, her little sigh, and the way her body melts into mine, just a bit. She is trying to hold back; I can feel her fighting herself about how this feels. “Tak khorosho,so good,” I groan. My fingers tunnel up into her hair, mindlessly grabbing a thick, silky handful.
“About damn time.”
We pull apart to see Mala grinning at us. “Not that we didn’t all enjoy the fireworks show that was Konstantin and Mariya, but it’s nice to see you two happy.”
“Are we?” Mariya’s question is low enough that Mala can’t hear it.
Kissing her one last time, and sucking lightly on her lower lip, I whisper, “I certainly am. How about you?”
She makes a noncommittal noise. “We’ll see,” she says before giving my chin a little bite. “I have to get to class with Mala, Securities and Bitcoin Fraud. Professor Campbell is a nightmare if you’re late.”
Reluctantly, I slide my fingers from her hair. “See you tonight.”
Back in my room, I pull off my shirt to get a look at my torso. I’ve had my ribs broken in the past. Twice. I can see the black and purple bruising blooming on my ribcage, just like before.
