Grabbing the boxes, we head back downstairs, stepping over her moaning father and walking out without a backward glance. He can lie there crying all he wants. He’s not getting a drop of sympathy from me. The fucker will live, but I know he deserves to die, and it’s irritating that I can’t finish him off. When I step onto the porch, I can’t bring myself to meet Evie’s eyes. I’m too afraid of what I might see.
Volodya follows me to my car and helps me load the boxes into the back. I open the passenger side door for Evie and wait.
She stops several feet away and asks, “What about my car?”
“Volodya can drive it back.”
Volodya laughs. “The fuck? God, you owe me big time,” he says in Russian. “No one better see me in this goddamn tiny car.”
Any other time, I’d laugh my ass off at seeing my brother squeeze into Evie’s Mini Cooper, but I can barely even manage a smile at this point. Vasily’s laughing enough for the both of us and taking photos as Volodya flips him the bird before driving off.
“I’m sending that to everyone,” he says, laughing even harder. “Maddie’s going to love that.”
Evie gets in the car, and I shut her in before walking over to Vasily. “Thanks for coming and for talking to her.”
“I didn’t tell her about the Bratva. That needs to come from you.” He smacks my back and digs out his keys. “Get your ass out of here. The cops will probably be here soon.”
“Yeah, if the neighbors haven’t called yet, I’m sure her dad will manage to crawl to his phone and do it himself. I’m going to bust his windshield out before I leave, though.”
“Make it quick,” he warns over his shoulder.
Instead of answering, I tighten my grip on the bat and walk over to his precious fucking truck, the thing he cares about more than his own daughter. She’d been so terrified at the small dent she’d put in it, but I’m about to do a hell of a lot more than that. I knock out the headlights first and then start on the windshield. Watching it splinter and crack is therapeutic as hell. I keep beating at it until it caves in, and then I make quick work of the other windows before finally backing away. My eyes run over his ruined truck, and I’m finally able to laugh. With a smile still playing at my lips, I get in the car and toss the bat in the back. Pulling away with a squeal of tires, I get us the hell out of there before the police show up.
Evie doesn’t say a word, and the drive back is a quiet, tense one. As we pull into the parking garage, I spot Vasily leaving with Volodya in the passenger seat. They give us a wave as they pass and then I’m pulling into my parking spot next to her car, wishing like hell we could start this day over again. She stays silent, grabbing a couple of boxes and following me inside. I look over at her in the elevator, eyeing the damage to her face and the way she won’t meet my eyes. Once the doors open and we step into the apartment, I’ve had all the goddamn silence I can take.
“Evie,” I say, but she throws her hand up to cut me off.
“I don’t really feel like talking right now.”
Several different scenarios run through my head, things that I should probably do, like give her some space, offer a comforting hug and tell her I’ll be here when she’s ready, but fuck all that. That’s not the kind of relationship we have. I close the distance between us, ignoring the flash of shock and anger that flits over her face, and pick her up, holding her tightly against me.
“Fuck that,” I tell her. “I’m not letting this come between us, and I’m sure as hell not going to let you just disappear and close yourself off to me.”
“Let me go,” she yells, struggling against me, but I just hold her tighter until she finally gives up and slumps against me.
“I can’t let you go,” I tell her. “Even if you hate me, I won’t let you go. I’ll lock you in this goddamn room with me and make you remember how much you love me.”
“Apparently I don’t even know you, Valeri. I just watched you threaten and beat my dad, and then you destroyed his truck. Who the fuck are you, and what in the hell is going on?”
I can feel her putting walls up, hiding herself from me, and it fucking kills me to see it. I can tolerate a lot of things, but Evie pulling away from me isn’t one of them.
“Don’t hide yourself from me,” I whisper against her neck. When I kiss the spot right behind her ear, I feel her body stiffen, and it pulls a pained groan from me that pushes me over the damn edge.
“No,” I growl against her skin, setting her down long enough to roughly pull her yoga pants down, taking her panties with them. “You are mine,lapochka, and I think you need to be reminded of that.”
Before she can say anything, I’ve got her pinned against the wall and I’m already undoing my pants and freeing my cock. Gripping her hips, I lift her up and press the head of my cock against her slit. She sucks in a quick breath and clutches at my shoulders.
“I’m going to remind you that every part of you belongs to me, that there is no going back, and that I will burn this whole goddamn world down if it keeps you safe.”
Keeping one hand on her ass, I slide the other one under her shirt and then under her bra, pushing it aside so I can fill my hand with her. She lets out a soft whimper when I brush my fingers over her taut nipple.
“That’s my good girl,” I murmur against her skin, kissing a path along her jaw while I very slowly feed her my cock, one thick inch at a time. The tight wet heat of her envelops me, and it’s like pure fucking heaven on earth. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.
“You’re my home,” I whisper against her lips when I’m fully seated inside her. “I can’t survive without you, Evie. I love you so goddamn much.”
“I love you too,” she whispers, and hearing those four words loosens something inside me and pushes aside the darkness that’s been threatening to consume me ever since I woke up this morning and couldn’t find her.
Her hand goes to the back of my head, pulling me closer and kissing me with a hungry desperation that mirrors exactly how I feel. I want to take my time with her, go easy on her because I know she’s sore, but the way she’s sucking on my tongue and digging her heels into my ass while her pussy clenches so fucking tightly around me makes it impossible to do anything except fuck her good and hard. Dried blood still covers her lip, and I taste the coppery tang of it on my tongue, reminding me of last night and how she’d bled on my cock. She moans into our kiss when I give her nipple a hard pinch while she fists my hair hard enough to sting. When she comes, she breaks our kiss to scream my name, and the sound of her ragged cry and the way her pussy is squeezing me as her body convulses with her release quickly sends me over the edge right along with her.
