I spot Gavriil standing on the other side of the bed as he takes off his watch. His shirt is partially unbuttoned, exposing a few inches of his bare chest. He hasn’t even looked me in the eyes yet, which somehow makes me angrier.
“You set me up!” I snap as I walk toward him, my skin heating.
Gavriil drops his watch on the nightstand like its cheap plastic and not worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. He doesn’t say anything while keeping his back to me.
“You told Dominik what we did without warning me. You only sent me down there so that he could confront me!” I say, a wave of shame crashing down on me. Dominik might’ve acted like he’s forgiven me, but I know it’s not that easy. I’m still sick with guilt for going behind his back with his conniving brother.
Gavriil slowly turns to face me, his expression unreadable. He drags his eyes over me, not saying a word.
Is he even listening to me?
“You wanted to hurt him. And guess what? You succeeded,” I bite out before shoving at his chest, a burst of anger taking hold of me. “I’m sure you already know this, but you’re an asshole. You don’t care about anyone but yourself, and your own brother has suffered enough because of that! You need to let him go free.”
Dom didn’t say it, but I have a feeling that the first thing he’ll do once he’s out is go for his brother’s throat.
I’m not sure how I feel about that. Or the fact that he didn’t come out and just tell me that’s his plan.
Gavriil’s mouth twitches. His blue eyes look oddly hazy.
“Are you giving me the silent treatment now?” I question him, growing more and more frustrated. If he wants to get undermy skin, he’s succeeded. “You can go fuck yourself, Gavriil. Don’tevertouch me again!”
Before I can storm off to the cage, he surges forward, doing exactly what I just told him not to do. He grabs my arm to pull me back to him. Then, his lips crash against mine, both of his large hands caging my face between them.
I draw in a sharp breath through my nose, my body freezing as his lips caress mine.
He’s kissing me.
Gavriil holds the frame of my face tighter like he doesn’t want me to slip through his fingers. He kisses me deeper, lips brushing and pushing against mine so needily that it dizzies me.
My mind goes blank, and all I can register is the warmth of his mouth and the way my body betrays me.
Dominik told me to give in if I wanted, so I do.
The kiss almost feels…passionate. I start to lean in to match his eagerness, but a familiar taste hits my tongue.
I jerk away from him, my fingers flying to my tingling lips. “Have you been drinking?”
Gavriil smirks a little, but his blue eyes don’t reflect any happiness or amusement in them. He looks fucking miserable. “Why’d you stop? You kissed him for hours.”
He was watching us? Or did the guard tell him?
I stare at him for a few seconds, taking in the way he leans slightly when his posture is usually straight and perfect. His eyes aren’t half-lidded, but they certainly look heavier than normal. And the sharp bite of vodka is unmistakable.
“Are you drunk?” I ask, taking a step back from him.
I’ve never seen him like this before. Sure, I’ve seen him sip on vodka every now and then, but he never drinks to excess. It’s not like him. He can’t be in control if he’s drunk.
Gavriil moves closer to me, reaching out to clumsily take my hand in his. “I should’ve brought you back sooner. To me. Not so late.”
I blink at him, having to decipher his fragmented speech. “What’s going on with you, Gavriil? Did something happen?”
Gavriil lets out a weak scoff as he grips my hand like I’m the only thing keeping him upright. “What didn’t happen…”
My heart hammers against my ribs. What’s so bad that it’s reduced him to this state? This isn’t the Gavriil that I know, and for some reason, that scares me.
It would be easy to take advantage of his intoxicated state right now, but my chest tightens at the thought of hurting him when he’s so…vulnerable.
Maybe it’s because I now know he not only carries the weight of leadership on his shoulders, but he also lives with a brutal secret. He has his own father’s blood on his hands. And however that happened, it was so traumatic that I think he still has nightmares about it. He basically admitted as much when I asked him about talking in his sleep.
