“That’s not true, Van. That will never be true.” The elevator doors start to open, interrupting our moment, but he doesn’t let me go. Instead, he cups the back of my head and kisses me slowly. His lips are warm against mine, his tongue commanding as he laps at mine and then swallows the moan I give. My hands slide higher up his shirt, every part of me wanting more of him, and when I give another needy moan, he breaks the kiss, leaving us both frustrated.
“I should know better than to kiss you in public,” he says. “You’re just impossible to resist, Van.” Both his hands cup my face when he says, “I will never take you for granted. Everything about you is a gift that I’ll never be worthy of.”
“That’s not true,” I try to tell him. “You’re perfect.”
His grey eyes look so sad when he slowly lets me go and says, “I’m nobody.”
Chapter 11
Nikita
Saying goodbye to Savanna is always difficult, but doing it after everything we shared today makes it nearly impossible. I want her with me, not just some of the time, but all of it. I’m not sure how long it’ll take me to convince her to move in with me, but I’m bringing it up this weekend when she stays here. Maybe by the time the four days are over, I’ll have convinced her that it’s a brilliant plan and one we should definitely do as soon as possible.
Since she doesn’t have class today and she’s trying really hard to focus on her paper, I spend the morning searching for Cupid and tracking another monster I found on the dark web. There’s never an end to them. For every one I catch, there are hundreds, if not thousands, still out there preying on innocent victims.
My phone buzzing with an incoming text is a welcome distraction, and when I see the photo my brother’s just sent, I know my Uncle Vitaly is behind this. He must’ve taken it at supper last night because it’s a shot of Savanna and me at the table. In it, we’re both smiling at one another, and I have to admit that they’re all right. I do look like a guy who’s in love. Ibarely recognize myself. I’m surprised I don’t have literal hearts in my eyes.
MAX:
Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Sav?
ME:
It’s very new. Did Uncle Vitaly send that to you last night or did he actually show some restraint and wait until this morning?
MAX:
Good guess, but it was Mom.
My phone rings with his incoming call before I can type a response.
“Hey, Max,” I say, leaning back in my chair and then deciding I’d rather have coffee. While I walk into the kitchen, I ask, “How’s Talia and Lyra?”
“They’re doing great,” he says, and I hear the sappy smile in my brother’s voice. “Lyra smiles every time I play the piano. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Looks like we’ll have another pianist in the family.” I grab a mug and throw a pod into the machine. While it brews, he tells me all about what they’ve been up to and how much he’s looking forward to getting back here so we can all see how much she’s grown.
I pour in a healthy amount of hazelnut creamer and ask how Talia’s family is. He tells me Bran and Dima are loving being uncles, and all about the baby monitor that Bran’s connected to his smartwatch that vibrates anytime Lyra cries. He loves to babysit her, and he’d been worried about not knowing when she needed him.
“That’s great,” I tell him. “As soon as she’s old enough, she can watch those kids’ shows that teach sign language.” I give a soft laugh. “I’m not gonna lie. I watch them sometimes for practice.”
“Me too,” Max admits. “Sometimes I just need it explained to me like I’m three.”
“Exactly,” I say, taking my mug over to the couch so I can sit down.
“So about Savanna,” he starts to say, letting the sentence trail off so I can start talking, and I do. I tell him all about seeing her over at Sasha’s and all the time we’ve been spending together.
“I’m going to meet her parents on Wednesday.”
“You nervous?” he asks.
“I am. I’m worried they’ll hate me on sight.”
“Just be happy your future father-in-law isn’t the head of a Bratva. I really doubt Sav’s dad is capable of taking a life or knows how to dispose of a body if he did.”
“True enough, I suppose, but I’m still nervous. I just don’t want to fuck it up. I really like her.”
“Sounds like a bit more than that to me,” my brother says, and I can tell he’s grinning again. “Hell, it seemed like more than that at Sasha’s wedding.”
