Page 94 of Black Ledger

And I waited and waited…and nothing.

My gaze drifted to the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. It was 12 a.m. Of course, Severin’s bougie ass had a grandfather clock in his bedroom… at college. However, “bedroom” wasn’t the appropriate word for it, since it was a full-on primary suite.

I continued waiting and waiting, trying not to fall asleep, but 12 a.m. turned into 2 a.m., then 3 a.m., and at some point after that, I lost consciousness completely.

All I recall was extreme heat, tossing and turning, and unintentionally snuggling into his pillows.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Severin Volkov

Age 21

Ispent the night riding my motorcycle hundreds of miles, driving along the massive, imposing lake. It called to me, called to the doom lingering inside of me.

As I stared out at the raging waves, the moon glaring down on the black water, I knew I was fucked. Oh, so fucked.

Xeniya Morozova was going to be the death of me.

Thirteen years was too long to be plagued by obsession. Unhealthy, unending obsession. And worst of all, I knew I’d never break it. If I truly tasted her, there would be no turning back.

So maybe it was good she didn’t kiss me back.

The other boys called her cold and heartless. Maybe they were right. Maybe she just wasn’t capable of passion or wanting… or maybe she was not capable of wanting me.

She had gone on a fucking date… with someone else.

That was the other reason I rode off into the night. Because if I stayed, I would have hunted him down and cut off his head and fed it to her… or I would’ve hunted her down and done things I’d never be able to take back.

I’d force her to love me, to take me, to feel all of me.

I’d hold her down and fuck her.

But it wouldn’t work.

Forcing Xeniya would only push her further away. It might cause her to actually fight, and if she chose to fight, she’d burn the world down getting her revenge.

No one was more terrifying than Xeniya Morozova angry.

So I rode my motorcycle into the night until I knew I was calm enough to return without destroying everything.

Hours passed, and I finally turned around and drove back to my house. But even with the wind in my hair and hours to process, I was still a live wire, ready to explode. I was better, but even the smallest thing might set me off.

I pushed open the front door and found the remnants of a party still in full swing at six in the morning.

“Ah, there he is,” Kaz said, running a hand up the torso of the girl riding his cock… in the fucking living room, on my fucking couch. We desperately needed more boundaries. “We’ve been waiting for you⁠—”

But before I could respond to that strange as fuck sentence, Ilya appeared out of nowhere and punched me in the face.

“What the fuck—” My hand came to my nose.

“Stay away from my sister.”

“What the fuck?” I asked again.

“Wait just one moment, Ilya,” Kaz grunted. “I very much want to be a part of this conversation.”

“You’re busy,” Ilya snapped.