Page 107 of Inked in Devotion

“It’s normal.” He leaned back in his chair and bit a hefty chunk out of his burger. Was it strange that I loved watching him eat? My gaze split between Kolya and Sebastian. I had to hold back saying, my boys. A longing pinched my heart. Kolya was proposing that we become a family. Why was I holding back again?

Oh yes, I had to become bratva. But that was only to gain their protection, not to protect me and Sebastian from the Vozhokari. And after what happened to Kolya’s parents, I understood his reasons for insisting we join the bratva.

I couldn’t let my attraction to this man, who could make eating a burger with his strong angular jaws, cloud my judgment. That strong column of his throat and those intricate tattoos that made the act of swallowing sexy, and had me salivating to lick him from…

Shit, Chloe. I started coughing.

“Are you all right?”

I averted my gaze. I only had to remember that Dora had moved out of the carriage house today, and wouldn’t exist as a buffer between Kolya and me. My skin prickled under his regard.

“You’re turning red.”

I wanted to yell at him to stop staring at me like he wanted to eat me alive. It only reminded me of the way he pounded me into the mattress. Heat pulsed between my legs. Awareness sent goose bumps racing across my skin. I grabbed my soda to give myself time to formulate an answer. He wouldn’t stop staring.

Now would be a good time to fuss, Sebastian. But my boy was happily munching on the cheesy fries and grilled burger meat.

I lowered the soda and tried to look at him innocently. “Swallowed too fast. One of the best burgers I've had. Meat is at the right temperature. Juicy.” Oh my God, stop babbling. “I love these buns.”

Kolya smirked, his eyes gleaming knowingly. “I love these buns too. They’re soft and fit my hands perfectly.” He held out the burger as if to show me. “Fits perfectly in my mouth. Like this.” Then he made a production of taking another mouthful. And repeated the action of chewing and swallowing, but this time while he was staring at me.

Sweat beaded my forehead.

What the hell was in these burgers? Some kind of aphrodisiac?

Kolya finished his burger and ordered another beer. “So, Dora moved out today,” he said.

“Yes.”

“Have you given thoughts about moving?”

That caught me by surprise because we hadn’t resolved the problem of why I had moved out of my apartment into the cottage. And then more issues piled up. “Why? Is Lucy kicking me out?”

“If she had her way, she’d let you stay there forever, you know that, right?”

“But not you?”

“You may not have made up your mind about us, but I’ve already made up my mind that I’m taking care of you and Sebastian. When we figure out who attacked you at the apartment and if Marena Rodriguez is connected to it, then we have to start thinking about Sebastian’s environment. He needs a backyard to play in. He needs a house where he’d grow up with round-the-clock security.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you? Sebastian and I will never be safe.”

“I’m sorry, Chloshka. What happened today with the viral post? We’re already too public. We have to be proactive. And I get it. You don’t want to commit to me and what I am, but Sebastian is half of me.”

“That’s not fair. I can never regret you being Sebastian’s father. I love our boy and he’s half of you.”

He picked up my hand in his. “Then trust me. But I’m asking you, for the sake of our son, don’t accept any more proposals from anyone. Give me a chance to make this right.”

“Are you saying…you’re not proposing, are you?”

“I will when the time is right. Just…just wait…I’ve already asked Margo to look into something for me. Or rather Lucy did.”

“What? When?”

“When I came clean to them about⁠—”

“Your ex-fiancée,” I gritted.

“Yes.” He glared at me, knowing we were speaking in code again. “There is a loophole Margo is validating.”