Page 9

“You oversized bastard,” Dimitri snaps, glaring up from the floor.

Alexei rolls one broad shoulder, eyes flat and calm as winter. “Get up.”

There’s something deeply insulting about how little effort Alexei makes it look. Dimitri burns; Alexei endures. Dimitri explodes; Alexei waits. It drives Dimitri completely out of his mind, which makes him reckless, which makes the whole circus profoundly more entertaining for me.

Behind the theatrics, though, they’re lethal. Dimitri would burn the city to ash if Alexei asked him nicely. Alexei has spent his entire existence making sure Dimitri is safe. They would slaughter an army for each other. They would also break each other’s noses before noon.

Family. A disgusting concept, but it works.

Dimitri pulls himself up slowly, his black hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. Alexei steps forward and extends a gloved hand.

“Aww,” I coo loudly, resting my chin on my hands over the rope. “Look at that. Mutual attempted manslaughter followed by basic courtesy. We are really healing as a family.”

Dimitri mutters something filthy in Russian, grabs the hand, and lets Alexei haul him upright. Still breathing hard, he points a finger at me. “Say one more word, Solovyov.”

I blow him a kiss. “I have an entire dictionary waiting for you.”

The fight ends, and students start filtering out in clumps. A few of the girls waste no time drifting toward Dimitri, drawn in like moths to a very violent flame. Dimitri attracts attention. Meanwhile, Alexei is spared that particular brand of harassment.

People want Dimitri, but they fear Alexei.

Side note: they’re both taken. I’m the single one, which some people treat like a tragedy, and I treat like a public service. Someone in this trio has to remain available to fuck.

I’m lazily scanning the bleachers, watching the stragglers shuffle toward the double doors, when my gaze snags.

Eyes, black. Absolute, pitch-black abyss.

And just like that, the air around me changes.

It darkens.

No. Maybe that isn’t real. Maybe that’s just what it feels like every time he enters my line of sight.

He sits a few rows back, one arm draped over the seat beside him, looking completely at ease. His gaze is already on me.

Then he smirks, and I grit my teeth so hard my jaw twinges.

Before I can decide whether to leave immediately or set the building on fire, Dimitri comes up beside me and drops a hand onto my shoulder. “Are you coming?”

I drag my eyes away. “Yeah. You both go ahead. I’ll be right there.”

Alexei steps up behind Dimitri, his gaze flicking from me to the bleachers, assessing the sudden spike in my posture.

“You good?” Dimitri asks, his tone dropping the humor.

“I’m fantastic,” I lie smoothly, flashing a bright, manic smile.

Dimitri narrows his eyes but shrugs. “Don’t take too long. We have lunch at one.”

Alexei doesn’t speak. He just gives me a nod that carries about six different warnings, then turns Dimitri by the shoulder and herds him toward the locker rooms with the rest of the exiting crowd.

The space begins to empty, and through it all, the man of my nightmares stays seated.

He waits until the area has nearly cleared before he rises to his feet.

I hate how easily I track the movement. Every shift of his body catches my attention before I can stop it.

He steps down from the seating row, those abyssal eyes fixed on me like this is the only real destination he has had all day.