Til Death Do Us Part (Kornilov Bratva Duet #2) - Nicole Fox Page 0,32

bandage him without complaint and talk back to him, but it is clear he is done with that now. Now, we are going to fight.

Hannah’s eyes go wide, and she disappears into the living room without a word. I follow Viktor into the hallway and towards the study on the opposite end of the apartment.

The second I close the door I spin around and start talking before he can.

“You attacked two men on a street corner in the middle of the day. What in the hell were you thinking?” I say, fighting the tremor in my voice. “You could have been killed. You were alone. Where was Petr or any other enforcer to help you? And you did it in front of Theo.”

I try to organize my anger into coherence.

“I’ve been terrified for weeks that something would happen to you or someone would break into this house and hurt me or my son or my unborn baby, but turns out, I should have been worried about you walking around and putting yourself in life and death situations. I mean, for God’s sake, Viktor, what would happen to all of us if you died on a street corner fighting off dealers? Where would we be then?”

Viktor steps forward into my space, his body close enough that I have to stop to draw in a sharp breath.

“You were supposed to tell me before you left the house,” he says, reminding me of my promise. “I had no reason to believe you or Theo or your friend would be anywhere close to that scene today.”

“Hannah. Her name is Hannah, and so much for keeping your business secret from her. She got an eyeful today.”

“Fuck Hannah,” Viktor says harshly, his neck turning red. “I’m worried about you. Why didn’t you tell me where you were? What would have happened if you’d run into those two men on your own? They recognized me, so I have every reason to believe they would have recognized you, too. You could have been hurt or kidnapped or worse.”

“We had guards,” I say, rolling my eyes as if that very scenario hadn’t already played in my mind. “Besides, that area was supposed to be Kornilov territory, right? Even if I had told you we were going there, you wouldn’t have done anything differently. Or have territories changed since the last time we spoke about it?”

“No,” he says, nostrils flaring.

“Okay, then.” I cross my arms and hold my ground. “So, if I’m not safe in territories that are supposedly ‘safe,’ then where am I safe?”

The question comes out hot and angry, but there is a current of fear beneath it.

Where are we safe?

Viktor steps forward until his chest is pressed against mine. I want to pull away from him for the simple reason that his nearness makes my head fuzzy, but I don’t. I stand firm.

He lays a hand over my bicep and drags it down until his fingers tangle with mine. “You’re safe here. With me.”

The words crack the ice around my heart, and I can feel myself melting into him. Despite everything I’ve seen today and all of the chaos happening inside my brain, Viktor’s touch has a way of slicing through all of it and getting straight to the heart of me.

I tip my head up to look at him, and his blue eyes are studying my features, outlining my every edge like he is trying to memorize me. Then, his lips are on mine.

I don’t know if I lean into it or if it’s Viktor who closes the entire distance on his own, but once his lips are on mine, I don’t care. I arch my back against him, tangle my hands in the soft hair at the base of his neck, and inhale him like my life depends on it.

Viktor’s hands are gentle on my waist for a second, and then his touch burns. It scorches. He grips my waist and molds me against his body. I wrap my legs around him instinctively, and he sits me on the edge of a small desk he bought for me to study on. I prefer the kitchen table for homework, so this is the first time I’ve used it. And I’m guessing, after we are done, I won’t be able to sit at this table and focus on anything academic ever again.

His body is warm on the inside of my thighs, but there is too much material between us. Too many layers separating our bodies. I slide