She’s mine. All fucking mine. Every single inch of her creamy body belongs to me, as well as her fucking heart.
“I have a fight next week. You should come. Check out what it’s all about. If you’re going to be staying awhile, you might as well get acquainted with the shit that goes down around here.”
I clench my jaw, I thought maybe when he said illegal shit he was slinging drugs, prostitution at best. But of course not. He’s running in the underground fighting circles. Knowing him, he is into the most dangerous ones… the ones where the only way out is death.
“I don’t know if that’s safe for Violet, plus I need to figure out a way to get rid of the bodies over at the rental.”
Roman laughs. “Well, keeping her here at the house isn’t going to be safe either. Everyone comes back here for a gigantic party at the end of the night. And I already sent some men over to dispose of the fuckers’ bodies.” He smiles, and it’s a downright serial killer looking. “Let’s just say no one will ever find them.”
I sigh in relief. Yes, Roman is an asshole, a prick, but when he does shit, he gets it done, never half assing it. He might still hate me, hold a grudge, but he’s not going to leave me in the dark. At the end of the day, we’re family, and family is all that matters in this fucked up world.
“Thank you,” I mumble.
“Don’t mention it, and I do mean it. Don’t mention it. I didn’t do it for you. Like you said, as soon as all is well, we can go back to hating each other like we always have.”
I roll my eyes at his dramatic tone. He leaves the room without another word, and I take the moment of silence to hold Violet’s fragile body tighter to my chest. Everything is going to be fine. She’ll be protected, secure by my side, and no one will hurt her or us.
She’s safe… safe in my arms.
“I love you,” I whisper into her hair, wanting to say the words over and over again, knowing I shouldn’t have waited so long to say them. I’d been guarding my heart for so long, I failed to see what was right in front of me. I failed to see the love that poured from deep within her but there was no missing it now, and if I had to, I’d kill everyone and do anything to make sure she remained mine.
Mine and safe.
19
Violet
A little over a week had passed since Roman rescued us and helped patch up Ivan’s wound, which was finally healing. I knew this because he kept trying to get me to have sex with him while I kept denying him, even though I wanted him just as badly. He needed to be healing, letting the wound close completely, but all he really wanted was for me to be wrapped around him.
I’m sitting in one of the many living rooms this place has, reading a book that we had gotten when we went on a grocery run. I don’t particularly like being here, and I don’t really like Roman, but I’m happy he and Ivan are finally getting along better. Roman still hardly interacts with me. Most of the time, he pretends I’m not here, and I am fine with that. I would much rather him not look at me than give me the death stare he gave me at the gym the first night I met him.
I started seeing a change between Roman and Ivan a few days after we got here. Roman seemed to have warmed up to Ivan being here. Maybe he remembered that he is still his brother after all. I see them joke and laugh more often and that makes some of the coldness Roman gives me bearable. I tell myself he’s misunderstood, heartbroken over the loss of their sister, but I’m sure there is something deeper going on.
“Come here, Kitten,” Ivan calls from the kitchen just on the other side of the room. I hear male laughter and hushed voices. I don’t like when he uses my nickname in front of all the men who live here. I don’t want them to know what he calls me. I just want it to stay between us, as our own little thing.
Placing the book down on the table in front of me, I get up and pad into the kitchen, noticing that everyone is occupying the space. I feel exposed with everyone’s eyes on me.
Mac and Devin greet me with smiles. Roman completely ignores me, as he always does. He doesn’t even look up at me when I enter the room.
Ivan reaches for me, pulling me into his side, a smile creeping onto his lips. “We’re going to order pizza before the fight tonight. What kind do you want?”
I can see the disgust fill Roman’s features, and I don’t understand why he dislikes me so much.
“Cheese is fine.” I shrug. I don’t tell Ivan I’m not hungry, or that I haven’t been feeling good lately. If I do, he’ll worry, and I don’t want him worrying about me when there are lots of other things going on right now. This Xander guy has been calling Roman to get ahold of Ivan. The fear of something bad happening to Ivan again consumes me. Maybe he should just call him, telling him he doesn’t want to be a part of whatever it is he’s calling about.
“On it, Kitten,” Devin jokes, and I smile at him. Devin and Mac have grown on me. They’re nicer and far easier going than Roman.
“Tonight at nine is the fight. It’s invite only, but since you’re arriving with me, you should be fine.” Roman is speaking directly to Ivan, and I turn my face into Ivan’s shirt, inhaling his deep scent, trying to calm the chaos coursing through my veins. “As long as you keep her at your side at all times, then everything should be fine. If you lose her in the crowd though…” Roman’s voice trails off, the warning not missed, not at all.
“I won’t let her out of my sight, so we don’t have shit to worry about.” Ivan’s voice is strong, deep, and he pulls me closer, making it hard for me to breathe.
“Good, because if something goes down, I can’t help you. I’m there to fucking fight and earn a paycheck. Not to babysit you or her.” I feel Roman’s eyes on me, they burn into my skin, making me feel as if he can see deep inside me.
Devin calls to order the food, and not shortly after is it delivered. After we eat, we get ready for the fight. I have half a mind to ask Ivan if I can just stay home, but I know he’d say no. He never goes anywhere without me. I slip on a pair of skinny jeans and a sweatshirt.
“Are you okay?” Ivan asks, cupping me by the cheek, forcing me to look at him.
I don’t want to lie to him, but I also don’t want to give him any more reason to worry about me, since that’s all he seems to do.
“I’m fine. Just nervous about the fight is all.”
“Are you still scared of Roman? You hardly talk when he’s in the room.” His gray eyes peer into mine, and it’s so hard to keep in the words that I want to say.
“Stop worrying about me and worry about yourself. You’ve still got some healing to do.”
His thumb swipes across my bottom lip and then he’s leaning into me, taking my mouth, kissing me feverishly. I grip onto his shirt, feeling all his hardness, wanting to strip him bare and touch every inch of his beautiful body.
“Are you lovebirds ready to fucking go?” Roman’s voice carries down the hall, interrupting our conversation, which I’m thankful for. If he asked me one more time if I was okay, or if something was wrong, I was going to break down.
“Yeah, we’re ready.” Ivan pulls away, leaving me whimpering and breathless. Taking my hand into his, he pulls me downstairs and then outside to Roman’s car. Everyone piles in… and I’m squished in the back seat between Ivan and Devin.