Guarded Rebellion (The Baranov Legacy)

30. Eva

30

EVA

“ I can see why you’d want to live here instead of the dorms,” Kelly said.

I raised my brows at her. “Well, from what I saw, I can tell that the dorms looked decent.”

She laughed once.

“Maybe the room was small.” I winced. “Cozy,” I amended.

“And out of date.” She looked around at the spaciousness of the living room. “Cramped. I won’t knock it. That dorm was the nicest home I’d ever had. I can’t relate to all this , though.”

We hadn’t talked in depth about where she’d go since the dorm room was destroyed. We’d pay off the college for any damages. In an effort to control the narrative of what happened there and hide the fact that we’d seen to a man’s death in that room, we would sweep it all under the rug.

I knew that she intended to stay, though. After this semester, she’d resume her studies because she had nowhere else to go.

When I offered for her to move in with me for good, she’d refused, claiming that she wanted distance from my family. I understood. If I were in her shoes, I’d say the same. From the little that she’d seen so far, association with a Baranov came with risks.

Her comment about this fancy apartment didn’t sit right with me, though.

“It’s not about the place that makes somewhere nice and inviting,” I told her, also looking around at the high walls, many windows, and immaculate furniture.

“It isn’t?” She sat up, seeming more curious. “I have to imagine your house is like this, only ten times bigger and fancier.”

“It is,” I admitted freely and without shame. I would never rub my wealth in someone’s face for the sake of trying to feel superior to another. And she knew that. “But it’s more about who you share that space with that makes all the difference.”

“Aww. I like rooming with you too,” she quipped teasingly.

“I was so desperate to leave home because it never felt like a home.”

“Because your dad is a drunk and your mom left?”

I frowned. “Yes, and no. My uncle is always there. But it is also his work space. Meetings are held there. Deals were discussed and arranged there. Soldiers come in and out…”

“Ah.”

“I was most excited to come to college to get out of there and be comfortable in a different place. In a seemingly normal and ordinary location. Like the dorm would’ve been. But it’s not about the structure or building. It’s not about the things that can be used to liven up or decorate a space. It’s about who you share your space with.”

“Like… Lev?” she guessed with a naughty smile.

I nodded. Then groaned as I let my head drop back to the chair cushion.

“What?”

“I won’t be able to share my space, myself—anything—with him after this.”

“Wait. Are you going to drop out?” She sat up, alarmed.

“I think I have to. If my presence here is a target for dangerous people, that’s not right. I don’t want to be responsible for attracting threats to innocent students coming here for an education.”

“But you said Irina is from the Mafia too. If she’s here, it’s not just you.”

I shot her a frustrated look. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“So, that’s it. You just drop out and quit?”

“I never would be able to get a job. To be a teacher…”

“You just get married off and pop out babies. Fuck, that sounds so defeatist.”

I nodded. It did sound terrible. But… I bit my lip, using her as a sounding board. “Or, maybe I could make my case to my uncle and try to compromise.”

“How so?” She smiled. “I’m all for your trying to stand up for what you want, girl.”

“I want Lev.” Saying it out loud made the burden of my deepest secret feel so much lighter. Like I wasn’t weighed down with the nervousness about it. “I want to be with Lev. With my uncle’s permission.”

“Whoa.” Her brows shot up high. “Is that something that he’d do?”

I shrugged. “He’s never talked much about my being married off. It’s just a given that I’ll be arranged to someone.”

“So, he could arrange for you to marry Lev?”

“Maybe? I don’t know. Arranged marriages are usually set up to unify the family with another. To form alliances and all this old-fashioned crap. But Uncle Oleg doesn’t seem to be a team player like that. He has never given a hint of what family he’d want to align with because he loathes them all. He’s a loner like that.”

“Then maybe…” She grinned. “Maybe he won’t oppose what you want.” She laughed once. “It’s not like Lev would protest. The man worships the ground you walk on. I can tell. I see it in the way he watches you.”

“He’s supposed to watch me. He’s my bodyguard.”

“Oh, cut that shit. He’s way more than a bodyguard.”

Our time to gossip or enjoy girl talk was cut short with his return. The door opened so quickly, we were both startled. Lev walked in, showing a split lip and new injuries.

“Lev?” I shot to my feet, worried all over again. “I thought you were just checking on things.”

“Well, someone wasn’t happy about that.” He glanced at us before taking his sulking, broody self to the kitchen for ice.

“I’m going to just…” Kelly aimed her thumb at her room, which was at the opposite end of the apartment from mine.

I paid attention to Lev instead of my friend as she gave us privacy.

“What happened?” I reached him in the kitchen, grimacing as I took the dish towel from his hand and wetted it again for dabbing at the cut on his lip.

He didn’t reply, looking over his shoulder as though checking whether Kelly was within earshot. Her door closed at that moment, but I wanted more privacy with him too. Instead of pressing him for an answer, I took his hand and led him to my room.

“What happened?” I asked again as he took his coat off and dropped it in a chair.

“I was checking the campus for signs of activity from the Petrovs.” He wasn’t idle, taking off his bloodied shirt.

“And did you see any? Irina should be back to class.”

“No. I saw nothing unusual, not until I was about to leave.”

I fought not to react to his bare chest as he took off his shirt. I hated the scars that were still healing. And I chastised myself for having a reaction to him without clothes on. I would always lust for this man. No matter what. But now wasn’t the time.

“Eva?”

I jerked my face up, returning the cool tip of the towel to his cut lip.

“I asked when the last time was that you saw Bryce.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me,” he scolded firmly. He yanked on my shirt, removing it. “Come shower with me and tell me.”

I let him guide me by the hand. “You know when I last saw him. When I kissed him at the library to make you jealous.”

“I think it worked,” he agreed wryly, leaning down to kiss me as he pushed my pants off. I wasn’t wearing panties, and he groaned.

“Why are you asking about him?” I helped him get his pants off as he continued to kiss me. Mixing business with pleasure was new. I never asked him about “work”, and he never opted to share business with me freely like this. Especially not as we undressed for a shower to clean the dried blood off him while he kissed me and roved his hands over my naked flesh.

“Because I saw him there. Behind the library.”

I stroked him, unable to tame my desire for him. He thrust into my hand, kissing me as he walked me back to the shower stall.

“I saw him taking money from an Ilyin. When I chased after him, they attacked.”

“Dammit, Lev. You’re still recovering from the other day.”

He grinned as he lifted me and carried me into the shower with him. Pressing me up against the cold wall, he multitasked to reach over and turn on the water. Cool, then warm spray hit me, cascading over our bodies as he kissed me hard. His erection poked at my stomach, and pinned to the tile surface like this, I was eager for him to fill me.

“Are you worried about me?” he taunted softly as he lined himself up to me.

I nodded, wrapping my arms around him and encouraging him to put that cocky mouth on my breasts. He did, earning my low moans. “I will always worry about you.”

Because I love you.

“Now you know how I feel.” He slid in, all the way to the hilt. Stretched and stuffed, I adjusted to the precious fullness I never wanted to feel with anyone else but him.

“Hard?” I joked. “Hard and deep?”

He chuckled lightly, pulling out and sliding back in. “The Ilyins attacked me. If it weren’t for Marcus and another soldier…”

I kissed him, wanting to silence the rest of the sentence he wouldn’t finish.

He hissed in pain as he shifted closer to me for more leverage into me, and I evaded his lips. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“The day I can’t fuck you like you need…” he argued.

Won’t happen. We had to figure out how to convince my uncle to let me marry him.

“I can’t help myself with you.”

I kissed him harder, tightening my legs around his waist. I couldn’t either. I didn’t want to stop this need for him, this budding love that grew every day we stayed together.

He didn’t last long. Nor did I. But when I came, powerful with a punch, he had the common sense to muffle my cries with his mouth over mine, his lips sealing my sounds of pure bliss.

“Such a good girl,” he cooed after he shot into me, flooding my womb with his cum. His legs shook as he lowered me to stand, but he kept me close, in his embrace. “Such a good little brat.”

I smiled, amused by this dirty talk that was like an inside joke between us. “You slut,” I reminded him.

He growled, spanking my ass lightly as he turned me to stand in the shower with him.

This time, he cleaned himself off, but not before tending to me. And this time, when he opened his mouth and spoke again, he defied that initial distance between us. He shared his concerns about the Ilyin presence on campus. He opened up about the details of his previous assignment, where he killed an Ilyin boss and also a few other guards, one who is reported to be alive again and out and about in the city.

“What, like he came back from the dead?” I laughed. “Maybe he has a twin.”

“That’s what I wonder,” he said. “Or the reports of spotting him are inaccurate.”

We dried off together, and still, as we got dressed then lay in bed, relaxing, he continued to explain his worries and ideas.

I fell silent, listening more than talking, but he smiled at me after a while. “What? What’s that little look for?”

“You’re such an overachiever,” I teased. “It’s no wonder my uncle has always favored you.”

He sighed, losing his lighthearted expression that seemed to settle in the more we talked “shop”.

“Okay, what’s that look for?”

He took my hand and threaded our fingers together. “He might not care for me at all after he realizes what we’re doing.”

I mentally swooned when he lifted our joined hands and kissed my knuckles. “And what do you call this? What are we doing, Lev?”

He stared at me, and so many emotions passed between us wordlessly that I knew. I saw it in his eyes.

Falling in love.

Leaning in slowly, he licked his lips. “I don’t know, baby.” He cupped my face and kissed me softly. “But I never want it to stop.”

Me neither.