Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva #4)(43)

Maybe she was, in more ways than she thought.

“Sorry.” But he didn’t sound like he truly meant that.

Though he had every right to be suspicious of her, she still felt indignant as she blatantly held her hands up, wiggling her fingers at him. “Just taking a shower. No pills or anything.”

For the briefest of moments, he wasn’t focused on her empty hands or the sardonic tone of her voice. Instead, his gaze was intent on every part of her that she had just revealed. It wasn’t the first time he had seen her naked, not even the second, but the way he blinked made her feel like it was all over again. Those other times, it didn’t really feel like he had actually taken notice of her nudity, now it was as if he was finally seeing her.

It didn’t matter that he looked exhausted. He was still reacting to her.

Only when she cleared her throat did he finally look back up at her face, but there was no apology in his eyes, not even close.

“I need clothes.” She gestured back at the sink where she’d set them.

“Meet me in the kitchen.”

He fisted the towel, tossing it at her without looking back as he headed out of the steamy bathroom, leaving the door open in his wake. Even if she weren’t naked, she still would have felt raw after the last few days, and in her current condition, she was in no mood to fight with him about this.

She dried off in a hurry, pulling on his shirt that was about two sizes too big and a pair of shorts that she had to roll a few times at the waist to keep them up. Despite how they swallowed her, they were pretty comfortable.

In the kitchen, Luka was at the stove, knives in hand as he turned on one of the burners. There was a carton of eggs resting on the counter, along with a few other ingredients. He knew the moment she entered, his head turning just the slightest when she walked in. The back door was cracked, and since Alex didn’t see Loki trotting around the kitchen, she headed in that direction, stepping out into the backyard.

She’d figured that he lived in the middle of nowhere considering no one had called the police when she was screaming bloody murder that first night, but she had seriously underestimated the seclusion in which Luka lived. There were just woods behind his house, as far as the eye could see.

There was a bird soaring through the sky, Loki bounding behind it, jumping every so often to try to catch it. On his third attempt, he finally nabbed it with a paw.

Alex cringed, calling out to him before he could kill the poor thing.

Seeing her, he came running back to her at full speed, nearly knocking her down as he plowed into her, hot breath on her face. She laughed, trying to shove him off even as she rubbed his head. Luka might not have been in a good mood, but Loki was.

Luka’s gaze went from her to Loki, then back again as they reentered the house. Whatever he’d been making at the stove was now plated and waiting for her at the island. It was odd. Alex was starting to notice that when he cooked for her, while he made more than enough for the pair of them, he never ate with her.

He waited until she was set up in front of the food, a knife and fork in hand, before he started speaking.

“How are you feeling?”

That was such a loaded question. Was it possible to feel utterly exhausted, but to still feel good? She felt lighter than she had before, like less of a weight was bearing down on her, but she also felt like she’d been repeatedly run over by a car.

“Fine.”

He leaned his weight on his arms, the veins in them standing out. Despite not having been up more than half an hour, he already looked wired. “Can you eat?”

She nodded, though she wasn’t quite sure if this was true or not. Even so, she left the omelet for the moment, picking up a strawberry. When she bit into it, she was pleasantly surprised by the taste, especially since the fruit wasn’t in season.

The silence between them was strained, and while Alex longed to break it, she didn’t know how. She was embarrassed, and now that her mind was clear enough for her to remember just how bad her actions were over the last few weeks—it was slowly coming back to her—she didn’t know how she would ever look at Luka again.

She had been so upset about him treating her like a child but hadn’t she been acting like one? Throwing tantrums when she didn’t get her way, acting reckless just because she could. She even doubted that Mishca would have been so forgiving—especially about his car—if Luka hadn’t covered everything up, but that brought into question why exactly he was helping her conceal this from someone who was essentially his boss.

When Luka’s phone began ringing, she jumped, looking down at it before looking to Luka. She couldn’t remember whether his phone had rung during their time in his bedroom, which was an oddity considering how often he was called out on jobs. Had he purposefully been ignoring it just so he could help her?

That only made her feel worse.

Luka abruptly stood up, circling the island until he was just beside her. His presence was every bit as overwhelming as it had always been, and even more so now that she could actually focus on it.

He reached out, as if he was powerless to stop himself, hooking a lock of her hair behind her ear, his touch lingering there even after he had pulled away.

There was no disappointment anymore, not even pity. Just a broken look that made her question how often she had been wrong when she’d thought he didn’t care for her.

When his phone rang again, this time he didn’t ignore it, instead picking it up and reading the caller id.