“I’m sorry,” I whisper, horrified at the idea of looking up to meet the stranger’s eyes. It’s okay for me to break down where no one’s watching, but to do so in public? Burdening someone with my problems is just unacceptable.
“You have nothing to be sorry about.” The voice is deep and so oddly familiar that my eyes shoot up. I am struck mute when my eyes lock with a familiar cobalt-blue gaze. I blink at the mountain of a man towering over me.
“Brute?” I whisper in shock. That isn’t his real name, but he doesn’t correct me.
“Hi, Yuri,” he says. I fight gasping. The sound of my name on his lips should not sound as good as it does.
It’s been less than a month since I last saw him, but it feels like a lifetime ago. His hair is a little longer at the top, but his eyes are just as intense and the scar on his cheek makes him look devilish in all the right ways. He’s dressed in a black t-shirt that threatens to tear at the seams and well-fitting dark jeans. He looks better like this, even if the orange coveralls weren’t a bad look on him. My heart beats just as rapidly as it did back then, when we were surrounded by cameras and guns.
Our worlds are crashing into each other.
I swallow hard when it registers that he’s looming over me. There’s no ignoring the need building up in my stomach. I shouldn’t feel this way about a convict—an ex-convict, a man that has killed before—but I can’t help it. I was drawn to him then, and I’m still drawn to him now.
Adam is a very dangerous man, but it only adds to his appeal.
Chapter Two
Adam
Get a hold of yourself.
Easier said than done. I can’t focus on anything but Yuri. I run my eyes over her hungrily and there’s no stopping the harsh throb of my cock from being this close to my flower.
I should step back. I should give her space and pretend to be chivalrous like those pretentious assholes she works with. I should pretend to be a gentleman instead of a man that has lusted over her for six weeks, jerking himself raw at the memory of her scent. I bet she wouldn’t let me get close like this if she knew the thoughts I harbored for her, some of which would probably send her running for the hills.
“Adam,” she whispers. I clench my fists. It feels like forever since I last heard my name on her lips. I have to fight my desires and ignore the hard-as-hell erection pressing against my fly. I’ve waited this long; I can wait a little longer.
I’ve been out for three weeks, which is also how long I’ve been following her. The second I was released from prison, I was on her tail, stalking her everywhere and watching her every move. I thought about approaching her like a normal person might but there’s nothing normal about me or my feelings for Yuri.
What I feel for Yuri borders on unhealthy and it’s for this reason that I’ve dealt with every man that dared flirt with her. Yuri belongs to only me.
“Are you okay?” I whisper, tucking a loose hair strand behind her ear.
“I-I …”
My brows draw as I watch her. She looks shaken; all I want to do is draw her into my arms like I’ve dreamed about for weeks, but I fight the urge. Even under my careful watch, my precious flower has been fighting unseen demons. The image of Yuri frozen in the middle of this parking lot, struggling to breathe … It’s never going to leave me.
I’m determined to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“Yuri, do I need to take you to the hospital?” I ask, studying her pale cheeks. “You look shaken up.”
“No, I’m fine, I just—you.”
“What about me?” Confusion sets in before I finally make sense of her words. Then my heart cracks into two. “I scare you. I’m sorry, I should have—”
“No, you don’t scare me,” she hurries to say, tightening her grip on my arm to stop me from moving. “I can’t believe you got out. I mean, I knew you would but seeing you out here feels surreal.”
Oh. “I feel the same way.”
“What are the chances that we would run into each other so soon?” she chuckles.
“I’m glad I ran into you, Yuri,” I whisper. There’s no keeping the need out of my tone. “I have been meaning to thank you for my release. Thanks to you, I don’t have to spend five more years wasting away in a prison cell.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say you were wasting away,” Yuri murmurs, running her eyes over my massive arms as a pretty flush stains her cheeks. “But you don’t have to thank me, Adam. The women you saved from those creeps were the ones who went public with their story. People wanted to hear your side. I just helped tell it.”
I smile at her before leaning down to collect her groceries back into the bag. “I’m glad it was you who did.”
“It’s nothing.” I get up just in time to catch Yuri’s blush deepen. “So … How are you adapting to life outside? It must be hard, catching up with everything.”