Rogue Hearts

He moved up behind her and held her as she stared at the collage of drawings filling most of the spaces, some in color and others in black and white.

“They’re not the best in the world, but I’m still proud of them.”

“I don’t understand. You have no artwork in your apartment.”

“That’s because I stopped not long after I went to college.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I wasn’t passionate about it anymore. I did all those drawings of the body because I wanted to be a doctor, hence the multiple body and organ pictures. If my head wasn’t in a medical book, it was used to perfect the drawings I saw in them. I even interned at a hospital my mother delivered her patients’ babies in, and they allowed me to see a few things behind the scenes. That’s what I thought my life would be all about.”

“You gave that up to go to law school?”

“Yeah.”

Victoria turned so she could face him, but s

he was glad he didn’t let go. “You said before you changed because of your father. Are you passionate about law?”

Andrei stared into her eyes, and she could almost see how he thought about her question before answering.

“I’ve learned to enjoy it,” he finally said.

“That’s not the same at being passionate.”

“No, but in a way I’ve still found a way to do something that helps people. I still read medical books and journals when I can. That’s enough to satisfy me. Besides, that’s not what makes me happy.”

“What makes Andrei Rusak happy?”

“Right this moment? That would be you.” He leaned down and kissed her tenderly, exploring her mouth with ease and lingering there.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to erase their heavy conversation. It made her long for him to explore her bare skin with his hands and let him follow that with his mouth.

Victoria was the one to pull away from the kiss. “As much as I want to be with you, I am not having sex with you in your parent’s house.”

“They won’t disturb us. No one will.”

“That’s not the point. I am so not having sex with you while your family is in the nearby vicinity.”

“You’re no fun.” He swatted her bottom and took the sting out of his words.

“And I’d be no fun facing your parents after doing naughty things with their son and the potential for them to hear everything.”

“What kind of naughty things are we talking about?”

She slapped his arms. “Stop it. I mean it.”

“Now that I have you in a good mood, I think I should let you know something else.”

“Oh?”

“All of my family will be here this weekend, including Asya and Naida.”

“Your daughters will be here?” A new set of nerves hit Victoria. “You want me to meet them?”

“Don’t worry. I know they’ll love you. I was right about the rest of my family. As soon as they get to know you, they’ll be happy.”

Victoria felt like the pictures were caving in on her. “I feel a little dizzy.”