Yeah, Aleks. What?You were just thinking about your long-term loyalty to the Solveigs and boom, now you’ve given it to Portia Tremaine?
“Yours is the only side I’m on,” he repeated. Saying the words a second time wasn’t nearly as scary because they were true. He hadn’t even accepted it himself and yet, there it was. All his cards on the table.
“I... But what does that mean? What about your job? The Solveigs?”
He held out his hand, relieved beyond measure when she placed her hand in his. “I have no idea.” It was the truth. “I don’t know how we make it work when our companies are on opposite sides. I have to see this assignment through. And then...” he paused. Took a deep breath. Took a leap. “And then we see what the future holds.”
Portia squeezed his hand. “That sounds absolutely terrifying, but I’m in.”
Chapter45
Portia staredat their joined hands with shock. Had they just agreed to a... a relationship?
What would that even look like?
“Are we crazy?” she whispered.
Aleks released her hand and grasped her waist. “Probably,” he whispered back. “But I’ve felt this way from the moment we met.”
She sagged against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I was so surprised that I just left Razor Jack’s with you,” she admitted. “That wasn’t like me at all. I guess it was fate.”
Her cheeks burned and she buried her nose in his neck. “Which sounds idiotic when I say it out loud.”
“I like it,” Aleks said. He swooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the couch. “Okay?”
“Very okay.”
He lowered them to the couch, keeping her cradled in his arms. She ended up in his lap, her back resting against one arm of the sofa, with her feet dangling over his knees.
She lifted her hand to his temple again, slowly. “No headache?”
“No headache,” he confirmed.
“Would you ever let one of the Tremaine scientists look at the implant?”
“Portia.” Her name was a cross between a growl and a laugh. “You really know how to kill a mood.”
“What? Ohmygod.” She slapped her hands on her cheeks and closed her eyes. “I didn’t mean to. I just thought about you hurting and I didn’t want you to and that kind of led to doctors. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. That’s how my brain frequently works.” He laughed. The deep rumble caused her to squirm.
When he slid his hand under her shirt, the warmth of his skin against hers made her shiver.
“But would you?” The words just popped out. She had all those meetings with the scientists scheduled for next week. Maybe one of them could study the implant to determine what caused the malfunction. And maybe she could get someone to study pain mitigation. She hated to see him suffer because of her family.
“Portia!” He dropped his forehead to her shoulder and laughed. He didn’t remove his hand from her back, but the soft circles he’d been rubbing stopped. She had only herself to blame.
“What?”
“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”
She threaded her fingers through his hair and gently tilted his head back so they were face to face. “No.” She’d be honest with him. “I hate that you’re hurting and my family is the cause. I want to make it right if I can.” Too many people she loved had been hurt because of the Tremaines. That ended here.
He was already shaking his head before she finished speaking. “For months after the surgery, they studied me. Scan after scan, theory after theory. Nothing helped. Nothing magically made the problem go away. I’m tired of people poking around in my brain. It’s my problem and I’ve learned to live with it.”
“So, you’re just going to ‘live with it’ for the rest of your life?” Her heart ached for him.
“Yeah. I am. Is that a dealbreaker?” His gaze was serious. Intent.
