I shake my head slightly. That touch from the garden lingers beneath my skin still. The bolt of electricity that followed—undeniable.
Then I brave it.
And my lips brush hers.
The smallest touch of my mouth against hers. Warm and yet so fleeting.
It’s not a bolt of electricity, not a spark that sets my body aflame. It’s something different.Something stronger.But I can’t name the emotion.
And then she stirs.
I jerk back, nearly tripping over my feet as I stumble away from the bed.
My heart is a damn drum against my ribs—wild and panicked. I stand, frozen in the darkness like I’ve committed a crime.
She doesn’t wake. But I know I can’t stay. The lump that’s formed in my throat is hard to swallow, and I watch her for a brief moment longer, letting the feeling of her lips against mine linger. Like a soft hum of heat.Unforgettable.
I slip from the room, guilt dragging behind me like a chain. The hallway feels colder than before, the dim lights too bright. I close the door gently behind me and lean my forehead against it.
Fuck!
What the fuck was that?
I scrub my hand over my face, trying to calm the war inside my head. That was stupid. It waswrong.
Yet…it didn’t feel wrong.
I back away from the door with a sharp inhale when Grigory’s voice cuts through the noise in my head.
“You fucking her now?”
I freeze. My spine snaps straight.
He’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed, expression unreadable in the dim light. But I see a glint there too.
“No,” I say too quickly.
Grigory raises a dark brow.
“I was just…I just checked on her.” A flush rushes up my face. “She was shaken after the attack. And she had a nightmare earlier. I wanted to make sure she was okay.”
He pushes from the wall and steps closer. “You always kiss people to check on them?” he clips.
My heart stops. He saw that? Fuck. “I didn’t?—”
He gives me a look. One I’ve seen a thousand times. One that knows more than he says and sees more than I want him to. Fuck him for being so damn perceptive. “I walked past a few moments ago and saw you. And we’ve all seen the way you look at her, Viktor. We’re not stupid.”
“I didn’t touch her…not like that,” I mutter, my jaw tight. Christ, he’s going to think that I’m some sort of weirdo now.
“Didn’t say you did.” He snorts. “But you want to, don’t you?”
I don’t answer. Because I don’t like lying to him. I’ve never cared like this about any woman. Flings were just that—fleeting and out the door in the morning.
Grigory stares at me for a few seconds longer. “You’re sleeping in a chair—and what looks like a fucking uncomfortable one—out here every night. You’re doing all these things for her and the children. You’re even threatening our men if they say something you don’t like about her.” He huffs and shakes his head. “You should figure out what you want, Viktor. Because something tells me Avelina isn’t the kind of girl you can just keep on the side.”
My eyes are wide as he walks off. Finally, I sink back onto the chair I’ve been calling my bed while Avelina has been staying with us. My eyes close, and I let out a deep exhale. The taste of her lips lingers against mine. My heart still races. And head falling back against the backrest of the chair, I sigh.
I’m starting to wonder if I want more than I thought I did.
