I lift myself up, wincing as the movement pulls at my freshly bandaged wound. “Then that’s where we need to go.”
“You should rest.” Alexei reaches me in two long strides, his hand coming up to cup my face. His palm warms my cheek, the calloused fingers gentle against my skin. “It’s been a long day.”
“I love you.” The words tumble out before I can stop them. And they’re one-hundred-percent true.
He freezes, his hand dropping from my cheek.
My heart hammers.
Shit.
How will he react? What if he doesn’t love me back? Can I settle for the fact that he cares for me? Protects me? Desires me?
The silence stretches on as Alexei regards me with his lips parted, utterly dumbfounded. If I hadn’t just shocked the hell out of him by dropping theLword, I might find this speechless version of Alexei adorable.
I gather my courage. “I don’t know when I fell for you. Maybe it was a little at a time. You kidnapped me, sure, but you took care of me. Ensured I was safe and happy. You protected my sister and rescued my cat.” My breath hitches, emotion clogging my throat. “My life may not be at all what I envisioned, but it’s a thousand times better with you in it. You may not love me back, but just knowing you care? It’s enough.”
I’m not sure pulling an elephant out of my purse could have shocked him any more.
A beat passes. Then another.
Before my love-confessing brain can register what’s happening, he drops to one knee, gathering my hands into his.
“Aurora Kozlov,” he runs his thumbs over my hands, “I love you with every heartbeat, every breath, body and soul, and I’m an idiot for not telling you sooner. I never thought I deserved tobe happy. But you’ve become my happiness and my purpose. I love everything about you. The way you sing to Pixie when you think I’m not around, how you can’t cook a fucking meal to save your life, and especially the way you look at me when I make you come.” He shudders. “When I couldn’t find you at the gallery, my entire life flashed before my eyes. I can’t live in a world without you in it, so please, never scare me like that again.”
My chest swells with too many emotions to untangle.
He loves me. Alexei Kozlov, the calculating, brutal killer, loves me.
I choke out a laugh as tears slide down my cheeks. “Wait. When did you catch me singing to Pixie?”
He cocks an eyebrow as he brushes my tears away. “I profess my love to you, andthat’swhat caught your attention?”
“Umm, no. Of course not. My brain was just reeling, and it’s the first thing that popped out of my mouth.”
With a smile, he picks me up and sits with me in his lap.
My heart melts in a whole new way at this softer, sweeter side of Alexei. It’s not just the mind-blowing sex that I love, but the connection, the quiet moments, the teasing, the easy conversation.
Knowing that as long as I’m with him, I’m safe.
A contented sigh escapes me, and in a matter of seconds, his mouth is on mine. The kiss is gentle and slow and absolutely perfect. My lips part, and his tongue slips in to taste and explore. I slide a hand up his neck and into his hair to tug him closer.
He groans into my mouth. The kiss shifts, desire warming me from the inside out. He curls one arm around my waist and rests the other on my leg.
I flinch when he squeezes my bruised knee.
Alexei stills, pulling back and lifting the dress to examine me. “Chyort vozmi. You didn’t mention any other injuries.”
Glancing down at my knees, I grimace. Because of the painful cut on my arm, I hadn’t even thought about my battered knees. Crawling around on hardwood floors littered with glass and broken pieces of sculptures did a real number on them.
“I didn’t even think about my knees. Not with my arm and everything else going on. They’re okay. Just a few scrapes and bruises.”
Alexei’s hand hovers above my tender flesh. “I’m going to kill Gio.”
I cover his hand with mine, feeling the strength in it, the barely leashed power. “Good plan. But first, I want answers. I want to understand why my art show became a war zone. Why Gio threatened my sister. Why your brother died. Once we get all of this behind us, we can be a happily married couple with nothing to focus on except our love for each other.”
He retrieves his gun from where he set it on the counter. The metal gleams in the low light of the loft like a deadly and precise extension of him. “Let’s go.”
