“Wow,” he remarked, a smile already forming on his face. “Should I be excited that the Pakhan is beginning to find a woman’s company bearable?”
It was more than ‘bearable.’
But telling him was useless.
“I have things to attend to. Leave,” I said instead.
“Of course. Say hi to your darling wife, then,” he uttered, standing with a teasing smile on his face.
Once I was alone again, I thought of Emilia also being alone in our bedroom. And that was the only incentive I needed to get out of my office.
I had turned the doorknob before it dawned on me that I still hadn’t figured out what to say or do.
She must have fallen asleep. I’ll just hold her. Talking will come tomorrow.
I opened the door and stepped in silently.
I was wrong.
Emilia’s brown eyes landed on me, her blinks rapid.
“It’s been taken care of,” I told her.
She nodded briskly.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
She shook her head side-to-side.
Of course, she’s shaken.
Her gaze didn’t leave mine- a prompt couldn’t be more direct.
None the wiser on the right thing to say, I decided to go with the truth.
“Emilia,” I rasped, finally moving away from the door. “The only two currencies that exist in my world are loyalty and power. I know nothing of affection or kindness or any affairs of the heart. I know nothing about this pull towards you, but I know it’s there and I don’t want it gone.”
I popped the remaining buttons of my shirt open as I stood right at the center of the room, still not breaking my gaze.
“This is me. I’ve risen to my position with unmatched skills and mercilessness; I have scars to show for it. Both visible,” I explained, dropping my shirt to the ground, “And invisible. But I want to learn how to be right. For you.”
Her gaze raked over my naked upper body. I watched her eyes pause on the scar just below my left collarbone. Then they dropped to the jagged scar across my lower ribcage.
I found nothing like the disgust or resentment I had expected when she looked up at me again. And I couldn’t explain why, but that made my chest tighten. It made me want to give her the world.
“I won’t let any harm come to you. I’ll always be here to protect you. You have my word,” I promised. “But I want you to have some faith in me. I’m positive I can be more than a leader, with you.”
“Viktor,” she uttered, her voice soft and heavy with feeling as she moved off the bed.
She approached me, and I stood there, not knowing what to expect.
Then she closed the distance between us, and her chest collided with mine as she wrapped her small arms around my middle. I pressed her body to mine, unwilling to lose a second of her warmth.
“The only person I trust in the world is you,” she expressed, making me wonder if I heard right.
As if sensing my doubtful astonishment, she moved her head from my chest and looked up at me.
“I trust you,” she declared, kissing my chest before meeting my eyes again. “And what you feel, I feel it, too.”
