He was just about to pull the quilt up over her when her eyes fluttered open.
“Yuri?” She blinked, one hand still tucked beneath her cheek.
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to straighten your covers.” He pulled the cover up, then stepped away from the bed. “Go back to sleep. I’ll head out for a walk.”
“No, that’s all right.” She yawned, then pushed herself up on the bed, the action causing her golden hair to cascade about her shoulders. “I think I’ve been sleeping for a while. What time is it?”
“Half past four.”
Her eyes widened. “Apparently I’ve been sleeping for a long while.” She let out a small wince as she stood from the bed, but otherwise gave no indication of pain.
Yuri swung his gaze away from her. It was almost too much to look at her with the shadow of her body visible beneath her nightgown and her hair long and free at her back.
But she came toward him anyway. “You have a smudge.”
She pressed onto her tiptoes, bringing their mouths mere inches from each other. She wiped at something on his cheek next, but the feel of her thumb on his skin sent warmth throughout his entire body.
He stepped away, nearly causing her to stumble, since she was still on her tiptoes. “You can’t keep touching me like that.”
She blinked, almost as though she found his words confusing. “What?”
“We’re getting an annulment, remember? None of this between us is real.” He shoved a hand into his hair. “I should be able to message Alexei and tell him to file the paperwork in another week.”
“After we get to Commonwealth?” Her brows pinched. “Is that when you’re going to send a message to Alexei?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure we need to get an annulment?”
He squeezed his eyes shut. Why did she have to ask that? Did she realize how hard this was on him?
“I mean it, Yuri.” She reached out and gripped his hand. “What if we stay married after we finish here? What if I go to San Francisco with you and help run the shipyard? What if?—”
“No. It won’t work. I told you why last time you asked.” He shook his head. “Your father and Vandermeer would figure out where you were after a month or two, and then what? It’s too risky.”
“My father might already be in jail.” She stepped closer to him, her bare feet silent on the hotel rug. “We know that Secretary Gray left for Alaska over two weeks ago. He has to be in Sitka by now. Maybe my father and uncle have already been charged with fraud and are sitting in a jail cell awaiting trial as we speak.”
“I sent Alexei a telegram our first day here, letting him know we’d arrived and where he could reach me with news of your father. I’ve heard nothing other than that the judge released him, but he can’t leave Baranof Island to come look for you.”
“But there’s always a delay in telegrams.” A strand of golden hair caught on the shoulder of her nightgown, but she didn’t brush it away. “It takes several days for a ship to reach Seattle. He might be behind bars, and we simply don’t know yet.”
“And if he’s not?” He folded his arms across his chest. “It’s too risky. Besides, we know the law hasn’t caught up to your uncle yet. He was just here in Washington last week. Even if he’s left town, he won’t be back in Alaska yet.”
“But my uncle’s not the threat. Leeland and my father are, and if my father’s in jail and I’m already married, Leeland will leave me alone. I’m only in danger from Leeland if the marriage gets annulled. Then he could force me to marry him, which is all the more reason to keep our marriage intact.” Her voice broke slightly on the last word, and she released his hand and wrapped her arms around herself.
Yuri just shook his head. “Leeland would have to figure out where you are before he could force you to do anything.”
Her brows pinched. “And you’re that confident he won’t?”
“He’d never think to look for you at the Commonwealth, just like your father. Besides, it seems like a good place to let you heal.”
“I don’t need to go into hiding to heal.” She pressed a hand to her ribs. “I’m healing fine. There’s less and less pain every day, I’m taking deep breaths, and I’m going longer and longer without wearing the bindings.”
“Yes, but what about the healing you need to do on the inside? You have nightmares multiple times a week, and sometimes when I take off my belt or turn around too fast...”
He didn’t need to finish the sentence. She knew what he was talking about and had dropped her gaze to stare at her toes.
Just yesterday, she’d let out a gasp and shrunk against the wall, and all he’d done was take off his belt. Granted, he’d taken it off quickly, yanking it from his waist in a way that caused the end to snap. But it was an everyday, mundane movement that shouldn’t have provoked any type of reaction from her. She’d done the same thing one other time when he’d taken off his belt, but sometimes she even cowered when he turned around abruptly.
