His hand comes up to my cheek, and the moment his palm touches my skin, it throws me completely off-balance. Because the look in his eyes is so raw and unguarded, it breaks right through me.
“Ya ne mogu zhit bez tebya,” he says, the words slipping out in a low, rough murmur that carries too much meaning for me to pretend I didn’t hear it.
“What?” My heart hammers.
His gaze grows heavy, almost aching, as his fingers slide into my hair, guiding me closer with a tenderness that makes it hard to ignore. “You’re a pain in my ass.”
But the softness in his face doesn’t match the words, and I’m almost sure that isn’t what he said. I try to say the words to myself over and over so I can look them up later, but I know I’ll forget.
“I’m not joking,” I whisper, even though every part of me leans toward him instead of away.
“Neither am I.” His voice deepens with something so honest and painfully real that it settles in my chest and leaves me struggling to remember why I ever thought pulling away was possible.
No. Do not get sucked back into this. It’s what happens every time.
“I’m done. Okay? I said what I said, and that’s it. I’m not letting you turn this into something else. I’m going inside. Have a good day.”
I step back, but the edge of my sneaker clips the stone, my foot twisting out from under me before I even understand what’s happening. I gasp, arms shooting out for balance.
Then I hit the water. The warmth crashes over my head and steals the breath from my lungs. The moment I break the surface, I register a loud splash behind me.
“Fiona!”
I push the hair out of my face, gasping just as Aleksei surfaces beside me.
“Are you okay?”
I nod, still gathering air, and his grip tightens as the water moves around us in gentle waves.
“If you wanted to escape me that badly, you just had to say so. Jumping in is a bit too extreme, Ms. Prosecutor.”
“What can I say? When it comes to you, I’m prone to making bad decisions.”
“I like being your bad decision.”
Before I can react, he pins me against the side of the pool, his body pressing into mine, arms planted on either side of me, caging me in. The water ripples around us, but everything inside me is still and electric all at once, like the entire world has narrowed to the heat of him, the closeness, the way he fits against me as if he was always meant to be here.
His eyes darken as they search mine, and even though we’re dripping wet, it’s as though I’m burning from the inside out.
“You can’t say things like that to me.” My fingers brush the edge of his jaw.
Droplets cling to his skin and slide down the strong lines of his face, and watching them makes something twist deep inside me.
“Why not?” His thumb traces over my bottom lip with a slow, careful sweep that sets every nerve in my body on edge.
“Because…” I swallow hard. “Because I’ll start to think you actually care about me.”
His expression shifts in an instant, something sharp flickering through his eyes. A mix of pain, disbelief, and a quiet anger that seems aimed entirely at himself.
“You think I don’t care?” The question comes out strained, as if it drags something painful with it.
I nod, but it’s small, hesitant, barely a movement at all. He exhales, and the sound that breaks from him feels torn from somewhere deep inside, too vulnerable for a man like him todisguise. Then he lets out a laugh, but it’s hollow, the kind that carries nothing but exhaustion and defeat.
“You’re all I think about,” he says quietly. “All goddamn day and night.”
His hands rise to cradle my face, his thumbs pressing gently to my cheeks as if trying to ground himself in the feeling of me.
“You’ve become the center of my world, Fiona.”
