“Sugar Bear?” My voice comes out a whisper as I look up at my Russian giant, and he turns his head to look at me, the softness in his expression nearly taking my breath away.
“Yes,lyubov' moya?”
“That’s a new one,” I murmur, “I like how it sounds though.”
“It means ‘my love’.” His expression, as hard as it is to see in the darkness of the car, turns hesitant. “It…it is not a casual term.”
There go those damn butterflies in my chest. “Good.” I run my hand across his chest. Damn, this shirt is soft. I wonder if he’ll let me keep it. “There’s nothin’ casual about the way I feel about you.”
His features relax as he catches my hand with his and presses it over his heart. “Nor I, you. Now tell me,Lisichka, what did you wish to say?”
“It’s nothin’ serious,” I shrug, feeling silly all of a sudden. “I was just wonderin’...if your daddy never brought you over from Russia, if you were free from his family name…what would you be doin’?”
Kole looks at me like he doesn’t quite know what to do with me. “I…I have not really thought about it.” He frowns, his bottom lip jutting out slightly. “I…I used to want to be an artist.”
My brows shoot up in surprise. “Really?”
His expression turns hesitant as he shifts, reaching into his pocket. “I am not very talented, but I have always had a habit of sketching out anything I could think of. Until my father beat it out of me, of course. He couldn’t have me be ‘soft’.”
A folded piece of paper lands in my lap, and before I grab it, I look up at him. “Kole…you don’t have to show me if you don’t want to.”
“It is not anything special.” He shrugs one shoulder, but I can tell he’s nervous.
Swallowing, I take my feet off Hayden’s lap and sit facing forward. I pick up the piece of paper, unfolding it gently. A gasp leaves me as my hand flies up to cover my mouth. “Oh,Kole…”
It’s…it’s unbelievable. Even though it’s mostly dark, everything I can see of the sketch is breathtaking. It’s made of so many small, jagged lines, but when you look at the whole picture it’s clear who it’s supposed to be.
Me.
In the sketch, my bare back is drawn in sharp, sure lines as I look over my shoulder, my hair falling around my face in sensual waves. “This…this is beautiful.”
When I glance up at him, his cheeks are pink. “It is nothing. A quick scribble while your body was catching up on some much needed rest.” Ah, sothat’swhat he was doing when I got up earlier.
“This isnotnothin’, Sugar Bear.” I hold the sketch to my chest. “Can I keep it? Please?”
He gives me a bewildered look, but nods, and I grin, carefully folding the paper back up and putting it in the bag at my feet for safekeeping.
“What about you?” Kole asks suddenly, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and bringing me to lean against him. “What would you have done if your sister was never taken from you?”
“I—” My words catch in my throat. WhatwouldI have done? “I s’pose…” I trail off, frowning. “I don’t rightly know. Our whole childhoods, our one goal was to get out of Highwater Creek. As soon as we turned eighteen, we were gonna be outta there. We’d both work, make enough money for us to afford a studio in the city. Mabel was insistent that I go to school like I always wanted.”
“What would you have gone to school for?” His voice is soft as his fingers brush my arm.
I stare at my hands in my lap. “I’m not sure. I think I woulda taken every course offered until I figured it out though. I know I’m not as book smart—”
Kole snorts, cutting me off. “Book smart. Useless in this world of ours. Your wit is the edge of my favorite blade, and your ability to eviscerate your enemies with both a knife and your words alone is something we would be sorely lost without.” There’s nothing but truth and admiration in his words, and I find myself staring up into his icy blue eyes. “Besides, whatever youdotake the time to learn about, you absorb with ease. I imagine that if you wished, you could surpass even our doctor in terms of knowledge.”
“Well, aren’t you romantic?” I breathe, my gaze lowering briefly to his mouth.
His eyes track the movement, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “Only truthful,lyubov' moya.You are, without a doubt, the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
“Flatterer,” I whisper, leaning closer as my heartbeat picks up pace.
Then his hand cradles my neck in my favorite necklace as he leans down to brush his lips over mine. “I have been trying so hard to keep my hands to myself,” he murmurs. “I know you needed time withBratishka, and I am happy you have re-established your bond. But I…” his hand stays on my neck as his lashes flutter against mine. “I am not used to speaking my feelings. I am finding myself even more obsessed with you than I was before. Your tortured screams as Brooks tried to get me to admit our connection haunt my dreams. I failed you.”
“You only did what I wanted you to,” I whisper, my lips brushing his as I speak. “I woulda kept dealin’ with the pain to keep y’all safe.”
A low growl leaves him as his fingers tighten slightly. “That is not something you ever should have had to do. Brooks isluckyhe is being tortured by your brother’s pack right now and not by me.”
