If I’m being honest with myself, I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.
I’m worried I might hurt her further because I don’t know how to help.
I was raised to be a cold-blooded killer—a protector, sure, but more so in a triage situation than what she needs from me now.
I know a hundred different ways to take a man’s life.
I could keep her safe from any number of physical threats.
But when it comes to helping a woman heal from the kind of trauma Anika has endured?
I’m completely out of my depth.
22
ANIKA
In the weeks that pass, my feet heal, and after my terrifying confession to Miko, it feels as if we’ve turned over a new leaf.
More than that, it feels as if some ghost inside me has been laid to rest.
I feel saver than I ever have, and despite my initial fear of falling for him, I can’t deny that my feelings for Miko are growing day by day.
As I stare up at him in the bright morning light that pours through the window, I take a second to appreciate just how handsome he is.
With a jaw cut from marble and full lips beneath a thin, straight nose, he doesn’t have the same traditional Italian features as the rest of his brothers.
But then, I suppose he wouldn’t if he was taken in off the streets as a child. I’ve heard the stories about the adopted Chiaroscuro brother, but I’m curious to hear it from his side.
As if sensing my eyes on him, Miko turns his head, his icy-blue gaze finding mine, and he smiles. “Finally awake, sleepy head?” he teases, closing his computer and setting aside so he can lean down to brush my lips with his.
I hum contentedly, snuggling closer to his side. “Were you working in bed again?”
“Well, I couldn’t very well move without taking away your pillow,” he points out as I breathe in his masculine scent and nuzzle his chest.
“But it’s the weekend,” I whine.
“Revenge doesn’t know the meaning of the word,topolina. And neither does business. But I promise I’m taking the rest of the day off.”
“Good, because your brother should be arriving any time now,” I observe, glancing at the bedside clock. I never fully appreciated having one until my week of seclusion without it, and now, it’s one of the first things I check when I wake up each day.
Ten fifteen, I really did sleep in. But that’s not the worst thing in the world. I’ve been having some crazy dreams lately, which leave me exhausted when I wake up.
And even if I give Miko a hard time about bringing work to bed, I like that he knows I sleep better when he’s with me. I didn’t even have to tell him.
“You’re right,” Miko agrees, pressing a kiss to the top of my head in a tender gesture that feels so out of place coming from such a dangerous-looking man. “We should get up and get dressed—unless you’d like to meet Leo in your pajamas.”
“You know I’m not wearing any,” I whisper with a wicked grin.
“That’s right,” he growls, rolling on top of me and trailing kisses down my neck as he explores my naked body with one hand. “But no one gets to see this perfect body but me,topolina.”
I gasp as his fingers dip between my thighs, brushing across my clit before they stroke between my folds.
Miko hums his approval, the tantalizing sound vibrating through my core.
“Wet for me already?” he teases.
“I think you meanstillwet,” I fire back, then I rock into his palm with a moan as he spears me with his fingers. “I thought we needed to get ready,” I say, my voice too breathy with arousal to sound like I’m teasing.
