He had that power, I knew that but he didn’t and I couldn’t let him find out.
“You needed space? Bullshit.” For fuck’s sake. I had hoped that my lie would work but I knew it wouldn’t. In such a short frame of time, he’d come to know me better than I knew myself. I wasn’t surprised that he could see straight through me. Plan B…
“Nikolai, do you love me?” My eyes bored into his as I tried to convey my seriousness.
“More than life itself. But you knew that.” He looked so defeated. I wanted to hug him and tell him it was all going to be okay. But I needed to be strong. For both our sakes.
I took a breath. “Then I need you to trust me.”
I watched as he mentally rolled his eyes in frustration. He knew he wasn’t getting anywhere with me. I was almost winning this fight, I couldn’t give up now. “I do trust you,” he said. “And you know that I love you, But how can I protect you when you’re miles away?”
“Trust me, and you’ll be protecting me. Iwillcome home to you.” I pleaded with him. It was the truth, if only he knew that. After a beat and with a final resigned sigh, he gave a slight nod of his head.
I longed to kiss him, capture his face in my hands and never let him go. Instead, to save us both more heartache I pulled his hands from my hips and took a step back. The distance was evil but also exactly what I needed at the moment to separate myself from this situation. The longer I was with him, the more chance there was that I’d say fuck it all and leave with him.
“Soon,” I said with a nod as I slowly walked backwards towards the house.
“I’ll only be able to wait so long, Ana,” I held my breath, praying double time that he doesn’t mean… “and then I’ll be right back here to get you. Kicking and screaming, I will take you back to our home.”
I released my breath and nodded, I could work with that. He was trusting me, giving me time to get my shit sorted. As I turned my back, he spoke again.
“And Ana... if you marry that asshole I’ll be back here before the ink dries, to kill him.”
Forgive me, but I’d never been more turned on in my life. At his deadly serious tone and the fiery look in his eyes, I smirked and turned to enter the house. I closed the door behind me and nearly fell against it with weak knees. I barely had three seconds to wipe the dreamy look off my face before Rachel strode out of the kitchen and into the foyer.
Well, this should be fun, I thought as she opened her mouth and proceeded to rapid-fire twenty questions at me.
