Katie glanced over my shoulder and said quietly, “We better go.”
Dad glanced where she was looking, and he slowly nodded. “Yes, I believe so.” He kissed my cheek, and suddenly, he was herding my mom out of the house, Mom waving a little startled as she went.
Mary glanced behind me, and her eyes went unfocused in that way she gets sometimes and she murmured quietly, “What I wouldn’t give to paint him now as he stands.” Her voice was soft and so much older than her nineteen years.
“Let’s go,” Katie mumbled, grabbing her arm, and herding her out the door even as Mary tried to stay, staring. “See ya later, Elizabeth.”
I nodded, a little confused…until I shut the door behind them and turned around. Daniil was resting against a wall beside the staircase, his head down, hair hanging around his face. His ankles were crossed, and he held a cup of coffee that he stared down into. He looked alone. Like alone in the world as he stood there, there world heavy on his shoulders.
I stood there staring, I wasn’t sure for how long, but he twisted the coffee cup around in his hand repeatedly until he tilted his head, his gaze directly on me. And I realized he was waiting for me. Alone in the world…and waiting…for me.
The thought took my breath away, but my feet were moving before I even knew I was moving. Reaching him, I immediately grabbed his neck, pulling his face down to mine. I wanted to wipe that look off his face. It was helplessness in his eyes.
I kissed him.
His lips were soft and warm, and I licked them, tasting his coffee. He sucked in a breath and wrapped one arm around my waist pulling me in close even as he held his steaming cup away from us with his other hand, and he kissed me back, pressing on my lips like wanting entrance. I gave him what he wanted, and took what I wanted in return, holding him close and moaning against his mouth.
We stood there for some time just enjoying one another until we both heard Artur mutter, “Go to a damn room if you’re going to do that.”
Daniil broke our kiss, pulling back and glancing over my head, blinking at his son.
It sounded like Artur sighed as I stayed where I was, gripping Daniil. It was odd having his children around to catch us. I knew a thing or two about evading parents, but not children—even if they were adults. Artur grumbled, “I don’t have a problem with you two together, but it doesn’t mean I want to see it physically happening in the corridor, Papa.”
Daniil cleared his throat, straightening to his full height, and I slowly let him go, turning so I wasn’t really facing Artur or Daniil, but they were both in my peripheral site now. Daniil nodded, saying, “I understand it’s…odd for you…but I can’t guarantee you won’t see this again.”
Artur started to say something else, and I held up my hands. “You know, I have some work I need to do before bed, so I’ll see you in a little while.”
Daniil nodded, still staring at his son. “That’s good because I have a few phone calls I need to make to my businesses in Moscow, too. I’ll see you in a bit.”
I left them to it as they both started speaking in Russian. They weren’t arguing from the sound of their tone, but Artur was clearly trying to get a point across, making Daniil look even more alone and even a little tired. I barely stopped myself from glaring at Artur. They needed to give their dad a break.
Grabbing up my laptop from Daniil’s room, I went to find some solace since I wasn’t sure where Daniil would be making those phone calls. Even though he had a study, which was where I was headed, he also had a smaller desk in the living room area of his room. And that desk was a mess, clearly indicating he used it more than the one in his study, which had been clean of debris.
Closing the door gently behind me, I went and lay down on a couch that was facing a black marble fireplace. I was tempted to light it since it appeared to be gas but decided against it since that seemed like taking too many liberties in this mansion I was only a guest in. Instead, I pulled a blanket over me and rested my laptop on my content stomach and began reading through the articles of my competitors, paying special attention to Micah’s stories.
And nothing was there about Daniil and me, which I was grateful for. I guessed that Ugly Duckling had somehow taken care of that photo. Otherwise, he would have run it with the look he’d had in his eye. I yawned, and my lids drooped. I blinked a few times going to another paper’s website…
…and suddenly, I was blinking myself awake, hearing music. Loud, obnoxious music. Staring blurrily at my black screen with the stars going off as a screen saver, I knew I had been asleep a little while. I closed it gently and rubbed at my eyes, wondering who the hell had come in here to play that god-awful crap.
I scooted up and peered over the back of the couch, still rubbing my eyes. I blinked. And then rolled said eyes. Go figure.
Ember lay in the middle of the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Of course, she would be the one to come in here and start listening to this junk. I sighed and started to roll off the couch. In her defense, she probably hadn’t even known I was in there. She must have come in after I had fallen asleep.
But, mid-motion, I paused when I heard the door open. Again, my reporter’s nosy intuitive nature coming to the fore. I didn’t hear anything after the door shut, but a few moments later, the music was turned down.
And then Grigori’s voice filled the air as he said, “I’m sorry I brought up our first kiss like that.”
“I know,” Ember said back after a pause. “I’m not mad at you.” There was another pause, and she stated quietly, “He was right. About me and you.”
“Yes, I know he was,” Grigori stated calmly, and the music cut off abruptly and it sounded like he was shuffling through something. “But, he wasn’t right about everything with us.”
“I know that, too,” Ember stated softly. “We fit. And not just because of what he said.”
“Yes. We do,” Grigori murmured just as softly, and I heard a mechanical sound, and suddenlyChasing Carsby Snow Patrol started playing over the speakers that were embedded in the ceiling. I heard him move across the room, and when there was silence for a few beats of this absolutely heart-wrenching song, I peeked over the couch again.
I stared. And just about started crying—damn hormones. Grigori had put this song on, then went and lay down directly next to Ember. They both stared at the ceiling not saying anything, but the back of Grigori’s fingers were running up and down Ember’s hand and she grabbed his. And they lay there, holding hands, both silent and staring at the ceiling. Silently loving the other.
Halfway through the song, Ember stood, and I ducked back down as she began hauling Grigori to his feet. I stayed there silent and realized I could see them in the reflective gleam off the marbles fireplace. They were slow dancing. Just holding the other, and moving together like they were made for one another. And I bit my lip, blinking hard to keep the tears at bay when Grigori lifted Ember’s chin with one finger, and slowly bent down, kissing her right when the lyrics spoke of the words ‘I love you’ not being enough to express how they felt. And together they continued dancing even as they kissed each other just as slowly as their bodies moved together.
