He’d said nothing.
Throughout that morning, throughout the rest of the span, and the time alone he’d spent in his labs, something became very apparent to him.
Either he opened up about his sire, or he would lose her forever.
There was no contest between the two and Kirov knew that he’d put it off long enough, risking everything he’d built with Lani in the process.
He’d been a fool.
But he knew what he had to do, what he should’ve done a long time ago, from the very first moment hisluxivahad stepped foot in Troxva.
Kirov set his jaw and pushed back from the table. He shut down his Coms for the night and then left the labs, heading towards his hovercraft.
It would happen as soon as he returned to the dwelling.
Kirov would introduce her to his sire.
Then he would pray to the Fates that she didn’t run from him afterwards.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
That night Lainey was sitting in their unfinished kitchen at the ‘island’ counter Kirov had installed the morning before.
It was almost finished and Lainey looked around at the seamless, beautiful lines. An alien kitchen, but one she helped design. She’d described human kitchen appliances to Kirov—an oven and a stovetop being the most important—and sketched them out for him. He’d told her that he would make them.
Everything was simple for him in that way. If he didn’t have something, he could create it.
She loved that about him, that he was so resourceful and intelligent.
So why did her heart feel so heavy that night, sitting in their unfinished kitchen?
Because I wonder if I’ll ever get to use it, she thought.
That time last night, they’d been in his labs. She’d been crying, pleading with him to be honest with her. It had been a difficult moment, an even more difficult night when they’d returned to the house. That morning had been filled with tense silence before Kirov had left…and she hadn’t seen him since.
Her heart was aching, on the verge of breaking. But she still clung to a little thread of stubborn hope, which was so completely unlike her. To hope for something. To imagine the positive instead of the negative.
She saw the lights of Kirov’s hovercraft flash against the wall in front of her as he landed on the terrace. The house was sound-proof so she didn’t hear him until he entered through the front door.
Slowly, Lainey turned in the rounded ‘barstool’ at the island to look at him. Her lungs tightened.God, he was so beautiful to her that it hurt to look at him sometimes.
And the circus that was taking root in her chest, that intense, dizzying, heart wrenching, yet wonderful ache? She’d never felt anything like it. She knew she would never feel anything like it again, not for another male besides Kirov.
“Hi,” she said softly, her heartbeat stuttering. She was frozen in place, wondering what the next few moments would be like. Because she had a feeling that they were important moments…moments that would dictate their future.
“Luxiva,” he murmured, his expression unreadable except for the longing she saw in his eyes. He was tense, though, his muscles tight. He was standing on the threshold of the living room, facing her, but not moving towards her.
She held her breath, wondering,hoping.
Kirov held her eyes as he asked, “Will you come with me, Lani?”
“Where?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even and steady.
“Down the terrace,” he replied and her breath hitched. “I…I wish for you to see my sire. Ineedyou to. It is long overdue.”
“Yes,” she said, pushing up from the island, swallowing hard. She noticed he’d said ’see’ instead of ‘meet.’ “Yes, of course.”
Relief, hope, nervousness, and happiness struck her all at once, making her knees tremble as she walked towards Kirov. When he reached for her hand, she felt her bottom lip quiver, but she swallowed whatever tears that were about to make an inconvenient appearance.
