“Oh, wow,” I commented, surprised at what I was hearing. “He said you guys were being moved to safety, so I thought…” I trailed off as another question came to mind. “Greta and the others can shoot, too?”
“Not them, no,” he replied, shaking his head. “Just myself and a few others.”
“Wow.”
“Boss is a mafia boss. Even his men are kings in their different domains.”
“Of course,” I muttered, digging into my food.
“I’ll come back for the plate,” he said.
“You might not need to. I’ll be down soon.”
“Uh, it’s not so easy to move around yet, ma’am. All the heavy stuff is still being moved. You might not find Greta in the kitchen; she’s also going to her room until it’s time for lunch.”
“Oh?”
“I’ll come back for it. It’s not a problem, ma’am.”
As he turned around and walked out of the room, my mind drifted to Konstantin.
Is he also holing up in his bedroom?
Of course not, he’ll be down there with his men.
Does he remember yesterday?
Not wanting to spend a second exploring possible answers to my questions, I brought my mind back to my food.
After eating, I moved the stool to the side of the dresser. I gazed at my reflection in the mirror as I rose back to my full height.
What exactly is wrong with me?
The intimacy that flared between Konstantin and me in the midst of yesterday’s chaos was something I wouldn’t have thought possible a few days ago. But it happened, and I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.
I had discovered my physical attraction towards him recently, and I couldn’t deny that. I had found that I liked his eyes when they weren’t looking so emotionless. I knew my body tingled with apprehension whenever he leaned close to me, no matter the reason. His perfectly sculpted face, which mostly conveyed danger, made me soften inside whenever he spoke to me.
Now, adding the feel of his hard chest against my breasts and his muscular arms beneath my hands, I didn’t want him any less.
But physical attraction wasn’t enough reason for me to jump into someone’s arms—it had never been.
Even when I noted my body’s reaction towards him, I knew I couldn’t act on it because I hated him. He wasn’t someone I wanted to be with.
So, what the hell changed yesterday?
I could say it was the heat of the moment, but that wouldn’t be true because it wasn’t my first time being in the face of danger. Even the thought of him discarding it as a spur-of-the-moment dalliance made my throat tighten, although I knew that was most likely what he would chalk it up as. Things like these must happen all the time in the Bratva world.
The answer was staring me in the face: Something had shifted, somewhere along the line.
I just didn’t know what.
**********
“Greta!” I called, hastening my steps as she rushed up the stairs to meet me. I hugged her, and she put her arms around me.
“I’m glad you’re fine, milady,” she said as I released her and we walked down the stairs and into the dining room. “I couldn’t believe it when Hans told me you were with the boss throughout the fight.”
“How are you?”
