"How do you feel?"
"Sore. Tired." I pulled back to look at him. "Happy."
"Happy looks good on you."
"You look good on me." I gestured to the shirt I was wearing. "Though I'm not sure this is my color."
"I like it." His eyes darkened slightly. "I like you in my clothes."
"Down, boy. I need coffee before anything else happens."
He laughed and released me, moving to pour a cup from the pot on the counter. I took it gratefully, wrapping my hands around the warm ceramic, letting the caffeine work its way into my bloodstream.
"Who was on the phone?"
"Demyan. Checking in." He poured his own cup and leaned against the counter. "The situation is contained. Branko's body has been disposed of, along with the others. The manor is ash. Officially, nothing happened."
"And unofficially?"
"Unofficially, the Petrovic organization just lost its heir. Milos will be looking for blood."
"How long do we have?"
"Hard to say. Weeks, maybe months. He'll need time to regroup, to figure out his next move. But he'll come." Rodion's jaw tightened. "They always come."
I set down my coffee and moved to stand in front of him. His arms opened automatically, pulling me into the space between his body and the counter.
"Then we'll be ready," I said.
"We will."
"Together."
"Together." He kissed my forehead. "Always."
We stood there for a long moment, wrapped around each other in the morning light. The future stretched out before us—uncertain, dangerous, full of threats we couldn't predict.
But also full of possibilities. Full of hope. Full of a love I'd never expected to find.
"Rodion?"
"Yes?"
"Take me back to bed."
He smiled—that slow, devastating smile that still made my heart stutter.
"I thought you needed coffee first."
"I changed my mind." I pulled him toward the stairs. "Coffee can wait."
He followed without argument.
Some things were more important than caffeine.
Epilogue - Keira
Six months later
