Leonid looks up at the night sky, keeping his gaze on the moon that shines through the darkness. It’s so bright that I can see him clearly—every hard line of his face, the bow curve of his firm mouth, and the unguardedness in his eyes. His solemn look throws me off.
“It was constructed like that, hidden away,” he says, then drags his gaze to me. “To be something like a haven away from all the noise in the world when it gets too loud, even for me.”
My heart sinks into my stomach.Leonid talking about a haven? About noise in the world?Whatever this is, it’s so new and unexpected, I don’t know how to react.
“I thought your study was your haven?” I ask.
He shakes his head, grabs and apple from the bowl, and gives it a cursory look. “You can have a look at it tomorrow, and then you’ll understand why it can’t be.” And just like that, he takes one huge bite of the apple, then extends it to my lips. “Bite.”
I want to poke further, to understand the sudden invitation to his study. But one glance at him makes me push the thought aside, tossing it in the checklist of questions I can ask later.
I obey, taking a little bite from the same spot his teeth dug into a second ago. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he says, then gestures with his free hand. “I brought you out here hoping to make you comfortable enough to speak to me about what was going through your mind when you were drinking from an empty glass.”
“There was water in it before you came al—”
“Elena.”
I draw a slow, shaky breath, accepting that I can’t run from it any longer. He won’t let me.
“You,” I admit, and the weight lifts off my shoulders, making it easier to continue. When I fix my gaze on him, I hold it, taking advantage of the undivided attention he gives me. “I was thinking about you, Leo.”
Something unreadable crosses his face. I’m more aware that there are no guards around, no pesky surveillance teams breathing down our necks, just this quiet space.Just us in this special haven he created.
I wait for a scoff, a sarcastic comment, a tease...anything at all from him. But it doesn’t come, so I continue with a raised brow. “You’re not curious?”
“I am,” he says softly. “But I want to hear you out, everything you have to say. What you think, what you want...I want to know it all.”
His firm but gentle inquisitiveness stuns me, leaving me temporarily speechless. I clear my throat and blink rapidly.
“I’m tired of being scared all the time, having to look over my shoulder because I’m not sure what comes next.” My gaze darts toward the bowl, but my appetite is gone, so I look back up. “You know this: I don’t trust you, Leo. I mean, I want to, but it’s hard, given the circumstances that brought us together in the first place. It’s not easy for me, but I want to understand you. Am I making any sense?”
He nods. “You’re making sense. And I hear you.”
I don’t know why, but those three words loosen all the knots I firmly tied where Leonid was concerned:I hear you.
Under the bright illumination of moonlight, I realize that he doesn’t only hear me. He sees me, too: every inch of my face, my skin, the rumpled oversized T-shirt and shorts hanging on my body. He takes me all in with one intent look.
“It’s not your fault.” His jaw ticks, and I hear a breath of hesitation. “You’re right. I did snatch you away from everything you’d ever known. I brought you into this. Practically forced you to live by my rules. You don’t trust me because I haven’t given you reasons to.”
“Leo, I didn’t mean to—”
“I’m saying your feelings are valid, Elena.” His brows furrow and his gaze grows hard. “This is the life I live, the only one I’ve known. I was born in an environment where violence is the norm and forged with intense control. Hardcore training,codes of discipline we have to live by, and brutal rules that don’t give a single fuck about emotions or empathy.”
I’m too overwhelmed by his honesty to blink, or even breathe. If I do either, I might shatter the moment and never get it back. I hold on to the bowl for dear life, worried that I’ll fall deeper into the pool of emotions brewing in my heart.
“I can’t change it, but I can do something about it. Something that should help you understand me better. Would that help?”
At this point, if I were on my feet, my knees would certainly buckle. He doesn’t order me around, like I expected him to. No. He makes a suggestion andasksif it would help.
My head bobs up and down. “I guess so. What are you suggesting?”
“A job.”
I blink. “Ajob? I already have one.”
His gaze lingers on my lips. “I want to make another offer. A job where you get to work with me.”
