Page 19 of King of Shadows

I reach across and pull her chair closer to mine. “You look stressed baby. Has work been stressful?”

“A little.”

I lean toward her and kiss her slowly, letting my lips linger against hers before moving to her neck. “Anything I can do to help?”

She smiles against my skin. “You being here is helpful enough.”

I kiss her forehead. “How about you take the day off? We can spend the day together.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t. I promised to help Bea cover her shift. But we can spend the whole of tomorrow together.”

“Okay. Looking forward to that.” I lean in and kiss her lips. “I love you.”

The words leave my mouth before I even have time to think about them. I pull back. What the hell? Where did that come from?

Chloe is staring at me. “What did you just say?”

I swallow, there’s no need denying it, I do love her. “I said I love you.”

Her eyes immediately fill with tears.

“Baby what’s wrong?” She doesn’t answer. “Did I say something wrong?”

I reach for her hand. “It’s okay if you’re not there yet. I just wanted you to know how I feel.”

She suddenly grabs my face and presses her lips against mine. I barely have time to react before she’s kissing me deeply. When she pulls back, her eyes are still wet.

“I love you too. I love you so much.”

Something inside my chest loosens. I didn’t realize how badly I needed to hear those words until she said them. I pull her out of her chair and onto my lap. We kiss until neither of us can remember why we were sitting at the table in the first place.

For the rest of the day, I’m on a fucking high. Nothing can touch it. Not even the report that comes later that Vadim already abandoned the location my men searched. Exactly as I suspected. Normally, that would irritate the hell out of me.

Today, I barely care. My woman loves me. For the first time in my life, I have something that feels bigger than everything I’m fighting for.

But reality seeps back in later that evening when one of the men I've stationed outside Chloe's apartment calls. They spotted Vadim's men near her apartment and around her workplace.

Chapter 6

Chloe

I smooth the last bit of concealer beneath my eyes and lean closer to the bathroom mirror. One more touch of powder. Then I’m done. I’m getting ready for a date with Kazimir, and he’ll soon be here to pick me up.

Then my stomach twists, and a wave of nausea rolls through me. I swallow hard, fighting the sudden urge to throw up.

“Oh, come on.”

I close my eyes and breathe through it. For the past two days, I’ve felt strange. I think I’m stressed. Work has been insane lately, and I’ve been exhausted more than usual.

The nausea rises again. I grip the edge of the sink waiting for it to pass. Maybe I should call Kazimir and cancel. I glance at myself in the mirror. But I really don’t want to. This is our first proper date in a long time. Work has been hectic for both of us, and although I know Kazimir wouldn’t complain if I asked to stay home, I want to go.

I want a night out with him. So I force myself to finish getting ready. I’m putting away my makeup when I hear a knock at the door.

I walk out of the bathroom and head toward the door. When I open it, Kazimir stands there dressed in a black suit. His dark hair is neatly styled, and he looks so damn handsome like he just stepped off a Vogue magazine.

“Hey.” He leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek.

And suddenly, the nausea hits me again. This time, it’s harder. My eyes widen. “Oh, God.” I spin around and sprint toward the bathroom.