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But I want her to trust me and feel safe with me. So I keep my eyes closed, even as every cell in my body screams for more of her.

“Okay, you can look now.”

I open my eyes to find her perched on the edge of the bed, wearing my shirt from last night. It swamps her smaller frame, falling to mid-thigh, and the sight of her in my clothes sends a possessive thrill through me.

“You know, as much as I appreciate you putting clothes on for my benefit, I think I prefer you without them,” I say, my voice dropping to a low rumble as I sit up, my eyes raking over her.

She flushes, but there’s a spark of challenge in her eyes. “Well, someone ripped my shirt last night, so I didn’t have much choice, did I?”

I grin, entirely unrepentant. “I don’t recall you complaining at the time. In fact, I distinctly remember you urging me on.”

Her blush deepens, but she lifts her chin defiantly. “Yes, well. Don’t let it go to your head. We have things to discuss, remember? Promises you made...”

The playful atmosphere evaporates, replaced by a tension that has nothing to do with desire. I sober, rubbing a hand over my face as I swing my legs over the side of the bed.

“I remember,” I say quietly, meeting her gaze. “And I meant what I said, Katerina. No more secrets, no more lies. It’s time for the rest of the truth.”

And so I tell her.

Everything.

The intercepts, Russo’s file on her, the danger that looms over both of us.

I watch her face as I speak, fascinated by the play of emotions across her features.

Shock, fear, anger, and determination flicker through her eyes, each emotion vivid and unguarded. In my world, people learn early to shutter their feelings, to present a mask of cool indifference no matter the situation.

But not Katerina.

She wears her heart on her sleeve, every thought and feeling broadcast for anyone to see when she’s not in her serious doctor mode. It’s one of the things I love most about her, that refreshing honesty, that inability to hide what she’s thinking or feeling.

When I finish, she’s quiet for a long moment, her eyes distant as she processes everything I’ve told her. I watch the thoughts chase themselves across her face, the emotions that tug at the corners of her mouth, and the furrow between her brows.

Finally, she speaks, her voice soft but steady. “How long have you known?”

I wince, but I don’t look away. “A few days,” I admit, my voice low. “I should have told you sooner, Katerina.”

She nods, a sharp jerk of her chin. Then she’s on her feet, pacing to the window, her arms wrapped tight around her middle. I watch her, drinking in the sight of her silhouetted against the bright morning sky.

The way the light catches in her hair, turns her skin to gold. The tense line of her shoulders, the way her fingers clench and unclench at her sides.

God, I love her. I love her with a depth and desperation that terrifies me. It makes me want to wrap her in my arms and never let go. The thought of losing her, of anything happening to her, it’s a black pit of dread that yawns open inside me, threatening to swallow me whole.

Finally, she turns back to me, her eyes bright and fierce. “Everything you’ve done, the thirty days, bringing me here, the terms, was any of it to protect me, Nico? Or was it all just about Seraphina?”

I push to my feet, needing to move and pace. The question hangs heavy in the air between us, weighted with all the things we’ve left unsaid.

“At first, no,” I say roughly, forcing the words out past the tightness in my throat. “At first it was about Seraphina, about keeping her safe from the faction. But Katerina, it was always about you, too. From the moment you saved my life, you’ve been under my skin, in my blood.”

I rake a hand through my hair, struggling to find the right words, to make her understand. “Those two years, watching you, learning everything I could about you… It was an obsession, I can admit that. A need I couldn’t control or shake. I thought…” I shake my head. “I thought if I could just have you here, with me, even for a little while, maybe you could see me beyond what you thought you knew about me.”

I step closer, my hands coming up to frame her face and I stare into her wide eyes. “I never wanted to let you go, Katerina. Not then, not now. These thirty days? They were never about getting you out of my system. They were about showing you who I am, who I could be. For you. With you.”

She stares at me, her eyes searching mine. “And who are you, Nico?” Her hands come up to cover mine before she steps away. “Who are you, really? Because I feel like I don’t know you at all.”

I drop my hands, turning away from her, my jaw clenched tight. “You know me,” I say in a strained voice. “You know the parts that matter.”

“Do I?” She moves around me, forcing me to meet her gaze. “Because it feels like there’s a lot you’re not telling me. A lot you’re still holding back.”