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but the events of the past few weeks proved he wanted me too—no matter how much he tried to hide it.
He had the power to do that, but I didn’t want a magic fix. I wanted… Him.
“Because I want you to know,” I said. “And because I…I don’t want you to feel guilty.” “About what?” “About what I want you to do right now,” I whispered.
“What you want me to do.” His tone was lethally soft. “And what might that be?”
“Take off your ring.” Vuk’s harsh command was a shot of whiskey straight to my veins.
srce moje.”
My heart
This was the type of kiss that made time stop. I never wanted to leave. I never wanted it to end.
He didn’t have to say the curse for me to hear it. Fuck.
It was hard to regret what happened when I’d never felt so beautifully, wonderfully alive.
He envied me my “freedom” when I would trade it all for one person in his life.
week. I managed to get through half a dozen documents before lightning
I liked it even more than the tuxedo. It was more him. “Hi.” I hated how breathless I sounded. “Hi.” A soft smile touched my mouth. It was stupid, but I collected his words the way I collected perfumes and shoes. They glinted like precious stones in the sand, proof that he trusted me enough to communicate with me openly when he didn’t have to. He simply chose to.
My rambling melted beneath Vuk’s visible amusement.
“Would you bring me to a game sometime?” I asked. “I haven’t played bingo in forever.” Are you asking because you really want to play or because you don’t believe I do? “Both.”
I searched his face, trying to gauge whether he was really okay discussing the issue or if he was simply humoring me. But Vuk was Vuk. He wouldn’t offer if he didn’t mean it.
I’ve never told anyone the details of what happened before. Not Jordan. Not my staff. Vuk switched back to signing before he added in a low voice, “Just you.” Warmth unspooled in my chest. “Why me?” “Ayana.” My name sounded like a prayer and a curse on his lips. “You know why.”
srce moje.”
My heart
“You told me once to stop saying sorry,” I breathed. “I will if you stop telling me what I should want.” “And what is it that you want?” A dark edge slid beneath his words.
“You,” I said. Unapologetic, unabashed. “I want you.”
I teško onom koji pokuša da mi te uzme.”
And woe to the one who tries to take you from me
“Call off the wedding.” Soft desperation ran beneath his otherwise cool command.
“No!” Tears stung my eyes. “That’s not why. I want you.” “But you won’t leave Jordan.” “I can’t,” I repeated brokenly.
while Vuk’s head dipped toward mine again. “There’s one thing you should know about me, Ayana,” he said, his breath grazing my ear. “I. Don’t. Share.”
I wanted to march upstairs, grab Ayana, and claim her so thoroughly in front of every damn person in the building, there’d be no doubt left in anyone’s mind that she was mine. Only mine.
She consumed me, body and soul, and I refused to settle for anything less in return.
From the moment I heard her laugh on that damn TV program years ago, I’d been a goner. She’d been a new model at the time, but there was something about the way she talked and carried herself that sank its claws into me and refused to let go. She’d radiated authenticity, and she had the type of smile that made me want to smile too—and I fucking hated smiling.
She was a splash of color in my world of gray, and before I knew it, I was ensnared. There was no way out.
The least worst option. My blood bubbled. She deserved to be the best option. In fact, there were no other options; there was only her.
This was about money, and I had money in spades. “I’ll wire you the hundred twenty million.”
I didn’t care. I would pay triple the amount if I had to. Ayana was worth it.
Hell, I’d buy the fucking thing and gift it to him.
I needed to talk to her. I needed…fuck. I needed her. I shouldn’t have walked away from her at the hotel. I should’ve stayed and worked it out somehow. Convinced her that this arrangement with Jordan wasn’t worth it.
They’d met at the restaurant where they both worked decades ago—my father as a line cook, my mother as a waitress.
“I know that’s not very helpful, but when in doubt, trust yourself. Your heart always knows, even if your head doesn’t.”
things. I craved his presence the way an addict craved their next fix, and it’d been two weeks since I last had mine.
He was about to leave when I added, It wasn’t your fault. You performed admirably yesterday.
“You’re different.” Because I rarely talk? “Because you always know how to make me feel better.” Her smile faded, and emotion glistened in her eyes. “Can you hold me?” she asked, her voice small. “Just for a little bit.”
I couldn’t bear to see you marry him.
She belonged in a world where weddings were happy occasions and assassins didn’t exist. She didn’t deserve to have her innocence stripped away by my sordid past.
“You mean you don’t want to return to your life as a secret poison master for a deadly organization?” Ayana’s mouth quirked up a fraction at the corners, and a tingle of relief loosened the vise around my chest.
I was halfway out the door when she stopped me. “Vuk.” I turned. Ayana’s face softened. “Thank you for holding me.”
“Always.”
trying not to think about a certain man with a voice like rough velvet and arms that felt like home.
When Vuk held me that day in the bedroom, I felt like I’d finally reached shelter after a long walk through a storm. Warm, comforted, safe.
“If you need anything, text me. I mean it. I know we met not too long ago, but I don’t bring just anyone ginger chai cookies, you know.”
I closed my eyes, remembering the solid strength of his body covering mine. He’d literally thrown himself in front of a bullet for me.
“Meaning if you think you’ve scared me off, you haven’t.” Ayana gave me a half-shy, half-mischievous smile. “You’re stuck with me, Markovic.”
It was the closest to happiness I’d ever been.
“When you say ‘protect yourself’…what do you have in mind?” Ayana met my wary gaze with a sure one of her own. “I want you to teach me how to shoot.”
He made me feel seen, but he made me feel heard too.
