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“moy kotyonok”
“Where is your coat?”
He cares
When the old woman saw me coming, her eyes widened with fear. She started to get up, but I tried to reassure her.
“Ty dazhe na vkus sladkaya.”
You even taste sweet
“I’m twenty, by the way, not nineteen.” He looked amused by the admission, like I was a child announcing I was now eight while proudly displaying a hand and three fingers. “Are you?” I swallowed. “My birthday was a few days ago.” “I’m thirty-two, kotyonok.” Oh.
“Do svidaniya, kotyonok.”
“Pomni.” His lips pressed against my ear. “Ti eto prosila.”
“Snimi eto dlya menya.”
Record this for me
“Malen’kaya lgunishka.”
I’d never told him to scrub a floor, but the fact he wanted to protect this girl from me . . . Well, that pissed me off. She was mine for the time being, and I’d do whatever I goddamn pleased with her.
It might be the confirmation she clearly had some fight left in her, but it was more likely the fact I was going to spank her ass for this later.
I held her still, if only to keep her from flashing everyone in the room something that belonged to me. “I thought . . .”
Very possessive of someone that she didn’t want to be the first in
“Ronan’s Steakhouse. Home of the largest sausage in Moscow.”
He’s despicable🤣
He wiped his face with a hand, voice cool but restrained between clenched teeth. “I’ll give you a head start.”
In the movies, men went down. Ronan didn’t go down. My chest heaved, feet rooted to the floor as he closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. When he opened them, I expected his retaliation; I didn’t anticipate him to silently wrap an arm around my waist, lift me over the broken glass, and drop me onto the couch.
“Don’t worry, kotyonok . . .” He leaned in and nuzzled my neck, his warm breath raising goose bumps on my skin. “Ya vyyebu vsyu lozh iz tebya.”
He abruptly pulled his fingers away. The budding release crashed, and desperation seared through me in waves. “No. Please,” I begged, my eyes flicking open. “Please—” He covered my mouth with a hand and pushed into me with one hard thrust that tore a cry of pain from my throat. It felt like a lance of fire, burning so intensely tears pooled in my eyes.
The moonlight loved her. But not as much as my shadows. “Ti slishkom ideal’naya chto bi byt’ nastoyashchey.”
A shiver wracked her, and the pressure in my throat expanded, compelling me to skim a kiss across her cold thigh and roughly say, “Izvini.” I’m sorry.
“Tell me what you really want from me, kotyonok. You can have it. Anything besides letting you go.”
He watched me for a second. “Jesus Christ.” With a frustrated noise like he was in pain, he released my hair. “I’ve Stockholm syndromed you.”
“But be careful. One of them might end up meaning something to you.” The words seared like acid on my tongue. He watched me for a second. “Ya dumayu uzhe slishkom pozdno dlya etogo.”
I think it’s already too late for this
“You were the one involved in a porridge catfight downstairs.” “She pulled my hair,” I explained simply and shut the door behind me. His eyes darkened. “That won’t ever happen again. Nobody pulls your hair except me.”
“Because you’re so sweet you fucking glow.” His eyes darkened. “And I’ll kill anyone who tries to take that light from you.”
“Aren’t you going to say it too?” “Nyet.” The reply was so cold, its ice burned the backs of my eyes, sending a single tear down my cheek. It wasn’t until he watched it fall that I noticed the tightness in his shoulders; the turmoil he hid so well behind Giovanni. A rough thumb wiped the tear away. “Ya ne govoryu togo, chego ne imeyu v vidu.”
I’m not saying something I don’t mean
I found another weakness. He was weak for me.
“Then let me make it clear for you,” he said, the shadows in his eyes flashing. “You would survive without me. You would move on.” His tone roughened. “I can’t imagine a world where you and all your fucking yellow doesn’t exist. So if you die, you’ll take me with you. Your sacrifice would mean nothing, kotyonok. NOTHING.”
My papa’s head shot up at my voice, relief filling his eyes. Ronan’s stoic expression didn’t falter. My stomach clenched when I realized he knew what I’d come to terms with at the same time I had.
Ronan paused in the doorway for a second. He turned his head to meet my eyes and promised, “This isn’t proshchay.”
I didn’t even think. I ran across the yard and jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He had to take a step back to keep his balance. He chuckled roughly. “I wasn’t expecting this response. I even rehearsed and everything.”
“Ya lyublyu tebya
“Ya lyublyu tebya. Tak sil’no chto ne mogu dumat’ kogda ty daleko ot menya.” I love you. So much I can’t think when you’re away from me.
He made a noise of satisfaction. “Ya byl tyoim pervym I ya budu tvoim poslednim.” I was your first, and I will be your last.
“You really want kids?” I asked. He ran a thumb across his bottom lip. “Da.” “Lots of them?” “However many you want.” I raised a brow. “I want a whole houseful.” “I can take your IUD out in this alley, and we can get started right now.” I pretended to think about it. “Tempting. But I’m going to leave that to the professionals.” I cocked my head. “And I thought you were ‘saving yourself for marriage’?”
When we walked out of the shop, I flashed my new tattoo at Ronan and asked, “Do you like it?” His eyes were dark, but his words were soft. “Mne nravitsya.” I love it.
