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“Shopping?” He sounded confused. “Yes?” “You were attacked, and then you got up and went shopping.” “What would you like me to do? Cry myself to sleep?”
“Moy kotyonok.” I ran a thumb across her parted lips. “I told you this city would eat you alive.” I just didn’t tell her I owned Moscow and everything in it.
“You are late for breakfast, devushka.” “Just let me die here in peace.” “I like this room. Go die downstairs.”
Questions—so many questions—stirred. I could demand answers, though I thought I had already pushed Yulia too far by the look she gave me while stabbing her needle in the pincushion like it was a voodoo doll. Gingerly, I set Lada back on the shelf and turned to the door. “Thank you, Yulia.” “Come to my room again, you will have bad luck for seven years!” “Grouch,” I muttered on my way out, only to hear a significant insult in return. “Harlot.” Ugh.
The moonlight loved her. But not as much as my shadows. “Ti slishkom ideal’naya chto bi byt’ nastoyashchey.”
phosphenes (n.) the colors or “stars” one sees when they rub their eyes
“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.”
Masochistically, I wondered if Nadia was on the other end of the line. And then I consoled myself with the fact it was probably just a henchman who Ronan was ordering to drown some poor soul in a toilet.
The truth was . . . Mila could have braces and leprosy, and I’d still want to fuck her six ways to Sunday.
We both stared at her. The only thing Ronan would do with a scarf was strangle someone with it. “Wow,” Gianna deadpanned. “I am positive he will love it.”
“You think I cannot keep him?” she asked derisively. “Mamma,” Kat whispered, “is this passiveagressivness?” “No, cara, this is just aggressiveness. Now, be quiet and pass me a pancake.”
“You shouldn’t have heard any of that.” I knew he was speaking about what Nadia had told me. I swallowed. “Because I’m too weak to handle it?” He shackled my wrists above my head. “Because you’re so sweet you fucking glow.” His eyes darkened. “And I’ll kill anyone who tries to take that light from you.”
“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.”
“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.
“Theoretically,” he returned. “I configured how much space a woman would need from her kidnapper before he proposed to her.” I laughed. “And you came up with four months?” He ran a thumb across his upturned lip. “The results were inconclusive, so I waited until I couldn’t anymore.”
“Don’t you want to know if I’ve been with anyone after you?” “You haven’t.” The response was so confident, it told me one thing. “Who was watching me?” I accused. “I would notice Albert. He’s bigger than a tree.” “Viktor.” Ronan didn’t even look apologetic about having me stalked. “And what would Viktor have done if I took a male model back to my place?” “Thrown him into the ocean,” he said darkly.
“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.”
