Total pages in book: 184
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
“Maybe we should take a breather for a moment,” Salem suggested.
She fumed until they got home . . . wait, she meant their home.
Did you?
Roman got out and opened her door, holding out his hand. She stared at him in surprise but took his hand. He squeezed her hand tight and leaned into her.
“Please don’t leave like that again, you had me so worried.”
And now, she felt terrible.
Salem drew her against him, hugging her tight. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault and I will rectify it. You are the very best part of us. If anyone isn’t worthy, it’s us. And I will do whatever it takes to make you believe that.”
Ohh.
And she felt even worse.
Then Alexei grabbed her, putting her on his hip at least. But his face was so cold and closed off that she swallowed heavily as he carried her inside. He had his coat wrapped around her, which he took off and gave to Salem.
Then he carried her upstairs to his bedroom, setting her down on the bed.
She waited for the lecture, the yelling, maybe a spanking.
But none of it came.
Instead, he paced back and forth. Back and forth.
“Alexei? What is it?” she whispered.
Nothing.
“I’m sorry. I won’t leave without texting you again.”
This time he stopped and pointed at her. “You will not leave at all. You go nowhere without me.”
“I’ll have to go somewhere at some stage.”
“No! And I will put a tracker on you to track you, so I will know.”
“I’m not wearing a tracker.” She couldn’t. If he found a tracker on her . . . she swallowed heavily. “But I will do anything else. Text before I leave, when I get to where I’m going, when I’m leaving and get home.”
“I cannot lose you.”
The stark pain in his voice made her heart race.
“You’re not going to. I can look after myself, you know.”
He shook his head and tapped his chest. “I look after you.”
“Of course you do,” she said soothingly.
“I protect you. Keep you safe. Nothing will happen to you.” He kneeled on the floor, pushing himself between her legs. Then he wrapped his arms around her and bent over to press his face into her stomach. It was an awkward position and she leaned back to give him more room. She rubbed his head with one hand.
“Alexei? Papa? What is it?”
“I went to school one day when I was seven. I was just a normal kid. I lived in a middle-class house with my parents, grandparents and younger brother. That day, I came home and found them all dead.”
She sucked in a breath. She’d known that he’d ended up in an orphanage after his family had died. But she hadn’t known he’d found the bodies.
“I’m so sorry.” Her heart broke for that little boy. “What happened?”
“My grandfather shot them all. And then himself. He had seen things and heard voices for a long time. They must have gotten to him. They were all dead, all gone.”
“Oh, Alexei. That won’t happen to me.”
He moved his head, giving her a fierce look. “You do not know that!”
No, she guessed not.
“I will do my best to protect myself.”
“You will not need to. I will protect you.”
She cupped his face. “And you do an amazing job. But I have to have some freedom. I will do my best never to leave without telling you, though.”
“You will tell me about all outings you have planned. You will not take public transport. Where possible, one of us will go with you. If you have to go alone . . . which I doubt will ever happen, you will allow me to track your phone and keep in constant contact.”
“All right.” She’d have promised him almost anything in that moment.
“And never again will you live in filth.”
“It wasn’t filth.”
“It was,” he spat out. “The orphanage was like that. Cold, damp, and miserable. I promised myself that I would never live somewhere like that again. That my family certainly never would. I do not like that you were living there.”
“I’m not there anymore,” she said, finally understanding. “You went to an orphanage after your family died?”
She hated pretending not to know about this. But it might help him talk.
“There was no one else. The orphanage was a terrible place. Filled with despair. No one cared for us there and we had nothing of our own. I rarely grow attached to anyone, because I know I will have to keep them safe. But when they are mine, they stay mine. And I will protect them with my life.”
She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. She understood him better now.
Her MGB.
Her Papa.
“What do you need?” she asked.
“I need to hold you. To give you angel kisses. To keep you close. Don’t ever leave me.”
She held him tighter. She wanted to promise him that she wouldn’t leave him.