Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Ania stops when the song ends. “That was beautiful. No words, but just beautiful. I can’t believe my mom is so talented.”
“I can’t believe how talented her daughter is. Actually, I can because you’ve undeniably put in the work.”
“Shall I show you the performance I was practicing … before?”
“Show me anything you want. Show me everything.”
A blush touches her gorgeous cheeks when I say this last part. She knows I’m speaking about more than ballet.
“Can you start the song again?”
“Sure.”
After beginning the music, she moves into her performance, a series of practiced movements she performs with only a few hiccups. Her forehead knits in frustration each time she falters, which tells me she’ll only get better. Then, toward the end, she stops with her hand on her head, taking slow breaths.
I run across the room, my loud footsteps seeming out of place. Taking her by the shoulders, I offer her support so she doesn’t collapse.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. It happens all the time.”
Yeah, and we both know damn well why, but she doesn’t need me rubbing that in her face.
“Looks like my beautiful ballerina might need some athlete fuel,” I tell her. “I’ve got energy bars and electrolyte drinks in my bag.”
She frowns up at me. It’s like I can see the battle raging behind her eyes. She wants to tell me no. At least, the self-destructive monster inside her does. Then it’s like I can see her visibly push that feeling away. She nods. “Okay, yeah, and then we’ll keep going.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Leaving the room, I go down the hallway, grab my bag, and return with the snacks. We sit at the edge of the studio as we eat. I’m not hungry, but I see her eyeing me up, and I know she’ll be more comfortable if I eat, too. She eats half the bar, folds over the wrapper, and then stares at it. Holding it in her fist, she shakes her head and unfolds the wrapper.
I resist the urge to say anything. Even I’m proud of you might break the spell. Hell, I don’t want her to think that I consider this my achievement. This is all her: her grit, her determination, her passion.
Once she finishes, she stands up, brushing herself down. “I’ll have to take it slow. My belly feels … Can I keep going?”
“We can stay here all day and night,” I tell her. “If I had my way, we’d stay here forever.”
“This is our cave, huh?”
I smirk. “Hmm?”
She smiles. “Mikhail and Mila, when they were sneaking around, they went to this special cave. I remember Mikhail saying they both wished they could’ve stayed there. It was like nothing else existed when they were in the cave.”
I stand up and pull her into my arms, holding her as gently as I can, ignoring the hundred roaring voices telling me to claim her, own her. Own her. Somehow, I’ve stopped thinking about how crazy that seems.
“Nothing else does exist, just us.”
We sink into a passionate kiss, and then she puts her hand on my chest, pouting up at me. “Stop distracting me.”
I grin, waving a hand. “Then you better get to work …”
CHAPTER 24
ANIA
“Don’t worry about us,” Lia says over the video call about thirty minutes after we return from the studio.
I sit cross-legged on the bed, looking at the laptop, my body sore in the best way. My belly rumbles, but it’s weird. It’s not rumbling as badly as it usually does. It’s like, somehow, being with Aiden is helping me get closer and closer to something normal.
“How are you doing?” Mila asks, seeming much brighter and more energetic than when she first came to the compound.
“You know? Actually, great.”
My sisters-in-law exchange a look. “Okay … that’s not what we expected you to say,” Mila laughs. “You look good, Ania. Healthy.”
I shrug. “I guess maybe kidnapping isn’t so bad.”
They laugh, Lia shaking her head in that knowing way of hers. Lia seems far more mature than Mila and me sometimes. It might have to do with how independent she had to be at such a young age. Mila and I have been in the Bratva forever.
“You’re both okay? Drake is, too?”
Mila nods. “We’re fine, being treated like royalty. There’s a helicopter waiting for us, but nothing’s happened. We’re just lounging around and—”
“Don’t lie,” I interrupt, smiling. “Lia, I know for a fact you’ve been painting. Mila, if you haven’t somehow found your way to a computer, that will be about the most shocking thing ever.”
They both smile, exchanging a look.
“Okay, not just lounging around,” Lia says.
After a pause, I lean closer to the camera, lowering my voice. “I might have something to tell you. Something interesting.”
“Don’t keep us in suspense,” Mila says.
“The man who kidnapped me, Aiden, is kind of technically my stepbrother. I know it’s weird because he took me, but something really—I don’t know—magical has happened?”