Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Damn hormones.
Instinctively, I take a step back, and his eyes flare, and his jaw clenches.
“Yes, I want to see Igor,” I blurt out.
He nods curtly.
“I have assigned a detail of three men to you. If you choose to go to the hospital, then you are to speak to Pierce and have him organize the detail for the day.” His words are clipped and cold. Unfeeling. “You do not leave this property without clearing it with him first.”
I look into his eyes to see if I can find any trace of the man I’d slept next to last week before I fled. The man who pulled down his walls for me, only to rebuild them because he thinks I betrayed him.
But he is gone, and in his place is a cold robot.
If only he would talk to me without it becoming an argument.
If only he would believe me.
Trust me.
I’m ready to forgive him for not trusting me if he can forgive me for leaving.
“Lev—”
“If that is all, then I have things to do.”
He brushes past me, and I turn to watch him walk away.
“This is just so easy for you, isn’t it,” I call out.
He pauses with his broad back to me. He lifts his head but doesn’t say anything before he finally walks off.
After my run in with Lev at the top of the stairs, I go straight to my room to put on something a little less nipply, then go in search of Henry. I find him in one of the palatial bedrooms sliding his bag over his shoulder. He looks like he’s ready to walk out the door.
“You’re leaving?”
“I’m sorry, baby girl. I thought I’d be able to get some time off, but I don’t have enough vacation time, and HR are being real dicks about it. I have to be in the office first thing in the morning.”
“But you can’t leave,” I cry.
“I will be back as soon as I can.” He walks over to me and gives me a warm hug. “Besides, I think you and Lev need some space to figure things out.”
“We live in a palace. Space isn’t the issue.”
“You know what I mean.”
“If you leave I might actually murder him,” I whisper dramatically.
He winks. “Or kiss and make up. A lot.”
“Doubtful.”
“He’s hurt.”
“I didn’t betray him.”
“That’s not why he’s hurt.” He gives me a look like I’m missing the point. “You ran, and I don’t think he realized just how deep that was going to cut him.”
“You got all of that from the small amount of time you spent with him?”
“Sweet thing, I got that in the first five minutes with him. He’s in love with you.”
My eyes go round. “In love—”
“Head over heels. Smitten kitten. Batshit crazy for you.”
I fold my arms across my chest. “Crazy is right.”
“He needs time.”
“He needs a lobotomy.”
Henry gives me a pitiful look as if I’m a lost cause but he doesn’t have the heart to tell me. “Give it some time. Right now he’s like a wounded bull. But in a few days he’ll be more approachable.”
It’s not a bad plan. Avoid Lev. I like it.
“What am I going to do without you?”
He presses a kiss to my forehead. “You’re going to figure things out. I promise. Besides, I’m just a phone call away.”
Watching him leave with Feliks fifteen minutes later, I suddenly feel all alone. I miss my friends. I miss Lev.
Urgh, I hate this.
To avoid running into his lordship, I get out of the house as soon as possible and visit Igor at the hospital. With my best friend gone, I feel even less inclined to spend time at the mansion with the grumpy pakhan.
I leave the house irritated by the way Lev is treating me, but when I arrive at the hospital, my mood immediately changes from being agitated by Lev’s mere existence to one of cold heartache.
Because Igor is still so sick and seeing him lying on the bed is a stark reminder of how everything can change on a dime. One minute you’re walking toward your car. The next, your body is broken and you’re fighting for life in a hospital bed.
Thankfully, he’s out of danger. He will live. He’s still on a ventilator and bandaged from head to toe. But the doctors are confident his lungs are healing enough for him to be able to breathe on his own soon.
When Enya visits the cafeteria for coffee and to stretch her legs, I sit beside him and take his hand in mine. And for a while, we just sit there, and the only sound is the machines keeping him alive.
Finally, I huff out a breath and let the words tumble out.
“Sorry I left. I got scared. But I shouldn’t have left. I should’ve stayed and tried to figure things out. It’s just that I’m not used to this world, and I got scared because… I’m pregnant, okay, and I had to think about the baby. Did you hear that, Igor? I’m having a baby. Lev’s baby. And I need you to wake up. Because I’m going to need your help keeping Lev from being over-the-top protective as my belly grows bigger.” I try to keep my tone upbeat. “You know how crazy possessive he can get. I mean, look at how he reacted when I stole his car…”