When I didn’t answer, he gave me a smile and gently brushed my hair out of my face. “You’re even beautiful when you cry,” he said.
I blushed and looked down at my hands. I felt his hand under my chin, lifting my gaze back up to meet his. “Don’t hide your beautiful eyes from me, solnishko. I could stare into your unique eyes all day and all night and never get tired of the view.”
At this point, I knew my face was turning a nice shade of red. I didn’t know how to respond, so I said the first thing that came to mind. “Wait, how did you get here?”
He chuckled. “I brought you arnica. For your neck. I was discussing a matter with Ivan and Misha when we heard you scream. We thought you were in trouble or being kidnapped.”
“Why would anyone want to kidnap me?”
He cocked his head to the side and smiled slyly at me. “I could think of a few reasons.”
I clearly didn’t fully comprehend his answer. “I’m nobody. There’s no reason to kidnap me.”
“You’re not nobody, Persephone. And unfortunately, you’ve been marked by a powerful mafia boss’s son as an enemy. A petulant child of a son, but still the son of a powerful man. He won’t stop until he has his revenge for the disrespect he feels you caused him.”
“He thinks I disrespected him?? HE TRIED TO K*LL ME!!”
“I know this. All the other bosses know this. Even his father knows this, but Anthony doesn’t take having his a*s handed to him in public very well. No matter how deserved it was. His ego was wounded.”
I just stared at him as he spoke, trying not to think about how handsome he was, how gentle his touch felt, or how pragmatic his explanation of my impending doom was. “This is why you sent your bodyguards to stay with me? What about you? Aren’t you in danger without them?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I just told you that someone wants revenge on you, and you’re worried about my safety?”
“Well, yeah.”
“I’m well-protected, solnishko. I have other bodyguards, but Viktor, Andrei, Ivan, and Misha are my best, which is why I assigned them to you. I have complete trust in them.” “How long will they be here? When can I go back to work?”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea yet. We can’t find Anthony yet. He disappeared after the meeting last night and no one seems to know where he went. We need to find him first before I feel confident about you going back to work.” He saw my eyebrows furrow and added, “don’t worry, solnishko. Your bills are covered.”
“What? No. I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t. I offered. Now accept my offer,” he said giving me his gorgeous smile.
I got lost in his eyes. They were even more beautiful when he was smiling. While they could be cold and lifeless when he was in boss mode, when he smiled at me, they practically sparkled in the dim light of my bedroom. I found myself smiling in response to seeing the joy in his eyes. It made me want to see that joy every day.
“Fine. But I don’t have to like it,” I said, crossing my arms across my chest like a little kid, pouting.
He laughed again and this time, leaned in and kissed my forehead. My whole body felt warm at his touch, but when his lips pressed to my forehead, it was a new level of warmth. I was somewhat stunned at the gesture, but still found myself wanting more.
I grabbed his hand and held it between both of mine. “Thank you.”
“Of course, solnishko. You should get some rest again.”
“Yeah, so about that, I’m gonna forego the whole nightmare thing for a while. I won’t be able to sleep again for a while.”
“Then, come. We will put some arnica on your purple neck,” he said as he grabbed my hand and stood up. He pulled me up before I could stop him.
“Oh… wait…” I said as I stood up, revealing that I was only wearing a large t-shirt and no pants.
He slowly looked down my body, as I tried to pull my t-shirt as low as it would go. His eyes got darker. I noticed his jaw clench slightly and he made a fist with his hand that was not holding mine. His gaze returned to my face, and he leaned in to kiss my forehead saying, “apologies. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
Adrik
I sat at my desk, staring at my phone screen like a lovesick teenager. I wanted to go to her. I wanted to hold her, make her feel safe, protect her from everything that might cause her anything but happiness. Not being able to find Anthony was making me crazy. I had spies everywhere throughout the city and no one had seen him. Or worse, they weren’t talking. That meant Anthony had paid them off somehow. My spies were incredibly loyal to me. They all knew the consequences of betraying my trust. How could Anthony convince them to betray me?
Inhaling deeply, I stood up. I can’t sit at my desk any longer. I looked at the clock. It wasn’t late yet. I could stop by the pharmacy for some arnica and take it to her apartment. Ivan had an update for me anyway. I would sleep better knowing she had something to help soothe her bruises when she woke. Better yet, I would sleep better knowing Ivan had found something that would lead us to Anthony. Most of the other bosses in the city were Italians. We were the only Russians, so we could get away with speaking Russian in front of the others without fear of them understanding us, but when it came to electronic communication, we never discussed business. Conversations could be recorded and translated. It was better to speak in person on sensitive matters.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.