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“I promise you Kat, I may seem like a man who is innocent and sweet on the outside, but I am nothing like that behind closed doors. I can handle anything you give. Let me in, let me show you the man I truly am, and then make your decision.” I kissed the skin behind her ear, loving how she sucked in a breath.
“I have to go.” She whispered and I let go of her wrist, watching her walk away.
I just hope she didn’t stay away because that woman held my heart.
Nine
Katerina
Iwas still reeling from Riley’s confession. And that kiss. I hadn’t been kissed like that since Yuri.
And that was what terrified me. Riley would be easy to love, but he was also sweet, kind, and innocent and my world would chew him up and spit him out.
Leo glanced at me, pursed his lips, and sighed.
“What happened?” He asked and I instantly felt rage at his question.
“It’s none of your business.” I snapped and he nodded, clenching the steering wheel.
“Perhaps. But you look like you are about to explode with all the emotions, so I am offering to listen. It isn’t healthy to keep things bottled up.” He said and I snorted, rolling my eyes at him.
“Coming from the man who is using me to make himself feel better about something that happened with his sister,” I said, putting more bite than I intended into the words.
He flinched before clenching his jaw.
“I may have my hang-ups from the past, but I am not here just because of that. I am here because I find you interesting and I thought you could use a friend.” He said quietly and I glared at him.
“I don’t do friends,” I said as he parked out the front of my neighbor’s house.
The locksmith was waiting in his van on his phone, and I went to get out of the car when Leo grabbed my arm.
“Who hurt you in the past? Only someone who has been hurt has an attitude like this.” He said and I stared at him, ready to object and spit more angry words but as I looked at Leo, I remembered Yuri.
In some ways, Leo reminded me of him. His persistence, his ability to just slot himself into my life like it was the most normal thing to do.
Yuri had done that. He sat down at my desk one day and kept coming back. Maybe that was why I felt so comfortable with Leo.
“He didn’t hurt me. Not really. He died.” I said, my voice breaking as I wrenched my arm from his grip, his eyes wide watching me.
I quickly got out of the car, slamming the door and wiping the tears that threatened to spill over.
This was why I didn’t do friends or relationships. I couldn’t afford to be soft, especially now.
“Hello,” I said cheerfully to the locksmith as he got out of the van and nodded to me.
“Thank you for coming so quickly. I have been so stressed about this.” I gushed, adding a layer of sweetness to my voice.
“No problem ma’am. It won’t take me too long to get this sorted for you.” He said as he gathered his things.
I watched him walk to the front door when Leo gripped my shoulder, spinning me around.
“I’m sorry that you lost someone. I can gather from what I know about you that it must have been someone from your world and not a simple death. But don’t lock yourself away from people, Rina.” He said softly and I stilled.
Rina. He called me Rina. The same nickname Yuri used.
I stared at Leo, my palms sweating as he frowned. My chest felt like it was collapsing, every part of my body aching. With just one word he had broken open a part of my soul that I had tried to keep locked away.
“I can’t do this. I can’t let you, Riley, or anyone in.” I whispered and he sighed.
