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I take her in the apartment, shut the door behind us, then turn to her. It's an easy matter to gather her close and kiss the top of her head. She closes her eyes at this and sighs.
"Send the video, Maksym," she says.
I blink. "What?"
"Do it," she pleads. "It's the only way you'll flush out whoever's behind this. And I'm ready."
"Ready for what?"
She pulls away from me, anchors her hands on my chest, and meets my eyes.
"Anything," she whispers. "Call me a fool. But I lost you once. I won't do so again. I'm ready to take on my father. By your side. But how did you... how do you endure pain like you did, Maksym?"
"You rise above it," I tell her. "But I don't ever want you to experience anything like I did. Not ever."
"Someday I may have to," she says. "You don't know if I will or not."
I hold her close to me and kiss her temple, the bridge of her nose, the sweet roundness of her cheeks. "Sweet girl," I whisper in her ear. "Never."
"Tell me how," she whispers back, holding onto me with a ferocity only she possesses. So beautiful. So strong. "What do you mean by rise above?"
"You detach yourself from the present. It's mind over matter," I tell her. I swallow hard, remembering those nights alone, waiting for death. "You accept that death is inevitable. It's when you accept that, that you no longer fear the final blow."
"I don't think I can be that strong," she tells me.
"Angel," I whisper in her ear. "You already are."
She reaches for my cheek and runs her hand down the length of it. Her fingers are soft and exploratory. Ministering to me in silence with the gentleness of her touch.
Something in me, something that's lain dormant for so long, I barely recognize it at first, blooms under her gentle touch and sweet words.
"Olena," I whisper in her ear. I kiss her temple, then the bridge of her nose, the apple of her cheek and lower still to her precious, bow-shaped mouth that parts for me.
Don't fall for her. Don't do it.
I tell myself I won't fall in love. I won't even have feelings. But right then, in that moment, it's the most natural thing in the world to lift her in my arms while her legs encircle my waist, and claim her sweet, perfect mouth. To walk to the couch and lay her down, stripping her out of the simple clothing until she lays bare and vulnerable on the couch beneath me. To kiss every inch of her gorgeous body until her eyes flutter closed, her mouth parts, and I strip so nothing's between us at all but an uncertain future and raw, pulsing need. To claim her with gentle, firm strokes of my cock until she arches into me, her mouth parted in ecstasy, her deep moan the most beautiful thing in the world.
When we've chased our ecstasy, I carry her to bed and lay her down on silky sheets, lifting the blanket up and over her.
"Come with me," she says. "No dreams tonight."
I can't resist the temptation to slide between the sheets beside her and curl up against her soft, naked body.
"Sleep," she says, reaching her hand to my forehead and drawing it down over my eyes.
My angel coaxes me to sleep. I don't wake until the early morning, with her still by my side. No one came last night.
And I slept straight through.
The next day leads to the next, and the next, until a full week has passed without a word from Yuri. No one's tried to break into the apartment. No one's threatened us. No one from The Thieves has even contacted us.
It's a false sense of safety, though, and I know it.
We're in a dangerous place. There is no safety here, even the companionship with one another is but an illusion.
I cannot love her, and she cannot love me. Star-crossed lovers, as it were. Our fate has long ago been sealed.
But still... we enjoy this time together. She peruses my book shelves, and begs me to read to her nightly. I enjoy our nighttime routine. I enjoy deep, restful sleep with her by my side. We make sweet love, and everything about it is exactly what I need.
She obeys me, though I don't know if it's out of obligation, or fear, or something else entirely.
I've never had anything like this, so natural and normal. Even with Taya, we were apart so often, and I kept my life with her separated from what I do at the compound. But here, we're falling into a simple, easy routine. Too easy. When days pass and no one threatens us, I wonder if I'm becoming too complacent.
Are they waiting for me to grow attached to her, before someone comes? Do they want me to let my guard down?
