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for me to slide the food inside. As she chewed, I glanced over the rest of the items on the tray. A cup of the ice cream the cook was famous for. It was sugar-free so Mom was able to eat it, but it sure as hell didn’t taste like it was lacking the good stuff. Tavia had always loved this dessert, so I knew she wouldn’t be able to turn it down.
For the next few minutes, she allowed me to feed her, but then she spotted the dish of ice cream, and I knew the pasta would no longer hold any appeal. I started to pick it up, wanting to continue to take care of her like this, but she snatched it from my hand and grabbed the spoon, digging in with a contented sigh.
Grinning at how childlike she was acting, I placed the tray on the nightstand and then reached for the remote to the television. With the push of a button, the TV came to life, and I sat back against the pillows beside her and channel-surfed while she enjoyed her dessert.
“I like this show,” she said around the spoon still in her mouth then pointed it toward the TV set. “I didn’t think I would like that guy as this character, but he’s actually my favorite now.”
“I’ve never watched it.” Her eyes were glued to the television, but mine were on her, watching her eyes follow the characters on the screen while taking random bites of her ice cream.
Fuck, she was so damn beautiful.
“What?” she grumbled when she caught me staring. “Do I have ice cream on my face?”
“Yeah,” I lied and leaned in, kissing her bottom lip. The cool, sweet honey of her mouth hit my taste buds, and I couldn’t hold back a groan. My hand caught the back of her head, holding her in place so I could deepen the kiss and suck on that luscious bottom lip.
With a soft gasp, she pulled back, her eyes narrowing on me. “I…I don’t think this is a good idea. I’m not supposed to… To…”
I stroked my thumb over her cheek. “It’s just a kiss, krasotka. That’s all I want for now. I promise you, I won’t ever do anything you don’t say you want.” Brushing her damp hair back from her face, I wrapped my arm around her and tucked her head against my shoulder.
When she didn’t struggle or pull away, I took that as a small victory and kissed the top of her head. Small steps, I told myself. Small, delicate steps were what I needed to take to prove to her that I meant every word I said.
Chapter 21
Tavia
Sofia sighed and shifted restlessly on the bed beside me, her homework spread out in front of both of us. When she did it again, for the tenth time, I dropped my pencil and frowned at her.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, more than a little irritated, but it wasn’t all her fault.
I was restless too. Over the past two weeks, Mrs. Volkov had continued to insist I stay in bed as much as possible. She or Theo brought me my meals. They kept me company throughout the day when Sofia was at school, but I was going stir-crazy locked in the guest room. If I so much as walked downstairs, Theo picked me up and carried me right back to my room.
But at least he stayed once he placed me in bed. Most of the time, he would call down to the kitchen to order us a snack and then climb into bed beside me so we could binge-watch something on Netflix.
He never tried to kiss me, but he would wrap his arms around my waist and stroke my hair until my head felt weak. Then I would pillow it on his shoulder and fall asleep right there in his arms.
To say I was conflicted where he was concerned would have been the biggest understatement of my entire life. He confused the hell out of me, and I didn’t know what to make of this change in him. Sure, he’d said he was going to prove how much I meant to him, that he loved me, but I still wasn’t sure if I believed him or not.
Part of me wanted him to be sincere, but a bigger part of me kept waiting for his real motives to make themselves known. It was like I was holding my breath, waiting—always waiting—for him to show me what a joke he really thought I was.
“Sorry,” Sofia said with a grimace. “I’m just bored as hell. I haven’t gotten to go anywhere outside of school or my cousins’ house in almost a month. I’m starting to get cabin fever, and it’s making me twitchy.”
“Trust me, I know what you’re feeling,” I told her with a twist of my lips. At least she’d gotten to go to school, though, and to visit with her family. With Raven, I’d been allowed outside a little to soak up the sunshine and breathe the fresh air. But Theo refused to even talk about me going back to class yet, saying I was still too weak. At least he’d arranged with all my professors to finish out the semester online and made sure my scholarship wasn’t jeopardized.
Sofia must have been thinking something sly, because a devious grin tilted at her lips. “Let’s sneak out,” she said, lowering her voice as if she thought someone was listening at the door. “Go to a club or something. Have some fun. We deserve a break from all this schoolwork bullshit, and you seem perfectly fine to me. I don’t know what Theo and Mom are so worried about.”
Neither did I. There was no soreness left, the doctor had let me graduate from soft foods to a normal diet, and had even encouraged me to do more physical activity. Yet the Volkovs treated me like I was delicate glass that would shatter under the slightest pressure.
It was maddening.
And sweet. So fucking sweet.
Which only drove me crazy because the sweetness of it made it impossible for me to stay mad at either Theo or his mom when it came to their bossiness about staying in bed and taking it easy.
But Sofia’s whispered suggestion held great appeal. I bit my lip, glancing at the door, then my closet. “I don’t have anything to wear,” I whispered.
“Please,” she said with a snort. “I have plenty for you to choose from. So, we doing this or what?”
Before I could talk myself out of it, I nodded.
