“I’m going with Eli back to our house today!” Stefan calls out as I wipe down the breakfast table.
I meet Semyon’s gaze. He nods. “They’re safe, Anya,” he says quietly. Then to my brother, he raises his voice. “Make sure youget your homework done first, Stefan.” My throat aches. I’m not doing this alone anymore. “Back to school tomorrow.”
Back to everything tomorrow. Dinners at the Kopolovs, which I’ve come to look forward to. A full day at the bakery, a “re-opening” we’ve planned in detail. Semyon and I, here in our home together.
We clean the kitchen in amicable silence, both of us lost in a world of our own while Eli and Stefan get ready to leave. Semyon insists they take a full guard with them. Semyon’s told me Eli’s still not fully in the clear with the rest of his family but thankfully keeps me ignorant of whatever they have planned.
Sometimes I want all the details. Sometimes I don’t. For now, I want to know that Stefan and Eli are safe. That’s all I need.
It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon. I’m still in my jammies at noon, my hair in a messy bun, no makeup on. Semyon is sexy as sin in his gray sweats and white tee.
“Chess?” he asks when the kitchen’s sparkling clean.
“Maybe we should play something more low stakes,” I say with a wink. “We used to play checkers when I was younger, remember?”
He tilts his head to the side. “I remember everything about you when you were younger.”
“Do you?” I smile at him. It soothes me to hear him talk with fondness about my younger years. It heals me a little each time. “Like what?”
He tucks his hands into his pockets with an almost boyish shrug. His glasses have fallen down his nose a bit, and he hasn’t bothered to fix them. “You used to chase fireflies by the creek.”
That’s right, I did. I stare at him in wonder. How could I have forgotten? “You were the only one who could make me smile after my parents died. You’d crack a joke or do something silly. You’d stare at me when I was with Eli like you were half-scared and half-enchanted, and you’d blush a pretty shade of pink when I caught you.”
“Oh god.” I cover my mouth with my hand and shake my head. “No.”
“You did,” he says, taking his hands out of his pockets and walking toward me. I look up at him as he nears. He smells like clean, snowcapped mountains and spring air. “You were this shy kid with freckles all over your nose. Innocent. Trusting.”
Our toes touch. His knuckle under my chin lifts my gaze to meet his.
“And now?” I whisper.
“And now? I was afraid you had too much light and innocence for my world.” Shaking his head, he holds my gaze with his steely blue eyes. “But I’m afraid I’m the one who’s been fully corrupted, sweetheart.”
“I’m glad you’ve finally admitted it, Superman.”
“Superman?”
“Don’t you know that’s how I see you?”
An adorable furrow across his brow is the only indication that he’s fully confused. “Me? A superhero? I’m definitelynotthe good guy.”
I brush my thumb along his stubbled cheek. “No? I’mshocked.I thought for sure you lived to stop trains from plummetingto their deaths from broken train tracks and helping little old ladies cross the street.”
“Nah,” he says with a shrug. Leaning in closer, he brushes his lips across my forehead. “Unless they’re giving out capes for burning the world to embers to saveyou,I’m fresh out of luck when it comes to heroics. Now. About that strip chess game…”
We settle on lap chess, a “Semyon” strategy indeed. I sit on his lap, playing my part, and he feels me up, playing his. I don’t know how he can play backward on the board, but I’m not sure that winning is his ultimate goal here.
“Look, love,” he says, gesturing at the board. I lean forward to get a better look, which gives him full access to my tiny sleep top and bare breasts. “I used to think the queen was just another piece to protect the king.” He makes a move. “But you’ve shown me she’s the most powerful piece on the board.”
I stare, disbelieving. He’s left me wide open and doesn’t even see that—with a sweep, I make my move.
“Damn,” he growls, bending to kiss my neck.
It takes all my energy to stay focused when he thumbs my nipple. “No fair, Semyon. You can’t distract me.”
I stifle a groan and turn to him. My knees rest on either side of his thighs, my triumph at having finally beaten him fueling my need for him. My body aches to be filled by him, touched by him. I frame his face with my hands as his settle on my hips. Our lips meet, and our breaths mingle.
“Checkmate,” I say with a grin.
He looks at the board and shakes his head.
“You win, Anya.” He kisses my cheek. “I’ve never been so happy to lose.”
THE END
