Page 194 of Volik

Perfect for me.

The other half of my soul.

And I no longer think that’s impossible.

There’s not a single doubt inside me.

Volik is, has always been, my destiny.

Fighting the sudden urge to cry, my fingers tremble as I take his hand and squeeze it.

Volik drapes his other arm over the back of the couch, lightly touching my hair. “Do you not want to speak to them because your mother is awful?”

The laugh that bursts out of me feels good. “I mean, kinda.”

Volik doesn’t smile. “If I meet her, I will not be nice.”

“I think I would enjoy that,” I admit quietly, as my humor slips away.

Volik rubs his thumb along the inside of my wrist. “Would you like to tell me about them?”

“No. But I need to.”

Volik shakes his head. “You do not need to do anything.”

“I don’t like thinking about them. But I want you to know… everything. I—” I swallow.

I want to tell Volik that I love him. That I care about him and his opinion more than any other.

But even though he’s mine, even though our hearts beat as one, it feels too soon to say the words.

Then he starts to purr.

This giant vampire.

This man who could destroy so easily.

This otherworldly being, who could take whatever he wants, is sitting with me on his couch, surrounded by stone walls and soft lighting, because he wants to be with me. And he’s purring because he wants to comfort me.

And even if I’m too much of a coward to tell him I love him, I don’t need to hear the words from him to know he feels the same way.

It’s in the way he looks at me.

In his touches.

In the way he vibrates with power when he’s concerned for me.

Volik’s love is in everything he does.

Placing my free hand on his knee, I shift closer, pressing our legs together.

“My brother was three years older than me.” Volik keeps playing with my hair, and I concentrate on his touch as I let memories of my brother float through me. “He was a good sibling. He’d let me tag along with him and his friends when I asked. Helped me take the training wheels off my bike when our dad said I wasn’t ready. That sort of thing.” I take a slow breath. “He was ten when he drowned.” My voice cracks, and Volik’s purr gets deeper. “It was a hot day, and I wanted to go to the lake too, but my mom said no. I promised I’d just wade in to my knees, since I didn’t know how to swim, but she refused. Said I was too young and that I should let the boys have fun without me.” I can still see the apologetic look on my brother’s face as he ran out the door with a beach towel slung over his shoulders. “He was a happy kid.”

I finally give in to my emotions and let the tears drip down my cheeks.

Volik palms my hips and pulls me up onto his lap, turning me so I’m leaning against the back of the couch, my side against his chest.

He strokes a hand down my hair. “There is something special about an older brother, da?”