Page 87 of The Promise

Because that was the easy part.

Even if it had terrified him.

He didn’t see this coming.

EIGHTEEN

For the two weeks that they’d been apart and Karine was without Roman, every morning when she woke up, she felt ... okay. Stronger when she meditated. Better. Clear-headed; willing to face the world.

Just good.

Today was no different, except that she had woken up in Roman’s arms and there was nothing quite like the contentment burrowed deep in her chest when she found he was still asleep as she blinked her eyes open. Strong sunlight filtered in through the thin silk curtains that barely shielded the window, haloing the hard lines of his profile that relaxed just enough in his sleep to make him appear boyish. She stared at him sleeping, watching the slow rising and falling of his chest, his steady breaths assuring that he was nowhere near ready to leave his dreams.

Even if she might want him to.

How could she not, though?

The ache between her thighs, a pleasant reminder that she didn’t mind, was a damn good reason for her to wake him up. Still, she didn’t.

Instead, her mind drifted to the night before, and the words he’d spoken into existence. He made it real.

I love you.

There was no way to stop the smile creeping over her lips as that memory took center stage in her mind. If she were honest, Karine might say she had been in love with Roman—infatuated, really—from almost the moment they met. Every single moment, word, or touch between the two since had simply dragged her deeper into what she thought could only be a fantasy.

Until he made it reality.

Before last night, she didn’t have anyone to confess her feelings about Roman to. No matter how innocent, or confusing, they might have been, there was no one to help her make sense of it all. Masha wouldn’t have approved—Karine knew it without even broaching the subject with her. She was here only for Karine because she would do anything for her. Not because she actually wanted to be here, or even because she trusted Roman or the rest of his family.

That was the one thing Masha had made abundantly clear through her reserved comments on and off. Sometimes, she forgot that Karine wasn’t as checked out as she used to be without a steady supply of medication. It was easy for Masha to think Karine wasn’t always listening.

She listened too much, now. It wasn’t like she had a choice. Regardless, the truth was out there.

Real.

Karine had to keep telling herself that—keep reminding herself that had really happened.

He said he loved her. She told him the same.

But what does that mean?

It was the one thought that wouldn’t leave her mind the longer she stared at the sleeping man next to her. For them—for the future, when all of this was gone, if it even was—what did it mean? It was a question she didn’t have an answer for. One of many, and that was just something new for Karine to obsess over.

Unanswered questions were the worst kind.

The most dangerous for her.

He’d be leaving soon. Again. What was going on that kept Roman away? He might not have specifically mentioned it—when he would head out again—but he still would. She doubted they would have very much time together.

As the minutes ticked past, she grew anxious in the sheets, restless in the silence with only her screaming thoughts to keep her company. It was only a faint echo of what it used to be before she started working with Michelle—but it was still there all the same.

They were still there.

Karine had to force herself to remain still lest she wake Roman up, because God, what then? Would he know something was wrong just by looking at her?

She didn’t want that.

Not right now.