Page 28 of Savage Pakhan

“I didn’t know a man like you appreciated a slower lifestyle.”

“There’s a lot more to know about a man like me.”

Her curious gaze lands one me after finding the staircase. “Oh? And what else is there?”

“Plenty for you to learn in time.” I step forward, my shoes squeaking on the polished wooden floors.

That’s when I notice we have tracked in so much mud. I kick off my shoes, the bottoms caked in dirt. Mia’s small footprints are pretty much all over the main floor now.

She loves to explore.

There’s just one problem with this cabin that she’s going to find.

There’s only one bed.

7

MIA

“You can take a shower first. I’ll wait and make us something to eat in the meantime. Bathroom is upstairs.”

I watch Alek walk—no—saunter into the kitchen, his shirt filthy with lake water, mud, sweat, and even blood. It’s been a hell of a day and the one thing I never expected was for the day to end sharing a cabin with him.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind waiting,” I offer, even though I’m already on my way to the steps. “I don’t have anything to wear. Crap, my suitcase is in the car.”

“I have plenty of clothes for you to wear. Grab whatever. I’d rather us not leave the cabin tonight.”

I nod, a rush of excitement interrupting my heartbeat. I want to wear his clothes. I bet his shirt is going to fall to my knees and wrap me in safety. I’m not going to argue about that.

“I’ll grab your bag in the morning. Go up and shower.”

The words I really want to say are, “Why don’t you join me?” But I don’t have the courage. Instead, I start walking up the stairs, my hand sliding up the log railing. That’s when I notice how dirty my feet are.

I look behind me, gasping in horror when muddy footprints are all over the floor. Embarrassment floods my cheeks. Alek has probably already seen the mess and hasn’t said a word to spare my feelings because I’m starting to see he truly does care about my emotions.

That’s new to me.

No one has ever cared about me like he has. That knowledge makes it so hard to stop myself from having feelings for him. I have to do what I can to stop myself from falling for him. He’s forbidden. I’m not allowed to want him. It’s too messy. Too impossible. Too unlikely.

There are too many facts going against us than for us.

One being he is my ex-fiancé’s father.

The most important fact of them all that I need to keep in mind. He’s only being kind. Kindness doesn’t mean love.

There’s a small landing at the top of the stairs that holds a small desk and a computer. A giant window takes up the entire wall, giving me a view of the forest we somehow survived in.

Pushing the bedroom door open, I pause in the entryway when I see one king-sized bed settled perfectly in the middle of the wall. I’m sure there’s another room somewhere.

One bed would be a problem for me because the last thing I’d want to do is sleep if I’m in the same bed as Aleksandr Bykov. Not that I’d admit this out loud but there were many nights when I dreamed of Alek while I laid next to his son.

I knew even dreaming about him would bring me the peace I needed just to close my eyes to fall asleep. Then, when sleep would finally take me under, my mind conjured up lives that I knew could never be mine.

Taking a right into the bathroom, I flip the light on, and stand there like I’m lost. There’s a walk-in shower, a sauna to the left, and a big claw foot tub that could easily fit two people.

I bite my bottom lip imagining taking a bubble bath and Alek joining me.

Even with the excitement of Alek invading my daydreams, exhaustion hits me. Every part of my body is heavy. My eyes burn from how bright the light is and I yawn, unsure if I even have the energy to go through the motions of a shower.