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I groan and drop my head onto his shoulder. “Where the hell have you been all this time?”
He strokes his fingers through my hair and gathers me closer against his chest. “Missing you. I’m so sorry. Leaving you was the last thing I wanted.”
Warmth cascades through me and a post-orgasm haze dulls all my reasoning. No one’s hugged me in such a long time. Dad’s too sick, and sure, my brothers and sisters jump into my lap for cuddles, but that’s me holding them. I grew up being spoiled in Uncle Kristian’s strong arms.
My arms wrap slowly around his neck. He breathes in deeply, savoring this moment, as if he really has missed me as much as I’ve missed him. The room is dim and quiet. There’s no one around for miles. No one alive, anyway.
There’s just the two of us.
His body feels like heaven, all warm flesh and strong muscles. The rich, familiar scent of his signature cologne and the musk of his body reaches my nostrils, making me moan in pleasure.
I’ve always loved the way Uncle Kristian smells.
I sit up slowly and gaze into his eyes. This feels like a dream.
Uncle Kristian takes my chin in his hand and plays his thumb over my lower lip. “After missing you for so long, how could I not want to kiss you, Zenya?”
He tilts his face up to mine, inviting me to kiss him. Heat trickles down my body to pool between my legs.
“Because…” I manage in a whisper, and then lick my lips. Suddenly my mouth is dry. “Because…”
The most handsome man I’ve ever seen is inviting me to kiss him, but it’s Uncle Kristian. It doesn’t matter that his hair is rumpled and longer than it used to be, and the shadows are playing over his face in enticing ways, it’sUncle Kristian.
His thumb runs down my chin and caresses my jaw. “Look at you. I always did like you covered in blood.”
My fingers tighten on his sweater. Nails dig into his shoulders. The only other night he saw me covered in blood was the night I started feeling differently about myself. That I was a true Belyaev, and I was going to become a fully-fledged member of this family, not a daughter who would be petted and spoiled and live in luxury and ignorance before leaving to marry a bland and wealthy man.
Is he saying that’s when he started seeing me differently, too?
Uncle Kristian tilts his chin up to kiss my mouth.
I suck in a breath and turn my face away. “Don’t do that.”
Anger flashes over his face.He’sangry withme? That’s not fair.
But Uncle Kristian has never cared about what’s fair. I love him as much as I love Dad, but I’m not blind to his faults. He’s arrogant. Surly. Manipulative. Dangerous. Violent. He’s a walking middle finger to absolutely everyone.
Except me.
I’ve always been special.
“I haven’t seen you for two years and you’re already crossing lines.”
Uncle Kristian tilts his head to one side and smiles at me. “Don’t you think it’s more fun on this side of the line?”
I take a deep breath and try to think. I need to distract him from looking at me like I’m food. “What are your plans? Are you going to see Dad?”
“Of course. As soon as I take you home.”
“Please don’t upset him. He’s not strong enough,” I implore.
A concerned line forms between Uncle Kristian’s brows. “Is he in pain?”
“With cancer riddling his lungs? Of course he is. You’d know that if you’d bothered to be here these past two years.”
“You know I wanted to be here,” Uncle Kristian says, and there’s genuine sorrow in his eyes.
My hands are resting on his shoulders, and I fiddle with the fabric of his black knit sweater. My heart cracked in two when I watched him leave, and all the love I carried for my uncle drained away. He never tried to come home. I imagined him out there living a carefree life while I was left behind to shoulder the burden of Dad’s illness and family responsibilities at just sixteen years old.
