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“When I said I love you?” His eyes meet mine.
“You don’t have to..,” I say but stop when Lev starts shaking his head.
“I love you, Aurora. I didn’t just say it because I thought I was losing you. It’s been there all along.”
I’m sure my eyes are huge as I blink up at him.
“All along?” I say. “When we first met?” I remember how terrifying he was that first night at the restaurant. It couldn’t have been. I’m sure he’s confirming it when he shakes his head.
“Before,” he says, confusing me. How could he love me before we met? “You’ve always been on my radar, from the moment I saw that sweet face in a photo a decade ago. I never forgot your eyes.” He strokes my cheek. “Eyes filled with pain… just like my own.”
“But why…?” I start to ask, then trail off when I worry that I shouldn’t be pushing this.
“Why didn’t I admit it? Or why was I such a dick?” His smile is wry, although there’s remorse in his steady stare.
“Um… both?” I grin.
“Because I was a fucking fool, Aurora. Trying to maintain the bullshit façade. Guarding my heart. Who knows what I thought I was doing? But I loved you. It became more undeniable when we started living together,” he admits. “Jesus, I couldn’t keep my hands off you.”
My cheeks flush as I remember those days. I guess he’s got a point. Though I was pretty hot for him too.
“At first I tried to fight it. Then I thought I could bide my time until you came round. Jesus, you were stubborn!” I grin because he’s right. “By the time I realized I’d lost the battle, I had started denying it because I believed you were betraying me. And then…” He pauses, breaking eye contact.
“Then what?” I press.
“Then I thought I was going to manipulate you into revealing your plans, before…” He pauses. “Before throwing you out of my life.”
I make a choking sound.
“I know,” he half groans. “No wonder my men were ready to replace me.” He frowns at me when he realizes I’m laughing. “What’s so funny?”
“That was what the Miami trip was about?”
He runs a hand around the back of his neck, then nods.
“Come here,” I say, crooking my finger at him. When we’re nose to nose, I whisper, “Do you honestly think you had any chance of getting rid of me after that trip?” His lips move over mine as he smiles.
“Maybe not. Although…” He stops. “Aurora, I wasn’t good to you.”
I know he’s talking about those brutal moments in my room, and I swallow hard as I remember how he took me. It was scary. And shattering. And still so damn hot. This man knocks my socks off no matter what he does.
“Forgive me.” It’s not a flowery speech, but then again, this is not a man who does flowers. Still, there’s no mistaking the sincerity in those eyes.
“Of course, I forgive you, Lev. I just wish you’d trusted me,” I tell him.
“I’m sorry,” he says. It’s as close to miserable as I’ve ever seen him, and my throat tightens. “I know it’s no excuse, but the bullshit Ludis put together was pretty convincing. But then it would be. He manufactured everything. Even the security footage was doctored.”
“Security footage?”
“He had video footage of you coming out of the kitchen – although not inside. It was enough to raise suspicions that you’d had access to the meal the night the men were drugged.”
“That’s messed up,” I grimace, realizing how intricate this plot had been.
“You probably saved us, though,” he adds. I cock my head. “The night you went into the woods, I asked to see the footage around the house. There was no sign of you going out there.”
“So?”
“So that was a problem,” Lev says. “If the cameras had been working correctly, we’d have seen you climbing out the goddamn window!” He grins as he says it, and I respond sheepishly. I’d been so freaking angry. “Petrov and I have delved into the security systems. Looks like Ludis had been doctoring the footage in preparation for something. Having me checking the footage probably spooked him. I’m sure they had more than one plan to get at us, Aurora.” He’s stroking my hair, but he pauses now. “If they’d come for us then, we would have been unprepared. So, in a way, you saved us from a far worse attack.”
