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Surprise flickered in his eyes. “Is that what you think?”
I shrugged. “Who else would want to hurt you like this?”
Aleksey swallowed, and I reached up to stroke his brow, not sure why I cared about him or about this so much. To hear him telling me anything like this was a major step. He could have easily ignored me like so many men in his position did to their wives. But he was sharing the information, and I was happy about it.
“You’re right,” he finally said, blowing out a breath. “I have my own suspicions, but I have to prove them.”
“It’s likely my father is part of it as well,” I said slowly, the realization coming to me. They had made this marriage happen. I didn’t think that they were quite done with us yet. “Even if I’m kept in the dark. It’s right up his alley.”
Aleksey grew quiet, and I stilled my touch, wondering what he was thinking.
“What is it?” I asked.
His eyes met mine, and I saw a war in their depths. The depth of emotions behind them nearly took my breath away.
“You surprised me,” he finally said, his hand coming up to smooth the hair from my face. “That’s all.”
“In what way?”
A grin ghosted on his lips, and my entire body softened. God, he was gorgeous when he smiled like that! “You have a good handle on how power flows within the families, Even if you had to piece it all together yourself.”
I gave him a small smile, trying not to give in to the compliment at the thought of how I could surprise him.
“People underestimate me all the time,” I confessed. “My father always has. He thought that I wasn’t listening, and after…” My throat closed and I had to clear it. “After Luca’s death, he seemed to grow a bit freer with his information.” Most of the time, no one even noticed that I was in the room. I had always been a fly on the wall, the additional child that could be ignored because my presence was insignificant.
Aleksey was quiet for a few moments before he leaned over and brushed his lips over mine. “I will never underestimate you, Elia.”
There was something in the way he said those words that sent a cold shiver down my spine. It was one thing to playfully tell me that. But he had said it so seriously, so earnestly, that I immediately recognized the intent behind the words.
I will never let my guard down around you.
Then he smiled again. The spell was broken, but the damage remained. Suspicion lingered at the back of my head as he pressed his lips against my skin.
Tender waves of emotion conflicted within my heart. He was going to break me one day. I was going to love him too much. I was going to give too much of myself to him. He would one day hold my heart in his hands and then shatter it.
I was sure of it.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he breathed as his lips trailed down to my ear, his hot breath tickling my skin. “I can’t keep my hands off you.”
“I never told you to stop.” I breathed, happy for the distraction that consumed us.
Aleksey lifted his head. I could see the burning intensity in his eyes, could feel his cock starting to harden against my leg, and could sense that his mind was turning this way and that with thoughts. I reached up and traced the small scar that was near his left eyebrow. One day I would ask him about his scars, but I didn’t want to spoil the moment.
It was too perfect. Too good. I wanted to focus on the ray of sunshine piercing the thunderclouds between us, and not on the black clouds that threatened to choke off all light in the distance.
In an instant, Aleksey tugged me atop him until I straddled his body. His cock pressed insistently against my ass. The look on his face left my heart aching. Once upon a time, there was a carefree man behind those eyes. But that man had died, and in his place was my husband. My husband who trusted nothing and no one.He has been forced into this marriage, same as me,I reminded myself. No matter how well he hid it, if he’d had any choice in this, he never would’ve agreed to it.
Same as me.
Yet here I was. No, herewe were. Bodies sweaty and drained, yet ready to give ourselves to each other. Again and again until we would finally collapse into each other—sated yet hungry, together yet separate. Everything about our marriage was a contradiction. The deeper both of us fell into it, the more I craved simplicity.
We were stuck together. Until death.
This was the man who was going to be by my side for as long as we were both alive.
“I’m glad to have you,” he was saying, pulling me back into the present, his hands roaming up and down my sides.
The teasing nature of his tone softened me, and I chose to believe that he was sincere in his word. Even if something was waiting for us, to ruin this thing that was starting to grow between us, I would remember this moment. This was the Aleksey that I could fool myself into loving.
