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“I just want to forget. I want to go back to yesterday morning and somehow change the outcome. Maybe I could have found him sooner, and saved him,” she says. Her voice is so low I have to strain to hear her. “I just need to forget everything, Dec.”
Nodding, I down the contents of my drink and refill our glasses. “Drinking to forget it is,” I say as I raise mine to her in a toast and she does the same.
It’s not long before we are at the end of the bottle and feeling the effects of the alcohol. Well, it didn’t affect me as much because I didn’t drink as much as Nat did. I watch as Natalia stands from her seat at the table and begins to wobble. Standing quickly, I grab her before she falls, and she looks up at me with a drunken smile.
"I love you," she slurs with a giggle as she slumps against me. My heart pangs at her words. Knowing how inebriated she is right now, I can only hope she means it.
“Let’s get you to bed,” I murmur as I help her to the bedroom we renovated for her. Once she’s laying down, I take her shoes off and set them at the foot of her bed. Leaning down, I kiss the top of her head as she begins to drift off to sleep. “Good night, Nat. I will be in the other room if you need me.” I say before walking out of the room.
I walk back to the front door and make sure it's locked before grabbing our guns off the table, bringing them to the bedroom with me. No way would I risk being exposed and unarmed when we have no idea who killed Dmitri. I slip my shoes off and strip down to my boxers before I crawl into bed.
I don’t know when I fell asleep, but a loud scream jolts me awake.Natalia. I jump out of bed and grab my gun before sprinting across the hall to her room. When I open the door, I’m met with her cries. As I walk closer, I realize that she’s still asleep, and I frown. Sitting the gun down on the nightstand, I slide in behind her. “Shh, Nat. Shh. I’m here,” I whisper as I wrap my arms around her and pull her back to my chest. Shortly after, she begins to settle down and I drift back to sleep.
Chapter seven
Natalia
Oh fuck, I’m going to throw up.I groan as I roll over in bed and smack into a wall of solid muscle. Then I’m hit with a cologne I haven’t smelt in two years. Sitting up abruptly, I look down and see Declan sleeping soundly beside me.What the hell is he doing in my bed? Never mind that, I need the bathroom.I climb over him and dart to the door on the far side of the room.
When the contents of my stomach are well and truly gone, I walk back into the bedroom and Declan is sitting up in the bed looking at me. I take a moment to observe his features. It’s been almost two years since I have laid eyes on him, but he looks the same. He still has those piercing blue eyes, and black messy hair that he keeps short on the sides and longer on top. His tattoos have practically doubled, covering his arms and his chest. He’s so familiar, yet, more of a man now.
“Good morning, Nat,” he says, his voice husky.
“Morning, Dec,” I reply as I go to sit at the end of the bed. “Why are you in my bed?” I ask, eyeing him as I try to remember the events of last night. “Oh God… did we?”
“It’s been two years since I’ve seen you and you think I’ve turned into some depraved douchebag that would take advantage of you while you’re drunk?” He asks with a raised eyebrow. He rubs the back of his neck before looking away. “If you want the honest truth, I put you to bed after you told me you loved me, and I was woken up by you screaming in your sleep. When I came in here you were crying, and I didn’t know any other way to help you. As soon as I laid down with you, you calmed down and went back to sleep.”
Looking down at my hands, I sigh.I am such an asshole.“Thank you,” I mumble. After a beat of silence I snap my head back up and look at him with wide eyes. “Wait a minute. I told you I loved you?”
“You absolutely did,” he says with a smirk. “I know it’s hard not to love me. I’m very irresistible.” He teases and I groan, hiding my face in my hands.
“Let’s just… forget about that,” I grumble. “Thank you for staying with me last night.”
The truth is, I have always loved him, but this was not the way I expected to confess my love to him. My inebriated brain must have been tired of me pining over the thought of him and took matters into its own hands.
“There was no way in hell I was going to leave you here by yourself,” he says as he looks back over at me. “I wanted to make sure that you were safe.”
“I’ve missed you, Dec,” I say as I reach over and grab his hand. His skin is rough against mine and I notice that his calluses are more prominent, indicating he does more hands-on things than I do. All of the animosity I felt last night is leaving me as I focus on the fact that he’s here. My heart is still shattered from the loss of my brother. There is no sense in wasting the time I have back with Declan now.
“I’ve missed you too,” he says, squeezing mine. “I just hate the reason I came back.”
“Me too.” Tearing my eyes away from his, I clear my throat. The mention of my circumstance threatens to consume me once again, so I quickly change the subject. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been okay,” he lays back against the wall and studies me for a moment. “What about you?” he asks.
His face suddenly drops and an apology forms in the softness of his eyes. “I’m sorry Nat, that was a stupid question.”
I pull my shoulders back. I don’t want pity. “No, it’s fine… I’ve been managing,” I answer and chew on my bottom lip. “Dance is over.” I pull my knees up to my chest and rest my chin on them.
“I know…” he says before smiling sheepishly. “Don’t hate me, but I was at your last recital.”
His words catch me off guard and I gape at him, dropping his hand. “Seriously?” The corners of my mouth turn up into a sad smile. “I wish I could’ve seen you.”
“I talked to Dmitri right before intermission.” He looks down at his hands with a frown.
My face falls and I climb up the bed to sit beside him. I was so focused on what losing Dmitri meant to me, that I didn’t think about what it meant for Declan. Dmitri was like his big brother too.
“What’d you talk about?” I ask, placing my hand over his.
