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She didn’t realize how much she missed him until this moment. His rich masculine musk, the feel of his solid muscles pressing against her, but mostly being one with him. When Zirkov broke the kiss, he leaned his forehead against hers.
He didn’t speak, but she didn’t need words. Touching him, feeling his skin touching hers, calmed the anxiety she’d been living with for weeks.
“I missed you, Z. More than you could know.”
“I thought I’d never see you again, vasha.” His rapid breathing matched her racing heart.
“You concocted this ruse just to see me?”
“You’ve avoided me, ignored my messages, refused my requests to meet.”
“I needed time. I think we both did.”
“Maggie, are you all right in there?” Stenikov called from the living room.
“He doesn’t know you’re here?” Maggie whispered.
“That is a problem. One of many.”
When Zirkov opened the bedroom door, Stenikov’s brows pinched together. “Was this a test, Commander?”
“I told you to come alone. This is not the first time you’ve failed to follow orders, Warrior.”
“You told me the informant had intel about Ms. Walsh.”
“And I specifically told you not to bring her.”
“I thought—”
“You’re a warrior, Stenikov. I’m sure your reasons for bringing her were sound, but your inability to follow orders concerns me. You have one last chance to show me you can adapt to this world or I will reassign you to another planet. I’m sending you to the eastern part of this continent. New York City. Ten days to prove yourself, Warrior. You will have no other marshals nearby for support or to pull your ass out of trouble again.”
“Again?” Maggie asked.
“An incident that was avoidable, I’m told,” Stenikov said.
Zirkov tapped a few times on his comm. “I’ve sent you the details. Do not disappoint me, Warrior.”
Stenikov nodded to Zirkov, then Maggie, before leaving the apartment.
“You were rather harsh on him.”
“That was not harsh. Nothing like the instructors at the training center in Izoran.”
“Were you testing me too?”
“I could think of no other way to get you to listen to me. I knew Stenikov would be tempted to seek you out and that you would not refuse him.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You tricked the poor guy.”
“Yes. Being a warrior is about knowing when to take orders and when to ignore them. He’s a strong warrior, but he hasn’t taken to Earth as quickly as I’d expected. I believe he needs to be on his own for a while, to truly test if he can acclimate.”
“And here I thought you didn’t like him.”
“My personal feelings are irrelevant. It’s my duty to ensure he and those under his protection survive. Stenikov has the right attitude. It’s not within him to abandon someone in need. Like you, Magdalena. It’s a quality I want in my marshals… and my mate.”
“Mate?”
He caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “I nearly lost you, Magdalena. Twice. These past few weeks without you have left me unable to focus on anything. I can’t sleep, eat, or think. When I fall asleep, I dream of you. When I wake, I reach over in bed only to realize you’re not there. Then I can’t breathe because I don’t know where you are, if you’re safe, if you’re sad or happy. I never realized how important you are to me until I lost you.”
