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“You really don’t care?” she asked. She still wouldn’t look me in the eye. She was still staring at my chest. Her hands started to fidget.
“Sephie, this makes you more attractive to me, if I’m being honest. We can have all the sex we want and never have to worry about any of the consequences. I assumed you were on birth control or something, which is why I’ve never brought this up before, because you never had a period. I should’ve had this talk before. You wouldn’t have been terrified this whole time that I was going to leave you.” I hooked her fidgeting fingers into mine. She dropped her knees, crossing them in front of her. She held my hand in both of hers, staring at it, turning it over, anything to occupy her hands. I couldn’t help but smile at her because she was so focused on this making her mean less to me, when, in reality, it made her mean more to me. “Sephie, I want to marry you. When all of this is over with the bosses and things calm down, I want to make you mine. This doesn’t change that. Nothing will ever change that.” I reached down and lifted her chin gently, so she would look at me again. Her eyes were softening, but there was still doubt there, still fearful. I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers, trying to think of any way I could to convince her to believe my words. Her hands quieted and I felt the tiniest of pulls on my hand as I kissed her. I put both of my hands on either side of her face, deepening the kiss. She let me, but didn’t respond right away. I kept going anyway. Finally, I felt her hands on my shirt, gently pulling me toward her. I stopped, kissing her forehead, and looked in her eyes again. Softer. Less doubt. Less fear. “I love you, solnishko. I will always love you. I will always want you with me, by my side. Always.”
Her breath caught and I could see the tears forming in her eyes. In the dim light, it made the colors of her eyes dance. I smiled at her, kissing her once more. “You’re beautiful even when you cry.” She reached up and lightly traced her finger over my cheek, along my jawline. She loved running her fingers through my stubble. I was happy that she wanted to. She leaned over and kissed me gently. She kept her face close to mine.
“You really don’t care?” she asked again, her eyes still searching.
“I really don’t care. I really do love you,” I said, smiling at her. Finally. Finally, a small smile crept across her face. Her eyes were softer. The doubt and fear almost completely gone.
“I really do love you too,” she said, her smile growing.
“Enough to marry me instead of Andrei?” I asked, my head cocked to the side. She grinned at me. God, I love her.
She dropped her gaze, taking my hand back in both of hers. She sighed. “Don’t tell Andrei,” she said as she looked back at me, “but he never had a chance.”
We stayed in the extra room for a few hours. While she was mostly better, I knew she was still overwhelmed with everything she’s had to deal with. To be honest, I was enjoying the extra time with her all to myself. I loved that the guys loved her and she loved them. I loved that I didn’t have to worry as much when I was away from her because I knew they would protect her. But I also loved these moments when it was just the two of us together.
We had laid down on the bed with her across my chest in her favorite spot. As we were talking, my stomach interrupted the conversation, growling loudly. She laughed. “At least it wasn’t mine for once.” She sat up, pulling me up with her. “We should get you some food.” She paused for a moment. “Do you think the guys are all in their rooms now?”
“Probably. Why?” I asked.
“Not in the most social mood,” she said dismissively.
As we got to the bottom of the stairs, I stopped her. “Wait here. I’ll see who’s around,” I said, kissing her cheek. I went to the kitchen, checking to see if they were still there or if they had all gone elsewhere for the evening. Ivan was in the kitchen, but he was alone. He looked at me, somewhat nervously, since I was alone.
“It’s okay now. She just doesn’t want to talk to everybody right now. She’s waiting on the stairs for me to check to see who’s around.”
He chuckled. “I can give you guys privacy. I just wanted to make sure all was good.”
“No, stay. I think she’ll want to see you,” I said, walking back to the stairs to get her. I grabbed her hand. “Ivan is the only one in the kitchen.”
She sighed, relieved. “He’s the only one I wanted to see right now.”
I chuckled. “I literally just said that to him.”
He stood up as we walked into the kitchen. He looked almost worried. She walked to him, wrapping her arms around him. He was clearly relieved. “Thank you,” she said to him.
“You’re not mad I told him?” he asked. That’s why he was worried.
She shook her head no. “I don’t think I could’ve told him. I’m glad you did it for me.” She pulled him closer, resting her head on his chest. She always looked so tiny next to him, but even more so when she was upset. It made her look fragile, even though I wasn’t sure fragile was in her vocabulary. Ivan kissed the top of her head, a small smile on his face.
“I was right, wasn’t I?” he asked her, not letting her go.
She groaned quietly. “Yes, Ivan. You were right.” She poked him in the ribs, making him laugh.
She walked back to me, tucking herself into my side as I held her close to me. Ivan went to the refrigerator and pulled out two plates of food. “I had to fight them for these, but I saved you some dinner. This is all that’s left. Viktor’s backup meal was not needed.” Sephie looked surprised that they had eaten everything else.
“Seriously? I made enough for like ten people. That’s impressive.”
We both laughed at her. “I don’t know why this is surprising for you. You know how we like to eat,” I said. I grabbed both plates to warm them.
She shook her head, chuckling to herself. “You’re right. I should’ve known. Maybe I’m more surprised that they liked it enough to eat all of it.”
“We all agreed that it was better than anything Tori ever made,” Ivan said.
“Shut up.”
“It’s true. Viktor said he’s going to drag his feet on finding a new chef just so you’ll cook more.”
