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Before she can get up, I reach across and grab her hand. “Then when?”
She hesitates, her hand shaking as she tries to pull away. But that’s not how this is going to work. I hold her small, delicate, and warm palm in mine, rubbing the soft skin with my thumb.
“Maybe some other time,” she says, her voice in shreds.
I nod. “I can wait.”
“I didn’t realize my kidnapper could be so polite,” she bites out. Her tone might be waspish, but it’s jittery, almost a whisper.
“When it comes to the woman I’ll marry, I can be anything you need me to be,” I assure her with a satisfied grin.
There’s no hiding the way her eyes light up.
“I better go,” I say softly. “You must be dying to check out the books.”
“Will I see you tomorrow?”
This is the best development yet.
“As long as you behave, you’ll see me every day. Until we get married, and after,” I promise.
Katarina might fight it, but it won’t be long before she realizes this thing between us isn’t just sexual tension.
Our kiss started it. We both want it. We just need to fuck and get it over with so she understands that our fates are joined.
She’ll soon start to form an alliance with me.
And then, Katarina will long to be my partner, just as I’ll want every broken piece of her by my side.
I move closer to her and put my lips against her cheek, pressing a soft kiss to it. The touch lights a million sparks, my entire body simmering with desire.
Her breath hitches.
Pulling away, I straighten up. “Good night, serdtse.”
There’s no stopping me, not even when Katarina murmurs something in return.
TWENTY-ONE
KATARINA
It’s easier to keep track of the days now that Nikolai has been eating with me every night.
I perk up at the rattling sound of an approaching trolley. As a reward for my good behavior, Nikolai left the table in the room. He even brought me a pen and a notebook.
He’s turned gentler.
It’s become harder to deny that I’ve had more enjoyable dinners in this room than in any restaurant over the past year. With each day that passes, he’s begun to make me look forward to his visits.
Now it’s time for my prison guard to fulfill all of my wants and needs. Right on time, the door pushes open to reveal Nikolai with the food trolley. I can already smell an apple pie and the buttery scent of dough.
Nikolai lifts up his hands. “Did you miss me?”
“Like an abscessed tooth,” I quip back.
The laugh lines around his eyes crinkle. I can’t help the slight surge of happiness flowing through me as our eyes meet.
“So not as much as I missed you,” he answers. “And that is not a lie.”
