Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lily
Okay. Bella was right. This place is insanely cool. A whole ass swimming pool. A sauna.
It feels obscene, being brought somewhere this beautiful when my chest is tight and my nerves are stretched thin.
He opens the door in front of us and gestures for me to go inside.
The room steals my breath in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
A four-poster bed that looks like it’s meant to be ruined. An en-suite that gleams. A walk-in wardrobe bigger than my childhood bedroom. Everything is soft, quiet, and expensive.
A girl’s dream.
“Oh shit,” I whisper.
“What?” he asks from behind me.
His voice is closer than it should be. His presence fills the room like it’s always been meant to. I can feel him without touching him, like my body is tracking every breath he takes.
“I forgot my crystals. And my jewelry.” The words tumble out sharper than I mean them to, panic curling up my spine.
I spin to face him. “I need to go home.”
I don’t even know how much the necklace my dad gave me is worth, but my throat feels wrong without it. Bare. Like something important has been taken from me without my consent.
He shakes his head.
Something cold settles in my stomach.
I try to brush past him, needing space, needing air.
His arm shoots out and wraps around my waist.
The world stops.
Not dramatically. Not loudly. Just suddenly and completely.
Neither of us moves.
His hand just rests there, like it’s always known the exact shape of me. My breath catches, my pulse stuttering as my body betrays me, leaning instinctively into the contact before my brain catches up.
We just breathe.
“Lily, life is going to look a little different for you for a while. I’m not here to stop you. I’m here to protect you.”
I step back like his touch burns, like if I don’t put space between us right now, I’ll do something I can’t take back.
“What are you? My bodyguard?” I snap.
I need to push him and whatever this is between us away.
He tilts his head. “Yeah. If that’s what you want to call it.”
Then he closes the distance again. As if he’s testing how close he’s allowed to get before I bolt.
“I’m someone who will jump in front of a bullet for you. I’m a man who will do terrible things to keep you breathing. You won’t even notice me. I’ll just be there so you can feel safe.”
My heart slams so hard it hurts. I rub at my chest, grounding myself, trying to remind my body that safety isn’t the same thing as desire.
But my body doesn’t listen.
“So you’re just going to watch me?” I ask, my voice shaking. “Like I need babysitting? What if someone gets to me before you?”
He chuckles softly, like the idea is almost amusing, running a hand through his blond hair.
“Won’t happen, Lily. No one dangerous will get close enough to even breathe in your air. Understand?”
The certainty in his voice does something to me. It makes my knees weak. Makes my stomach flip with something that feels a lot like trust.
I nod. “So… I can’t go home?”
“No.”
Then a grin spreads across his face, and how fucking gorgeous he looks shouldn’t be allowed. It changes everything about him. Softens him just enough to make the ache worse.
“But I will go and collect the things you want. Just write me a list.” He pulls out his phone, opens Notes, and hands the device to me.
This means I’m staying here with my dad.
I type quickly. Crystals. Jewelry box hidden in my wardrobe. My work notepad. Nothing embarrassing. Nothing that would give away how unraveled I feel. Definitely not the vibrator I keep in my nightstand.
I hand the phone back to him.
“I’ll go now. And this is your room. I’ll bring your bags up here,” he tells me, and he looks at me, right at me. Enough to steal my breath.
“Thank you,” I say, and I mean it more than I want to.
He turns to leave, then stops, like something catches in him. “Your father is downstairs. I’ll tell him to stay down there until you’re ready to speak to him.”
My throat tightens painfully. “Thank you, Drago.”
Something dark flashes across his eyes. Not anger. Not hunger. Something heavier. Something restrained.
“You’re welcome, lastochka.”
The word wraps around me like a promise and a warning all at once. You don’t call someone that in Russia unless they mean something to you. It’s a cute term. One of endearment.
He closes the door softly behind him, and I let out a breath and sink onto the edge of the bed, my hands shaking slightly.
I text Bella.
Me: Can we go for coffee tomorrow?
Her reply comes within a minute.
Bella: Of course, girl! I’ll come grab you in the morning.
I set my phone down and stare at the blank white wall across from me.
All I can think about is Drago’s hands. The way they felt at my waist. The way they would feel sliding up, holding me tight around my neck.
How his mouth would feel against mine.
Fuck.
I should have asked him to bring my toys, because this is going to be torture.
There is no way he’d ever want me like that. Not when he’s my dad’s best friend and apparently practically like a son to him. Not when everything about him screams restraint and duty and lines he refuses to cross.
Ugh.
I flop back onto the bed, grabbing a cushion and clutching it to my chest as if it might replace the warmth he left behind.
Nap first.
Because if I don’t sleep, I might do something stupid.