18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
Anastasia
I return home with my arm in a sling. The front foyer is covered in bullet holes from the shootout but the dead bodies have been removed. My entire family is with me and Adrien so it doesn’t really give me and Adrien a chance to talk more.
I stare at Adrien out of the corner of my eye as my sisters flutter around me, making sure I’m ok. He wants to make an effort with me and there’s nothing I want more. I was ready to give him my heart the first time I saw him. If he wants it, he can have it.
He saved my life today and I helped save his. Things have shifted and changed between us.
I reach my hand out to him and my fingers graze his before my sisters whisk me away to the bedroom, claiming I need to rest. I am exhausted after the day I’ve had, I’ll give them that.
After I settle into my bed and my sisters leave, Adrien shows up. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired.”
He stands next to the bed, awkwardly nodding at it like he doesn’t know what to do. “Can I join you?”
“It’s also your bed.”
“I know. But I’m trying to be more respectful after everything you’ve been through.”
“I want you to lay down beside me. Hold me?” I whisper, biting my lip, worried that he’ll say no.
But Adrien gets into the bed and wraps his arms around me, pulling me in close to him. We stay like that. It’s not a sexual moment. It’s a tender, loving moment.
“You’re not going to pressure me for sex?” I ask.
“No. And I never should have done that in the first place. I am sorry for how much of an ass I was to you. After almost losing you today, I am going to change. So, for now, I’ll just hold you.”
“I want that.”
And we lay in each other’s arms, allowing ourselves to touch without any pressures of sex. My heart is ready and open for him. Adrien’s body slowly relaxes the longer he holds me. If he’s willing to love me, then I’m ready for it.
I’m able to take my sling off after a week. The bullet didn’t do much damage to my arm, even if it is sore most of the time.
After Adrien and I return home from the hospital, I’m confronted with the sight of my sisters and all of their luggage.
“We figured we should return home soon,” Natalya says. “I want to have the baby in New York and I can’t travel on a plane for much longer.”
“I understand,” I say, giving her a hug.
“And we’re going too,” Sasha adds, nodding at Irina. “This is your time to spend with your husband. But if you ever need to come home, you always can.”
I glance at Adrien with a small smile. “I think I’ll be ok.”
My sisters and their husbands leave. The last person to go is my mom.
She gives me a long, fierce hug. “I love you. Stay safe. Please.”
“Adrien can do it. He can keep me safe. I believe it now.” I pull back from the hug. “And thank you for not telling me I was wrong to marry him. At first, I regretted it. But now… now I have hope. I have hope that I can make this work with him.”
She gives me a tender smile and pushes my hair back behind my ear. “I hope for that too.”
After she leaves, it’s just me and Adrien.
We stand in the foyer together, awkwardly, neither of us knowing how to navigate this situation.
Remy’s attacked changed something in us. For the past week, we’ve been dancing around each other. Wanting to be together but not knowing how to bridge the gap.
Adrien is afraid to love after losing his mother horrifically as a child. I have to show him that he doesn’t need to be afraid of it. That we can be stronger for it. We already are. If there wasn’t some sort of care between us, neither one of us would have saved the other one from Remy.
So, with a deep breath, I cross the space between us and kiss him. Adrien responds to the kiss eagerly, scooping me into his arms, and carrying me into the bedroom. I’ve wanted him to touch me for weeks now. Ever since he put his mouth on me, I’ve been desperate for his touch.
Now I just have to trust that he’ll open his heart to me fully. That sex won’t just be physical but that it can also be a loving experience between us. An adventure of our own.
“Are you sure about this?” Adrien asks, pulling back from the kiss. We’re both breathing heavy. My arm is sore but that won’t get in the way of how I’m feeling.
I cup his face. “Will you promise to love me?”
“I think I’m already there,” he admits, his eyes softening. “After you got hurt, I knew I had feelings for you. More than I was ready to deal with. But I know I have them.”
“You don’t need to be afraid of them. We can do this together. I’ve never been in love. But I know I can love you. I was ready to give you my heart the first time we met. You just have to give me your heart in return. Can you do that?”
His smile is crooked, making him look even more handsome somehow. “I can do that.” And then he kisses me again, stealing my breath away.