Chapter 11
Nikolai
Zara’s curled up against my chest, her breathing finally steady. Her fingers trace lazy patterns across my skin, and when I look down at her, her dark eyes aren’t guarded anymore.
“You okay?” I ask, brushing her messy hair back from her face.
She nods against my chest with a tired smile. “More than okay.”
The way she says it makes something loosen in my chest. For the first time since this whole mess started, she doesn’t look like she’s planning her escape.
“Thank you,” she whispers. “For today. For standing up for me.”
“Always,” I tell her. “No one fucks with my family.”
She blinks at that, pressing closer. “Is that what I am? Your family?”
“What do you think?”
Instead of answering, she lifts her head and kisses me. Soft, sweet, not like the desperate hunger from before.
We stay like that for a while, just touching and talking quietly.
“You don’t have to be alone anymore,” I say against her hair.
“I know.” Her voice is so quiet that I almost miss it. “I’m starting to understand that.”