Chapter 21 - Konstantin
Tati lay with her head nestled against my shoulder as our breathing went back to normal.
The intensity of my feelings shocked the hell out of me.
I ran my hand idly along the smooth curve of her arm, moving some of her tangled hair off her slightly sweaty neck.
There was nothing idle about my thoughts.
The thing that had risen up in me to make me protect her at all costs would never be tamed now that I had claimed this sweet virgin as my own.
She was truly mine now. Not just my responsibility, though I didn’t mind that anymore.
She was as much a part of me as my own hand, and just as important. More important.
To say I was shaken up was an understatement. There was no rebuilding after this kind of earthquake. I had to accept things as they were. And I didn’t mind that, either, as she snuggled in closer and her lips brushed my chest.
Mine.
Tati was gorgeous, smart, and…
“We need to talk about the guy I recognized,” she said.
She was fucking tenacious, that was certain. I groaned and kissed her nose as she looked up at me, all dewy eyes and swollen lips. I traced my finger along her jaw, rubbed red from my stubble, and then rasped my palm over my own jaw.
“I need to shave more,” I said.
She thumped me in the chest. “Stop evading. Also, I like your stubble. Especially…”
Her cheeks went even redder, and I pulled her in for a kiss, my cock coming back to life. “Let’s start again from the beginning, shall we?”
After a moment where her lips were soft and compliant, her tongue as eager as mine, she heaved out a sigh and shoved back, scrambling a foot away and pulling the sheet over herself.
“We need to talk about what happened. I know I saw one of the shooters before. This is important.”
I froze, staring at her as she gave me an impatient look.
As if the searing kiss meant nothing at all.
As if none of it meant anything at all. Did she just give herself to me in order to get me to let her continue helping find her father?
If that didn’t make me furious all over again, the memory of the fear that overwhelmed me when she was under fire certainly fueled it.
If she recognized that Yakuza member, then he’d recognize her if he ever saw her again. That meant she was never getting the chance, no matter how much she wanted to find Grigor. I couldn’t—could not—put her in harm’s way again.
“I’ll take care of it. There’s no need for you to get involved.”
With a grumble, she untangled herself from the sheets and, blushing, hurried to grab her discarded clothes and put them back on. Fuck that.
“You’re back to being controlling,” she said, as if she knew it all along. “You never wanted my help; you only want to punish Papa. Now I’m a prisoner all over again.”
Fuck all of that. “I won’t be responsible for you getting hurt,” I bellowed, shocking both of us. After a split second of stunned silence between us, her shoulders rounded, her eyes as big as saucers. Not fear. I had hurt her. “Tati…”
She turned and fled from the room, her bare feet first thumping on the soft carpet in my room, then slapping as she hurried down the parquet hall. Back to her own room to sulk and shut me out.
Instead of letting her go and giving her time to cool off, I jumped out of bed, grabbed my robe, and ran after her. The first and only time I ever went after a woman. Knowing Tati, it might not be the last.
I had my hand around her arm as she reached for the door handle to her room. But it was no longer her room. She was sharing mine now. It was time she understood that.
“Let go,” she said, refusing to look at me.
“Stop acting like a spoiled child,” I snapped back at her.
She turned, looking like she’d been slapped, and ready to attack. “Stop treating me like one, with massages and manicures and personal shoppers.” All the fire went out of her at once, like she’d been popped with a pin. “I’m not useless,” she said, her eyes dropping.
“Damn it, Tati.” I loosened my grip on her arm, but didn’t let go. “I never said you were.”
“You act like it.”
“How’s that? Because I don’t want to have to mop up your blood or shut your eyes after you’ve been shot in the head?”
She shuddered and swallowed hard, looking at me as if wondering if I’d done those things before. I bloody well had, and it sucked even when it was someone I didn’t care about. If it were Tati… I wouldn’t make it through something like that.
“Listen. If you really think you recognized one of the shooters, that will be a big help.” I gently led her back toward my room, and she didn’t resist.
“I did. I know I did. So, what do we do now?”
How could I not smile at her impatient tone? “Right now we wait,” I said.
The hopeful shine in her eyes was dulled at once, and her brows flew together. “Wait? That’s it?”
“I’ve already got a team hunting for everyone involved,” I assured her, though she didn’t look assured. “It’s all we can do, so get used to it.”
She got back into my bed and pulled the covers up to her chin, staring at the ceiling, not sure how to fight me, but definitely wanting to.
It was clear she was terrified that every minute that passed meant Grigor might be closer to death, and that was probably true.
But I wasn’t concerned about Grigor at the moment; I was worried about her.
Even if she was part of her father’s betrayal?
I looked at her for a long time before climbing in beside her, fluffing my pillow a little too aggressively. She was wrapped up like a mummy, lying stiffly, still staring blankly at the ceiling. Turning on my side, I kept my eyes on her until she had to turn to look at me.
“What?” she asked. “You can’t order me to sleep.”
“Who says I want you to sleep?” I asked with a grin, making her blush. “But I do want you to relax and have some fun while we wait for answers.”
She snorted, but moved closer. “Not much fun being stuck in this apartment.”
I reached for her, removing the distance between us. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”