Chapter 15 #2
Maksim takes my hand without warning. A shiver runs through my entire body.
I can't tell if it's from the cold, the fear, the rough skin of his fingertips, or the wet, icy sensation of the bandages covering his hands.
I look at our intertwined fingers and realize my husband is pulling me one step closer to that terrifying beast with its enormous teeth.
Ivan keeps watching me, beady eyes fixed on mine, snout twitching as he sniffs the air while Maksim urges me closer. I'm torn between holding my ground and bolting for the house. I decide to stay, but I stop walking.
Be smart and keep a safe distance, Anya. Maybe that way you'll live to see tomorrow.
“Is he like this with everyone?” I ask, not taking my eyes off his movements. “So... tame?”
Maksim hesitates for a second but still seems to smile.
Seems to, because I can't help but watch the bear who might decide I'd make a great breakfast.
“No.”
I let the answer settle. It doesn't make sense. Now that the shock has passed and the adrenaline is fading, Ivan just looks like an oversized pet.
“He doesn't seem that scary,” I comment.
“Ask Igor.”
I turn to my husband and find a beautiful smile. Wide, mischievous, and genuine.
“Igor?” Ivan grunts and backs away at the sound of the name.
“He has a scar to prove Ivan isn't that friendly. He was only about eight months old when he tried to rip Igor's arm off.”
I look back at the bear, startled, but he's still sitting on the ground with an expression that, I swear, looks like boredom.
“Igor's been with you his whole life, hasn't he? Wasn't he here when Ivan was a cub? He must have grown up with him too.”
“Igor was always around. He helped me with everything.”
“And Ivan still wanted a piece of his arm?” I ask, raising an eyebrow, wondering what it takes to set off this massive animal.
“Ivan has his own standards. It's not personal—he just never had a reason to trust men.”
Ivan chooses this moment to stand and start toward me with slow, heavy steps, his snout working.
Every muscle in my body screams at me to back away.
But I don't. I stay motionless, arms at my sides, breathing steady. They say showing fear makes predators see you as prey, right?
Ivan stops a meter away, stretching his massive head toward me. He sniffs me with that big, wet snout, tilting his head side to side as if asking a question I don't know how to answer. His breath is warm and smells like pine and fish. Not exactly pleasant.
Maksim stays beside me. I can feel the tension in his silence as Ivan takes another step.
Slowly, he presses his snout against my open palm.
It's surprisingly warm and completely absurd.
I hold my breath while my husband's pet bear decides what he thinks of me. After a few seconds, he lifts his head, studies me with those small, deep eyes, glances at Maksim, then turns and walks back the way he came.
Silence hangs between us as we watch Ivan walk away.
“He doesn't do that.” Maksim's voice sounds different. “With anyone.”
“He doesn't seem that bad to me,” I reply, still watching Ivan until he disappears among the trees.
“Seriously, talk to Igor,” he repeats, and this time there's something dry and amused in his tone.
I turn to face him.
Maksim is looking at me. Not the way he looks at Ivan or at documents or at the horizon when he's thinking. He's looking at me the way he did that night, when he tucked my hair behind my ear and said I should wear it down more often.
“Maybe he liked you, wife,” he says softly.
Something warm stirs in my chest, but I push it away. It's a waste of time to indulge in illusions.
“I'm nobody in this world.”
The words come out more sincere and less dry than I intended, the weight of them settling between us with the lightness of a confession I never meant to make out loud.
Maksim doesn't respond right away, just looks at me a second too long. Then he turns toward the trees where Ivan disappeared. His jaw is tight in a way I've come to recognize in the short time we've spent together. He clenches his teeth when he disagrees or gets irritated.
But he says nothing now. Doesn't argue, doesn't agree with me. Just stands in silence beside me.
Surprisingly, it's not an uncomfortable silence—it's a new kind for me, something I'm learning to embrace. There's so much contained within it, so many unspoken things that aren't ready to surface yet.
I let go of his hand, which was still firmly clasping mine.
With the adrenaline under control now, my body starts cooling down fast. I'm not dressed to spend much time out here.
My old, ordinary gym sneakers are soaked with melted snow, and I can feel my toes tingling inside them.
I take a step toward the house and my knee protests, making me stumble and freeze in place.
“Svetlana.”
“I'm fine.”
I retort, walking quickly back toward the house. Limping a little, but I hope he thinks it's because of the cold.
“Your feet are going to freeze, Svetlana.”
Before I can respond, he crouches slightly and scoops me up like it's the most natural thing in the world. One arm slides under my knees, the other at my back—without asking permission, without warning.
“Put me down,” I order immediately.
“No.”
“Maksim.”
“Your feet are wet.”
“You were training shirtless until just now,” I retort, irritated at being treated like a child.
“Were you watching me, Solnyshko?”
I hear the amusement in his voice, but I don't look to see if he's smiling. I don't want him to see my cheeks flushing from being caught in my little voyeuristic moment.
“I can walk,” I grumble, changing the subject.
“I know you can.” I feel his breath warm against my face and can't help but look. His gray eyes are steady, completely determined. “But you don't have to while I'm here.”
I cross my arms because it's the only form of protest available to someone being carried against her will by her own husband toward the house.
He doesn't care about my childish protest. He just keeps walking through the slushy snow as if I weigh nothing. The warmth of Maksim's body pressed against mine is enough to keep me warm and get my mind turning over recent events.
I got invited to see the project I've wanted so badly.
I caught myself spying on my husband training shirtless in the Russian cold.
I admitted he's incredibly hot and that he gets to me.
I discovered he has a pet bear who likes me.
Of all the surprises today, maybe this is the biggest. Anya Voronova, the girl who wasn't loved even by her own mother, was chosen by her husband's surly brown bear.
My God, what world have I gotten myself into?