Page 13 of Cursed Gift

“You said you wouldn’t touch me inappropriately with my parents over there.”

“I did?”

I nodded, my breath coming quicker.

“I guess that’s not the question. The question is, do you want me to?”

I finally looked into his eyes. That was it. I fell over and into the beautiful blue sea. The rocking waves. The overpowering sheer volume of feeling. It was like seeing him for the first time. Like I was looking through someone else’s eyes and seeing him for him and not as Alexei my best friend.

No wonder why all the girls at The Fort were crazy for him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he warned. His fingers tensed on my skin and an ice shiver steeled my back.

I put my hand over his and squeezed. No matter how much I wanted him to do what he was insinuating, Rafe was right across from us and my parents were not more than a few rows away. The first time someone touched me like that was not going to be in front of an audience.

He seemed to understand my meaning. A small smile split his lips. He reached up and cupped my cheek. “I know.” Closing his eyes, he leaned back against the seat and took a deep breath. “Now that I’ve got myself all riled up…” He squirmed in the seat, and I didn’t dare look down. After another deep breath, he opened his eyes and looked at me. His gaze was soft. “When we get to the Chang’s, I want you to stick close to me.”

Really? I cocked my head to the side.

“Don’t give me that look. I know you can take care of yourself, but in case something is still there, I’d feel a hell of a lot better if you were near me. We’ve only trained with the rest of these guys a few times and though they seem strong, I’m not willing to put your life at risk based on a few observations. You’re sticking with me.”

I slid a glance toward Rafe. What Alexei said made a lot of sense. My parents trained with one another for years. Now they were like a well-oiled machine, but it wasn’t always like that. Alexei was the only one I knew like the back of my hand. If something happened, I could pretty much guarantee I knew how he would react.

I nodded slowly, and a pressure seemed to lift from his shoulders. He pulled my head down to his chest. “Get some rest, Princess. I promise I’ll behave myself.”

I lifted my eyebrows at him. Sure. Because that had worked out so well the last time he promised…

“I mean it this time,” he said, his lips curving into a smile.

I laid my head down. It rose and fell with the steady rhythm of his breaths. Before long, I could feel myself drift away.

It was nice having someone here who I was comfortable with. I was still trying to feel the other guys out, but Alexei was just like an old favorite t-shirt. Just because you’d had it a long time didn’t make it any less than the brand new one you got. The old one had memories and feelings all throughout it, whereas the new ones were just getting started.

There was something to be said for the old and familiar.

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Chapter Seven

I wasn’t sure what initially woke me, but when I came to, it was the hard clearing of throat that made me blink.

Papa Nicolai stood above us.

Yep. Above us, as I was still in Alexei’s lap and both of us were—or had been—out cold.

Alexei went to stand, and I nearly slid out of his lap and fell on my butt. Instead, I moved gracefully—or so I hoped—to my feet and smiled at my dad. He raised his eyebrows, and I smiled even wider. “I couldn’t get to sleep.”

I was kind of joking with Alexei when I told him Nicolai didn’t like him, but maybe I shouldn’t have. He was sure giving him the death look right now. Thankfully, he hadn’t seen his hand halfway up my thigh.

“We’re landing in about a half hour. We need to go over strategy together.”

I nodded, and Alexei—slowly this time—rose to his feet. Papa Nic glared at him from the corner of his eye then turned and made his way to the center of the plane. A short snicker rose up, and I looked over. Rafe was trying his best to hold it in, but he was losing the battle. Apparently, he thought all that was funny.

“Thanks for the help, man,” Alexei said, admonishing him.

Rafe held his hands up. “He came out of nowhere. I swear.”

I believed him. Nicolai had a talent for just sneaking up when you least expected him. Especially when you didn’t want him to know what you were doing.

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