Page 33 of Captive Union
“I’m all right. I swear. Erik hasn’t hurt me.”
“Do you know where you are?” Alexei asks.
“No. His house is surrounded by trees. It could be anywhere.”
“What kind of tress?” Maxim’s grasping at straws, but it’s not surprising he’d ask. My brother—always looking for more information.
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
Maxims sighs. “It’s all right. You’re doing your best.”
“I miss you guys.” Tears suddenly start falling down my face. “I miss you all so much.”
Elena’s eyes water, too. My sister is not much of a crier, so it takes a lot for her to get this way. Mom’s hardened face softens a little, which just makes me cry harder.
“I’m going to find you,” Maxim says. “I promise.”
I nod, wiping away my tears.
“I promise, Kira,” he repeats roughly.
“I know.”
Erik walks back in, coming next to me. “You don’t need to worry about her,” he says. “I’ll take good care of her.”
Maxim’s sneer returns. “I’m going to kill you, Erik.”
“I know. You’ve told me before.” He looks at me. “It’s time to say goodbye.”
I nod, smiling at my family. “I love you, guys.”
“We love you,” Elena says. Maxim and Alexei nod, but Mom turns her face away.
“Mom, I love you,” I say.
She nods, keeping her expression cold.
Pushing through my disappointment, I say goodbye, and Erik reaches over to turn off the computer.
A sudden urge comes over me. When Erik turns back to me, I lean up and kiss him. Erik returns it enthusiastically, wrapping his arms around me. I cling to his shoulders, kissing him with as much emotion as I can.
I pull back, though Erik doesn’t let me go. “Thank you for letting me see them.”
He nods as he looks me over, awe on his face. I wonder what he’s thinking, but I don’t ask. I just extract myself from his arms and walk out of the basement. It feels good leaving him behind for a change.
CHAPTER11
Kira
Erik insisted we have dinner together, and I can’t refuse him even if I wanted to.
After our kiss in the basement a few days ago, I’ve been avoiding him, too scared to face him after I acted so bold. The kiss was part “thank you” and part “I just wanted to do it.”, The latter half scares me. Why do I want to kiss Erik and keep kissing him? He’s the bad guy here, but I don’t have it in my heart to hate him.
Maybe it’s because, while he was wrong to go up against Maxim in the first place, I still feel bad for him for my brother killing his father and my other brother for blowing up his bar unnecessarily. I didn’t deserve to be used in his games, but I can’t fault him for wanting my brothers to hurt after what they’ve done to him. And it doesn’t escape my notice that Erik keeps going out of his way to make me happy.
After our kiss, he kept gifting me flowers, which now sit on my side table in our bedroom. He’s also been doing a good job of keeping his distance and not pushing me, which has made me more comfortable being in the same room as him.
His nice gestures have warmed my heart, and I’ve come to realize I want to spend more time with him. Erik and I are bound together forever. I might as well give our marriage more of a chance.
