Page 157 of Savage Hearts
“Mal?”
He stops midstride. He doesn’t turn around.
“I’m going to ask you what’s wrong, and you’re going to tell me the truth. Are you ready?”
He doesn’t respond.
“What’s wrong?”
I watch his shoulders rise as he inhales. When he speaks, his voice is low and gruff.
“I talked to Pakhan.”
My stomach drops. If he’s talking to Pakhan, that must mean it’s time for him to go back to work. His vacation is over.
Our perfect little bubble has popped.
I stand, cross to him, and curl my hands into the front of his shirt. Looking up into his face, I say, “Are you okay?”
He closes his eyes and exhales in a gust. Sounding miserable, he says, “You worrying about me above everything else makes it all so much worse.”
“I can’t help it. I like you.”
He opens his eyes and stares down at me with a tortured look.
“Okay, wow. That face is scaring me.”
He frames my face in his hands and kisses me. The kiss is achingly tender and freaks me the fuck out.
My heart starting to pound, I say, “Is this about you having to go back to the city?”
When he nods, I’m weak with relief. The way he was acting, I thought it was something unexpected. “Well, if it will put your mind at ease, I can stay here while you have to go to work if you want.”
He just stares at me silently. It seems like he’s waiting for more of an explanation.
“I mean, I’m all healed now. I know how to shoot every type of gun in case another bear decides to visit. And, to be completely honest, the thought of staying in that crypt of an apartment of yours while you’re out working doesn’t exactly light me on fire. I don’t want to be away from you, but I’m also hoping never to see Masha the Golden Goddess ever again or live on frozen dinners.”
I smile at him. “And you only ever leave for a day or two at a time, so I think you’ll be able to survive without me that long.”
His voice thick, he says, “I’ll have to stay a while this time.”
I tease, “Such dedication. Pakhan must be so proud.”
He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
I go up on my toes, wind my arms around his neck, and kiss him. “I know,” I whisper against his mouth. “I didn’t want it to end, either. But maybe Pakhan will give you another vacation soon. Since he likes me so much and all.”
With a faint groan, he takes my mouth in a desperate kiss, bending me back at the waist and devouring me. When we come up for air, I’m laughing.
“I should send you to the grocery store more often!”
He stares at me with those tortured eyes again, then releases me abruptly and stalks out.
Staring after him, I debate if I should follow, but decide to give him his space. I put the groceries away and go back to writing.
That night, he fucks me with such intensity, it frightens me.
We lie in the dark afterward, silent and sweaty, limbs entangled. His heart pounds underneath my cheek. I want to say something, but I don’t know what, so I keep quiet and let him hold me in his strong arms.
