Page 80 of Daniil
“Then let’s take him together—I’m sure Natalia and the others will be happy to help keep him entertained.”
“Everyone here seems…nice,” I admit after a moment.“Like you’re one big family.”
“That’s because we are.Not by blood, obviously, but the oath we take as Protectors is a big deal.And Erik has taken great pains to make everyone feel like they’re part of the family.If they’re going to put their lives on the line for his family, the least he can do is make them feel like they belong.
“You haven’t seen a lot of it, because it goes in waves, but we all spend a lot of time together.Working, playing, traveling....”
“And where do I fit into all of that?”I ask.“Because I’m not going to be a Protector or?—”
“You’re going to be withme,” he interrupts gruffly.“My lover.My girlfriend.My wife—wherever this journey takes us, we’ll be on it together and you’ll be at my side.”
His wife.
Did he just say he wanted me to be his wife?!
“Daniil…” I’m speechless, which rarely happens to me.
“Trust me to take care of you,” he whispers against my lips.“Both of you.”
“I don’t need you to take care of me—I just need you to love me.”The words slip out before I can stop them, as if my subconscious took a leap that the rest of me wasn’t brave enough to vocalize.
He stares at me for a few seconds, eyes turning a shade of blue so dark they’re almost green.Whatever’s going on in his mind is impossible to gauge because he captures my lips in a soul-bending kiss, tongue urgently seeking out mine.So much passion and pleasure, I’m helpless to do anything but respond in kind.
Even though he didn’t respond the way I needed him to.Didn’t tell me what I needed to hear.
He wants me to trust him but the only way I can truly do that is if he loves me.At least as much as I’m starting to love him.
I’m not sure he can understand that distinction because I don’t completely understand it myself.But as far as I’m concerned, that’s the only barrier keeping us apart.
Falling in love with him was inevitable but trusting him is going to be much, much harder.
Chapter33
Daniil
Normally I takea separate car to Parliament House on the days I’m there, so I can leave whenever I want.Today, however, I let Marcus know that I want to ride with Jesper.He looks up from his laptop in surprise when I slide into the back of the Town Car with him.
“Good morning,” Jesper says casually.“What’s going on?”
“I thought we’d ride together today,” I reply.
“Did you want to discuss the pipeline?”he asks.
“I do.But I want to discuss something else as well.”
“All right.”
“What the fuck was that bullshit last night?”I ask, meeting his gaze squarely.
He blinks.“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t fuck with me, Jesper.We used to be married.I know you extremely well.You’ve never, in all the years I’ve known you, made a strange, passive-aggressive comment while I was with someone else.”
A wall of red creeps up his neck but then he shrugs.“I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’toffendme, but it felt like you were trying to get a rise out of Courtney.Why?”
“I wasn’t,” he protests.
