Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
When he opens the curtains, I’m blinded by a white fog.
I can’t see anything beyond the heavy snow that’s blazing outside.
In a moment, this small room feels like a haven against the exterior world.
My hurt shoulder is less tense, and the pain dulls to a throbbing ache. I grab the blanket and pull it up to my chest, my heart beating loudly.
Even my ears feel like they’re on fire as I stare at the rippling muscles of his back.
“Captain…”
“Call me Kirill. The old couple will find it weird that you address your supposed husband as Captain. They’re too old-fashioned and need clear labels.”
I try to speak, but the words get stuck in the back of my throat, so I breathe deeply first. “Did you… Why did you dress me as a woman?”
“We wouldn’t have been able to fool them if you were in your man look. You scream soldier, even now.” He glances at me, and I swallow. “If you prefer being a man, you’ll have to wait until we’re out of here.”
“You…aren’t going to ask why I did this?”
“It’s none of my business.”
“But it’s against the military rules.”
“Right. That.” He seems to be deep in thought. “I don’t give a fuck. People should be allowed to be whoever they want to be, so if you prefer being a man, be a man.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to be a woman, it’s that I can’t. I…”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Aleksander.”
“It’s Aleksandra.” My face and neck heat as I say the words.
I never thought I would be introducing myself, and to Captain Kirill, no less.
Kirill.
That’s what he told me to call him. Just Kirill.
A small twitch lifts his lips. It’s not exactly a smile but something close. “I know.”
“You do?”
“You said that when you were almost unconscious. It’s Aleksandra, not Aleksander.”
“Oh.” I bite my lower lip, and his attention follows the motion, slowly raising my temperature.
I release my lip in a jerk and clear my throat. “I-is that when you found out I was a woman?”
“No.”
“Then…when did you?”
“When I first saw you being assaulted by your ex-teammates.”
“What?”
“What?” he repeats coolly with unbelievable calm.
“You…knew from the beginning?”
“Was I not supposed to?”
“No. And, seriously, can you stop talking as if this is a trivial matter?”
He turns around and faces me while crossing his arms. “I’m all ears.”
It’s kind of hard to look him in the eye for too long, let alone talk to his face, but I manage to control my abnormal reaction. “I…have to look like a man despite myself, so…uh, can you please keep it a secret?”
“As I said, it’s none of my business.”
A heavy weight lifts off my chest, but the relief is short-lived. I’m hit by all the times I was trying to toughen up, speak and act like a man.
The captain must’ve thought me laughable.
Still, I murmur, “Thank you.”
He lifts a shoulder as if there isn’t anything to be thankful for. But for me, there is. Plenty.
“When can we leave this place?” I ask.
“Not in the near future.” He points a thumb behind him. “There’s a snowstorm that will last for a few days. It’s dangerous to even go into town in this weather.”
“How about the base? Have you been able to get in touch?”
“Negative. There’s no reception due to the storm. Until we find an opportunity to leave, the couple outside needs to believe our husband and wife story. They don’t trust soldiers around here, and Nadia already asked me why we don’t have rings.”
“What did you tell her?”
“We were robbed, and then when we struggled and ran away, we were shot at. Thankfully, we got far enough to escape capture.”
“They must’ve picked up that we don’t have a rural accent. Did they ask you why we were so far out from the city?”
He raises a brow. “They did. I told them we were lovers of nature and were celebrating our second anniversary.”
I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks.
“That’s good acting.” He motions at my face. “Looking horrified when I gave you a pet name wasn’t.”
Shit.
“It’s just that… I’m not used to that.”
He walks toward me, his purposeful strides eating the distance in no time. When he stops in front of me, I cease breathing, utterly taken aback by how close he is.
Kirill lifts my chin with his forefinger and says in a low tone, “Then get used to it, Solnyshko.”
11
KIRILL
There’s nothing more irritating than being stuck.
My annoyance level has been building in the background despite my futile attempts to remain fucking calm.
Ever since we arrived at the old couple’s house yesterday, I’ve been trying, and failing, to reach Viktor. To avoid suspicion, I had to call him from the village’s public phone, thinking maybe he had gotten back to base, but there was no reply.
He and I found out about this village during our initial scouting of the area prior to the mission. I told him that if things went south, this place would be our emergency hideout.