Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 148184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 741(@200wpm)___ 593(@250wpm)___ 494(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 741(@200wpm)___ 593(@250wpm)___ 494(@300wpm)
“Go get showered. I’ll put this stuff away, and we can—”
She shakes her head and places her fingers over my lips to stop me from speaking. “I’m not done with this yet. I need a few more things from you to feel safe and secure in our baby’s future.”
I don’t bother hiding my confusion as she lets her fingers fall from my mouth. “What else do you need?”
Isn’t it what I promised her all that time ago…she’d feel safe? I haven’t kept that promise lately, and it eats at me.
“I want you to promise me that you will protect our child with your life. No matter what happens, he will come first, even before me.”
It takes me a second to realize what she’s asking of me. Another to dig inside myself…it’s hard to promise another’s safety over hers, especially someone I haven’t met, held, or touched. But there’s only one right answer here. “I’ll protect our child. But I won’t lose you. Those are the only terms I can agree to. If you have a problem with that, then…I don’t give a fuck.”
52
VALENTINA
I’m not sure what reaction he expects to his proclamation, but I know it’s not for me to pull out of his arms, wrap the sheet around my body, and leave the room in a trail of white Egyptian cotton.
His surprise is the only reason I get a head start down the hallway on the way to the command room.
“What are you doing?” he asks from behind me. His silken voice entwines in things I can’t allow myself to consider right now, not when I need to finish this.
Despite his protests last night, even I can see he’s hesitant with me. Slow to react in whatever way feels natural to him. He’s blocking his instincts, and I need it to stop, or we will never get out of this hole we’ve slid into.
I cast a glance over my shoulder and speed up enough he has to huff and move faster behind me, even if his legs are much longer than my own.
“Angel,” he warns as I round the corner into the command room where I freeze to find Kai sprawled in a chair, his tie askew, his legs thrown up onto the desk.
“Don’t you dare fucking look at her,” Adrian warns, but Kai hasn’t so much as glanced our way since we entered.
“Out,” Adrian snaps further, but I shake my head.
“No. I need him for a minute.”
My husband is practically vibrating with tension behind me. “Excuse me?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him to calm down, but I know how well that works on anyone, so I don’t.
I wave at Kai, who remains very still, and absolutely not looking anywhere near us. “This is what I need. I want you to keep that promise preemptively. Set up provisions for the baby if something happens to us.”
“Us?” Adrian echoes softly. “I already told you I’m not entertaining thoughts of something happening to you.”
“You then,” I demand, even as the words carve something out of my chest. He can’t imagine me being hurt any more than I can imagine him being gone. But this…this is what I need to feel safe. If our child is protected from the outside world this way, I’ll feel much better. Further, I zero in on Kai again, who’s still keeping his eyes anywhere but at us.
“I also want Kai to promise if something happens to us, he’ll take care of our child.”
“What?” both men say at once. Adrian curses, and Kai freezes, looking like he’s even afraid to breathe.
“Angel, we need to talk about this first. Before you…”
I shake my head, hiking the sheet up around me. “No, I won’t let you talk me out of this, even if you are very persuasive. I need this, and if you’re serious…you can take all the jewels you gave me, anything at all…this reassurance is the only thing I want.”
He comes around to face me now, sliding his hands up my arms. I can tell he’s angry, still vibrating with the need to rage against my declarations, but I can’t let him talk me out of it.
And things will only get worse when I say the next part.
I tug out of his grasp. “Let me put on clothes really quickly so Kai can actually speak to me.”
He lets me go. I quickly throw on a pair of leggings and an oversized sweater and race back to the command room.
Adrian is sitting next to Kai with his head in his hands. It kills me to do this to him. Especially right after leaving him and making him doubt me, doubt my feelings for him.
I sit in the chair on the other side of Adrian, clasping my hands on the table in front of me.
“Kai will do it,” Adrian says, his tone clipped and cold.