Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 138217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
That had made the entire table erupt into bearish laughter.
And so it was that, no matter the darkness hanging on the horizon, and despite all they’d found to date, he walked into the apartment happy and content. He’d learned long ago to treasure the moment in which he lived.
“Don’t look always to the future, cublet,” Babulya Quyen had said to him once, her cherished face rich with emotion. “That’s what my papa taught me. For if you look only to the future, you’ll lose the present. Too many of my papa’s designation lived in the future and so they never lived at all.”
A profound lesson. One that Yakov fought to put in practice tonight even as worries about Theo gnawed at his brain. For this moment would never again come, and he was too delighted by it to allow it to fade into the background of a future that hadn’t yet come to pass.
Loose and lazy limbed, he nuzzled at Theo in the privacy of their suite. But he wasn’t a bear to demand intimate skin privileges, especially not when Theo had started the day keeping a frigid distance from him. Not because she didn’t want him, but because she was afraid of what she might do in a rage.
Yakov wasn’t about to bulldoze past her objections.
That didn’t mean he was about to leave her to stew alone. Because Theo had a lot of bleak ideas in her head, and those ideas would grow in the dark and in the cold. He’d felt them begin to take root at the cantina, only to fall again and again under the weight of his family’s affection—and that family included an empath. They’d claimed Arwen as a Stepyrev (in secret, obviously, because they weren’t stupid enough to annoy Ena).
“I’m going to cuddle you tonight,” he murmured to Theo before she could start to listen to the dark again. “Hard-core cuddling. You ready?”
Theo gave him a funny look, a little smile flirting with her lips. “How many beers did you have?”
“Only ten.” In truth, he’d nursed a single one; he had no intention of letting his guard down while they were dealing with the facility, the murderer, and her grandfather’s monstrous legacy. “I’m drunk on you, pchelka moya.”
She wrinkled up her nose in that way she had of doing. “Hard-core cuddling?” A note of intrigue in her voice.
“Bear style.” After pressing a kiss to her lips, he nudged her toward the bedroom. “Ready yourself, milady. I’ll do a final security sweep, lock us down for the night.” He winked. “Hard-core cuddling requires total concentration. No interruptions permitted.”
That adorable smile yet flirting on her lips, she walked into the bedroom but stopped in the doorway to throw him an unreadable look. “Don’t be long.”
Yakov groaned. The woman was going to kill him. Cause of death: lust. Bare-naked lust. The kind of lust that wanted to bite and kiss her all over, then restart from tip to toe with his tongue. Or maybe he’d go in the opposite order.
And perhaps he could talk her into petting him all over with her soft sexy mouth. Especially around his cock.
Yakov groaned again.
“Cuddling,” he reminded himself before he could get too excited, then checked the locks on every window and door and made sure the computronic security system Pavel had cleared for him was set. After which, he touched base with the physical team on duty outside for the night hours.
He hadn’t been able to ignore the itch in the back of his brain, the sensation that someone was watching them. Might just be his hyperprotective instincts toward Theo, but he wasn’t about to take chances with the Moscow Ripper roaming the streets. The patrols hadn’t felt enough—and he was old enough to listen to his instincts when they got this . . . intrusive. It was important. The F part of his genes coming out.
“All systems green,” Elbek drawled. “No suspicious characters. Except you.”
“Thanks for doing this.” The senior soldier had stepped in at the last minute. “Where’s your partner in crime?” Who also happened to be one of the most lethal fighters in StoneWater; Moon might look like a strong wind would blow her away, but yeah, Yakov wasn’t about to pick a fight with their resident flower child.
Her nickname among the soldiers was Berserker for a reason.
“Doing a perimeter walk. And you’re welcome. You owe us a case from that new microbrewery out west.”
“I owe you two each,” Yakov said. “This is the second time you’ve both stepped in on short notice.”
“Nah,” Elbek said. “You’ve covered for us plenty before. See you in the morning.”
“Have a good night.” After hanging up satisfied that Theo would be safe, he walked toward the bedroom. He was the biggest security measure of all. No fucking Ripper was getting through him to Theo.