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)
“Ready or not, here comes the bear,” he said as he walked in . . . and almost swallowed his tongue.
Because Theo was standing by the bed naked.
Naked.
No clothes. Not even cute little socks on her feet.
Naked.
His brain short-circuited. “O Bozhe, you’re beautiful.” All slender lines and gentle curves.
And a faint tremor.
Body and mind snapping into gear, he strode over to her—but didn’t put his hands on her except to cup her cheek. “Thela, what’s this?” he asked softly. “I was hoping for seminaked cuddling at best. Maybe first base if it was my lucky night.”
Despite the tremor, she held his gaze, no smile in her face now, nothing but unflinching intent. “I want to finish what we started last night. I want to steal this time with you.”
“Zolotse moyo, this morning—”
“I know. I was . . . embarrassed and scared.” She leaned her face into his palm. “But spending the day with Santo and Janine . . . seeing how quickly life can change, how tomorrow I might not be the Theo I am today—”
“Theo.”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “Hush.” Firm tone, the tremor no longer in evidence. “It’s not just that. It was being surrounded by all that love and affection tonight, seeing how your family interacts, how Arwen looks at Pavel with his heart in his eyes and how Pavel does nothing to hide what he feels for Arwen in turn. I’ve never lived that openly in my life.”
Her eyes shone, a wild fire to her. “I’ve been so afraid for so long, Yakov. So much rage inside me, but under that was fear. Of being hurt again, of being abandoned. After the rages, I’m constantly afraid of hurting people.” She traced his lips with her fingers. “And now, the closer we get to finding out what was happening at the Center, the more afraid I am of what we’ll find.”
She stepped closer, her breath kissing his. “I want to believe my grandfather took me to that place and did something to me on which I can blame my actions as a child, but I also know that’s likely a false hope. I’m afraid that I’ll find out I’m a murderer created by another murderer.”
“You’re not.” This time, he tugged away her hand when she would’ve stopped him from speaking. “Arwen likes you.” He shook the wrist he held—gently, but enough to get her attention. “Our resident E has a marshmallow heart, but the man is also a Mercant. He’s not one of those Es who thinks that even the most evil deserve a chance. He doesn’t believe in forgiveness for all crimes.”
Theo stared at him, her pupils huge against the blue of her irises. “He checked on me twice tonight. Telepathically.”
Yakov wasn’t the least surprised. Arwen had a sneaky way of looking after his people. “You know what he told me once? That he hates making telepathic contact with ‘people with dark souls’—those are his exact words. He only ever does it in exigent circumstances. A dinner with my lunatic family doesn’t qualify.”
Theo frowned. “Your family is not lunatic.” A push at his shoulders. “They’re wonderful.”
Somehow, his hands were at her waist now, on all that smooth and silky skin. But he was still trying to think with the head on his neck and not the one lower down. Despite the fact that Theo was naked. “Fine, they’re wonderful lunatics,” he said, laughing when she threatened to kick him.
Cuddling her closer, all those gentle curves pressed against him, he brushed her hair behind her ear. “They like you, too, and while my babushka might be kindness personified, my mother is a shark in bear’s fur. She told me she’d slap me upside the head if I messed it up with you.”
He rubbed his nose against hers. “Believe in yourself, Theo mine. So many other people already do.”
Midnight eclipsed her eyes in front of him, her lower lip quivering a little.
“I know it’s a hard thing I’m asking of you,” he whispered, running his hand up the curve of her spine, then back down—and though he was aroused through the roof, it was tenderness that overwhelmed him. “Be with me not because you’re afraid, Theo, but because you believe. Because you have hope.”
Chapter 54
CODE RED! Cardiac arrest detected! Location data embedded.
CODE RED! Cardiac arrest detected! Location data embedded.
CODE RED! Cardiac arrest detected! Location data embedded.
—Emergency medical alert sent by personal monitoring device assigned to Pax Marshall (18 June 2073)
HOPE.
It wasn’t a word or a term that had held any meaning for Theo since she was seven years old. Before that . . . yes, she’d hoped. She’d believed. That the bird they’d found could survive, that they could escape watchful eyes to play in the grounds, that she and Pax would always be together and that they’d find a place to live with no rules, no strictures.