With This Secret

I focused on fighting off the tears gathering in my eyes.

A few minutes passed in his arms. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. The horror was too much to bear. What if Bogdan had her? Oh, God!

Then his cell rang.

I jumped like a startled cat.

He placed his cell phone against his ear.

The seconds ticked away as I watched wide-eyed. I inched closer to him and squeezed his forearm so he would bring his gaze to mine. “Is she alright?” I mouthed, but before he could answer me, my new phone rang in my hand.

It was Aldie.

“Aldie,” I called urgently.

“What is it?” she asked, her voice just as panicked as mine.

“Where are you?”

“At home. I was asleep.”

“But I was calling your phone,” I insisted, confused.

“I put it on charge, but the charger wasn’t plugged in properly. Are you okay? Is everything alright?”

“Aldie …” I shut my eyes with relief. “Please … be a bit more careful. This is a very dangerous time for us, and I don’t—I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you because of me. Please, please make sure that I can reach you.”

“I know, Bee … I’m sorry.” Her voice was quiet and full of remorse. “Work today was a nightmare, so I just collapsed into bed.”

“Okay. It’s okay. It’s all good now,” I said more to myself than her.

“Uh … the men in my house? Just to be sure they’re Levan’s guys, right?”

I met Levan’s gaze on me, dark and hooded. I quickly turned away, my nerves frayed and my composure shot to hell. “Uh, yeah.”

“They broke my lock,” she said. “I nearly died in my sleep from the bang. When will this be over, Bianca?”

“I don’t know. Just please keep your phone on, Aldie, and be reachable at all times. And don’t worry they’ll fix your door. I’ll call you in the morning, okay?”

“Okay, goodnight.”

“And Aldie … I love you.”

“I love you too, Bee.”

I ended the call and took a few seconds to compose myself then turned to him with the best smile I could muster, my heart full of relief and gratitude. “She’s fine, thank you.”

The way he looked at me … made my heart almost stop. He raised his hand and all I could do was watch it with fascination as I waited with anticipation for the delicious tingle of his touch.

He placed his hand on my hair … gently brushed it out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. “I want you to know this. Bogdan will never have you,” he said his voice seeming to vibrate through my body. It felt like he was making an oath to me. His finger caressed my chin.

My skin felt warm at the contact. I shuddered, jittery, sweaty and completely out of my mind. He could have done anything with me at that moment.

He ran his finger along my lower lip. Then he closed his eyes and swallowed. When he opened them again, he took a step back and smiled at me. “Go to sleep, Bianca. There is far, far more at stake than slaking my lust for you.”

For a second, I stared at him. Then I turned and fled from his room.

11

Bianca

Somehow, I finally found sleep in the early hours of the morning and was in a deep sleep when a wet tongue started lapping at my face. My eyelids snapped open to a pair of round brown eyes staring right back at me.

“Biscuit,” I cried with a laugh, as the corgi puppy Aldie and we owned together, started yelping excitedly and jumping all over me. I let him do his usual thing and dive bomb my body, until I realized something. If the pup was here … I grabbed him and shot up to a sitting position. “Aldie!” I called, when I saw her.

She stood in the doorway, a small suitcase in her hand, and a goofy grin on her face.

“What the … how did you get here?” I asked.

“I come bearing clothes,” she said.

It seemed Biscuit had no time for social niceties, especially not when there was a sea of overpriced sheets where he could go bat-shit crazy. He struggled so hard in my arms, I had to give in and fall back into a prone position. Laughing, I fought off his wet kisses valiantly, until I was eventually able to wriggle away enough to almost fall out of bed.

Aldie looked amused as she watched me try to catch my breath.

With my palm, I rubbed off the wet saliva residue he’d left on my skin. “How did you guys get here?”

“Levan sent his men for me,” she answered. “He thought we might like to spend the day together and since our front door is busted, I thought … why not?”

Snippets of the previous evening flashed into my head and I flushed.