Innocent in the Ivory Tower

Maisy knew where she wanted to land, but it had been almost a whole month and he hadn’t called her—he hadn’t let her know how he was doing.

Every night he spoke to Kostya on the phone. It was a regular six o’clock routine. She would pick up, would hear his voice, deep and caressing, saying, ‘Maisy,’ and she would reply, ‘Kostya’s right here,’ not trusting herself to even say his name. She would sit beside the little boy as he chattered exuberantly, the faint sound of Alexei’s voice all she’d allow herself. There was always the temptation as Kostya said his goodbyes not to press ‘end’ and to speak to him herself—but what would she say? I love you. I want to come back to you. But it wasn’t her call. Alexei was a smart guy. If he had something to say to her he would have rung her and said it.

Actually, knowing the man as she did, he would have hopped on a plane and said it to her face.

And here he was.

In those last days together she had taken command not only of herself but of whatever was between them. Having him suddenly here, filling up the tiny space with his presence, it felt as if Alexei had seized it back, and Maisy felt slightly on the back foot.

‘What are you doing here?’ She sounded breathless to her own ears.

‘I’ve been to Lantern Square to check the security.’

It wasn’t what she’d expected him to say, and something small and bright that had lit in her mind at the sight of him went out.

‘I had it changed whilst you were with me in Ravello.’

He made it sound as if those two months had been merely a holiday. Next he would make some comment about her tan fading—that was if she’d even had a tan. Maisy stopped gazing up adoringly and pulled herself together.

‘I really don’t think it’s necessary,’ she said, as coolly as she could manage. ‘I don’t think Kostya’s in any danger.’ But even as she spoke she could have kicked herself. She knew exactly why he was so security conscious. Every time he looked at Kostya he saw himself and what he had never had.

‘Not just Kostya. I want you to be safe, Maisy.’

‘Me? Why would anyone want to hurt me?’

‘I don’t think anyone wants to hurt you. I just—’ He broke off, running a hand through his hair as he smiled at her ruefully. ‘I’m doing that thing you say I do. I’m showing you how much I love you by protecting you.’

Maisy was glad she had a table behind her to steady herself against.

‘I’m on my knees, Maisy.’ His voice was a whole octave deeper. ‘I’m begging you to forgive me. I want to take you and Kostya home with me to Ravello, where you both belong. I want us to be a family.’

Maisy’s mouth had run dry and she moistened her lips. ‘It took you almost four weeks to decide this?’

He was suddenly filling the tiny private space, and Maisy had nowhere else to go.

‘Has it been so hard without me?’

‘No,’ she lied.

‘I haven’t been able to breathe,’ he confessed roughly. ‘It hurts every time I do.’

Me too, her heart whispered.

‘Four weeks, Alexei.’ It came out jerkily.

‘And look what you’ve done with it.’

He smiled at her then, that slow smile she loved so well. She wanted to smile back, but she felt if she did her entire life would go land-sliding towards him and she didn’t want that quite yet.

‘You were too scared to love me,’ she risked saying.

‘Precious little scares me, dushka, but you had me on the back foot from the moment we met,’ he confessed—so candidly she couldn’t help edging towards him. ‘That day on the yacht, Maisy, it all came apart. When we were travelling together it was easier to keep you tucked away, out of sight. I understand you felt marginalized, but that’s not what I was thinking. You belonged to me—a better me—not the man who keeps all the financial balls spinning. I didn’t want to let the air in on that rarefied atmosphere we had. It was so precious to me.’

Maisy had gone very still. She hadn’t considered it from that angle before. It had never occurred to her that she was the good thing in his life. All she had imagined was her inability to fit in.

‘I wish you’d told me,’ she answered softly.

‘Hell, I hardly framed it as an idea to myself. I was running on instinct, Maisy. But I knew it wasn’t fair to you, so I decided to use Firebird as an introduction.’

‘Except it meant then that in everyone else’s eyes I was your mistress.’ It still stung, and she wasn’t going to hide that from him.

Alexei’s blue eyes sought hers earnestly. ‘The people who mattered didn’t think that, Maisy. Anyone with eyes in their head could see how much I loved you.’