Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 45957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
It was a stark contrast to the usually perfectly put-together man I’d always been faced with.
With a grunt, I pushed myself up so I was resting against the headboard, and fuck, if that felt like it didn’t zap me of all my energy. I slumped, too tired to try to adjust my pillows so I was more comfortable and instead just closed my eyes for a moment, my breathing labored. Jesus fuck, walking in all that snow had taken a lot out of me.
“You’re awake,” Ivan grumbled.
My eyes snapped open, and I turned my head to look at him. He was awake now and leaning forward a bit, his large, green eyes running over my face. Before I could stop myself, I ended up yawning, but damn if I had the energy to cover my mouth. Lifting my hand felt like it might be a bit too much of an ordeal.
“You’ve been out of it for days,” he informed me as he stood to his feet. I looked up at him, watching as he moved toward his cellphone, which was sitting on the dresser and plugged into the charger. He began typing rapidly as he said, “You would come out of it for like a few seconds, and then, you were right back under again. I thought for sure you were going to fucking die.” And that knowledge sounded like it made him want to come unglued.
He set his phone down, then turned to face me, his arms crossing over his broad chest. “You cannot fucking die, kotik.”
I frowned, my brows furrowing. “Kotik?” I asked. “What the fuck is that?”
His lips quirked. “You’ll find out soon enough.” He strode back over, this time pressing a hand into the mattress and leaning over me. My breath hitched in my throat at his proximity, but he just pressed the back of his hand to my forehead, making a soft sound in the back of his throat. Like he was… pleased? And why the fuck did that make me all hot and bothered?
I was a Dom. I did not get off on praise, no matter how small or big it was. Just wasn’t my thing.
At least, I hadn’t thought it was.
Maybe I hit my head when the plane crashed.
“You look a lot better,” Ivan finally said, settling back into the chair he’d been occupying when I woke up. “But seriously, don’t fucking scare me like that again, kotik.”
There went that fucking name again. What the hell did it mean? I wanted to ask again, but I doubted he’d give me an answer—just some smart-ass shit like last time—and I didn’t have the energy to argue with him. Already, I just wanted to go back to sleep.
“Didn’t go knocking at death’s door on purpose,” I muttered, closing my eyes and sighing. I tried adjusting to get comfortable, but I was just too damn lethargic to do much.
“Here—sit up,” Ivan murmured, pressing his hand between my shoulders blades and gently pushing me forward. My eyes snapped open, and I cut him a glance full of trepidation because Ivan and I just weren’t the kind of people to help each other. But he pointedly ignored me and focused on adjusting my pillows. When I eased back, I sighed in relief.
God, that was so much better.
“What the fuck happened?” I asked once he was sitting back down again.
“Mark came for us in the chopper.” I nodded because I remembered that part. But once I was inside the helicopter, everything was a bit hazy after that. Hell, most of those memories were gone. “You were out for three days, Adrian. Your body needed time to recover. Dr. Lebedev has kept you hooked up to a saline bag to keep you hydrated, and I’ve been doing my damnest to keep you warm.” He nodded his head toward the fireplace. “I actually had to call in a company to come clean the chimney so I could utilize that fucking thing.”
“Why not just buy a space heater or something?” I asked, closing my eyes again.
“Didn’t fucking feel like it,” he said, his tone a little snappy. My lips quirked in amusement, but I quickly smothered it. By his sigh though, I was sure he saw the minute twitch of my lips.
“Go on,” I told him, wanting him to finish telling me what had happened so I could go back to sleep. I didn’t think I was going to be able to manage staying awake much longer.
“Igor performed the autopsy on my pilot and the flight attendant.” I opened my eyes again, confused. At my expression, he explained, “Igor has a degree in forensic science, and before I became Pakhan and he became my consigliere, he worked as an autopsy technician. He…” Ivan blew out a breath like this next part was going to be embarrassing, even though I didn’t think Ivan could actually feel embarrassment. “Igor likes to play with dead bodies.”