Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 52062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 260(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 260(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
"Solnyshko…”
"I was so scared," I sob into his chest. "I was twelve years old, and I was so scared. I was lost and no one was ever going to find me. I couldn't do anything but wait to die beside my parents."
His hand strokes through my hair, over and over, while his other arm keeps me pressed against him.
"You survived," he says, his voice rough with something I can't identify. "You survived, malyshka. You're here. You're alive. Someone found you."
"A plow driver. He found me. But it was pure luck. If he hadn't been on that road, if he'd taken a different route…"
"But he didn't. He found you. And you survived."
I nod against his chest, my tears soaking into his shirt. The sobs are coming less violently now, my body exhausted from the force of them.
Outside, the storm rages on. The wind howls. The windows rattle. The fire dances wildly in the fireplace.
But in Nikolai's arms, I feel safe.
He walks us backward, and I realize he's moving us toward the couch. He sits, pulling me with him so I'm curled in his lap, my head tucked under his chin, his arms wrapped around me like a shield.
"Listen to me," he says, his voice low and steady against the top of my head. "You're safe here. This lodge has weathered storms like this for a hundred years. The walls are two feet of solid stone. The roof is reinforced steel and timber. This place was built to withstand anything nature can throw at it."
I nod, trying to let his words sink in past the panic.
"And I'm here," he continues. "I won't let anything happen to you. Do you understand me? Nothing will touch you while I'm here."
The certainty in his voice and the absolute conviction cuts through the last of my panic.
And I believe him.
I am safe with him.
"I've got you," he murmurs again, his hand stroking down my back in long, soothing movements. "Just breathe. Just be here with me."
So I do as he says.
I focus on the steady rhythm of his breathing. On the warmth of his body surrounding mine. On the strength in his arms and the gentle touch of his hand in my hair.
Slowly, the tension bleeds out of my muscles. My breathing evens out. The tears stop falling.
The storm still rages outside, but it feels distant now. Like it's happening to someone else, in some other world.
All that matters is this moment. This man. These arms holding me.
"Better?" he asks after a long while, his voice soft.
I nod against his chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall apart like that."
"Don't apologize. Not for this. Not ever."
His words are fierce, protective, and something warm unfurls in my chest.
“And I promise you, malyshka. I will always find you. In the snow, in the rain, and in the darkness. You will never be lost again.”
His words settle on me like a warm blanket.
Outside, the wind howls, but I barely hear it now. Exhaustion is pulling me toward sleep. The adrenaline crash combined with the emotional purge has left me boneless and heavy.
"Sleep," Nikolai says, as if he can read my mind. "I'll be right here."
I should move to my room, and sleep in my bed.
But I don't want to.
I want to stay right here, wrapped in his arms, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
So I let my eyes close.
And let the warmth and safety of his embrace pull me under.
20
NIKOLAI
The wind howls through the lodge like a wounded animal, rattling windows and screaming down the chimney. Outside, the blizzard rages with violent fury but I barely notice it.
All my attention is focused on the woman sleeping in my arms.
Holly's breathing has finally evened out, her body warm and soft against my chest. Her hand rests over my heart, fingers curled into my shirt, as if even in sleep she’s anchoring herself onto something solid.
Something that will protect her.
And so I don’t move.
Instead, I sit here in the firelight, tracing slow patterns through her silky hair as I watch her sleep.
I've seen fear before. I'm intimately acquainted with it. The way a man's eyes widen when he realizes he's made a fatal mistake, the way his breath comes faster when my gun presses against his temple. Fear is a tool I've wielded my entire life.
But the fear I saw in Holly's eyes tonight was different.
And I desperately wanted to take it from her.
I wanted to wear it for her.
But I was powerless.
And that hit me like a fist to the chest.
Because if there is one thing I am not used to, it is being powerless.
She stirs slightly, and a soft sound escapes her lips, but she doesn't wake. Just burrows deeper into my chest. Seeking safety.
Seeking me.
I carefully lift her in my arms and carry her up the stairs but bypass the guest room where she's been staying and carry her down the hallway to my bedroom.