Chapter 7

Nicolai

The pounding of the shower can”t drown out the sound of her crying. I stand on the other side. I want to break this door down and go to her, join her in the shower and hold her to me. Kiss away her tears and promise her I”ll keep her safe, that she doesn”t have to cry. Tell her she”s been so brave.

But I don”t. I stand on the other side, absorbing the sounds of her tears. It hurts worse than any beating I”ve ever taken, any fight I”ve ever lost, any injury I”ve sustained.

It fucking kills.

I”m in the bathroom before I even realize what I”m doing. It”s such a big room, she doesn”t even realize I”m in here at first. The shower is filled with steam but I can make out her body, leaning up against the tile with her head on her arm.

Hearing her crying is one thing. Seeing her cry is another.

And how can I blame her? She”s been through so much. So fucking much, the poor girl.

I should get out of here before she realizes I”m in here. My hand”s on the doorknob to leave, when she looks up at me. I freeze, holding her gaze through the fog.

”Nicolai,” she says brokenly.

Going to her isn”t a conscious choice. I can”t control this anymore. I walk to her across the tiles and she glides the shower door open. I step into the shower still wearing the towel slung about my waist like that will stop a damn thing. She”s stark naked, of course.

Khristos.

She”s more beautiful than I ever imagined.

My breath catches in my lungs as I let my gaze wander uninhibited over her body, taking in every fucking majestic curve and slope of her perfect skin. The fullness of her breasts, dotted with dusky pink nipples I long to taste. The slopes of her hips and gently rounded belly, and full, creamy thighs. The towel is useless. I”m so hard, my erection pushes the damn sodden fabric aside, making her bring her hand to her mouth.

”You shouldn”t be in here,” she whispers.

”I heard you crying,” I reply, as if that explains everything.

And then she”s in my arms and her head is on my shoulder, blazing hot water pelting us as I hold her to me.

”Ne plach”,” I tell her. Don”t cry. ”It will be okay.”

But now that I”m holding her, now that she feels safe, she comes undone and sobs against my chest. I let her, absorbing her pain, her fears, her troubles. She needs this release. After a while, she calms.

”Did you wash, yet?” I ask her.

She looks up at me and smiles. ”What? Why?”

I give her hair a gentle tug. ”Answer me.”

She shakes her head. I nod, take a washcloth from the shelf beside the shower, and lather it up. ”Let me,” I tell her. I need to keep my hands occupied, so I don”t do what I long to. I run the washcloth over her shoulders, her back, over the curve of her gorgeous ass, and between her legs. I swallow hard, aware of the way her breathing is slow and labored. After I”ve soaped every inch of her, I take the small bottle of shampoo, tip some in my hand, and massage it into her thick, gorgeous hair, then gently tip her head back and rinse it. Her eyes are closed, her face dotted with drops of water, when she whispers, ”There”s only one thing I want for my birthday.”

”What”s that?” I ask, and I realize right then I”d give her fucking anything.

”Just a kiss.”

Just a kiss, like it’s an innocent request, when we both know it’s fucking dynamite.

I lean down and gently brush my lips against hers. She moans into my mouth, her arms encircling my neck. I hold her to me, losing myself in that kiss.

She is no girl but a woman, and the moment my lips meet hers, I know.

She”s mine.

No man will ever touch her again. This woman belongs to me.

I hold her to me while we kiss, her tears and the water mingling between us, so sweet, so sexy, so perfect. This kiss is one of exploration, of hope, and longing. Sun rising on a new day filled with promise, a vow that neither of us has had the courage to speak out loud. No matter what happens, no matter what danger lurks around us, Marissa is mine.

We pull away minutes or hours later, and still it”s too soon.

”Our food will be coming soon,” I tell her. She doesn”t know I ordered a slice of cake to celebrate her birthday.

”Good,” she says. ”I”m starving.”

I smile. She”s always starving. I turn the shower off, step out and reach for two towels. After I sling one about my waist, I take her hand and lead her out, then towel dry her off. She holds onto my shoulders while I dry her, then tuck the towel around her.

My longing for her is near-combustible. I want to lead her to that bed and make love to her, to truly claim her and say to her with my body what I can”t say out loud. But I”ve already taken this too far. I can”t let anything threaten her safety. This isn”t some lover”s getaway, but a mission, and one I will not fail.

They almost got us once. It cannot happen again.

We dress, neither of us saying anything. We shared something sacred in that shower. We”ve broken down a wall that’s kept us apart for years. We”ve claimed something that lay hidden between us, and now that we”ve shed dazzling daylight on truth, there is no turning back.

A knock sounds at the door. I hold up a silent finger to her and walk to the door. Peering through the peep hole, I notice a uniformed member of staff holding a large silver tray.

”Room service,” I tell her, putting the gun back into my waistband.

I open the door.

”You ordered food, sir?”

I nod and gesture for him to come in. But when he does, I feel that something is off. My hand is on my gun before I realize it, my instincts telling me to prepare. I look curiously as he sets the silver tray beside us, but he won”t meet my eye. He”s wearing a suit jacket, and reaching into the pocket. I”m already prepared to shoot when he removes a bill from his pocket. Fuck, I need to get a grip. ”Just sign on the dotted line, and we”ll bill your room,” he says. I exhale, release my hold on my gun, and start to sign when Marissa screams.

”Nicolai!”

He”s reached for a knife on the tray. I pull away just in time as he slashes at me. She”s screaming, but I”ve got him on the ground, pinned beneath me.

”Who the fuck are you?” I ask, my gun at his temple, but Marissa screams again and again and I realize we aren”t alone. I look up to see three men dressed in black with their arms on her, and I lose my fucking mind.

I shoot the man on the ground straight through his forehead, and don”t bother to watch his body contort and writhe before I”m shooting the men that have her. One falls dead, but someone grabs me from behind.

”Nicolai!” she screams with wide-eyed terror as they drag her from the room. I”m shooting at them, but there are too many, easily a dozen men in black now swarming the entire room. I can”t get to her.

”Nicolai!” Her high-pitched scream of terror knifes my heart as I try to wrestle out of the grip of those that hold me. Something black and thick covers my head. I elbow someone and they howl in pain, but my seconds of freedom quickly end when they pull the hood tight. I can”t breathe. I can”t get away from them. My limbs are pinned, my vision blackened. There”s something on my throat cutting off my air supply. I fall to my knees, contorting and fighting as hard as I can, but I”m only one man against a veritable army.

Her screams fade. They’re taking her away. I fight harder still, as my world fades to blackness.