Page 46 of Forced Mafia Bride
“Nikolai?”
His footsteps were quiet as he ambled closer to the side of my bed. Brown hair fell forward, hanging over his eyes when he peered down to look at me. A few strands had grown from his hair, casting a soft youthful glow over his hard features.
I had to tilt my head back a bit to catch a better glimpse of his face and the hard glare he gave me. “Your lips are dry.”
I wanted to smile that he’d noticed but suddenly remembered there was really nothing to smile about.
“I’m thirsty.”
“Here.” He picked up a glass from the top of the nightstand and handed it to me. He had barely shown any considerable concern or anything out of the ordinary, but I felt warm tingles spread throughout my body.
“Thank you,” I mumbled.
I took a sip and felt a delicious shock ripple through my skin when he held my head back and nudged the glass to make me drink more.
Quietly, I obeyed and dropped the glass, finding nothing better to do than fidget with my fingers. “Ronan is dead.”
His answer came in a heartbeat. “Yes.”
I gulped.
Guilt should have been a better emotion instead of the intense tide of liberation that immediately pulled me under after Niko’s confirmation, but I couldn’t shake it off.
Finallyfree.
“And Hannah?”
“She has Aiden, and a very eager Anatoly, tending to her wounds.”
Relaxing, I sighed in relief.
Lowering himself, he sat by the edge of the bed and surprised me by taking my hands in his. I watched his calloused thumb gently stroke the red marks on my wrists, and my pulse skipped.
He always looked so guarded yet thought, but his touch was gentle.
“I’m fine.”
His lips made the slightest twitch, but he didn’t look at me or smile. I wanted to see him smile. I wasn’t sure I’d seen a genuine one from him before, but I knew a big, bright smile would look good on him.
“I didn’t ask you anything.”
“I’ve learned to read between the lines of silence.”
Both our eyes fleeted to the artwork standing proudly on the shelf, and then cold brown eyes met mine. He stroked my wrists some more before letting go. “I’m proud of you for trying to stand up for yourself and doing what you could to protect my baby.”
Our baby,I wanted to correct but thought against interrupting him. Who knew what a man like Nikolai would say next after a commendation.
Nervously, I dragged the sleeves of my sweatshirt to cover the bruises on my wrists and nibbled on my lower lips. “I may be many things, but not a coward. I had to do something to keep my child.”
“You’re not a coward, and yet you ran away.” His eyes grew colder. “Why?”
Between the lines of silence, that question asked a lot more that I pretended not to hear. Why did I leave?
Why did I leavehim?
I brushed the unspoken questions aside, not because they weren’t there, but because I just didn’t believe Nikolai was capable of feeling that intense weight of emotion.
I inhaled sharply, sucking in a deep breath. And when I let go, the burden on my shoulders lightened.