Page 85 of Kadra: The Unfeeling

I don’t get to finish my sentence because he cuts me off. “Just be you. That’s all I want. Angry, sweet, stubborn, sassy whatever it is. I want it all.” When I remain silent, I just stare at him and try to calm my racing heart. My traitorous heart. A heart that has no sense of preservation whatsoever when it comes to this man.

“How about a game then?” Vitali’s deep voice penetrates my thoughts.

“A game?” I asked while taking a bite of my food. Oh, this is heaven. I don’t notice I moaned aloud until it’s too late and I have Vitali’s hot gaze on my lips.

Suddenly the room feels hot. Everything feels hot.

“For every question you answer I’ll answer one too,” Vitali says with a glint in his eyes. Something in my gut tells me this is dangerous territory.

This moment right here feels like it could forever change… me.

Taking a second, I look down to the table where there’s still food on my plate. It must be cold now.

Finally giving in, I returned my gaze to his. “Do you remember Russia?” I ask what comes to mind first.

“I do.” He replies while taking a bite of his food. I notice how he has a smudge of sauce on the corner of his mouth. As if he reads my thoughts, he sticks his tongue out and licks it off.

Again, there’s a fire in my belly. One he started. One I’m afraid he’s the only one who can put it out.

“What was it like?” I lift my gaze to his eyes and lean back in my seat with my glass in hand.

“Cold.” He slowly picks up his napkin and wipes his mouth before taking another sip of his drink.

Cold?

“Just cold?” I smile at that. The cocky man has a lot to say when it comes to me but when I ask about his motherland he just says cold.

“Colorful?” A lopsided grin appears on his face making him look almost boyish. Boyish. My crazy Russian. Hah.

I laugh and in turn, his smile widens, taking over his entire face.

Shaking my head, I try again. “Do you miss it?”

“I did.” His eyes bore into me.

“Not anymore?”

“I found somewhere that feels more like home.”

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Feeling my throat start to dry up, I take another sip of my drink and let the cool and fruity flavor calm my nerves. After a while it starts to work and next thing I know we’re having a conversation as if we were old friends.

As if there weren’t a million things that kept me away from him. Keeping me from finding happiness in this cold world.

“How did you learn to play the cello? Did you have a tutor?” Vitali asks, surprising me.

Cello.

How…

Then it hits me.

He must’ve heard me playing the night he disappeared with Grim for almost the entire day.

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