Page 78 of Kadra: The Unfeeling

“What does it look like to you? Is the demon dragging the angel to hell or is the angel rescuing the demon from damnation?” he asks me out of the blue.

I look at the painting hyper aware of Vitali’s gaze on my skin.

“The angel doesn’t look afraid.” I zero in on the angel’s face and she doesn’t look broken, angry, or hurt in any way. The heavenly creature looks almost peaceful while the demon behind is the one who has a troubled expression on its face.

It’s almost impossible for me to decipher who is saving who.

Still, I answer. “Maybe they’re saving each other.”

“Huh.”

“What?” I look back at him to find his gaze on me.

He rubs his chin, trying to hide a smile. “You read my mind, love.”

Silence falls around us again which is strange since in my head there are so many things I would tell him.

“Kadra…” My pulse begins to flutter. Absolutely ridiculous.

“Yes?” Rubbing my suddenly sweaty palms down the front of my tight black skirt, I will myself to turn around and face the man I know is standing right behind me. And I know he’s still behind me, because the warmth from his large body is like standing in front of the sun. Swallowing, I turn and look up until brown eyes clash with gray ones.

“Why did you bring me here?” he asks.

Before I lose my nerve, I give him the truth. The only truth. “I just wanted to say thank you…”

I tune everything out until all there is around me is him. Everything else fades away. The people around us. The stunning pieces of art. Everything. It’s just us. “You don’t have to thank me, kotyonok. Ever.”

I lick my lips and I don’t miss the not-so-subtle way his eyes follow my tongue. Fire burns in my belly as he is looking at me. “I do.”

“Why?” he rasps and the feeling in my stomach intensifies.

“You took care of me when I couldn’t,” I told him truthfully.

That’s part of it, yes but there’s so much more.

There’s so much more that I could say, but I don’t. I’m afraid to say it out loud.

Vitali’s face turns soft. He does that thing again when he looks at me all soft, a total contrast to his hard edges.

Being around him, the past few days, have felt like he has shaken me from a deep slumber, and now I am wide awake, looking at life with a brand-new perspective.

He barged into my life both in the past and now and shook the ground beneath my feet.

When I thought my plan was set in stone, he changed everything. He’s the nuclear bomb that blew it all to bits and it’s unsettling just as much as it is exciting.

“Let’s say we’re even then…” He gives me a small smile. “You did take care of me after all.”

Ahhh…

He witnessed that.

Then a thought occurs to me.

If he knew I took care of his gunshot wounds, what else did he see? or worse… What else did he hear?

Leave before I hurt you…

His gray eyes pierced me, holding me captive.

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