Page 88 of Teach Me How To Fly

“Me and Katya came up with a plan to make Lukyan let you move into my house. He wanted her to move in with meconsidering we are getting married, but I wanted to have you closer to me, and she fucking tried to kill herself to threat Lukyan with her own life if he wasn’t going to let you move in. Now it all makes sense.”

“So that’s why she told me…”

“Yes,” I quickly said and grabbed my hair into my fists. “She knew Lukyan cared for her considering she was his real daughter, so she took advantage of it.”

“She almost died for me,” she said, her voice trembling with fear.

Everything started to come together, but at the same time, I was waiting for the downfall. I felt it in my bones. It was so damn close.

29

ANNALISE

“Turn on the lights! Turn on the lights! Please don’t leave me here!”

My eyelids opened as I realized that Maksen was screaming next to me, probably being captured in a terrifying nightmare. I quickly sat up and put both of my hands on his chest, moving him gently to wake him up. He was trembling so hard it scared me and the water drops that were rolling down his face were showing he was trying to escape his own mind.

“Maksen,” I whispered close to his ear and started caressing his naked chest. “Wake up, Maksen. I’m here, there’s no one harming you,” I added, tilting him once again.

His eyebrows got closer into a serious furrow as he opened his eyes. He was analyzing the surroundings as if he was trying to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. I put my hands on his face and placed a kiss on his wet forehead.

“I’m here,” I whispered over his skin and all I could feel were his hands wrapped around my body.

His breath was heavy, his chest was rising at an alarming pace and I wanted to calm him down, but all I could do was to caress his neck with my thumbs.

I was feeling all of his sweat drops sticking to my body and wetting the pajamas I was wearing, but that didn’t bother me in any way. I wanted him to feel better after the awful nightmare he just had.

“It was him again,” he whispered, burying his face in the hollow of my neck. “I have to fucking kill him, Annalise,” he added and I felt shivers coming down my spine.

“You don’t have to kill anyone,” I said and caressed his cheek. “We’ll go through everything together and we’ll heal together.”

His body hardened in my arms when he hugged me tighter as if he was trying to refrain himself from giving me an answer I didn’t want to hear. I still couldn’t accept the fact that he killed the people my father told him to and also trafficking people, but that was what he was. Yet, I needed the right moment to come so I could ask him everything I needed to know abouthis job.

“I would like to believe that too, my dearest Annalise,” he said softly as he placed a kiss on the showing skin of my chest.

The shivers came back again on my spine, but now they turned into butterflies that went straight to my stomach, making me feel strange twirls I have never felt before. He gave me a delicate kiss and called me his dearest one. Did he know what he did to me?

His entire body softened, relaxing a bit, showing he managed to connect to reality and get rid of the terror he received from that nightmare. I wanted to ask him what he had dreamt of, but I didn’t want to make him feel worse. It was enough for me that I was seeing him better now. If he would’ve wanted to tell me, he would’ve done it without me asking for it.

Yet I still wanted to ask him a question even though the atmosphere wasn’t the proper one considering that he was keeping me in his arms, without having a t-shirt on. That was already making me way too nervous.

“I want to ask you something,” I said with a hushed tone as I continued playing with my thumbs between his tiny hair strands.

Maksen inhaled deeply, then raised his gaze to me. The spark in his irises made me realize he was ready for me to ask.

“Do you like killing people?”

My heart started pounding harder and I felt my stomach being stabbed by tons of sharp twinges as he let his eyes fall on my lips.

He seemed different now in the dim light of the moon that was immersing our room. I had never seen him like this. If a few moments ago I saw him scared and almost on the verge of crying, now I saw a completely different version of him, as if nothing had happened and he just woke up in the middle of the night.

“You won’t like my answer and you know it, Annalise, so why would you ask for it?” he whispered, starting to caress my cheek while he waited for my answer.

Everytime he used to touch me, I would literally lose my mind. What happened to the terror I’d always felt when I was being touched? Why was I feeling this good whenever Maksen was around me? I couldn’t recognize my reactions and I also couldn’t believe that I was able to forget everything when I was with him. It felt as if he made all the problems go away.

“I think I like to punish myself, so tell me the truth.”

His lips curved into a beautiful smile as he continued to stare at my lips and I wanted him to kiss me instead of talking. I wanted him to kiss me every second we spent together because it was the only thing that could make me happy.