I go into the living room and pick up my phone.
He watches me as I return to the bedroom. In fact, he always watches me, and I'm getting dependent on his constant vigil.
He's already on his feet and putting on boxers. He keeps an arm around me as he taps the phone screen to start the video. I don't want to see it again, so I hide my face in his chest.
Seconds later, he tosses the cell phone onto the bed and hugs me. “Pack a bag for three days. We’re going on a trip.”
“Trip? Where? I have to work. There are several details of the party to be decided yet.”
“You can do that when we get back. Let's get away from it all.”
"Were those your men in the video?"
“Yes.” He kisses me and directs me to the closet. “Do what I say.”
“What kind of clothing?”
“Only the essentials. We can buy everything you need there.”
Although I don't understand anything, I agree. “Okay.”
WHITEFISH – MONTANA
“This place doesn't look real.” At the moment, I'm not the least bit worried about acting like a fool. I can't keep my mouth closed—it’s been open since the moment we got off the plane.
He’s brought me to his home in the mountains, and I don't want to leave ever again. The landscape looks like a dream setting.
“Do you like it?”
“I think you're going back to New York alone. I’ve found my favorite place in the United States.”
He laughs, and it’s such a rare thing that I'm kind of mesmerized. It's the first time since I've known him, outside of sex, that he seems more relaxed. As if just being away from the big city has changed his mood.
He hasn’t said anything more about the car explosion, and I’m grateful. I don't want to think that innocent men lost their lives because of me, just because that madman wanted revenge on both of us.
I look at Odin’s huge body and once again think about how indestructible he seems, and also about how suddenly such a strong man could have been killed by that coward.
He wears jeans that mark every muscle of his thighs. It's not that the pants are tight, but Odin looks like a mountain.
“You haven't seen it all yet. I have a surprise.”
“No one has ever arranged a surprise for me before.”God, me and my big mouth. I want to hide my face behind my hands, but I hold back.
He frowns, and I want to hit myself. "What do you mean?"
I shrug, trying to pretend it's no big deal. “My parents never cared about such nonsense. Leandros was rarely at home, and my mother lived for his every breath. There wasn't much time to remember that they had children.”I'm restless and a little embarrassed.
Seeming to notice my discomfort, he comes to me.
I can no longer hide how much I enjoy being by his side. Somethingchanged after I almost lost him. I know the chance that I'll suffer when it's all over between us is high, but I'll make the most of it while we're together.
So when he pulls me to him by the waist, I don't hesitate, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Ready for your surprise?"
“Yeah.”
I can't believe my eyes. I feel my throat constrict as I walk from one stall to another.