Page 66 of Stalk Me

“Every time I close my eyes, I see you in that gallery. Only instead of those thugs running away, they...” He breaks off, pressing his forehead to mine. “The thought of anything happening to you...”

“Hey.” I cup his face in both hands, forcing him to look at me. “I’m right here.”

“You don’t understand what these people are capable of.” His fingers brush my cheek, surprisingly gentle given his fierce expression. “If they hurt you...”

“Then we figure it out together,” I say. “But you can’t lock me away forever. That’s not living.”

He closes his eyes, shoulders dropping slightly. When he speaks again, his voice is rough. “I’ve never felt this... out of control before. Not being able to guarantee your safety...”

I slide my hands down to his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat beneath my palm. “I get it now. Why you’re so...” I search for the right word, “intense about protection.”

His jaw clenches. “You think I’m overreacting.”

“No.” I trace the line of his collar. “I think you’re carrying wounds that never really healed. But Nikolai, there has to be a middle ground.”

His fingers flex against the desk. “What are you suggesting?”

“Come with me to the gallery. Work from there if you want.” I meet his steel-gray gaze. “Your security teams can sweep the building and set up whatever protocols make you comfortable. But I need to be there. It’s my life’s work.”

He studies me for a long moment. “You’d allow that? Me being there?”

“Better than being locked in here climbing the walls.” I offer a small smile. “Plus, you might actually enjoy watching me work. I’m quite good at what I do.”

Something shifts in his expression—a subtle softening around his eyes. “I know you are. It’s one of the first things that drew me to you.”

“So... is that a yes?”

His thumb traces my lower lip. “Two security teams minimum. Full sweep before you enter each morning. And you don’t go anywhere without telling me first.”

“I can work with that.” I lean into his touch. “See? Compromise isn’t so terrible.”

“Don’t push your luck,malishka.” But there’s a hint of warmth in his voice now. “We’ll try it tomorrow. One sign of trouble and?—”

“I know, I know. Back to the fortress.”

His arms wrap around me, pulling me against his chest. “You’re infuriating, you know that?”

“Part of my charm.” I let my head fall against his shoulder, inhaling his familiar scent. “Thank you for meeting me halfway.”

He kisses me, and all thoughts of security and compromise dissolve. My fingers curl into his shirt as he deepens the kiss, one hand tangling in my hair while the other presses against my lower back.

The realization hits me like a thunderbolt—I’m falling in love with him. This dangerous, brilliant man who once invaded my privacy, who watched me through hidden cameras, who orchestrated his way into my life... has somehow become essential to my existence.

“What are you thinking?” he murmurs against my mouth.

I pull back slightly, studying the sharp planes of his face, the intensity in those steel-gray eyes. “That I should hate you for everything you did at first. The cameras, the stalking, drugging me, the manipulation...”

His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t look away.

“But instead...” My voice catches. “Instead, I find myself understanding you more each day. The way you think, why you do the things you do.” I trace the scar through his eyebrow. “And it terrifies me how much I...”

“Say it,” he breathes, pressing his forehead to mine.

“How much I’m falling for you,” I murmur.

His grip on me tightens, and he claims my mouth again with devastating intensity. I taste his need, his possession, but also something deeper—a vulnerability he shows to no one else.

When we break apart, both breathing hard, I see the raw emotion he usually keeps so carefully hidden in his eyes. My heart races, knowing I’m one of the few people who get to witness this side of him.

---