Page 21 of Vulnerate

He walks away shaking his head. A good brother would listen to the warning, they’d feel like shit knowing he’d choose Dani over me, but I don’t, it just proves that she’s family. There’s nowhere else she belongs than with us. Even Vlad and Dima expect her presence and kept pausing when she wasn’t there in the morning. The only difference is the bed she belongs in.

Once we’re alone, I carefully lift her so her entire body is held against me with her head on my shoulder. I don’t know if she’ll wake up when I move so I stay in the same position, unbreathing, and rest my lips on her forehead. Her cheek is pushed in to my chest making her lips form a pout. She’s so adorable and cute, I just want to bite her lips. I softly whisper her name as I stroke her back testing how deeply she’s sleeping.

“Dani mine?”

She nuzzles closer to me, making her cheek move and I take that as confirmation she wants to stay with me. There wasn’t going to be a choice anyway, but it’s better like this, less arguments.

I stand and walk to my floor. The only bed she’ll sleep in from now on is mine, there won’t be any more nights that she’s in the room below or has to sneak in through the window. I’ll give her the codes and a key.She’s dressed perfectly in my clothes and that’s a new change she’ll have to accept from now on too. There won’t be any more pajamas. She’ll live in me, so everyone knows she is mine.

Laying her under the covers, I cover her legs with the sheet knowing she gets hot in the night. There’s a small, inked line on her kneecap from when she’s been sketching and ran off the page. She always holds thepad on her thighs rather than a flat surface. That little line is going to be bigger one day, I’ll get the Vartanov insignia inked into her skin so it can never be removed. There’s a strand of hair that’s fallen over her face and I lower to the edge of the bed as I brush it away. Her nose twitches as I gently trace her features and I do it again, biting back my laugh before I stand to get ready.

My shower is quick, needing to soak up every second I have her and I throw on a pair of shorts, so she doesn’t wake up thinking I’m a pervert. Sleeping with the air conditioning on isn’t an option with the whirring always driving me crazy and Vlad will have a heart attack if I open the window, so I usually sleep naked. For my Dani I’ll change my habits and do anything she needs to be comfortable.

Everything feels right as I get in bed beside her and I think she feels it too. She turns towards me and wraps her arm over my middle, hugging me, despite not being awake. Even unconscious she knows she’s in the right place. Hooking her leg over mine she tightens her arm around my waist and nuzzles into my chest. Fucking adorable. I lift her hand and press my lips to her finger that will one day hold my rings. My heart slows down as I stretch to the side taking out the latest addition I found from my bedside drawer. The runner is too loud, and I wince as I watch her face to see if she’ll wake up.

Thankfully there’s not even a flutter of her lashes as I lift the velvet box out with two fingers. The muted light isn’t enough to disturb her as I open it and take out the large single stone ring. I won’t give it to her while she’s asleep, I’m not fucking crazy. I just want to see it on her finger. I give her my back for the first and only time in our lives as I hold the platinum ring in my palm, so it warms up. If she wakes up she’ll think she’s spooning me, I can live with that over the reality of her seeing one of the rings before she should.

Once the metal has warmed, I slip it on her ring finger. It’s a perfect fit after I stole the one she used to wear out of her room, and I lay her hand on mine as I use the inset light from the ring box to see it clearly. It’s too plain, three carats aren’t enough, but the others are in the safe and I can’t test them. The one shaped like a rose might be better, each stone has been placed with care and it’s more intricate with the vines going across the band. It physically pains me to remove it from her handand the only motivation I have is the fact I can’t see her face at the same time.

Placing everything back in the drawer, I slowly turn on my back and Dani shuffles closer to lay her head on my shoulder. Her lashes flutter as I comb my fingers through her hair and the softest sleep filled voice fills the room. “You smell nice.”

I press my lips to her hair to hide how pathetic my smile is and stroke down her back as I wait for more of her beautiful voice. She doesn’t say anything else, so I ask, “What do I smell like?”

I’d talk about anything to hear more of her.She doesn’t disappoint and looks up at me with big brown eyes I could fall into as she says, “Limes.” She’s even cuter when she’s sleepy and nudges my chin with her head as she looks around my room. “I always thought your room would be neat like your car.”

Clothes are piled up from where the laundry service left them, and one shoe is in the middle of the floor. I’ve never had anyone other than my family in my room and I regret my habits now. I cup her cheek, so she doesn’t focus on my untidiness and gives me her undivided attention. My mouth opens with my admission as I sink into her presence.

“You’re so beautiful.” It’s a whisper and doesn’t do her justice.

Her eyes are still red and puffy from how long she was crying. Stroking the red tender skin at the top of her cheek with my thumb, I kiss her forehead content in just having her here as her cheek warms against my skin. Her eyes close as soon as my lips touch her, and she takes in a stuttered breath. Fuck, can she feel how wild my heart is beating? She has to. She has to feel this thing between us, this intangible connection that threads us together and makes me weak.

Her hand slowly moves across my abs, the tips of her fingers barely grazing my skin, but a shiver works up my spine. This is the singular most pivotal moment of my life; I have my girl and she’s not running away from me. She lifts her head as I stroke her cheek with the back of my knuckles. I’m sure I’m dying. It’s not healthy for my heart to slow down as much as it has at the sight of her shy smile. But the tenderness under her eyes stops me from taking her exactly as I want to, and I ask, “How you feeling, khudozhnik moya?”

She looks away, trying to hide from me, her whisper slow and heartbreaking as she continues avoiding me. “I can’t hate them because they’re dead, so I just end up hating myself.”

I pull her over me to straddle my thighs as I sit up and hold her face in both hands. I’m not letting my girl spend a second of her time hating herself, fuck that, so I make sure she can’t look anywhere else as I say, “Just because someone dies doesn’t mean they didn’t do shitty things while they were alive. You can still hate them.”

She won’t meet my eyes and she traces the kot on my chest. Her beautiful laugh comes out just like when I first got it a year ago. It’s a Bratva mark, one Dani doesn’t know. She thinks it’s just a random design in her innocence and I won’t tell her I’ve been initiated. Not before I’ve got her, once she’s in as deep as me I’ll give her every secret and thought I’ve ever had, she won’t be able to run away then. I’m going to be under her skin like she is to me, so deep that the only way the other can be removed is by cutting a part of ourselves out with it.

She looks up at me with a soft smile. “Thank you, I always feel better with you.”

Doesn’t she know there’s nowhere on Earth I’d rather be than with her? Doesn’t she know she is everything?

Her fingers move up my chest and she leans forward aiming for my cheek. Turning my head at the last second, I feel her lips on mine for the first time. I’m smiling like a lunatic and wrap my arms around her back. It’s the most innocent experience of my life, but the best thing I’ve ever felt.

She tries to move back but I hold her tighter. Her cheeks are getting warmer, and I shake my head against her lips. I don’t stick my tongue in her mouth. I just want more of this, of feeling her against me and hugging me. Stroking down her arms, I thread our fingers together and her smile is on my skin, pushing into my DNA so I can never forget it. Her delicate hands are the perfect mix of soft and calloused as she strokes around my nape and pushes her body closer to mine. My hands drop to her hips attempting to stop her feeling exactly what she does to me.

I’ve kept everyone away from her and I know she’s never even been on a date, never mind had anyone touch her. Her lips are perfect, tooperfect, and my anger comes out. I dig my teeth into her bottom lip and grit, “Tell me you practiced on your hand.”

I’m begging her but she won’t allow me to have the lie and the silence shows the truth. My voice hardens and I pull my head back.

“Dani. Who?”

I’m going to kill them. Everyone knew she was off limits, that I’d rip their nasty little dick off their body and shove it up their asses if they even fucking looked at her.

The crazy thing doesn’t say a word and straightens her shoulders facing off against me. Damn, I love her with every fiber of my being. The stubborn streak is new and pride swells in my chest, though it doesn’t reach my voice as I repeat, “Who?”

Her brows slam together, and she presses her palms flat against my chest as she whispers, “Are you an owl? It’s none of your business what I do, you’re the one who’s spent years chasing after any girl who even walked past you.”

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