Page 102 of Toxic Salvation
“I did. I mean, I do.” I’m totally flustered. “I just… Is Luka coming with us?”
“Not this time.”
My cheeks flush as I contemplate a whole weekend of just Kovan and me. It’s something normal couples do. Maybe that’s why I never thought I’d get to experience anything so ordinary.
Then again, knowing Kovan, nothing about this weekend is going to be ordinary.
“I told Luka I’d take him to the science museum this weekend, though.” I bite my lip. “He’s going to be disappointed.”
“Waylen’s taking him,” Kovan assures me. “I’ve cleared it with him. And I’ve asked Charity to come spend the weekend here while we’re away. You won’t have to worry about Luka. He’ll have so many babysitters, he won’t even know we’re gone.”
The excitement starts curling up my spine. I’ve never been whisked away before. I never thought I would be.
“Come on.” Kovan ushers me toward the door. “We don’t want to be late for our flight.”
“We’re taking a plane? Where on earth are we going?”
“You’ll see when we get there,” he answers mysteriously. “Our ride’s waiting outside.”
Our “ride” turns out to be Osip behind the wheel of a gleaming vintage Bentley. “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” I gush while Kovan rifles through his jacket pocket. “Wait! My passport! If we’re going out of the country, I?—”
“Already got you covered.” Kovan flashes my passport, sitting right alongside his.
He’s about to put them away when something falls out of his passport. I recognize the little picture immediately. “It’s my ultrasound,” I murmur, picking it up off the leather seats.
Kovan plucks it from my hand and slides it into his wallet. Right next to a picture of Luka. “I like keeping our boys with me all the time,” he explains. “The ultrasound picture is just a placeholder until our little guy is here and we have a real picture of him.”
I gaze up at him. “Did you, Kovan Krayev, just get sentimental on me?”
He winks. “I’m full of surprises.”
I twist in my seat and watch the house disappear behind us. I notice twice as many guards outside the gate as there normally are. It could be innocent. It could just be Kovan overcompensating for the fact that we’re leaving.
Still, something tells me there’s a reason for the increased security detail.
But selfishly, I decide to put off the question until later.
I want to enjoy being whisked away.
I sleep pretty much the entire flight, and when I wake, it’s to a vista of snow-capped mountain peaks and that bracing freshness that can only come with high altitudes and the cleanest air on Earth.
I don’t get very much time to admire our insane chalet, however, because by the time I exit the bathroom after a quick pee break, Kovan is already pulling me toward the door for our personalized spa treatments.
We take our seats in a gorgeous alcove that overlooks the mountains in all their glory. My clothes are politely commandeered and replaced with a cotton thong and the fluffiest, warmest towel I’ve ever had the pleasure of wrapping around my body.
I’m still admiring the view when Kovan joins me, a towel wrapped around his waist. It’s sitting so low on his hips that his ab muscles are on full display.
“My eyes are up here, Vesper,” he teases.
Blushing, I turn my attention back to the view. But the mountains don’t look quite as appetizing as they did a second ago.
“Check it out.” I point at my spa table. “My massage table has a hole in the middle for my stomach.”
He chuckles. “Yes, I know. I informed the lodge that you were pregnant. They’re being very accommodating.”
I shake my head, marveling at the handmade chocolates and bouquet of roses sitting beside my massage table. “Do people really live like this?”
“You do, from now on.”
