Page 63 of Scarred (Russian Sinners 2)

“Did I hurt you?” I asked her, dread in the pit of my stomach.

She shook her head but didn’t say another word.

“Why do you avoid looking at me?” I asked her, my voice sounded harsher than I intended.

“You are naked,” she muttered low.

“You were naked too,” I told her. “And I literally had to force myself not to gawk at you. You are avoiding looking at me like you are disgusted.”

Her eyes whipped to mine and her next words shocked the hell out of me.

“I’m sorry,” she mouthed, her body broke out in cold sweat.

“For what?” I demanded.

“I’m sorry,” her voice shook.

I took her face in both my hands and brought her close to me.

“For what?” I repeated my question, this time more gently.

“I’m not disgusted,” she muttered, although her whole body was shaking. “I actually like your body. Very much. It’s not you. Just past ghosts haunting me.”

“I won’t let them come back,” I promised and I wrapped her against my naked body, gently rubbing her back. Every so often, my hand brushed over her scar there and I worked hard to control my rage at the people that hurt her. Gradually her shaking eased up, till it completely stopped.

“Better?” I asked her and she nodded her head, although her beautiful blue eyes had a slightly haunted look to them. That fucking Malcome was going to pay dearly for making a scared woman out of Olivia.

I reluctantly let go of her and quickly got dressed.

“Let’s go to bed,” I told her softly as I took her hand into mine, and she let me.

When we got to the top floor, she went to let go of my hand and I wouldn’t let it.

“Where are you going?” I asked her.

“To bed,” she looked at me with those blue eyes like I was crazy.

“You’ll sleep in my bed,” I whispered softly against her ear. I needed her next to me.

“Nikolai,” her voice was breathless and I was glad I wasn’t the only one impacted. “I don’t sleep well. I’d keep you up all night.”

“You’ll sleep in my bed,” I repeated. I knew I was behaving like a possessive lover but something about this woman had captivated me from the moment we met. And grew with each day, regardless of the physical distance between us during our first week. “Come.”

She followed me reluctantly to my bed. I knew about her nightmares. I knew everything about her. Over the last week, the staff reported everything she did, from food she ate, tea she drank, to movies she watched. I wouldn’t let her keep any walls between us.

Was it a bit overboard? Fuck yes! But I was a freaking possessive bear when it came to her.

When we entered my wing of the house, I was aware of Olivia’s wide blue eyes soaking it all in. She never ventured into this side of the house, although nobody told her it was not allowed. She was told it was my wing of the house with my bedroom and that was enough for her to stay clear of them.

We entered the bedroom and her eyes darted to the large bed.

“Nikolai,” she started softly, that voice enough to bring me to my knees. “I shouldn’t sleep here.”

“Why not?” Seems this was going to be a question of the century between us.

She studied me, as I stripped into my boxer shorts.

“I often have nightmares,” she spoke in a whisper. “I don’t want to keep you awake.”

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