Page 40 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

“I can do this part myself.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Reaching around me, he turns the shower on. Hot water gushes around me. Steam rises from my freezing skin. “Oh God,” I breathe as relief floods through my system.

Aleks nods in grim satisfaction. Then he turns, pulls a thick white towel out of a cabinet, and sets it on the vanity.

“Take your time. I’ll wait outside for you.”

He leaves a moment later. I watch as the door snaps shut and silence takes over. I should be grateful, but instead, I feel… empty. As though he’s taken all the warmth in the room with him.

I spend another ten minutes in the shower, trying vainly to feel as warm as when he holds me. It never quite gets there.

When the water starts to cool off, I twist the knob closed and step out onto the rug. I half-expect Aleks to appear to help me comb my hair or dry off, but the bathroom door stays resolutely closed.

I wipe the fog off the circular mirror above the sink and study the girl staring back at me. I can’t put my finger on any specific part of me, but I look different, somehow.

I’m changing… and it’s not just because of the child growing inside of me.

It’s because of him.

10

ALEKS

She steps into the room with the towel wrapped tight around her chest. She’s dried her hair a little, but the ends are still wet and sticking to her neck and shoulders.

Her eyes flit to the bed where I’ve laid out some clothes for her. She frowns. “Those are my jeans.”

“And your sweatshirt,” I point out. “You left a bunch of things at the compound. I didn’t think you’d want to live in your sister’s clothes forever.”

She seems mildly surprised that I would even think of something like that. To be honest, I’m surprised myself. It’s out of character.

She walks forward and examines the clothes. “These are myfavoritejeans.”

“I noticed.”

One corner of her mouth goes up in a reluctant half-smile. “Thank you.”

I walk over to the duffel bag in the corner and carry it back to the bed. “Here you go. I packed a bit of everything so you could take it to the hotel with you.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

She opens the duffel bag and pulls out the rest of what she needs to get dressed. A pair of black panties trimmed in lace and the simple bra to match. She starts to unfold her towel, but then hesitates and looks up at me.

“I’ve already seen everything there is to see, Olivia,” I remind her gently.

It’s true enough.

And yet I still can’t take my eyes away from her.

Her cheeks blush as she lets the towel fall around her feet. She doesn’t look at me while she slips on her panties and clasps the bra around her breasts.

I look away so I can maintain some semblance of control. Through the window, the clouds are gone and the sky is a soft blue like it’s just been scrubbed clean.

I hear the zipper of Olivia’s jeans and look back at her. Her forehead is creased as she looks around the room. “Do you by any chance have my phone? I had it on me in the jeep.”

“I put your bag over there,” I say, pointing to her sling bag sitting on the chair in front of the antique desk.

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