Page 29 of Sapphire Tears

“That was before.”

“Before what?” I snap. “Be specific.”

He clenches his jaws and his fists as tight as they’ll go. “You know how I feel about you.”

“Do I?” I ask. “Because I can’t remember you telling me in plain English. In black and white.”

“Jesus Christ,” he mutters again.

“You told me you cared about me, and I took that to mean you loved me. But now, it feels like I was just a naïve idiot who was hearing what she wanted to hear.”

“You’re overthinking.”

“No, I’m just plain thinking,” I retort. “Finally. You told me from the beginning that you needed my baby. Somehow, I lost track of that because I got so caught up in… inyou.”

“So now, you’ve convinced yourself I’m only interested in you because of the baby?” he presses. “Is that it?”

“Well, what other reason do you have to be interested in me?” I ask. “Apart from the fact that it’s obvious I’m so ridiculously easy to manipulate.”

Raindrops start peppering the tree overhead. Drops leak off the leaves to splash against us one at a time like cold little kisses. But I ignore them and stand my ground.

“So tell me, Kolya,” I insist. “Tell me why you want me around at all.”

He glares at me, pride and anger turning his blue eyes black. “We don’t have time for this.”

I throw my hands up in the air. “That’s a good enough answer. You know what, thanks for the ride, but I think I’ll walk home.”

I turn and start stomping away from him, aware of what a colossally bad idea that is. But I’ve thrown down the gauntlet and now there’s no going back.

I may not be a don, or a boss, or anything remotely impressive. I’m just a broken dancer. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have just as much pride as Kolya does.

“It’s raining,” he calls after me.

“Scared of a little water?”

I feel his hand around my arm before he spins me around. It’s coming down a lot harder now, out from under the cover of the tree. The drops are soaking through my clothes, cold and fresh, in a way that makes me feel strangely alive.

“We are not doing this here,” he says firmly.

“Doing what?” I ask. “I’m just walking away.”

“You know I can’t let you do that.”

“Why?”

He growls at me. “Because that baby ismine.”

I free my hand from his grip. “If we’re taking paternity, then I think your brother will disagree with you. But as far as I’m concerned, this baby belongs to no one but me. I will not be used anymore, Kolya. Least of all by you.”

He glares at me with those intense, dark eyes. I see shadows of his brother in him now. Little snippets that show me how blind I’ve been.

But Adrian’s anger is no holds barred. When it breaks, it’s like the storm enmeshing us right now, wild and uncontrollable.

With Kolya, though, it is perfectly manipulated. His anger is quiet and disciplined. So composed that it’s terrifying.

Rain crashes down on us from all sides. I’m drenched now, and feeling the cold. The moment I shiver, he leans in and grabs me. He pulls me to him and I trip right into his arms.

The most dangerous place to be.

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