Page 54 of Fake Fae-Ancée

Charly:"I see, you’re probably busy. ;-)" -

Charly:"Eggplant-emoji, sweat-emoji?" -

Charly:"Let’s talk when you guys take a break." -

Heat flared up in my face. I jumped up, marching across the room and to the window, staring out into the darkness.

Apparently, this was my life now.

No job, no home, no friends, locked up in a flashy penthouse on top of the city — and with my body drowning in confusing heat as soon as I even so much as remembered Kalinin touching me. His arm encircling me, pulling me close. Warm and heavy and steady, and so treacherously safe. I should hate it when he did that. But my body had different opinions — dark and needy different opinions.

The emojis were dancing in my mind. More heat welled up in me as I remembered his hand on my hip. Even worse — that stupid kiss! I winced, pressing my fist against the cold window pane. The urge to break the glass, climb out, scramble down the thirty stories and run for the hills was almost overwhelming.

I shook my head, although no-one but me was there to see it.

Whenever I was weak, Kalinin found a way through my defenses. And right now I was actually, literally weak. Dependent on him. On his strength. On his protection. The thought alone was nauseating.

Speaking of weakness — my stomach gave a loud rumble.

Right, I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Once the make-over circus had ended, I'd ducked into my room. Zipping up another one of Kalinin's hoodies — my own clothes were still in one of the many boxes and I couldn't muster up the strength to go looking for them — I made for the door. In a place with at least two kitchens, there must be food hidden somewhere.

Yuri

I increasedthe weights to 500 pounds, engaged the pins, laid back on the bench, grabbed the iron bar with both hands and pressed while the hard guitar riffs of Pain Destruction’s Shredding Skulls blasted in my earbuds.

I was so damn tired, my body in desperate need of rest. Still, I kept lifting weights in the middle of the night.

It was on. My family would take back what was ours. No turning back now that things were in motion. When Kostya’s message had popped up on my laptop, I’d felt a pang of relief.

"We will both come. Expect us."

My brothers would be with me. I had failed them once. Now I got a chance to make it up to them. To all Bears. I would fight back and claim what was rightfully mine.

If it only weren’t for Kai being dragged into my mess, again.

I finished my set. Panting, I hooked the dumbbell back into the rack, sat up and ran a towel across my face, the fleeting memory of her in my arms when I had carried her back to the quad flashing in my mind’s eye.

How light she’d felt. Warm. I really tried to not think about how she’d sunken against me as I’d carried her, looped her arms around my neck. I mean, she’d had to. She’d been trying her hardest to avoid my eyes, which was damn difficult when her face practically rested against my neck.

How was I supposed to go through with this charade when I had to see her all the time? I mean, how was I supposed to keep my feelings for her squashed? And I had squashed them, alright.

At least she would be safe here.

But was I really safe from her?

I plucked the buds out of my ears, about to get up, when a deafening crash rang out from somewhere in the apartment. I froze, adrenalin searing, Bear roaring in alarm.

I was out of the room within a second, darting down the hall and in the general direction of the commotion. Had the security systems flatlined? Was this Nox? Had he found a way in?

But when I heard stifled curses from one of the storage rooms behind the kitchen, I relaxed and slowed down.

"Need any help?" I asked when I entered.

Kai was pressing herself against one of the cupboards. Said cupboard was tilting at a dangerous angle, threatening to fall down and flatten her. A heavy cardboard box swayed on top of it. Some metal bowls had fallen down and were rolling across the floor.

"What does it look like," she gritted, fighting a losing battle against gravity, her bare feet shuffling and sliding on the tiled floor.

Grunting, I reached past her, pushing the cupboard back in its place. It fell back, stumbling and tittering on its four feet and eventually came to a rest.

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