His small face brightens. “Superman?”
“Superman,” I confirm, squeezing his hands gently before releasing them. “Brave and strong.”
“Brave and strong,” he whispers, trying out the words. He points at his chest. “Brave and strong?”
I beam at him. “Yes, you are brave and strong, just like Superman. And you’ll make your daddy very happy.”
He gives me a big grin. “Happy, yes.” He points at the smiley face drawing and puffs out his thin chest. “Very happy.”
He’s so adorable that I can’t resist giving him a hug, and my heart melts when his short arms go around my neck, squeezing tightly. This, here, is why I love children so much. All they want is love and affection, and once they have it, they return it in spades.
Nikolai doesn’t understand that about his son yet, but he will.
It’s just a matter of time and a little effort on my part.
* * *
An hour before dinner, I leave Slava with Lyudmila and go to my room to change and get ready. I’m so excited and nervous I can barely keep my hands from shaking as I apply my makeup and smooth my hair into a semblance of the polished waves Alina was able to create for me. If she were feeling well, I’d ask her to repeat her magic, but since I haven’t seen her at any point this afternoon, I have to assume she’s still down with the headache.
Poor girl. I hope she feels better soon.
Once my hair and makeup are done, I flip through my ridiculously large collection of evening dresses to find the absolute best one. Without Nikolai here, I’ve been grabbing whichever one seems most comfortable and easiest to put on, but tonight, I want to put in extra effort.
I want to see his breath catch and his eyes kindle with that dark, savage heat that both excites and alarms me.
I settle on a delicate ivory gown that has subtle threads of gold woven in. Made of some diaphanous material, it’s strapless, with a heart-shaped, corseted bodice that pushes up my breasts and defines my waist. The form-fitting skirt skims over my hips in the most flattering manner imaginable, and when I walk, a thigh-high slit on the left side reveals flashes of my leg. I pair the dress with the gold Jimmy Choos I wore on my first formal evening here, and I’m ready.
Ready to see Nikolai and take our relationship further.
* * *
The car pulls up as I’m coming down the stairs. I catch a glimpse of it in one of the large windows, and my heart beats faster. Lyudmila and Slava are already standing in the living room, with the boy dressed in his evening best. As I approach, he smiles up at me shyly, and I give him an encouraging shoulder squeeze.
“Remember, brave and strong, like Superman,” I whisper, trying to control my own nervousness, and he giggles—only to fall silent at the sound of the front door opening, followed by footsteps heading in our direction.
Pavel appears first, but his house-sized frame barely registers in my vision. All my attention is on the tall, darkly beautiful man behind him, whose tiger-bright gaze homes in on me with an intensity that scorches my flesh and stills my lungs.
In the span of the past couple of days, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be near him, to experience the devastating impact of his presence. I don’t just see him, I feel him with every inch of my skin, every cell of my being. Helplessly, my eyes trace over his features, taking in the uncompromising angles of his jaw and the sensuous shape of his lips, the startling thickness of his jet-black lashes and the way his raven’s wing hair is brushed back from his forehead, revealing those high, wide cheekbones. He’s dressed more casually than when he left, with a blue button-up shirt tucked into tailored slacks, and he looks so mouthwateringly hot that it’s all I can do to remain standing. My heart races, my entire body buzzing as if a network of live wires resides under my skin, and I’m only peripherally aware of Lyudmila stepping up to embrace her husband while chattering excitedly in Russian.
Nikolai must be caught in the same potent spell because for a long moment, he stands still, eyes glittering as he takes in my appearance.
Then he comes toward me.
Breathless, I stare up at him as he stops in front of me. He’s so much more up close than on a computer screen. Bigger, taller… more dangerously, primitively male. With his seductive charm and fine clothes, it’s possible to forget that raw, animal quality he possesses, the sense that something feral lurks underneath his beautiful façade… something that draws me to him even as it makes the fine hair on the back of my neck stand up in warning.