I nod. “Yes, but I can’t tell you or it won’t come true.”
He spins me around. “Of course not.” And then his lips are on mine, kissing me with a passion that steals all the thoughts from my mind.
All our problems fade away the moment he’s kissing me. Is it insane that I’ve fallen in love with a man who took my captive and chained me up in a basement?
Perhaps, but I’ve never truly known freedom all my life and somehow my time spent here with Valery has been the most free I’ve ever felt.
Threading my fingers through his thick hair, I deepen the kiss, never wanting it to end.
Valery searches my mouth with a desperation that makes me moan, heat flaring over every inch of my skin.
I can’t help but remember the words he said to me before we struck our deal in that basement.
You belong to me now, Anya
He was right.
After a while, he pulls away and spins me around, pointing up at the glass window. “If you look carefully, you can make out the constellations.”
My body is buzzing with need and yet Valery is talking about fucking stars. I can hardly think straight right now, but I listen and look up at the sky as he points out the different constellations visible in tonight’s sky.
“You know a lot about stars.”
He presses his lips to the back of my neck. “My father taught me. He loved astronomy, even if that’s a very odd pastime for a mobster.” His lips move lower to my shoulders, sending shivers through my body. “I must admit, it can be peaceful in here, watching the night sky and contemplating just how insignificant we truly are on our little planet in a vast solar system.”
“Maybe you can teach me,” I say, as space and astrology have always been so fascinating to me, especially as they begin to learn more about what’s beyond our planet.
He smiles, and it is enough to light my world on fire. “Definitely.” Valery kisses me again. “First, we better have dinner. We don’t want to keep Dina waiting, do we?”
I shake my head. “No, and she’s made my favorite.”
“What’s that?” he asks.
“Beef stroganoff.”
He smiles. “My favorite too.” He leads me out of the observatory and back to the house. Somehow, the cold doesn’t affect me the same, perhaps because my body is still a hot mess from the way he kisses me.
Dina has already laid the table in the dining room for the two of us and candles are lit in the center.
“This is a bit romantic,” I say, glancing at him.
“Good. It’s meant to be.”
I arch a brow in question.
He ignores the look I give him, pulling out a chair for me. “Take a seat.”
I lower myself into the seat and he slides it under me, before walking to the other side and sitting down opposite me.
“Champagne?” he asks, lifting an open bottle out of a cooler.
“Yes, please.” I pass him my glass.
He pours it, but doesn’t once take his eyes off of me. They look almost black in the dim candlelight. As he passes my glass back to me, our fingers touch and that electricity zaps right through me.
“To you and me,” he says, pushing his own glass toward mine.
I clink it against his glass before I take a sip, finding it difficult to believe that this man really meant it when he said I’m his. He wants to find a way for us both to be together permanently, even though I know that’s not possible.