Imagine that; my husband spoke fluent Russian.
Tucking my hands in between my legs, I watched the scenery as it passed, thinking of Gertie for the hundredth time in an hour. Artem had assured me that she would be looked after, even introducing me to his cousin, who would personally oversee not only Gertie’s safety but also be in charge of getting Noah back.
When I had protested about coming back with him, he had gently told me that he had business to attend to and if he stayed with me, then things would not get done. Apparently, there was no way he was going to leave without me.
Gertie herself had been my deciding factor, telling me to go with my husband and that she would be fine with the handsome Russian who would stay behind. The relief on Artem’s face had been visible when I had finally made my decision, and now, we were on our way back to the mansion.
The problem was, I didn’t know what to expect once we arrived. So many things had changed between me and Artem since I had been there last, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he would revert back once he had me safe in the house.
I hoped not. Something had broken inside me last night with his declaration that he didn’t deserve me or the way he had reacted to me telling him that I didn’t hate him. I really didn’t. I wanted to so badly, but there was no need. Sure, he had taken me away from my life, but the life he was giving me now, well, I thought I could get used to it. I was a married woman, married to a man I knew nothing about but wanted to.
After all, Artem had come without question when I had called. He hadn’t just snatched me up and forced me home.
I felt like I had the power right now, and it was frightening to say the least.
“Do you need to stop?”
I looked over at Artem, finding him staring at me. “No, I’m good.”
He nodded. “Sorry about that. I’m in hot demand right now.”
“Are you ever not?” I asked lightly.
He grinned and I felt it all the way to my toes. “No, not really. There are many people that depend on me, Emma.”
I tucked one of my legs underneath me. “Will you ever tell me about what you do, Artem?”
His grin faded and his expression grew wary. “I don’t know if you want to know about me.”
“Oh, I want to know,” I said softly. “I just don’t think you want to tell me.”
He sighed, looking away from me. “If I tell you, it means I trust you, Emma. I hope you know that and understand the gravity of how deep that trust must go.”
My breath caught. He sounded so serious, and for the first time, I felt like I mattered to him. If he was willing to tell me his deep, dark secret, then there was more to this than I had first imagined. I knew that things had changed between us, shifting to the point that I wasn’t so sure I could walk away from him in the end.
Or that I wanted to go back to the old Emma. “I don’t know what I will do in the end,” I said honestly.
He inclined his head. “I understand.”
Wanting to make this not so serious, I picked at the hole in my jeans. “Tell me your favorite color.”
His eyes widened and I knew I had caught him by surprise. “You really want to know?”
I nodded, giving him a timid smile. “We will trade question for question.”
Artem chuckled, and I saw some of the tension ease from his face. “It’s blue. What about yours?”
“Green,” I replied, though I was becoming quite partial to the color of his eyes when they looked like they did now. “When I was younger, I forced my father to paint my room the color of summer grass. Green calms me.”
“I will have to remember that,” he said evenly. “What’s your next question, Emma?”
“Do you like living in Alaska?”
“I do, actually,” he replied after a moment. “Except the snow. It does get to me after a few weeks, but the nights that the sky is clear, there’s nothing like it, especially in the hot tub.”
“What?” I asked. “We have a hot tub?”
He nodded. “I will show it to you when we return. I haven’t used it in some time.”
Maybe when we got back, I could see the entire house for myself. If Artem was sticking true to his word and I was no longer his prisoner, then the house would have a completely different feel for me. “Your turn,” I told him, anxious to hear what he would ask next.
“Could you see yourself happy with me?”
Ugh, the way he said it, it was like he was hesitant that I was going to break his heart. I would have never thought that a man like him, someone so confident and sure of himself, would be afraid of what I might say. “Our relationship started out unconventionally,” I finally said, choosing my words carefully. “And it’s going to take some time for me to get used to this.” It was the truth. Before I ran away the second time, I saw Artem as nothing more than the person who had taken me away from my family and destroyed my life.
But now, he was a husband I knew nothing about, someone who was changing before my very eyes, and I really didn’t know how to handle it. I needed a lot of time to process this new Artem.
“But I could make you happy,” he finished. “If you will let me, Emma.”
I reached over and laid my hand on his. “Let’s just take it one day at a time, okay?”
He flipped his hand over and interlocked our fingers together, the heat from his skin warming mine. “All right. I can be patient.”
I doubted he was a very patient man to begin with, but I was glad that he was willing to be for me. “It’s my turn, right?”
He grinned. “Fire away.”
I wetted my lips, a thousand questions running through my mind. I wanted to know everything about him so that I could make a decision on my future, on our future together, but some of them were really heavy. “Do you prefer sleeping in the nude or in some article of clothing?”
He snorted. “God, Emma, you never cease to surprise me.”
I clenched his hand in mine, getting used to the close contact with him. “I mean, it’s important information, Artem. What if the house catches fire? You would have to be prepared.”
Artem tugged on my hand until I was sitting in the middle of the seat instead of the other side, our thighs pressed together. “I prefer nude,” he said softly, his lips grazing my ear. “But whatever you prefer, I will do it if it means I can sleep with you.”
I shivered as his other arm snaked around my waist and held me close, my own pulse speeding up a notch as I remembered the last time we were this close together in a car.