I shoot him a searing glare, but say nothing. He chuckles, undeterred.
Chucking his book to the side, he jumps up. “I need to stretch,” he mumbles under his breath. “Maybe a few handstands.”
Grabbing his T-shirt with his hands on opposite sides of the bottom hem, he pulls it over his head and bunches it into a ball before throwing it next to his book.
“What isthat?” I say incredulously, now gawking at his bare chest.
“Oh, this?” he says casually, looking down.
I can barely believe what I’m seeing—Property of Veil Vulturine, freshly tattooed on his ribs, just under his chest.
When he glances back up, his eyes are sparkling, and an arrogant smirk pulls on his lips. “You haven’t accepted my marriage proposal yet, so …” He shrugs as his grin widens, never finishing his sentence.
The room is hushed, save for my breath, still straining from my routine. We stare at each other, and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to feel, but after a long beat, I burst out laughing.
My hand flies to my mouth as I continue to laugh, and soon, I’m folded in half, and I can’t stop. The absurdity of my life has finally caught up to me, and my fit of laughter feels cathartic somehow—as if I’m releasing something that was lodged deep inside my chest.
“You are a fool,” I say as my laughter begins to wane, dabbing at tears that sprang in my eyes with how hard I just laughed.
He struts over to me, his smile full of an emotion I’m still having a hard time processing. Something a lot more terrifying than lust. Tentatively, he reaches for me, and I let him. He presses a soft kiss to the top of my head, then pulls back and winks.
“A fool for you, my beloved.”
Hours later,I chew on my nails in the pitch-black of my room, the blinds shutting out the moonlight, and deliberate. My heart still has many,manyreservations, but my body yearns to be close to Gemini. After a long sigh and a few anxious heartbeats, I push my duvet to the side, my decision finally made.
Not bothering to turn on the light, I grope my way out of the bedroom and tiptoe down the hallway to the guest room. When I gently push the door open, it creaks faintly on its hinges. Despite the sound, Gemini doesn’t stir under the covers.
My heart pounds in my chest. It’s as if I were approaching a slumbering hyena while I quietly round the bed. I carefully pull down the bedding, watching Gemini closely for any sign of life.
His brows are slightly creased, but the rest of his body seems relaxed as he sleeps on his side, one hand slipped under his pillow.
I crawl in next to him and push the pillow right next to his, snuggling my back against his warm, hard chest. I hear Gemini inhale deeply and then let out a long, groggy hum, the sound rumbling deep in his chest. His arm curls around my waist, and he tugs me closer, his leg hooking around mine so that we’re fully entwined.
“My beloved Veil,” he whispers into my hair, his nose burrowing into the crook of my nape.
The raspy sound of his voice sends delicious shivers skittering down my arms and legs. My smile is dopey and wide, but I stay quiet as I feel his hand slip under my tank top. His palm flattens on my stomach, and he groans softly near my ear.
“I can’t wait to see your belly swell with my child,” he whispers, half asleep, pressing his hips into my ass, and my whole body bursts into flames. “How ravishing you will look, carrying our future in your womb.”
I remain silent, simply wanting to soak in the moment as peacefully as possible, my walls crumbling down at a terrifying speed. His palm is searing hot on my skin, and I slip my hand over his, our fingers effortlessly interlocking with one another.
After another lazy kiss on my neck, I feel him settle behind me, his breathing slow and steady. And for the first time since I found out I was pregnant, I fall into a deep sleep until morning.
46
VEIL
Two days later, the town car slows to a stop in front of Vore—a supper club in the Vorovsky neighborhood. It’s my first time being anywhere near Aleksandr’s territory since Mercy and Wolfgang’s wedding night, and I can’t ignore the dull sting at the very core of my beating heart.
I glance over at Gemini, facing me. His attention is already trained on me, his mismatched eyes dark and hungry. There’s a fresh stroke of eyeliner under his waterline, and his bruises have almost all faded from his stunning face.
His red tank top, tucked into black-and-white striped pants, hides his newly acquired tattoo, but I stare at the spot nonetheless. It shouldn’t please me so much, but it does. And the greedy part of me wishes it were visible, even when fully dressed.
I haven’t forgiven him yet, but with every passing day, I can feel the ice melting between us. The thaw is especially effective now that we are back sleeping in the same bed. Having his warm body curled around me as we sleep is soothing some of the burn still smarting inside of me. Butsleepingis the only thing going on between us.
For now.
He offers me his hand.
