A spark of comprehension settled behind his eyes, but he held his silence.

“Being with your family—seeing how they interact and how open and supportive they are to each other—I wanted to be a part of it, but at the same time, I feel like I’m giving up on my own family.”

“And if you give up the family you were born to and the struggles that come with it, then what are you left with?” he finished for her.

“Exactly,” she said. “It’s like being an office worker and waking up one day to find someone’s replaced all your staplers and file folders for camping gear, toys and surfing equipment. It’s all shiny, fascinating stuff with lots of potential to enjoy, but you don’t have a clue what to do with it all. And more than that, you’re afraid whoever it was that owned the office stuff is going to walk in at any moment and bust you for goofing off.”

He smiled down at her. “That’s an unusual analogy, but a very effective one.” He traced the line of her cheek, the tenderness in his gaze beyond anything she’d thought possible from a man as hard and unyielding as Kir. “Thank you for sharing with me, malyshka.”

“You don’t think it’s stupid?”

Something behind his gaze shifted, pain peeking out from behind his sky-blue eyes then disappearing behind a soft smile. “No. My family was not like yours, but they left their mark on me as well. It took me many years before I trusted Sergei. Even more before I trusted Roman. That you faced your past in a matter of days is something to be proud of.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and toyed with his hair where it touched the nape of his neck. “Tell me about them.”

“Nyet. Not tonight.” A softly spoken refusal, but unbending all the same. He skimmed his mouth against hers. “My woman has had enough words and revelations for one day.” His tongue teased the seam of her lips as he rolled his hips against hers. “I think she’s earned my undivided attention and devotion.”

A simple change in focus.

The mere hint of a kiss paired with the wicked promise in his eyes, and she was ready. Willing and eager to set everything aside save the erotic haven he offered. She traced the waistband of his briefs. “Well, then we’d better get rid of these.”

His smile deepened, a bit of playfulness mingling with the devilish glint in his eyes. “As you wish, milaya.” He rolled to his back and shed himself of his briefs, but rather than slide back between her legs, he pulled her across him.

“Whoa!” She straddled his hips and braced her hands on his chest. “What happened to getting undivided attention and devotion?”

He chuckled, but the sound was that of a deeply satisfied male. He caressed her hips. Up her sides and inward to tease the lower swells of her breasts. “Oh, believe me, beautiful. With this view, nothing will distract me.”