She wasn’t certain she could get to the point that she believed he’d stay with her. That was the terrible part. She had committed to him. She had chosen him. She was here in his home with his steel doors and bars. She didn’t even know if he’d let her walk out or if she was his prisoner. She only knew she had to be with him. She was obsessed with him. She thought about him night and day. And no one was going to take his life. Not without a fight from her.

He leaned into her, cupping her face with his hands. His fingertips bit into her scalp. “Your bakery is safe, solnyshko moyo. You are safe in my hands. You have to learn to trust me.”

“I do trust you.” She took a breath, knowing she couldn’t be anything but honest. “Some of the time. You scare me. What you do. Who you are. What you are.”

He bent his head until his forehead rested against hers. “I can’t change my past. I can’t be anything but what they made me.”

“That’s not true.” She glared at him. “Don’ say that. Don’ even think it. You aren’t a natural-born killer. You’re not a sociopath, no matter that they tried to shape you into one.”

He sighed and straightened. “I don’t want you to live with me and not know who I am. What I’m capable of. I’ve killed. Many times. I’ve hurt people. Beat them. I was an enforcer for my father. I followed orders. I can put all emotion aside and do whatever is necessary.”

“Do you like it?” Her voice trembled. She needed his answer. She needed to know if he was what he said, or what she saw in him.

“Killing? No. Fighting. Yes.”

Her heart jumped. He was telling her the truth. “You like to fight?”

He brushed back her hair with gentle fingers. “I’m not civilized, woman. I made that clear to you. I’ve inflicted pain on others nearly my entire life. I’ve had pain inflicted on me until I rose up and put a stop to it.”

“When you killed your father and the others.”

He shook his head. “Long before that. I beat the crap out of him when he was trying to beat me with a whip. I’d had enough. I grabbed the tails of his whip and yanked him into me hard. Then I let him know what it felt like being on the receiving end. I’m a big man and I’m strong. I trained every single day to fight. To kill. He didn’t stand a chance.”