Chapter Thirteen

Aurora

“When are you going to find a new guard for me?” I asked.

It was three days since the banquet, and rather than be at home bored out of my mind, I sat in his office, staring out the large window overlooking the city. So many people were milling about, none of them realizing how lucky they had it. Three days Slavik kept me by his side, and it wasn’t a problem being around him. I liked it, and that was the issue for me. I started to enjoy his company.

This morning, I woke up to him still in bed. Rather than try to escape, I watched him sleep. I was turning into a weird kind of stalker and that was what scared me. Slavik was my husband. A man I’d spent an equal time hating and fantasizing about.

“I haven’t looked into another guard yet. There have been other things on my mind.”

Spinning around from the window, I moved toward his desk. “Like what?”

“You think this world you live in comes for free?” he asked.

“No. I know it comes from the blood of the innocent.”

“Does it bother you?”

I stared at him and nodded. “Yes. It always does, but other than being a good person, I can’t do anything about it.”

“And writing exceedingly large checks?”

I move away from his desk. At the banquet, I put a lot of money in a children’s charity. “You saw that,” I said.

“I got an alert from the bank when they tried to cash it.”

“Right,” I said. “Did you allow it to go through?”

“It was a large amount and would be useful for a tax break. I didn’t see the problem. It went through.”

“Thank you.”

“The real question, Aurora, is what you are going to do for that check.”

I frowned. “What do you want from me?”

He reached out, clasping my wrist, and I followed his direction as he tugged me toward him. I stood between his chair and the desk. His thumb stroked my inner wrist. “You look pretty today.”

I wore a pair of designer jeans and a crop top with one of his shirts over the top. Not a big deal. I’d seen his shirt in the closet and I hadn’t expected it to fit. I didn’t have the first clue why I even decided to reach for his clothing as it wasn’t like I needed him to surround me. I’d started to realize Slavik wasn’t an awful man, at least not all the time. He was downright dangerous and anyone who made an enemy out of him, I’d advise them to run for the hills, but in everything else, there was no danger, at least I couldn’t see one. The rules were pretty simple. Stay on his good side or risk being killed. I opted to stay on his good side.

“Thank you.”

It was a nice compliment. One I rarely got and rather than believe he lied, I smiled.