she barely heard him. She couldn’t believe she was hearing him. She stared at him, blinking, trying to focus. Had he just given her everything? Handed it to her without a fight? An argument? Anything? He’d just stood quietly, asking if he’d hurt her and then given her everything. Shared. Like she was really a part of him and not something he kept in his bedroom.
Ania stared up at him, shocked beyond measure, still not certain of what he’d just told her. She tried to process it all very fast. Twice she started to ask questions and stopped herself, wanting to make certain she understood what he’d just said. He was head of a crime family. Had a territory, but the goal, with a group of others like him, was to reduce the amount of criminal activity. Did that even make sense?
“I didn’t want to tell you because . . . well, that’s obvious. The danger to us will be even more than it would be if I was simply doing business like every other criminal. I don’t like putting your life on the line, but living with me, you’re always going to be in danger. Polite society is going to shun you, or whisper behind your back. It isn’t as if I’m offering you the greatest life. On top of that, Dymka is dangerous, moody and rough. That makes me the same way. So, again, I know I’m not standing here offering you a fairy tale.”
Ania put down her grandfather’s journal. She smoothed the pages before she closed the book, her mind racing the entire time. He was really doing it—handing her the gift of a lifetime—a partnership with him.
“That being said, I’m not man enough to let you just walk away from me.” His hands lifted to his wild mane of hair and he shoved his fingers through it, making it even wilder. He looked like his leopard, feral and dangerous, a force to be reckoned with. “I’m not certain how we’re going to resolve this, but we have to find a way to do it, Ania.”
She stood up and took the two steps to stand in front of him. “I needed you to share the truth with me, Mitya. I’m not a woman to stand on the sidelines. I was raised in a household where we participate, we aren’t kept in the dark. My family had me learning self-defense at a very early age as well as learning to handle a variety of weapons. Clearly, I have superior skills when it comes to driving. I can be of use to you—”
His palm curled around the nape of her neck. “First, kotyonok, before you say another word, you need to know you are of use to me, you always will be. You’re my partner. My choice. Always. Second, I’m not giving up sex in the car. Not now. Not ever. When we have children, it’s probably the only place I’ll be able to have sex with you uninterrupted. You can drive part of the time, but not all the time. I know you’re worth your weight in gold as a driver, but you can’t seriously expect me to give up back-seat sex.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Miron, and I’m so glad he’s going to be okay, does not have skills, honey, and you need a driver with skills.”
“You did fine. Any driver who gets shot can be yanked out of your way and you can show off, but most of the time, you’re in the back seat with me.”
She didn’t roll her eyes, but she felt like it, not that she wanted to miss the sex in the back seat either.
“You saved our lives,” Mitya said. “None of us would have survived had you not taken control of the car, Ania. Sevastyan gives you the highest praise possible. All I care about is knowing you’re safe. I’ve put you in a terrible position . . .”
“I believe a good part of this mess is because of my grandfather and what he did. I’m the one who put you in danger. And I think I know where the missing package is. I might be reading more into it than there is, but I think he left me a clue.”
Mitya tipped her face up. “I have to know that we’re good, Ania. Before anything else. I’m not going to change who I am. I will always insist that you are protected. There will be times I order you into the