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“I have no intention of ever asking him that, and if you ever meet him, I advise you not to do so either,” Fergus stated.
Thea gave a dismissive snort. “I can’t think of any circumstances under which I would ever meet Nikolai Volkov.”
“Maybe not,” Fergus conceded. “But I have a feeling Lev Yegorov might cease to be any sort of a problem for you, or anyone else, if Nikolai discovers he ordered men to carry out a shooting in a public place with a woman as the target.”
She swallowed. “He sounds…scary.”
“If Nikolai considers someone an enemy, then he can be scary,” Fergus acknowledged. “Very much so.”
Thea felt as if she had somehow entered a parallel universe.
One in which conversations about Russian oligarchs and the Russian bratva now seemed to feature strongly.
* * *
“HaveI groveled enough for you to now forgive me for this morning?” Fergus teased when Thea fell silent, obviously lost in her own thoughts. Unsurprisingly. This was a lot to take on board.
She drew back to give him an incredulous look. “You think this conversation was you groveling?”
He eyed her warily. “It wasn’t?”
“Definitely not,” she assured him with a chuckle. “You really need to get up to speed on dating a woman if you don’t want to find yourselfgrovelingevery other minute of the day.”
He eyed her curiously. “Is that what we’re doing, dating?”
Thea returned his gaze with uncertainty in her golden eyes. “Is it?”
“Hell, yes,” Fergus instantly assured. “Exclusively,” he added as he reached out to take one of her hands into his.
“Does that work both ways?”
“Also hell, yes.”
A blush now colored Thea’s cheeks. “Okay, then.”
“Can I kiss you now?”
“Have I ever said you couldn’t?”
No, she hadn’t, but Fergus hadn’t been sure that was still the case after the way he had behaved earlier today.
He might not completely understand what was happening to him, but one thing he knew for certain was that he wanted Thea to remain in his life for the foreseeable future. Even the thought of not being with her was enough to cause his chest to tighten in a painful way.
He lifted his hand to curl his fingers about her chin to hold her gently in place as he leaned forward to place his lips against hers. Softly at first, then harder and deeper, after her lips had parted and she began to kiss him back.
Fergus immediately deepened the kiss, thoroughly exploring the heat of her mouth.
Kissing Thea was like losing himself in a cloud of heat and sensation, making Fergus aware of everything. The softness of her lips. Her taste. The unique perfume that was so completely Thea. The heat of her body as she pressed against his chest.
Fergus had no idea how long they kissed. Nor did he care, too lost in those sensations and the swirl of emotions that were quickly taking over his soul.
Thea wasbecominghis soul.
His heart.
And he couldn’t live without his heart and soul.
Nor did he want to.