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The way, for the first time since my mother died, I didn't feel completely alone.

A really good looking man to ogle whenever I pleased.

Cons:

He was a criminal. Whatever euphemistic “business” he conducted, it wasn't legal. I wasn't naïve enough to pretend otherwise.

This whole thing had started with a kidnapping. The foundation of whatever we had was built on coercion, no matter how blurry the lines had become since.

My father was involved somehow, which meant this tangled web included the man who had abandoned me repeatedly throughout my life.

I'd known Mikhail for a week. This was insane by any rational standard.

And yet.

And yet when he held me like this, when I felt his heartbeat steady beneath my ear, none of those cons seemed to matter as much as they should. They were abstract problems.

What felt real was the warmth of his body, the safety of his arms, and the way hollow in my soul seemed to be filling, slowly but surely, with each moment I spent with him.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“I think my therapist is going to need therapy after I tell her about all this.”

His chest moved with silent laughter. “Perhaps I should cover her bills as well as yours.”

“Thoughtful kidnapper.”

“I prefer 'attentive fiancé,'” he said, the words so casual it took a moment for them toregister.

I lifted my head to look at him in the dim light. “I don't recall a proposal. Or saying yes.”

His lips curved. “Consider this advance notice that one is coming.”