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And then, he finishes it off with a kiss to my forehead.

A forehead kiss.

That’s what I’ve needed all this time—his lips on my forehead.

“I want you to trust me. So when you wake up tomorrow and I’m not there, I want you to trust me.”

I know. I've known it all along. But I like hearing him acknowledge it—this is what it's all about. The cage. His belt. Kidnapping me and making me his. The times in bed. The way he's massaged me, taken care of me, kissed me. The way he makes me come and the way he listens. All of it.

Matvei does nothing half-assed. He is all in…for me.

MaybeI ama witch. Maybe Ihavecast a spell.

But what if I don’t know the next incantation?

So I swallow the lump in my throat and pretend that I’m okay. I pretend that I believe I’m worthy of a man like him—or anybody at all.

And I lie.

"I trust you."

But even as I say the words, even as I feel how they taste on my tongue, I know at the heart of it all…

It's me I don’t trust.

* * *

Chapter24

MATVEI

I sitbeside her for way too long, watching her sleep.

There’s a certain magic in it.

I have loved and lost in my life. My sister, eighteen years old—an accident that forced me from childhood into adulthood.

But I’ve never loved a woman.

Until now.

And it scares the ever-loving shit out of me.

I sit beside her, watching her sleep like a fucking creep. I push her hair out of her eyes. I lean in and smell her, needing a hit. I watch the rise and fall of her chest until Rodion calls.

He’s found the location of the man I’m going to fucking destroy.

I leave her with reluctance, pack my bag, and slide my phone into my back pocket.

He comes tearing up in front of the house on two wheels, and I shake my head with a grin.

God, I missed the douchebag.

He screeches to a halt and jerks his head toward the door, rolling down the window.

"You think I’m gonna open the door for you, princess? Get in the fucking car." He grins and holds up a paper cup. "Got your coffee."

I open the door and toss my black duffel onto the floor of the car. The metal inside it clicks, and he raises an eyebrow at me.