Page 47

maggie

I jolt up in bed, my mind blank and panicked, and having no fucking clue where I’m at.

My heart is racing like I just woke up late for work.

I’m still at the resort, but this room looks different.

Feels different. I hear mumblings of ‘not going to press charges’ and ‘stable condition’.

Shit. I must have fallen asleep . I wake fully to murmurs of Zack and Kara talking. Talking to…Vladi. My Vladi.

I race out of bed to run into his arms, squeezing him tighter than I’ve ever hugged anyone in my life. I’m afraid he won’t even hug me back. But the ache I haven’t been able to shake for the past few hours is quickly soothed when his arms band around me just as tightly.

“Magdalina, you’re okay?” he whispers as he holds my head to his chest. His warmth, his scent, finally loosening the tightness in my chest, allowing me to take in a deep breath.

“Yeah,” I mumble into his bloodied, ripped shirt, “I’m okay. Are you?” I feel his thumb rubbing circles on my back as he continues holding me with the full power of his muscular arms. In any other situation I would feel suffocated, but right now, I want him to hold me like this forever.

“Yes. I’m okay. My hand hurts like hell, but other than that, I’m fine,” he says, placing a kiss on my forehead. His fingers tremble against my cheeks – he is anything but fine . But having him here, having him in my arms, is a start.

“Thank you for taking care of her.” His voice echoes through his chest, my head still buried against him as he acknowledges our friends. “We’ll see you all in a few hours.” He pulls back slightly, his hand cupping my cheek. “Come, let’s go home.”

Warmth blooms in my chest. Home. I’m not sure if that was a slip of the tongue or if he really meant to say that.

God, if only our hotel room was home . If only arguing over the thermostat was our only worry.

If only there was no bad guys, no stupid boat captains who can’t take a fucking joke, or no for an answer for that matter, and no ruined perfectly beautiful nights.

A place where we could just order room service, have mind-blowing sex, give each other shit, and call each other the most ridiculously adorable nicknames.

My stomach clenches at the reality of what’s coming.

The reality I’m fucking scared to face. I don’t know what’s going through his head.

He needs to talk about it. We need to talk about it.

But…I’m not sure if there even is a ‘we’ at this point.

I’m glad we’re both physically okay, but recovering from the emotional tsunami that just happened is going to be a bitch.

We step back into our room. Vladi slips his shoes off and neatly places them on the shelf in the closet.

I stand in the middle of the room. Frozen.

My gaze unable to move from the thermostat.

The numbers that have been at war all week now sit in limbo at sixty-seven degrees.

The weight of what’s happened settles in my gut.

I don’t know if things are about to heat up or cool down.

I bite the inside of my lip, twisting my hands together in a stupid attempt to calm my nerves and figure out how to start this conversation. Do I start it? Should I wait for him to say something? What is he thinking? But it doesn’t last long, as his deep voice breaks through the silence.

“Magdalina, I’m sorry.”

“Vladi…wait, what?” I narrow my brows, tilting my head to the side. “No…I’m sorry. I’m so sor?—”

“Don’t,” he places a finger on my lips, the gesture a gentle reminder of how his touch soothes me. “Don’t apologize. I’m the one who needs to do that.”

“What do you have to apologize for? You were right. Captain Car-” I stop myself, bile rising in my throat. I can’t even bring myself to say his name anymore. “He was bad news. You were right. And I feel so awful I didn’t listen…and?—”

“But you are okay? Did he hurt you? Did he…” he pauses, and I see rage swirling as a violent storm in his eyes, “Did he touch you?” he growls, cracking his knuckles.

“No. He tried, but…I fought, Vladi. I fought and fought to get away. I have two older brothers; they would wrestle all the time, and I’d join in.

I even won sometimes, so I know how to take care of myself.

It wasn’t until he banged my head against the wall that I was scared.

” I palm his cheek, trying to soothe the worry I see in the crinkles around his lips.

“But you found me. You took care of me. You saved me.”

He shakes his head, still trying to take the blame for all of this.

“I never should have let you get into that position. I never should have allowed you to go off by yourself, even for a moment. But I never took my eyes off that bathroom door. The minute I saw you go the other way, I knew something was wrong. Ask Larsy. I got up without saying a word. I raced across the dance floor, and saw him, saw you, and I don’t…

I don’t remember much after that.” His shaky voice trails off, his tone deepening with every word.

“The pain in my hand tells me enough about what I did, and Zack filled me in on the rest. I’m so sorry you had to see me like that.

I…” he looks down at the floor, looking for words he can’t find.

“I thought you were…I didn’t want to lose another-”

Another tear stains my cheek at the sight of his vulnerability, at the knowing of what he’s going through.

“ Stop . You can’t be with me every minute of every day, just like I can’t do the same for you.

Do you know how worried I was when they took you tonight?

I thought I might lose you too.” I swallow hard, trying to keep myself at least slightly composed.

“Tonight was…well, tonight was fucking bad. But we have to live our lives. What if you were in a plane crash, or I had a heart attack or you got eaten by an alligator?”

He snorts, my joke lightening the heavy blanket resting over us just a tad. “An alligator? If I die getting eaten by an alligator, then I deserve it. I could never be defeated by something as pathetic as a gator.”

I can’t help the laugh that escapes me. “I’m not going to argue with you on that,” I say with a weak smile and a big yawn.

“Magdalina, this night was not what either of us wanted,” he admits softly, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “Why don’t we get some sleep? We can talk about all this tomorrow. Besides, we have a wedding and a bride and groom to spoil tomorrow. Yes?”

I know there is a lot more to dissect, a lot more to admit to ourselves, but the relief of us both being here calms my mind for the moment, my eyelids heavy. A good night’s sleep has been more than earned after this shit-show of a day.

“We do.” I take a step toward the bed, looking over my shoulder. “I could use some sleep, cuddled up next to a big wolf, if that’s okay?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”