Page 59 of Scarlet Promise

“Right?” I whisper.

Ilya smooths my hair back and kisses me long and deep, and it melts me from the inside out.

“You have to ask? I’d have you here in a heartbeat if danger didn’t abound.”

“I’d be here regardless.”

A slow smile blooms.

“Yeah?” he asks.

I kiss him. “Absolutely.”

The next morning,I’m re-energized. I stretch and wake before my alarm.

Albert’s head perks up, and he tilts it, gives a soft bark, and jumps down to dance on the floor.

I grin. “Okay, bathroom time?”

In answer, he scratches at my door.

He has a doggy pad in here, but Albert knows he should go outside and will hold it until then.

“Good dog,” I say, throwing on a robe and opening the door.

He scrambles out but waits for me at the top of the stairs and trots down beside me.

Seeing Ilya last night was what I needed. Exactly. And I’m not even talking about the sex. Reconnecting in person, being able to talk to him and touch him, breathe in the same air was special and perfect.

The sex was phenomenal, and I wanted to do it again, go down on him, do all kinds of things, ride him on his lap while he sat there, have him take me against the wall. Ideas piled on ideas, but Ilya, though definitely tempted, declined.

He wanted to spend the time we had with me. Talking, touching, just being with me.

So Svetlana brought us snacks, and we spoiled Albert, played cards, and had some drinks. I had tea; he had vodka. There was something about booze that turned my stomach lately, something I definitely put down to the stress I’ve been under.

And it was good.

Like old times.

Alina and Ilya having fun, despite the rest of the world.

It made me fall for him even more.

I smile as I drift into the kitchen, let Albert out, and make tea. I open some yoghurt and eat it with a handful of berries, humming to myself as I pour the water into the teapot to let the leaves steep.

“You’re happy this morning,” Erin says as she walks in, her eyebrows raised.

“I feel good.” I swallow. “I went to see Ilya last night.”

She smiles. “Demyan mentioned your ultimatum. Good on you for standing up for yourself and what you want. He means well, but sometimes he needs a dose of reality outside of his world.”

I nod, her encouragement warming me. But it also reminds me there’s something else I want to do. A real cause, not just my own selfish needs, but for the animals who need help, who deserve good lives.

And as wonderful as shelters are, if funds were available, as well as all the resources she could have, Eva would agree with me about giving them all a cage-free life all the time. Their crates are as large as she can have them, and they’re comfortable to a point. The walks and time out of them take up a lot of their lives, but it’s not like being free all the time.

It makes me fear for them going somewhere else, to a shelter that doesn’t have the same opportunities or support staff as Eva has.

I’d love to help all the dogs and cats out there, but Ilya’s words come back to me.