Dark Desire by Lauren Smith (an ebook reader txt) 📗

to die, discover that I had not lived.” Dimitri spoke the words into her ear.

“Henry David Thoreau?”

“My kiska is well read.”

She turned in his arms and pressed a kiss to his perfectly chiseled jaw. “And my Russian badass is as well.”

“Russian badass?” He chuckled, hands gently pressed on her lower back to urge her closer to him.

“It’s what I call you in my head.” She ducked her chin until she was looking down. He rested his head on top of hers, holding her for a long moment. Was it possible to be in this perfect bubble of his embrace forever?

“Would you like to talk to your parents?” he asked.

His words broke through her hazy, sunny daydreams. “My parents?”

“Royce has them at his home. They have phones that can’t be traced. It’s safe to talk to them. You can use my tablet to video chat if you prefer.”

“Do they know?”

“About your ancestry? Yes. Royce told them.”

Nerves prickled beneath her skin, making her shudder. Ever since she had learned the truth, she had felt disconnected from the life she knew, and that included her parents. She was a stranger in her own skin.

“I don’t even know what to say. They’re probably freaked out.”

“They are worried about you. You will always be their daughter, and their love for you will never change.” Dimitri’s rumbling voice always soothed her. He patted her back. “Come, let’s go talk to them.” He urged her to follow him to the master bedroom as he grabbed his briefcase.

The master bedroom was only a few rooms away from the main living room. An elegant four-poster bed made the room somehow romantic. The view outside their balcony was one of rolling hills and distant mountains. The cabin’s exterior was woodsy, but the rooms inside were luxurious, with plastered walls that softened the cabin’s interior. Hand-hewn logs accented the muted color palette of the bedroom. Black Forest trophy mounts and European antiques paired well with rustic design pieces. The doorway of the bedroom and the master bath had fanciful twig work decorating the corners of the beams of the frame, as though the bathroom existed in the forest.

Dimitri set his briefcase on the bed and pulled out his tablet. He placed it on the comforter and called Royce on his cell.

“Elena is ready to talk. I’ll call you from my tablet.” Elena climbed on the bed and pulled his tablet onto her lap. Dimitri dialed Royce’s number for a video call.

“Come back to the living room when you are finished.” Dimitri pulled the door closed behind him as he left.

A moment later, the tablet screen lit up with an incoming call. She accepted and, a moment later, her parents’ faces appeared.

“Oh my God, honey,” her mother gasped. Tears were already coming down her face.

Elena tried to smile. “Hey, Mom.”

Her father’s face had new lines on it, making him look years older. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Dr. Devereaux picked us up this morning and drove us to his home. He said you were in danger and we were too.”

“Yes.” Elena tried to find the right words. “He told you about . . . well, who I am?”

Her mother nodded. “He said that the man you are with, Dimitri Razin, tested your blood against samples from the Romanov family and that you had a . . .” She looked to her husband. “What was it, honey?”

“A twelve point five percent match to Anastasia. So you’re her great-granddaughter. Is that right?” Her father checked with her, and Elena nodded.

“So it would seem.” Elena still wasn’t sure if she believed it, but at some point she would have to. The Russian government believed it enough to try to assassinate her.

“Are you safe?” Her father’s eyes were wary. “When Dr. Devereaux mentioned you are with a Russian man, we didn’t know what to think.”

He didn’t have to explain. It must seem insane for her to be with a man who would remind her of everything she’d been through.

“Dimitri is keeping me safe, Dad. He’s amazing. He is like some kind of spy, even though he says he isn’t. But he totally is. His friends met up with us, and we are all safe. These guys are badasses, Dad. Seriously. Don’t worry. They can take care of me.”

“But are you okay being around them?” her father asked more quietly, as though he feared being overheard.

“Yes. I am. And I’m getting better. He’s helping.” She wanted them to know that Dimitri was helping her feel normal, but she didn’t dare elaborate how.

“Where are you?” her mother asked.

“I don’t think I can tell you. You can ask Royce. If he tells you, then it’s safe, but I don’t want to put either of you in any danger.”

“We’ll be fine. Your father and I are taking a brief sabbatical from our jobs. Everything is fine. Don’t worry about us.” Her mother’s eyes were still bright with tears. “I wish we were with you, honey.”

“Me too, Mom. But it’s all going to be all right. I promise.”

“Call us again soon so we don’t worry, okay?” her father said.

“I will if I can, Dad.” She imprinted a memory of their faces in her mind. Her mother’s cheery smile, her father’s kind, soulful eyes, and most importantly, the look of love they gave her.

“I love you both,” she said.

Her mother kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them toward the screen. “We love you too, honey.”

“We’ll talk again soon,” Elena promised, then ended the call before she lost her resolve. The instinct to run home to them was overpowering. But she couldn’t. This was her fight, not theirs. And it was time for her to stop running.

15

Dimitri stood by the fireplace, admiring the flames after he and Maxim had gotten the fire going. But his thoughts soon turned to concern about how best to protect Elena.

“I’m ready to fight.”

Dimitri turned abruptly at the sound of Elena’s voice. She stood in the doorway that led from the great room to the hallway. She wore a pair of