Fire Bound (Sea Haven Sisters)(125)

“It’s important to me that you know that, moya lyubov, very important. When we’re in Russia…” He trailed off and lifted up just enough to lean on his hand, taking his weight from her, but keeping their bodies locked together. “I don’t want you taking any chances.”



She cupped the side of his face with her hand. Could a woman love a man any more? She doubted it. Sometimes, like now, when she just looked at him, love was overwhelming. She heard the honesty in his voice. He gave her that. Stark and raw. His feelings. To the rest of the world, he would wear a mask, but not to her, with her, he put himself out there, right on the line, without hesitation.



“Casimir, do you think I’d deliberately risk what I have with you? I didn’t expect to have you. Not ever. You’re a miracle to me. I’m not giving up what we have together easily. I swear to you, I’ll be very careful.”



He rolled over and took her with him, so once again her body was sprawled over top of his. “You have to understand what you’re dealing with. Who they are. What they’re like.”



“My childhood monsters were Cosmos, Aldo, and Luigi, although I didn’t realize Luigi was a part of the conspiracy against my father. The point I’m trying to make is that your childhood monster was Kostya Sorbacov. He’s just a man. One that we can take down. We’ve got a plan, Casimir. It’s a good one. I’m not going to put myself in harm’s way unless I know I’ve got a better than average shot at making it out alive. We’ll do this together, and that more than doubles the odds in our favor.”



He sighed. Heavily. “I can’t go back to living like that. Behind a mask. No one seeing me. There’s only you for me.” He took her hand and opened her fingers one by one, exposing her palm. His fingers closed around hers and he brought her palm to his mouth. His tongue touched the center, stroked a caress right over her heart. “No one else, Giacinta. There never will be. I’m a man who believes his woman should do the things that make her happy. That fulfill her. But…”



Her heart fluttered. Ached. She hadn’t thought it was possible to love him any more, but she did.



“Honey, there is no way I’d throw my life away. You’re important to me too. This, what we have together, is too important. I swear to you, I’ll be careful.”



He pressed his lips into her palm. She felt his kiss somewhere deep. Her heart. Her soul. He just nodded, not saying anything else.



Above the Neckar River Valley, the castle was nestled snugly between the Black Forest and Swabian Hills. There was no doubt in her mind that the family would make a huge success of their business. The castle had been in their family for well over two hundred years, and they’d taken amazing care of it, modernizing when needed.



They already had private stables, a golf course and an indoor swimming pool. The walking areas were gorgeous and the riding terrain even more so. The castle had a wedding chapel as well as rooms set up for conferences. Lissa felt lucky that the owners had seen and admired her work. She’d been there four days with Casimir and every day had felt like a honeymoon.



Once their business had been completed, the owners had graciously offered her to complete her stay with access to anything they wanted to use. Casimir wanted to ride horses. Lissa knew Lexi eventually wanted to have horses on their farm. She’d been pushing for a barn and stable, especially now that they had four children on the property. Everyone thought it was a great idea.



Gavriil had brought two Black Russian Terriers with him, huge dogs that were extremely loyal and protective of their owner and household. Those two had turned into six more. There was no doubt Lexi would get her way over the horses, because, of course, there was no reason not to have them. Lissa didn’t ride. Not. Ever.



She didn’t mind exploring the countryside. The views from the terrace were breathtaking. On horseback, she was positive the surrounding land would be gorgeous. But horses were huge. Even bigger than Gavriil’s dogs. A lot bigger. This was their last day and she wanted a picnic somewhere on the vast grounds. To tell Casimir that had been a huge mistake. For some unknown reason, the moment she’d uttered the preference, Mr. Romantic decided to make her dream come true. But his idea of romance somehow included horses.



“Mmm.” She licked her lips when he turned his gaze on her. He had those eyes, those quicksilver eyes that went from glittering to molten in one second flat. That look robbed her of her ability to speak. She was certain he needed to be outlawed. His eyes were an unfair advantage and he knew exactly how to use them.