Saved by the Outlaw(192)

“But nothing.”

He plucks the knot of the blindfold, letting it slide off easily and blinding me with the afternoon sunlight, but as my vision comes back to me and Ivan sets me back on my feet, I see what I’ve been led to.

We’re in Central Park, and there’s a horse and carriage standing expectantly in front of us. My jaw drops, more out of incredulity than anything else.

Oh. My. God. This has got to be the corniest thing in the entire world.

But despite myself, I’m covering a laughing smile with my hand as Ivan cocks his head at me, his heavy brow furrowing.

“You don’t like it.”

“No no, Ivan, I love it!” I laugh and wrap my arms around him, blushing half out of embarrassment and half out of how absurdly cute this otherwise terrifying man was trying to be. It was like he was studying romance movies just to figure out how to surprise me. Me! The girl that is technically his sex slave, but who he treats like a Goddess.

A few minutes later, the two of us are being wheeled around Central Park in the back of a carriage pulled like a couple of tourists fresh off the boat. Rather, Ivan is sitting in the carriage, and I’m squeezed into the space left over by his broad frame, despite his efforts to make room for me.

Sometime after I relinquish myself to being half-wrapped around his body in the seat to get comfortable, my hand is held in his. I look up at him with thoughtful eyes, and I see him looking out on the sights of the park with a genuine smile.

“So,” I finally ask, “why the park, of all places? Doesn’t seem like your usual style.”

He thinks for a moment before responding, “In truth, I’ve never seen the place, for all the time I’ve spent around the city.” He gives me a light squeeze and adds, “I wanted to share something new to me with you.”

To natives, the park isn’t much more than a place to be well clear of by sundown, but seeing someone genuinely taken with the place is kind of refreshing, in its own odd way. I look at him searchingly, like I’m trying to read into him as his dark blue eyes meet mine quizzically.

“Something on your mind?”

“It’s just...I can’t figure you out, Ivan,” I almost whisper, even as I hug his torso tight. “You do things like this for me that are so sweet I don’t even know what to do, but then…” I twirl a lock of my hair around a finger, knowing I’m treading into dangerous territory. The stiff feeling of his arm around me tells me as much, but I press on, nonetheless. “Sometimes I think about what you do when you’re away. Even when we’re together sometimes, I notice when you leave the room to take some phone call, speaking in Russian. And those nights when you slip out of bed when you think I’m sleeping.”

I’m looking up at him now, and his eyes are locked on mine with a warning gaze.

“Do not ask me about my work, Katy,” he says evenly.

“I don’t mean it like that,” I breathe, putting a hand up to his face. He takes my wrist in his hand, and we’re frozen there for a moment before I continue. “Where does this side of you come from, Ivan?” I finally let out.

Ivan’s expression slowly begins to soften. A few months ago, this line of questioning would have earned me a sharp reprimand, but now, he lets go of my hand and lets it finish its course to his face, and I touch the hardened man’s cheek as if it were a statue.

He closes his eyes a moment, then looks back out into the trees, where a few families are enjoying scattered picnics or walks in the fresh springtime air.

“Katy, I’ve always kept you well away from my… usual business.”

He turns to look down at me. “I keep it that way because you bring something out in me that’s different, Katy. I don’t know quite how to say it, but I see things differently with you.” He looks down at his hands for a moment, his brow furrowed as though he’s struggling to find the words. “I do not regret the things these hands do. You know that. But when I’m with you,” he looks back up to me, and I want to melt into his arms, “that feels so far away.”

He suddenly straightens himself up a bit and rubs the back of his neck. “But I know this is only a transaction to you. To me — don’t say anything,” he cuts me off as my mouth opens to speak, “I don’t blame you in the least. But even if this is temporary…”

He takes my hands in one of his before withdrawing a little gray box from his coat pocket. My eyes widen as he opens it, revealing a sapphire pendant hanging from a white gold chain. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

“I just want to thank you for being my light, solnishka.”