Page 18 of The Russian's Stalked Bride
Something instinctive in me wants to listen, but I can’t. Not while everything blurs.
“You’re not in danger right now. You’re safe…just focus on me.”
“I can’t breathe. I can’t do this,” I manage to get out, too caught up in the sound of blood roaring in my ears.
“You can,” he insists, far too sure of that. “Breathe with me. Start slow.”
Ivan inhales deeply and exaggerates enough for me to follow, and his hand moves to my chest, just beneath my collarbone. “Keep going.”
As much as something in me doesn’t want to listen, I do.
I suck in air, feeling the flutter of my heart through it, along with my chest expanding slightly beneath his palm. All the while, his eyes stay firmly on mine.
“Hold it,” he murmurs, watching my every movement. “Now out.”
The breath leaves me in a shaky rush, and as difficult as it is to regulate, I do it again, following his footsteps.
Ivan continues guiding me, keeping his tone calm and understanding even as the constricting feeling around my lungs slowly starts to ease away.
Eventually, the room settles into place again, and my vision steadies along with my every breath.
By the time I relax more on the bed, feeling exhausted, humiliated, and still vaguely furious, Ivan pulls his hand back.
“Better?”
Reluctantly, I nod once.
Seeming satisfied, he puts a bit more space between us, though he stays at eye level with me. “I’m not going to hurt you. You need to understand that.”
“Maybe that’s true,” I mutter, tone still slightly bitter. “But you’re still another man deciding what happens to me.”
“It isn’t about control,” he repeats, annoyingly insistent. “This is about keeping you from being traded into something neither of us wants.”
Something about it feels more loaded than it should, but I don’t let myself read into it too much. Not when I already know what this means to him.
“So that’s it…I’m just part of some business that needs to be handled.”
Something crosses his features, but Ivan doesn’t flinch. “No. You’re not.”
Maybe that should soothe me, but it doesn’t. Not when the reality of this is far too loud to ignore.
As silence fills the room, settling between us, Ivan takes a long breath of his own before he stands fully and gives me a long look. “I’ll be out there if you need anything.”
When I don’t say anything in return, he heads over to the door and leaves the room, closing it behind him with a quiet click.
I stare at it long after he’s gone, unable to pull my eyes away. I know I could test it and push a little more. That I shoulddo everything in my power to get myself out of this situation, but I don’t.
Instead, I stay where I am on the bed and focus on the way my body still buzzes with leftover adrenaline, even if my body is screaming for a break.
The way he read my panic and got through to me burrows deep in my mind, yet I can’t focus on that right now. Not when I just want to be alone, and when I need to search for whatever clarity I can find.
But even while he’s gone, I can hear his calm voice. I can feel the warmth in his touch and the way it brought me back down again.
I can’t escape him even when he’s in the other room. Not in the ways that count.
Chapter 7 - Ivan
The rest of the condo falls far too quiet after I leave Mila in the spare room, and there’s nothing calm or settled about it.
