So this is what power feels like.
Did I really have it all this time without knowing?
Well, I’m going to wield it now, so look out. A lot of this empowerment is seeing the evidence of how much Aleksei needs me. My Russian is a man of cold control, but right now, he’s the furthest thing from his usual self. The gray of his eyes is blocked out by the black of his dilated pupils, the veins in his neck seem to pulse. He’s whipping off his coat and shirt while staring me down like a lion over a lamb…and maybe I should be afraid. There is dangerous intention written all over him and it’s unfamiliar.
But I know he would never, ever hurt me. This man who would care for me through the rockiest periods of my life. This man who would build me a house because of my love for a book would die before
