Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva #4)(125)

What were the odds?

Even so, she blinked to make sure that she was seeing properly because, within the sea of white was bursts of yellow and stripes of orange and burnished red, she could have sworn that within the orchid was the face of a tiger.

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The others she left in her dressing room, but the orchid she couldn’t bring herself to leave behind. The journey back home was far different from how it was normally. Usually, she took the time to reflect and think about her day, but now she couldn’t help but think of everything Mishca had said and what this orchid meant.

Alex didn’t believe in coincidences, not since she was a little girl, but she just couldn’t bring herself to believe in hope.

Hope that Luka was coming back.

Whether that was back to New York or back to her, she didn’t know, but she desperately hoped for the latter.

Loki whined when she unlocked and opened the door, waiting on the other side, his tail wagging furiously. She scratched behind his ears, dropping her bag on the way as she headed for the kitchen, opening the freezer to grab the small bag of ice she’d stashed there.

With another performance just around the corner, it was best she doctored her feet and took an ice bath to keep from pulling anything.

It was an hour-long process, and by the time she was finished, she was ready for bed.

Alex wasn’t sure when she had dozed off, but Loki's whining woke her up. Then his sharp barks got her out of bed. He was sitting at the door, his attention solely on it. Not even when she called his name did he turn to acknowledge her.

Then someone knocked.

Just two short raps that made her entire body lock up.

She knew, without having to see, who was on the other side. Even without the way Loki was acting, she knew.

Each step she took closer felt impossibly long as time seemed to slow. She wanted to mentally prepare herself, wanted to think of what her first words were going to be, but rational thought fled her mind.

Finally, with a shaking hand, she gripped the door handle, only hesitating a second before pulling the door open wide.

And there he stood, with one hand in his pocket, the other raised as though prepared to knock again.

It felt like her throat was closing up as her eyes scanned over every inch of him, trying to drink in as much as possible. She wanted to verify with her own eyes that it was actually Luka standing in front of her.

His hair was cut shorter, his cheekbones were more pronounced as though he had lost some weight, but there was no mistaking the blue eyes and the colorful tattoos. Or the way his gaze softened and his lips turned up into a gentle smile.

“Alex.”

Hearing her name from his lips after so long…

She choked back a sob, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Loki darted past her, launching himself at Luka with all the joy in the world. He nearly knocked him over in the process, but even as he reached to pet his most beloved friend, his eyes never left her.

He seemed to realize, almost belatedly, that she was too frozen to move, so he came to her instead. He didn’t stop until his scent was surrounding her. He was so close that if she reached out, she could touch him, feel him, and then she thought she would know for sure that this was real.

But he took the choice away from her, his hand sliding around the curve of her shoulder until he was cupping her neck, applying slight pressure to propel her forward.

And a second later, his lips were on hers, coaxing hers to part, an unspoken promise that made her heart sing.

She wanted nothing more than to lose herself in this, in him, but she couldn’t. Not yet.

Breaking away, she took a calming breath, trying to gather her thoughts.

He cradled her face in his hands, swiping the tears away with his thumbs as he smiled down at her. Once, she had thought she’d experienced the worse kind of pain there was, but seeing him now, this was a different kind of pain. It still didn’t feel good, that pain in her chest, but she didn’t think she had ever been happier.

“But…how? I don’t understand. I thought you were—” She couldn’t even bring herself to finish the statement.

“Klaus.”

She jerked in his hold, surprise clouding her face. “He never said anything, not even when I… When was this?”

Since the moment he had stepped into the apartment, he’d looked sure of himself, at least until now. “Two months ago.”

She pulled away. “Two months? Where have you…wait. You were here, weren’t you?”

“Alex—”

“Was I the only one who didn’t know? I don’t understand.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know, and things you don’t understand, some of which only your brother can explain. No, don’t pull away from me,” he added as he grabbed hold of her wrists, preventing her from retreating further. “After Klaus got me out, I left. I told him not to follow me and not even to tell any of you that he had found me. At the time, I hadn’t known everything myself. I didn’t know how you would feel about me after everything, after what I told you. I was afraid of how you would react.”

“Luka—”

“No, let me finish. As I’ve said before, I wanted you to be happy, even if that wasn’t with me. You’ve found happiness here. You’re living your dream. I didn’t want to ruin that for you.” His thumbs brushed over her cheeks, his gaze drifting over her face. “But someone—or a few people—helped me see that only you could tell me if you didn’t want me in your life. So here I am, hoping that I’m still what you want. And if I am, I promise not to hurt you again. And I promise that there is nothing, nothing, that could make me leave your side again, ever.”