Page 61 of Beautiful Forever
“You okay?” he asks, his raspy, gravelly tone giving me flutters.
Tucking the phone between my shoulder and my ear, I grunt as I lift my heavy bulk off the ground and stand up. “I’m fine. Just need to move.”
“Okay. Love you. Be there soon.”
My heart goes all melty. “Love you more.”
Getting my stuff, I slowly start my way across the quad only to stop when I feel eyes on me. Glancing around, I don’t see anything or anyone that raises alarm bells. The students that are still here are finishing up their exams, while the ones who finished have already left campus to start their summer vacation.
Another step. The hair on the back of my neck rises.
I know better than to ignore my gut instinct. I also know I’m almost nine months pregnant and trying to run after or fight someone is out of the question.
As casually as I can, I start walking toward the bell tower. I don’t know why Aleksander is the first option my mind goes to. I could go inside the library or any other building. Call Hendrix or Tristan. But my feet keep moving—toward the one man who has been occupying my thoughts more times than I care to admit.
Which makes me feel guilty as hell because I shouldn’t be feelinganythingtoward him other than friendship. I am completely in love with and devoted to Tristan, Constantine, and Hendrix, and I wouldnever, not ever, do anything to betray them or jeopardize the life we’re building together.
But dammit, Aleksander Stepanoff has wormed himself into my heart and refuses to leave. I know the guys love me. I know it to the depths of my soul. Their love is iron forged in fire. Permanent and indestructible. We’ve been soulmates since we were children. They would die for me, as I would for them.
But Aleksander gets me in a way the guys just…can’t. They haven’t lived the same trauma that Aleksander and I share. In him, I’ve found a kindred spirit and a trusted confidante. We lost the people we loved, our families, under horrific circumstances. We both felt like outcasts growing up and shared the same loneliness. We were both victims of Francesco Amato’s obsession for power. Tristan suffered under him as well. Constantine under Gabriel. Hendrix under Patrick. But their experiences were different from Aleksander’s and mine. And thinking that compounds the guilt because I know I can tell them anything. It’s just easier talking to Aleksander about it…and the guilt keeps racking up.
I just wish I never accidentally walked in on him in the shower and saweverything. Because good lord, his body. His wet, tatted, chiseled,hardbody. Pure masculine eye candy. The sight of a naked Aleksander Stepanoff will forever be carved into my memory. It’s sexist objectification but tell that to myoveractive pregnancy hormones. What the baby books say is true. Pregnant women are horndogs.
Shifting the strap of my bag to my other shoulder, I use the movement to surreptitiously peer behind me as I walk. The ominous foreboding of a stranger’s eyes on me hasn’t abated. The sensation has only grown stronger.
I hasten my steps when I see the bell tower’s belfry up ahead.
Please be there. Please be there.
As soon as I pull open the lobby doors, I bypass the elevator and take the hidden stairs to the left. Hurrying up three flights is no easy task, and I’m breathless and sweaty by the time I punch in the security code to unlock the door that leads directly into Aleksander’s apartment.
The automatic lock engages as soon as the door slams shut behind me. Rounding the corner, I find Aleksander in the kitchen, making a sandwich, and my heart rate kicks into overdrive.
And not because I sprinted up three dozen steps.
Why the fuck does he have to be shirtless?
I can’t tear my eyes off his bare chest. The designs inked into his skin from neck to fingertips. The definition of muscle.
His happy smile tilts me off-kilter. “I wasn’t expecting to see you until?—”
“I’m being followed.”
His entire demeanor transforms in front of my eyes. Without a word, he opens the bottom cabinet door under the sink where he keeps a gun duct-taped to the inside. He checks the magazine and flicks the safety. I follow after him when he goes into the living room and gets his phone. Pulling up his security feed, he flips through each camera’s view.
“Do you see them?”
Aleksander has hidden cameras everywhere around the bell tower. He knows you’re here before you even step foot inside the lobby.
He cycles through each screen, giving me time to search for the unknown person. No one suspicious is lurking about. No one approaches the bell tower.
And now I feel completely stupid.
“I didn’t see anyone…exactly. I just had this feeling that someone was watching me.” Feeling a little nauseous, I rub soothing circles over my stomach. “I’m sorry. I feel like an idiot for overreacting.”
“If you felt someone watching, then they were. Your instincts have always been spot on.” He tucks his gun in the back waistband of his jeans, takes my bag and sets it on the floor, and pulls up Tristan’s contact on his phone.
I quickly place my hand over his to stop him from calling Tristan and am taken by surprise by the electric jolt that passes from him into me. Pulling away, I curl and uncurl my fingers to dissipate the tingles.
