Derek’s eyes flew open, but he made a point to appear like he was still asleep. He listened to Gwen next to him lightly snore in her deep sleep. She didn’t even notice that there was an intruder in the room with them. This was what his father wanted to reduce his years of well-horned skills to? An unsuspecting victim to a superior predator?
Fuck that!
“I know you’re awake Derek. I’ll wait for you in the living room.”
His hands clenched into fists so tight they shook. The bitch was back and he was finally going to get to wrap his hands around her neck and squeeze.
Cautiously he got out of the bed, but at this point he was sure Gwen wouldn’t wake up no matter how noisy he got. He pulled on his track pants and a white t-shirt and stepped out of his bedroom. He found her sitting on a stool at his island that doubled as his eating area and the divider between the kitchen and the living room. She stared hard at him and he noticed from the dim lighting coming from the moon that, she looked weary.
He pulled his bedroom door closed behind him, but didn’t make a move to go near her, “Why are the curtains drawn open? Ellsa back to her old ways again?”
She shook her head from side to side slowly like she was too tired to do so any faster.
“Nope. She’s at home, in bed, with her husband,” she looked to the side for a moment, a faint smile gracing her lips, “I never thought we would both survive to see her dreams come true.”
Derek took a few steps into the room, just out of curiosity. Katarina, sentimental? Was something wrong with her?
“Why don’t you take a sit on the couch Katarina, you look tired?”
Her head shot up then and the glare on her face was one he recognized. Good. He couldn’t handle a sentimental Katarina. He’s never met her before.
“You want me to sit on the same couch you fuck that woman on? No thanks, I’ll stay right where I am.”
With a challenging raised brow, he asked, “How do you know I haven’t fucked her on that island or that stool you’re sitting on for that matter?”
She snorted, “I didn’t come here to talk about your adventurous sexcapades.”
“Oh no. Those were all with you. Not everyone can perform with a knife to their throat.” He meant to tease her, but the memory of their first time together filled his mind and his body was flooded with desire so intense he had to hold himself still to keep from rushing her. Grabbing her, tossing her on the floor and sinking inside her. A powerful shiver of yearning shook his body.
He noticed she slumped on the stool and knew that something was very wrong. He did rush to her then but for a different reason entirely. He caught her just in time before she dropped to the floor. She whimpered when his arm wrapped around her torso. Damn! He reckoned there were a few broken ribs judging by the heavy padding he felt under her leather jacket.
“Let go. I don’t need your help.” She whizzed in pain.
He moved his arm to curve around her back, swung her up and caught the back of her knees with the other, “Too bad. I’m giving it anyway.”
He carried her to the couch and was close to putting her down on it when her fingernails sunk into his neck.
“Put me there and I swear I’ll come back and set it on fire when you are both on it fucking!” she hissed.
He didn’t doubt she would. Derek rolled his neck to dislodge her grip and placed her on the Rocker Recliner. She winced then sighed with relief when he reclined the chair. He went to his windows and drew the curtains shut, he turned on the lights, but kept them dim. He didn’t want to wake Gwen, but he highly doubted a stream of light from under the door would. He sat on the ottoman at her feet. He usually needed it for his feet, but she fitted on the recliner just fine. She looked a little pale, the edges of her closed eyes were wrinkled with only what he could guess was pain.
How bad was she injured? “You want to tell me what happened to you?” She shook her head no. “Fine, you don’t have to go into the specifics just give me the highlights.”
Her eyes opened then, “I was cleaning up. Couldn’t have people come after Katya because of me, us.”
Derek rolled his tongue in his cheek as he stared at her. She was different. The look in her eyes, her face… she appeared softer. She always had that little vulnerability she let him see when they had sex at their rendezvous, but this, her shell had cracked open. Children tended to change their mother’s for the better and some for the worse. He’d expected, well he hadn’t expected Katarina to change in any way, maybe be a little warmer but this was completely new.
“Unlike you, I haven’t got a list of enemies to take out Katarina.”
She looked away, “Don’t call me that anymore. My name is Elaine.”
“Elaine?” he shook his head, “You look more like an Elena but not an Elaine.”
When she looked back at him, she gave him a dirty look and this person he recognized, “it wasn’t a request. Starting tomorrow, I’m a new woman, with a new name and a child to care for. Your child.”
He shot up off the ottoman and walked away. All the anger he’d forgotten when he’d seen her so weak came rushing back. “I’m not discussing that with you.”
“Oh yeah? Then who are you going to discuss our daughter with?”
He glared down at her, “What the hell were you thinking? How could you have a child without asking me? And I had to find out about her existence from someone else? And you shot me, you shot me in the knee! I had to have it replaced you bitch! You ruined my career, you blew my cover, all for what exactly? And don’t you dare say it was for that kid, it has your selfish claw marks all over it!”
She just sat there calmly looking at him like his rant was a nuisance she was waiting out.
“Are you going to answer me or not?”
She unzipped her leather jacket and with some difficulty shed it off. His instincts were to go help her, but he was too busy being angry to listen to them. She wore a black vest, and under it he could see how heavy the bandage around her ribs was. She had another wrapped around her right arm and a plaster on her left shoulder. Her light complexion showed her purpling bruises at her neck down her collar bone. He could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra, it probably hurt too much to do so. She was banged up pretty bad and Derek’s temper raged for another reason.