sheer relief, I looked up and found Luka Tolstoi towering above us, a furious expression on his handsome face.
âFuck off, Tolstoi!â Alik hissed as he gripped my wrists tighter. Lukaâs eyes bulged at the action. When I whimpered out loud, Luka gripped Alik by the hair, dragging him to his feet. Luka hit Alik square on the face. Alik stumbled back, bringing up his fingers to his burst lip. He smiled coldly at Lukaâa disturbing bloodied smile.
Luka leaned down and pulled me up beside him, protecting me from Alikâs view.
âGo,â he ordered. I turned to run away, casting a backward glance to see Alik watch me flee. He had an angry expression on his face.
I didnât stick around to see them fight. This happened a lot. Alik would try to take advantage of me, and Luka would be my champion. They would fight, Alik would take a beating off his father, or worse, my father, then life would continue as normal for a few daysâuntil Alik did it again.
I ran until I reached my favorite cove. No one ever came down here. I slumped down against the rock where I always sat, always sat with Luka.
Entranced by the waves crashing on the shore, I didnât hear Luka approach. I jumped as I looked up to see him watching me as he leaned against a rock.
âLuka!â I said breathlessly. âYou scared me!â
Luka sighed and ran his hand down his face, moving around the rock to sit beside me on the sand. We said nothing at first, Luka also too focused on the crashing of waves on the sand.
His fingers brushed against my fingers. Then they wrapped around my hand, which he lifted to his lips. My heart fluttered like a hummingbirdâs wings.
Turning to me, Luka pushed a loose strand of my brown hair behind my ear, then pulled me in close to wrap his free arm around my neck. I relaxed against his warm body and wrapped my arm round his toned waist. He had grown so much lately. He was getting so big and so handsome that my heart could barely take it.
Luka sighed loudly, his warm breath blowing in my hair. âYou have to keep away from Alik, Kisa. Heâs obsessed with you and heâs dangerous.â I tensed in Lukaâs arms and felt him pull me closer still. âI shouldnât be telling you this, but Alikâs papa is training him to be a fighter, an enforcer. Heâs hard on him, and I can see Alik becoming addicted to the violence. He loves it, Kisa. Stay away from him.â
Squeezing Luka tighter, I replied, âI was laying out in the sun. Talia went shopping with your mama. You and Rodion went for lunch with Papa. I didnât think I was in any danger. Alik just has a crush on me. He wouldnât hurt me.â
Sighing, Luka pressed a kiss to my head, and I slumped farther against his warm body.
âI donât like him. I canât stand the way he looks at you,â Luka said coldly.
Slowly leaning back, I looked into Lukaâs brown eyes, the left with a smudge of blue in the iris, making them so beautifully unique.
âHow does he look at me?â I asked tentatively.
âLike he owns you. Like you belong to him. When youâre around, he doesnât focus on anyone else but you.â
âAnd why does that bother you?â I asked shyly, trying hard to swallow the nervous lump in my throat.
Lukaâs beautiful gaze met mine and his lips parted with a brief exhale. âBecause you belong to me, Kisa. You always have.â Lukaâs face thawed and he pointed at my eye, then his left. âYouâre a part of me, remember? God put a piece of you within me so when we were born, everyone would know we matched.â
My skin felt on fire, but I knew it had nothing to do with the burning temperature of the afternoon sun. It had to do with Luka. Luka and that tale his mama and my mama would always tell us.
I loved him. Iâd always loved him. I would always love him. Luka, my Luka. I was only thirteen, he was only fourteen, but
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