LEV: I’m also thinking about how much I want to see you
LEV: can I kiss you? actually no don’t tell me
LEV: surprise me
SASHA: I honestly don’t know what to say to any of this
LEV: good
LEV: personally I like the prospect of rendering you speechless
Is it too soon to love you, Sasha? Lev had asked her the night before, holding her in his arms between episodes of reprehensible choices; between equally inadvisable and undeniable moments of passion, all of which would surely haunt her for the rest of her life.
Her grey-blue eyes narrowed as she glanced at Lev, clearly unapologetic, but she hadn’t dragged her frustration away from the blond who seemed to be pursuing her.
“We’ll have to fix it,” Roman cut in firmly, dark gaze cutting sideways to Lev. “We can’t let Baba Yaga and her daughters get away with this. We have to strike back, Lev, where it hurts.”
Could he harm Sasha? No, probably not.
But could he rob her? Almost certainly, so long as the two were distinct. After all, her sister had nearly cost him his brother. It was a fair payment, Lev thought. A reparation of sorts.
“Dima is something very rare, something very bold, something that catches in the light. Romik is like me, a man of duty. A watchful man. But you are very honorable.” He turned, glancing at Lev. “You are the most loyal of them all, I suspect.”
Whether it would be her Masha, who had been at her side since birth, and quite literally a piece of her (her blood, her name, her heart) or whether it would be Dimitri Fedorov’s Masha, who was all flushed cheeks and tender smiles, melted to a shallow pool of wonder at his touch.
SASHA: hate to break it to you but you left ‘too eager’ about two hours ago and now you’re somewhere in the realm of ‘zealously available’
LEV: interesting theory
Koschei wore a number of occupational hats, most notoriously the one belonging to the procurer of rare and sometimes dangerous magical objects, but also those of landlord, lender, smuggler, and tight-fisted consoler of the unfortunate.
“Sasha,” he exhaled breathlessly, shaking his head and tilting her chin up for her to look at him, “I do love you. I will love you.” He laughed again, bitterly this time. “I will love you even when I wrong you, and for that—for this—I’m so fucking sorry.”