For the man who had shown her how a good parent behaved. For the parent who didn’t believe her to be cursed, even after she unleashed a storm.
Cyrus Waterborn had loved her. For him, River would gather herself and return to the party.
Drawing in a deep breath, River steeled herself for what was to come. Even with Nikhail’s advice of putting one foot in front of the other, it felt like a monumental task.
But she could do it. She’d deal with today’s revelations later. Right now, she just needed to keep moving.
When she was ready, she opened the bathroom door, took a step, and walked right into a hard, muscular chest.
CHAPTER 13
Everything was For Her
Wide brown eyes swept over Nikhail’s. Warmth curled in his stomach as he reached out, steadying River’s shoulders.
Something inside him that had been tight for days loosened when he touched her. By the Blessed Black Sands, it felt good to be close to River again. To see her and touch her, knowing that she was here, with him.
“Nik?” A V formed between River’s brows. “What are you doing in front of the women’s restroom?”
That was a good question. A fair one, with an uncomplicated answer.
When he was sure River wouldn’t fall over, he released her shoulder and cupped her cheek.
“I was worried about you,” he said, running his thumb down her cheek. She leaned into his touch and sighed. The lovely, soft sound reverberated through his mind and drew him in. He yearned to hear her make that sound again, in another setting, when they were alone.
“You were?” she asked.
How could he not be?
Watching River grieve publicly, knowing he couldn’t go to her, had been one thing. It had been another matter entirely when she’d raced out of the ballroom as though her heels were on fire.
Nikhail had gone after River the moment that Evan Reynolds, another member of the Representative’s security team, had arrived for his shift.
“Of course, I was.” He’d always worry about her.
River licked her lips as she surveyed him. Unable to stay away, Nikhail stepped closer to River, not that there was much room between them to begin with.
“What happened?” he asked.
River didn’t say anything.
With every moment that passed in silence, fresh worry bloomed in Nikhail’s stomach. He took her hand in his, uncaring that they were in public. Nor did he care that even though his shift was over, technically, he was still here as a soldier and on the job.
Nothing mattered right now except River.
He drew her to a nearby alcove with a window seat. The glass was tinted, made from top-of-the-line material that was safe for all creatures who called the Republic of Balance their home, including vampires.
Nikhail tugged River down, their legs pressing against each other as they shared the too-small seat. Heat coursed through Nikhail from that small bit of contact.
“Did someone hurt you?” Nikhail asked when he couldn’t bear the silence any longer.
He’d kept an eye on River throughout the service, but maybe he’d missed something. If that was the case, he would find whoever had done this and make them pay.
“No,” she said quietly. “Nothing like that.”
“Then what?”
As she so often did when she was nervous, River drew her bottom lip into her mouth, gnawing on her piercing.