But before he’d taken her on what had turned out to be a magical roller-coaster ride, he’d made his intentions clear: nothing but passion and pleasure would be on offer. And Kassandra had been perfectly okay with that. At thirty, she’d never wanted to marry, and she’d long given up on meeting a man she could want, let alone that completely. Finding Leonid had added a totally unexpected and glorious dimension to her life. Having him free from expectations had been a sure path to ecstasy and a surefire guard against disappointment.
Being with him had exhilarated and satisfied her in ways she hadn’t known existed. They’d meshed in every way, met when their hectic schedules allowed, away from the world’s eyes, always starving for one another. Keeping their relationship secret from everyone, above all her conservative Greek family who’d long disapproved of her unconventional lifestyle, had made everything even more incendiary.
Then Leonid’s training for his upcoming championship had intensified, and between that and running his business empire, she’d seen less and less of him. Media scrutiny had made it impossible to even visit him while he’d trained.
That was when she’d realized she was no longer content with their status quo. But before she’d had time to ponder how to demand a change in the terms of their relationship, he’d had his accident.
From the media reports that had hailed him as a hero, she’d learned that a trailer had flown over the center divider of the I-95 heading into NYC, and into the incoming traffic. Before it had managed to pulverize a car carrying a father and his daughter, Leonid had smashed into their car’s side, ramming them out of the path of destruction. But the trailer had slammed into his car full force, catapulting his vehicle into a tumbling crash.
She’d almost fainted with horror at the sight of the crumpled wreck his car had become. It was a miracle he had come out alive.
Desperate to be by his side the moment she’d heard the news, the nightmare had only escalated when she hadn’t been able to determine where he’d been taken. Now that she’d finally found him, she’d again been denied any information. She was being treated like the stranger everyone thought she was. He was her lover. And the father of the baby she’d just yesterday found out she was carrying.
Suddenly, her heart boomed. Was that...?
Yes, yes it was. Ryan McFadden. Her old college friend who’d gone on to become a doctor. She’d seen him a couple of years ago, but he’d been working at another hospital at the time. Finding him here was a lifeline.
Before Ryan could express surprise at seeing her, she flung herself at him, begged him to let her see Leonid, or at least to let her know how he was.
Clearly used to dealing with frantic people, Ryan covered the hands clawing his arm. “I know that apart from his time in surgery, he’s been conscious since they brought him in.”
He was? And he hadn’t called her?
But what if... “C-can he talk?”
“Oh, yes. None of his injuries involved vital organs, thankfully.”
And he hadn’t left instructions to let her in, or to even let her know how he was?
At her deepening dismay, Ryan rushed on. “He was transferred to an exclusive wing with only his medical team allowed in, to guard against media infringement. But I’ll gain access to him. If he grants you permission to visit him...”
“He will.” She hugged him fervently. “Thank you.”
Giving her a bolstering grin, Ryan strode away.
After what felt like forever, he returned, giving her two thumbs up. She found herself flying to him, so he could take her to Leonid.
At the wing’s door, Ryan stopped her. “Listen, Kass, I know it’s hard for you to do in your current condition, but keep it light and short, for his sake.”
Nodding, she wiped away the tears that had gathered in her eyes again. “How...how bad are his injuries?”
“I don’t know details, but when he was brought in I heard he’d suffered compound fractures to both his legs.”
Her heart imploded all over again. His legs.
To anyone else, it would mean months of limited mobility. To Leonid, it meant his plans for a new world record were over, who knew for how long. Maybe he’d never heal enough to compete on that elite level again. When that was a major part of his being...
Stop it. She couldn’t consider worst-case scenarios. Ryan was right. She had to suppress her own anxiety. Leonid needed her support for the first time ever, and she was damned if she would fail him. Putting on a brave face, she opened the door.
He was the first thing she saw as she stepped into the exquisite suite. Only the bed with monitors surrounding it at its far end betrayed its presence in a medical facility.
Leonid, her beloved lion. He lay sprawled on his back, his perfect body swathed in a hospital gown, already diminished, both legs in full casts, arms limp at his sides, eyes closed. His almost shoulder-length hair lay tousled around a face that was unscathed, but his skin was drained of its normal vital bronze color.
Her heart lurched violently, as if to fling her across the room to him, catapulting her feet forward.
As she eagerly bent to kiss his clamped lips, he opened his eyes. Instead of the most vivid blue, they were almost black. And they slammed into her with the force of a shove. But it was what filled them that had her jackknifing up. Her nerves jangled; her balance wavered. She couldn’t be reading the aversion in his expression correctly.
But what gripped his face didn’t look like pain, or the effect of a drug. There was no distress or fogginess in his eyes, just clarity and...emptiness.
Telling herself it was an expected by-product of everything he’d gone through, she reached for his hand, suppressed a shudder at how cold it was. “Leonid, darling...”
He tugged his hand away, harder than necessary, from her trembling hold. “I’m fine.”
Reminding herself that what she felt didn’t matter, that only he did, she forced a smile. “You do look...”
His glacial look stopped her flimsy lie in its tracks. “I know how I look. But I am fine, considering.” A beat. “I hear you kicked up quite a commotion trying to get to me.”
He knew? And he hadn’t told them to let her in earlier?
His expression became even more inanimate as he looked away. “I kept hoping you’d give up and just leave.”
Her throat squeezed, making it nearly impossible to breathe. “I—I realize how you must feel. But there will be other championships...”
He cut her off again. “I’m sick of people placating me.”
Telling herself he needed her nearness even if his current mood made him pretend he didn’t, she sat down and caressed his corded forearm, trying to infuse him with her strength and let their connection bolster him. “I’m not ‘people,’ Leonid. I’m your woman, your lover, and you’re my...”
His gaze swung to hers, this time filled with frost. “You’re free to consider yourself whatever you want, but I’m certainly not your anything.”
The lump in her throat grew spikes. But still convinced it was his ordeal talking, she tried again. “Leonid, darling...”
He shook off her hand, his face twisting in a snarl. “Don’t you dare ‘darling’ me. I made my terms clear from the start. The only reason I was with you was because I thought you agreed to them.”
Shocked out of her wits at his viciousness, she again told herself she must have gravely underestimated the effects of his injuries and near-death experience, that it was better to withdraw now, before he got even more worked up.
She