ensure /in-shore/
v. make certain that something shall occur or be the case
JOHNATHAN AND ANTON had left not even a second after the whole encounter. On the other hand, Avelina still couldn't bring herself to break apart from Adrik. He seemed as if he didn't want her to leave his side either. There was such a strong pull that existed between the two of them-they felt connected.
"I realized that you probably didn't eat your dinner," Avelina whispered as a frown coated her features. She really wanted to make sure that he had eaten dinner only because he hadn't had much food besides the breakfast she had cooked him earlier.
"I had eaten quite a bit before Johnathan had shown up," he informed her. She smiled at his words before walking over to the edge of his bed where she sat down. He had already been laying down with a book in his hand as his eyes read through the text.
"I'm happy to hear that," she smiled. Avelina found herself scooting slightly closer to him which he was quick to notice. His eyes seemed to skim down her body before returning to the book.
"What are you reading?" She asked him. Avelina noticed the way he moved over to allow her to have room beside him if she wanted it. Her eyes fell on the empty spot just before meeting Adrik's silver orbs.
"Come lie down with me and I will tell you all about it," he said.
She managed to contemplate whether or not it'd be a good idea to lay beside him. Her mind was begging her to do it-to be surrounded by his warmth and to drown in his heavenly scent. For some reason, her logic only put her in a state of not knowing if laying beside him in bed was a smart decision.
Before she could end the brutal battle of her overthinking, Adrik wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in to his chest.
Avelina was quick to gain that fluttering-feeling she managed to receive when she was near Adrik. Only this time, things felt more intimate. She had to stop her own arm from curling around Adrik's muscular frame due to her temptation screaming at her to do it.
Her eyes moved up to face as he continued to read his book.
"I find you so extraordinary," she whispered with the intention of keeping her thoughts in her head. He glanced over at her, his eyebrows coming together for a brief moment.
"If you are telling a joke, I am afraid that I do not find it humorous," he spoke. She frowned at his words before bringing her hand up to graze his cheekbone only to ensure that he was actually real.
"No, Adrik, I'm not joking. You are so smart, so brave, and so strong. I don't think I've ever met someone that inspires me in the way you do. I feel as though I could take over the world when I speak to you. Maybe that's why I find it so intriguing to listen to every word that comes from your mouth," she said softly as her finger trailed down from his cheekbone to his sharp jawline.
He could only stare at her in response. There was a feeling that spread throughout his body that he just couldn't describe. No one had ever said anything like that to him which is one of the reasons he found Avelina so fascinating. There were so many words he wanted to say and so many things he wish he could do in that moment, but the battle he fought with his mind never seemed to win.
"Okay," he stated.
She frowned at his response before shaking it off and turning her attention to the book. Even as her eyes happened to skim through the words written-he was looking at her. He was tracing every feature of her face deep within his memory. He was saying the words he wanted to say out loud but only in the echoes of his mind hoping that she could one day hear them.
"So, you promised to tell me about your book," she chuckled as her hand moved away from his face and over to the novel in his hands.
"It is an informational text about Ludwig van Beethoven as well as his classical works," he said.
"Right. The German composer that you admire," she smiled as she recalled the memory from when she had first heard Adrik play piano.
"Yes. Did you know that he began to lose his hearing around the age of twenty-six? He was no longer capable of hearing shortly before his death. No one is completely sure of what happened to his hearing. Many believed it was caused by a disease such as small pox or typhus that appeared in his earlier years as a child," Adrik informed Avelina before returning his attention back to his book.
"I didn't know that, but I'm happy that I do now," she chuckled. Her eyes remained on Adrik's book before they trailed up his arms to his shoulders and then his face. He had taken his suit off and replaced it with a thin white v-neck that hugged his muscles so perfectly just after he finished showering.
"I'm curious about something," she said softly. He shut his book and placed it on the nightstand before turning his full attention to Avelina.
"What are you curious about?" He questioned. She couldn't ignore the way her body seemed to melt as he pressed himself closer to the side of her body. She didn't think that he meant to do that, but she was very happy that he did.
"Have you ever been with anyone before?" She asked.
"I am with someone everyday," he said. His answer left her to frown as she imagined him being with a different woman everyday. Suddenly, he began to continue speaking, "I work in an environment where people surround me. Your question is very dubious because I am with you right now."
She let out a breath of relief before a smile melted onto her features. He had to be the cutest person she had ever met.
"Not in that way, Adrik. I'm asking you-have you ever been in a relationship with anyone?" She restated.
"No."
"Okay," she laughed out. A smile settled on her face as her laughter died down. She noticed the way Adrik was staring at her, but the second she settled from her laughing fit, he seemed to look away.
She realized that there were multiple times that he would stare at her and shyly look away the moment she had caught him. The thought made her smile grow.
Her eyes moved over to his hair to find that it was already in a neat ponytail. The thought made her eyebrows push together as she stared at it.
"Hey, I just realized something-who would do your hair before I arrived here?" She asked.
"Me."
Avelina's jaw dropped as she came to realize that he had just played her. The whole time when he was perfectly capable of doing his own hair, he would tell her to do it for him. Not to mention the time in the shower when he deliberately went in there and asked her to do his hair as if it were an emergency.
"I'm mad at you," she spoke, her eyes narrowing into little slits.
"Why?" He questioned. She folded her arms over her chest overdramatically. Truth was, she wasn't mad at him at all. Deep down she knew that she actually enjoyed doing his hair for him. It provided a sense of nurturing comfort. Not to mention the fact that it was her job to do whatever the client wanted just to make their lives easier.
"You made it seem as if you didn't know how to do your own hair," Avelina told him, a small smile playing out on her lips.
"Oh," he said, his eyes falling onto Avelina's before continuing, "It is not necessarily my fault for your own misguided assumptions."
"Touché," she muttered.
Suddenly, a dog ran into the room leaving Avelina to scream. She quickly leaped over Adrik to get behind him while the dog came closer. Tears were falling from her eyes as she was pleading in her head for someone to stop the dog from getting any closer.
"Get the dog! Get the dog! Get it!" She screamed out, pushing Adrik toward the Bulldog. A sob ripped out of her as the dog jumped onto the mattress. She was quick to step down from the bed, but Adrik grabbed onto her arm making it hard for her to escape.
"Let me go!" She cried, her face probably turning a deep red intertwined with her olive-toned skin. The tears were trailing so far to the point that they were seeping down her neck.
Finally, she realized that Adrik was laughing. He was actually laughing and it was such a beautiful laugh. It made her completely forget about her biggest fear staring her right in the face as the musical sound of his laughter flooded her eardrums.
The moment didn't seem to last long because her attention immediately went back to the dog who had began to lick Adrik's arm. She didn't care how nice the dog was being, it still didn't mean that it was not preparing for an attack at any moment.
"Avelina, this is Sobaka-she is Anton's bulldog," he said. She noticed that Adrik had already sat up against the headboard of the bed and the dog was quick to crawl into his lap as he ran his hand through the dog's short fur.
[ translation : dog ]
"I don't know what Sobaka means and I do not care," she spoke while slowly backing away from the bed. She was doing all she could to get far away from Adrik and the dog in his arms.
"Sobaka means dog in Russian," he said. "I find it ironic that you are a caregiver, yet you are terrified of dogs. It should be natural to believe you would want to care for anything or anyone."
"Well, for once, you were completely wrong. I care for people-you know, as in human beings. I do not care for those demonic creatures," she spoke out in such disgust as she narrowed her eyes at the dog. Her heart was still beating out of control and her eyes could never leave the bulldog in his hands.
"I would not say demoni-"
"Adrik, I know. I only said that to over-exaggerate again. Those things only know how to bite, growl, and chase. I want nothing to do with- AH! Adrik, get the damn dog!" She shouted as it started to move from his lap and walk over to Avelina.
Adrik didn't do anything as the dog kept walking towards her. All he did was sit there laughing while a frightened expression was plastered on Avelina's face. The second the dog jumped down from the bed, Avelina took off running.
She could hear the four paws slapping against the ground as she ran out of the room.
"Adrik, get the f*cking dog! I'm not playing!" She cried only to hear Adrik's laughter coming from inside his room. The hallway was way too long. She didn't stop until she had made it to her room where she opened the door and slammed it shut the second she was inside.
She was finally able to catch her breath as she leaned against the door. The sound of the dog waiting for her outside of it made her heart never slow its fast thumping. Then, the dog let out a small bark as if alerting her that it was ready to come into her room.
"Sobaka! Idi syuda devushka!" The sound of Anton's voice called out.
[ translation : come here girl ]
Avelina then could hear the dogs footsteps descending from the door and toward the sound of Anton's voice. Once again, she found herself letting out a breath of relief.
After a long moment, she could hear a rustling of the doorknob. "May I come in?" Adrik's voice had questioned.
She stood up from the floor and opened the door with narrowed eyes. Avelina didn't want the dog to come back so she pulled Adrik into her room and quickly slammed the door shut.
"I liked lying in bed with you. Do you mind if we do that more?" He asked. She walked right past him and toward her restroom, choosing to completely ignore him. She couldn't believe he had just let the dog attack her while he stayed in bed laughing his heart away.
"Did you not hear my question, Avelina?" He questioned. She let out of sigh before turning to look at him.
"I'm choosing to ignore you because you let a dog attack me when I begged you to stop it," she spoke.
"Sobaka is harmless. She only wanted to meet you. If there were a dog that had plans on actually attacking you, I would not just let it do so," he told her. Her heart fluttered at his words. For someone so brutally honest, he managed to have a way with words.
"Just because you're cute, it doesn't mean I am no longer mad at you," she said, smiling slightly. "Why was Anton here with his dog anyways?"
"He came to get an assignment and he brings Sobaka with him because she doesn't like being in his house all alone sometimes," Adrik answered her. She frowned at his response. It was such an adorable story, if only it wasn't a dog he had to bring.
"I'm going to shower, but you can wait for me if you'd like," she smiled.
"We should care more about the environment. A shower together would seem to suffice that, don't you think?" He asked, his hand touching her shoulder and trailing up her neck as his eyes followed his movement.
"Or we could both just take shorter showers," she told him, chuckling slightly. He walked closer to her leaving her heart to skip a beat. His other hand had moved down to her hip.
"I will see you after your shower," he spoke, moving over to plant a kiss on her cheek. The feeling seemed to tattoo itself in her brain. The way he planted a kiss on her cheek felt so electrifying. Avelina didn't think that she ever wanted to wipe it off.
Her eyes followed him as he walked out of the restroom and into her bedroom.
The second he was gone, she looked at herself in the mirror before cupping the cheek that he had just kissed with a smile on her face.
-
After quite a while, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed her towel just before wrapping it around her body. What followed after that was her night regimen of brushing her teeth and taking care of her skin.
Once everything was finished, she walked out of room to find Adrik already sleep in her bed. His shirt was completely off giving her the perfect view of his abs that trailed down to his v-line. He could pass off as a model if he truly wanted to.
Heading over to her clothing, she slid on a pair of underwear without taking the towel off along with some shorts. Next, she turned away from Adrik before sliding on a t-shirt.
When she finished, she walked over to her bed where she crawled in right beside Adrik. A smile was playing out on her face as she leaned down and pecked his cheek just like he had done for her.
When she slid into the blanket, warmth immediately enveloped around her. Especially when Adrik circled his arm around her waist and pressed himself closer to the back of her body.
One thought stayed in her mind, she didn't want to leave within the next three months.
-
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