twenty

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So it wasn't my initial intention to add a teeny bit of mild smut in here, but ya know... shit happens. Enjoyyyyyyyy!

Also want to point out that I see Andrei as Tyler Hoechlin. I'm going to add a cast list at some point, although you're more than welcome to imagine them as whoever you please, but be on the look out for that!

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The look on Cleo's face is completely unreadable

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The look on Cleo's face is completely unreadable.

Which is scary, considering she's usually an open book. I've never had a problem reading her. But right now? I'm drawing a blank.

"Doll?" I almost whisper. Her eyes refocus on me and she shakes her head, seemingly shaking away her dazed state.

"Sorry... I just wasn't expecting that." she apologizes and sits back down next to me. "Why didn't you say anything about her?" she asks softly, placing a comforting hand on my knee.

I eye her hand and a small smile pulls at the corner of my mouth as I entwine my fingers with hers. "It's a chapter in my life I prefer to forget." I shrug to myself.

I'm over what happened with Hayley. I have been for years. But that doesn't dismiss the fact that at one point in my life, she was my everything. My heart shattered that day and I thought I was incapable of loving after that.

Boy, was I wrong.

The woman sitting before me now has taught me how to love again. She showed me that it's okay to fall for someone, even decades after tragedy strikes. She had fought through hell and still, she holds her head high and handles life with grace. Despite all of the heartache she's endured in her life, she chose to open up to me. A stranger. You would never know the obstacles Cleo has overcome unless she told you. And for that, among many other reasons, I admire the hell out of her.

I love this woman more than I've ever loved anyone, and the thought alone scares me.

I became this ruthless and unforgiving man after HYDRA and even more so after Hayley. I've taken lives without a second thought, I've burned countless empires to the ground with the snap of my fingers. I've done unspeakable things. Things that would keep a sane person up at night. But me? I sleep peacefully... because all of my heinous acts were justified.

My inner turmoil is halted when a deep groan comes from Andrei. "Lisuse, a căzut ea într-o gaură? Unde este whisky-ul (Jesus, did she fall into a hole? Where's the whisky)?" he mutters under his breath before shooting up to his feet. "I'll be right back." he excuses himself and disappears into the kitchen.

"Are you okay, James?" Cleo asks, gently squeezing my knee. Her emerald orbs suck me in, improving my mood in the matter of seconds.

"Yes, angel." I kiss her cheek softly, causing them to tinge a light pink and her nose to scrunch in the cutest way. My heart beats rapidly in my chest at the action. "Dumnezeu (God), you're the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on."

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