Hide and Seek: Married to My Master Part 2

14. Aria

The second the words left my mouth, I expected to feel panicked.

But I felt strangely calm.

I could feel Rurik tense against me, but my eyes were still on Alessandro. I expected to see his jaw twitch or for him to clench his teeth, ball up his fists. Or maybe smirk? He liked to smirk.

But nothing. He just calmly nodded, turned around and walked away. I watched his car pull out of the parking lot and drive away, just to make sure he didn't plan on running me and Rurik over. But he actually left.

Weird.

I looked up at Rurik, puzzled, and realized he was grinning widely. I smiled back, slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry about that...I should have talked to you first, before I told—" My words were cut off as he scooped me into his arms and kissed me passionately, stealing my breath away.

I guess he's fine with us moving in tonight.

I was grateful for his protection and relieved that he wasn't angry at me for my abrupt announcement just now...but we were in front of a preschool. With other parents around, who were also waiting to pick up their small children. I wriggled a little and tried to pull my head back, to show Rurik we needed to stop with the PDA.

His grasp just tightened, and he went from kissing my lips to kissing and sucking my neck. He was going to leave a hickey if he didn't quit soon. I wiggled harder and laughed nervously before I whispered, "Rurik, put me down! People are staring. You can kiss me all you want when we get to your place..."

He just moaned and started kissing and sucking harder on my neck. I could see a few parents blushing...but some of the dads seemed to be adjusting their pants...

Ew.

I made eye contact with a mother nearby who I often chatted with and shot her a pleading look. She covered her mouth to hide her giggle, but then composed herself and walked over. She tapped Rurik's arm and said loudly, "Hættu núna! Fáið ykkur herbergi!" (Stop now! Get a room!)

Rurik instantly pulled away and looked down at me like he'd been in a trance. I smiled nervously at him and wiggled again, wanting to be put down. This time, he listened. I appreciated that he at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

"I apologize for that...display. But I am so happy! You and Daniel will be so much safer living with me, Malia. And I'll sleep much better, having you close to me. What made you decide?" He was still smiling widely, now holding onto my hands and occasionally squeezing them lightly. I couldn't help but return his grin; he looked like a kid on Christmas morning, and it was adorable.

Melody's words from this morning were still playing in the back of my mind, but I had no plans to leave Iceland just yet. I adored the way Rurik came to my defense and made me feel safe. He hadn't originally planned on coming with me to pick up Daniel, but he left class the second I called him and explained what was going on. He was going to school for physiotherapy, about to graduate with his masters.

Which was another reason I couldn't ask him to move back to California with me right now. I was about to finish law school, and he was going to become a physical therapist. I had no idea what it would take for me to be allowed to practice law in California, or for him to practice physical therapy there. It would just add another layer of stress and uncertainty to an already stressful situation.

It might have been easier to move to another European nation that had similar guidelines and protections as Iceland...but I truly felt safe with Rurik by my side. If Alessandro wanted to get to me, he'd have to go through Rurik first. Melody had almost made it sound like it might be a bad thing if Rurik was overprotective and sometimes "unhinged", but that's exactly what I needed. Alessandro was every bit as unhinged (likely more), and as strangely reasonable as he'd been just now, I knew he was going to crack soon.

I'd rather he cracked while an equally huge, possessive man was guarding me than when I was alone in my apartment with Daniel. If, God forbid, I did need to go back to The States or leave Iceland, Rurik and I could work it out together. I was perfectly fine with him being my love and my bodyguard, if that's the role he wanted to play in my life.

And I could always call Melody, if he started acting "weird".

I kissed him quickly, making sure that we didn't give the public a show again, and replied, "I love you, and I trust you. And I know you love me, and you want to protect me and Daniel. You make me feel so safe. And happy. And that's the feeling I want to have for the rest of my life. So honestly, this should have been a no-brainer... But having Alessandro come here definitely helped me realize that." I gently squeezed his hands back, and we gazed at each other, both of us wearing big, dopey smiles.

I could hear the sound of the front doors opening, and the parents started lining up to head inside for pick ups. So I released one of Rurik's hands, and we walked inside, hand-in-hand. Every time I peeked up at him, I could see he was still smiling.

Daniel was hovering by his classroom door when we walked up, looking upset, like he'd just had a tantrum. As soon as he spotted us, he ran out the door and slammed into my legs. His tiny arms wrapped tightly around me, and he started crying.

I bent down to hug him back and shot Rurik a worried look, then looked up at Daniel's teacher. "Is everything ok, Freyja? Why is he so upset?" Freyja looked a little uncomfortable.

She walked away from the door and lowered her voice before answering. "Daniel was not a happy boy today. We had to separate him from the other children several times... He was trying to bite..." she explained sympathetically. My jaw dropped and I looked at Rurik, who looked equally horrified.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. He's usually so sweet! I feel horrible! Is anyone hurt?" Freyja smiled gently and shook her head no. I wrapped Daniel's legs around my waist and stood up. He placed his head against my shoulder as he continued to whimper.

"He was acting a bit aggressive, so we were watching him closely and intervened before he was able to hurt anyone. I agree, he isn't usually like this... Is everything ok at home?" I frowned, trying to think of something that may have triggered this.

There's no way he'd know what's going on right now, right??

Rurik caught my eyes and opened his mouth a little, like he wanted to speak but wanted my permission to do so. I nodded at him, encouraging him to say whatever he was thinking. "Things have been...a little stressful at home the last few months. It started the night we had to cancel the date you came to babysit for... I think Daniel may be picking up on the stress."

Crap. Of course that was it. Daniel was very empathetic for his age, and I'd been a nervous wreck the last few months.

Freyja looked concerned, but she smiled gently. "Please don't stress too much about it. He's usually very well-behaved. Everybody has bad days, right? Maybe try to spend some more one-on-one time with him this weekend to help ease his anxiety. He'll be alright." I glanced down at Daniel, who was pouting and staring down at the floor.

"Sad, mama," he mumbled pitifully. My heart broke.

This was exactly what I didn't want him to be exposed to. This was the reason I ran away. He deserved a happy, peaceful home, with happy parents who loved and respected each other. Not an anxious, terrified mother who jumped at every strange sound and felt the need to run away to a new nation every few years.

"Don't worry," I told Freyja. "Daniel and I are moving soon, and I believe we'll be much happier in our new home. Much less anxious. Hopefully, this won't happen again." I smiled at her, trying to look confident.

I badly wanted to believe the words I'd just spoken, but regardless of where we lived, Alessandro was still in town. And he wanted my son.

I had a feeling my troubles were only just beginning.