Free My Russian Nightmare by Danielle Sibarium

you?”
    His eyes are locked on mine as his tongue darts out and licks his top lip. He’s considering it, and I only hope his imagination is as salacious and wild as mine. That look in his dark, hooded eyes tells me that it is.
    Sizzle. Crack. Sizzle.
    Electric sparks jump and burn between us. He takes a tiny step forward, inching closer, but he’s still too far, and his hands still aren’t taking their fill of me. I want those hands running over my body, but I don’t know how to get them to do it.
    I bite my lip, anticipation getting the best of me. I’ve never wanted someone so bad in my life. I never wanted anyone else, period. The sum of my experience adds up to a few careless kisses here and there that meant nothing and did nothing to make me want more.
    I don’t want careless kisses anymore. My body is filled with the type of desire you see in movies or read about in books. It pulls on my muscles and wakens my cells. It’s filled with need and longing so strong and palpable, it’s all I can think about. It’s like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this very man. For this very moment. I was physically broken before him, unable to respond to anyone else, because I was made for the sensual stranger standing before me.
    His heart races beneath my hand. It’s pounding fast and hard, mirroring my own. I wonder if he feels the same pain, the same ache in his chest, the way I feel it in mine.
    “Kiera, you’re playing with fire.”
    “Like you said before, if you wanted to hurt me, you would’ve already.”
    “Yes, but…wait, are you saying you trust me?” he asks, sounding surprised.
    I nod. “With my life. I know it’s stupid. It’s way too soon, and I shouldn’t, but yes. There’s a little voice in my head telling me to trust you.”
    His eyes glass over as he pulls me into his arms and holds my head against his chest. I feel each long, exaggerated breath he pulls in, contrasted by the short shallow ones from me. He runs his hand down my hair and I breathe easier, taking in his fresh, clean scent. He even smells perfect. Just like I remember.
     
    *
    “I only have a minute, Kukla,” he says, using the name he and his mother call me. I don’t bother correcting them anymore. They know my name’s Kiera, and if he doesn’t know it by now, he never will. “I don’t want to say goodbye.”
    “Why? Are you leaving? Are you going on vacation?” I ask.
    He shakes his head. “No. We’re moving far away so we can be closer to my father.”
    “Oh.” I’m disappointed. I don’t know where far away is, but he went once before, and it took forever for him to come back.
    “Can I visit you?”
    He shakes his head. “We have to take a plane to get there, it’s too far to visit.”
    I sniffle, trying to hold back my tears. If Sammy sees me cry, he’s going to make fun of me and tell all the kids in my class.
    “When are you coming back?”
    He shakes his head. “Momma says we can’t ever come back.” He looks at the ground and shuffles his feet. “But I’m going to miss my kukla too much to never come back.”
    I want to beg him to take me with him, to let me hide in his suitcase, then he’ll have to come back to bring me home. And then he can stay.
    “You’re my best friend, Dante.”
    “You’re mine, too. And Kiera, if I ever find a real unicorn, I promise I’ll bring it back for you.”

 
     
    Chapter 7
    “Dante!”
    It’s him. I know it’s him. I throw my arms around him. He’s real. Alive. Flesh and bone, just as I thought. Just as I remember. I never understood why he left and I don’t know why he’s back, but he stole a piece of my heart. He ripped it off and held onto it all these years. Being in his arms, I feel whole again.
    A hint of a smile lights up his somber face. “You remember?”
    “Of course I do. I could never forget you.”
    “But Sammy said…” He shakes his head. “Never mind.”
    “Sammy knows? My brother knew you were here and he never told me? Why