“I love you too.” So sweet, so innocent, so trusting. I won’t make the mistake of neglecting her again. How was I so unaware that I didn’t see her slipping right back down the slope that she’s spent so long climbing up? She was doing so well. I forget what she’s come from sometimes because she’s so damn strong.

To free a slave; it should be simple, but of course, it’s not. It’s not that she doesn’t want her freedom—she simply doesn’t know how to take it. And being here, confined to this house, it’s not helping.

“I’m going to take you somewhere,” I say.

“Where?” She glances at me—her brows pulled together in confusion.

“You choose.” She needs to make choices for herself.

“I thought we were on lockdown?”

“Anna, choose.”

“I don’t even know where we are.”

I sigh. “Just choose, woman. I’ll make it happen.”

She gnaws on her bottom lip. “Anywhere?”

“Anywhere.”

“I miss the pond,” she says. And that’s the beauty of Anna. Give her anything, and she’ll choose something so obscurely simple that it throws you off.

I smile. “I’ll see what I can do.”

* * *

I pull the Hummer off the road and onto the rough desert sand. The suspension bounces and jolts as gravel and dust kick up in a cloud behind us. Anna has the window down, her hair blowing in the wind and a pair of sunglasses covering half of her face.

I put my foot down, and the car lurches forward, out into what looks like the middle of nowhere. We climb up a rocky hillside, and I stop at the top.

“Where are we?” she asks.

I cut the engine. “Come and see.” I get out of the car, and she follows, meeting me at the edge of the sheer cliff that drops away below.

“Wow,” she breathes. “It’s beautiful.”

Below is a bowl of sorts, surrounded by circular cliff faces all the way around. And at its center is an oasis. A crystal blue lake, surrounded by greenery. Its such a contrast to the scene behind us that you could almost believe that its a mirage. I want to give her something she’ll never forget, but more than that, I want Anna to have a taste of normal.

“I don’t think many people know about it. My mother once brought my sister and me out here when we were kids. She couldn’t afford to take us to the beach, so this was the next best thing.” I offer her my hand. “Come on. We have to walk from here.”

The walk down the hillside is perilous at best. Anna squeals as she slips on the loose gravel, skidding into my back. “So graceful.”

“Hey. You’d have to be part-goat to get down here.”

By the time we make it to the bottom, she’s so transfixed by the lake that she doesn’t even look at me. At the water’s edge is a small beach, and she drops to a crouch, brushing her fingers over the glassy surface. I tug my shirt over my head and shove my jeans down, kicking them off with my shoes. I wade into the water, and she watches me.

“Are you coming in?”

She glances out at the lake before looking at me again. “Are there things living in there?”

I smirk. “Don’t worry. Nothing will bite you.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

She hesitantly pulls down the straps of her sundress until the material pools at her feet, leaving her in only her underwear. The sun dances over the golden hues of her skin, the reflection of the water shimmering over her features. She’s beautiful.

She carefully walks into the water, staring at it before she takes each step. “Anna, nothing is going to eat you.”

She pushes her sunglasses up on her head and glares at me. Laughing, I walk over to her and grab her, pulling her into deeper water. She shrieks and throws her arms around my neck, wrapping her legs tightly around my hips. Every inch of her is plastered against me, but I’m not sure she’s even noticed. I definitely have.

“I swear something touched me.”

“A lot is touching you right now.”

She rolls her eyes. “Not you.” She glances at the water around us nervously. “Is this what normal people do for fun?”

I snort. “Yeah, I guess so.” She doesn’t look impressed. “You just have to…let go. Fear is irrational. Mind over matter.”

“Mind over matter. Mind over matter.” She slowly releases me and sinks into the water up to her chest. “Okay. Don’t leave me though.” She clutches my arm. “I can’t swim.”

Of course. Why would she be able to swim? “You should add it to your bucket list.”

“What’s a bucket list?”

“It’s a list of things you want to do before you die.”

“Huh.”

“You must have one.” She frowns for a second, and I grab her waist, pulling her closer to me for no other reason than the fact that I like touching her. “Now you’re free, little warrior, what are the things you’d like to do?”

Her eyes meet mine, and she chews on her bottom lip. “I want to go to New Zealand.”

“Okay. Why New Zealand?”

“Why not?” She shrugs. “I found it on the globe, and I don’t even know what language they speak there.”

I smile, stroking her hair away from her neck. “English. What else?”

“I want to dance in the rain. And eat crepes.” Such simple things. She makes me want to hand her the world, just to see the wonder on her face as she explores it. “What about you?” she asks.

I slide a hand up the small of her back to the nape of her neck. “I have everything I want,” I tilt her head to the side and bring my lips to her ear. “Right here.”

“You sure about that?” She cocks a brow, a small smile playing over her lips.

“Very.”

Her arms wind around me, her fingers raking through my hair. “There was one more thing on my bucket list, but I’ve already done it.”

“What’s that?”

She pulls back just enough to look at me. “Fall in love,” she whispers. Her eyes drop to my mouth and then she’s leaning in, placing the sweetest kiss on my lips. She tastes like sunshine and desert sand. She feels like simple happiness; swimming in a lake on a hot day, the skipping of my heart when she flashes me a beautiful smile, and pure unadulterated joy.

This right here in this moment feels precious and unfiltered.

I’ve spent my whole life striving for more. More power. More money. More territory. I’ve never really appreciated anything outside of those things. She’s my pause button, a reminder to breathe. She makes me want to stop and capture the moment with her, to create memories.

Anna Vasiliev is my air in a toxic world.