Lastly, there was Bastien Havenstein - he with the gravelly, rumbling tone. Tall, big, and hard as a tank - sort of like Jason Momoa, same beard and all, but minus the lengthy locks. The German tycoon didn't speak much, but he always had a kind word to spare when he was around.
Just like my boss, the four other members of Strakh Inc. were the kind that topped the usual lists of who's who, who's hottest and richest, year after year after year.
And yet...
Not a single one of them made my heart flutter. Not one of them made me want to steal glances over and over. Not one of them made me dream of kisses and lingering touches.
But then I'd find my gaze accidentally drift towards Dmitry, and...
Ooh...la...laaaaaaaaaaa.
I'd see him walking away, and I'd find myself wondering how it would feel, to rake my nails over the muscled cheeks of his ass as he joined our bodies and made us one.
I'd see his lips move as he spoke to the other guys, and I'd find myself wondering how it would feel, having my own lips crushed under that cruelly beautiful mouth of his.
I might still be a virgin, but I wasn't born in the eighteenth century. My favorite romance novels were more than a little raunchy, and they were enough to help me reasonably guess things like how, um, well-endowed my boss was.
A few seconds of watching Dmitry, and man...
That was all it took.
A few seconds, and the stories I could make up about him and me, together, were endless.
Just a few seconds, a few seconds that I believed were harmless because I didn't think my boss would ever notice.
But I was wrong.IT WAS AN UNUSUALLY breezy Friday afternoon in September, and I had been about to lock up and leave when I received a text from Dmitry. He had never texted me before this, and I had an even bigger shock when I finally read his message.
I need you to order dinner for two. Choose whatever you think's good.
My knees knocked against each other, and I collapsed back into my chair as I found myself suddenly out of breath.
Did I read that right?
I rubbed my eyes and made myself read the message one more time. And another. And another. But the words didn't disappear. They were still there.
Was this Dmitry's way of offering an olive branch?
Or was I allowed to hope and think of this as Dmitry asking me out on a date?
Oh my God.
Either possibility was enough to make me feel giddy. Too giddy, in fact, that I had to spend several moments just trying to catch my breath and calming myself down.
Focus, T.G. Focus.
I reached for my phone, thought for a moment, and then I decided to call my favorite steak place.
Salad, two steaks cooked medium rare, and a slice of chocolate cake to share.
After this, I couldn't resist the temptation of dashing down to the gym a couple of floors below. Membership was yet another job perk, and this gave me the chance to have a quick shower, blow-dry my hair, and get back to the office just in time to receive deliveries.
My thoughts started running wild as I set up a table for two at the balcony. Was it too much to light some candles, maybe start playing music from my phone?
Mm.
I tried imagining Dmitry's reaction to this and almost winced.
Nah.
I had just finished pouring red wine into a pair of glasses when I heard the doors by the reception slide open.
Stay calm, T.G.
I heard the balcony doors slide open next, and my toes curled hard inside of my shoes.
Let's try playing it cool, even if only for a—-
A feminine gasp interrupted my thoughts, and I froze in shock.
"Oh gosh."
That voice...was definitely not my boss's.
"This is so gorg, Dimmy. Why do you keep spoiling me?"
My head jerked up, just in time to see a redhead throw her arms around Dimmy's neck, and as she raised herself on her toes and started showering kisses all over my boss's handsome face—-
Our gazes clashed, and what I saw in his eyes...
Ah.
It was then that I realized.
He knew.
From the very start, probably.
He knew.
Dmitry Adrianov knew I was attracted to him.
And this was his answer to it.Chapter ThreeFive years ago, Dmitry Adrianov had been the typical European playboy: he worked hard and played harder, and he would not have minded living the rest of his life in such a way.
A personal tragedy, however, changed all of this for him and his younger brother, and it was then he decided to establish Strakh Inc., a secret organization that was to operate under one non-negotiable credo: audacia pro muro et scuto opus.
Boldness is our wall, action is our shield.
Furious and bitter at the way even the world's most powerful governments proved unreliable - and at times even hostile - in his family's quest for justice, Dmitry had since made a vow to go where others didn't dare go.