Shutting down my laptop, I throw off the robe and stride over to the window, where a half-moon caught partially behind a cloud provides just enough illumination to make out the tops of the trees on the mountainside. I’m still tense, every muscle in my body coiled tight. The call distracted me, as hoped, but now that it’s over, I’m thinking about Chloe again. Wanting her again.
Fuck.
Maybe I shouldn’t have let her leave the table. I enjoyed her nervousness, the wariness in her pretty brown eyes. She reminded me of a wild hare, ready to flee at the first sign of danger, and I wanted to chase her if she did.
But I didn’t. I let her go. She looked tired, and not the kind of tired one gets from undersleeping for a night or two. It was exhaustion, deep-seated and total. Her clothes were loose on her, as if she’s recently lost weight, and her delicate features were sharper than in the pictures, her eyes ringed by deep shadows. Whatever happened to her has brought her to the brink of a collapse, and at that moment, when she stood up from her seat, so fragile and brave, I felt a strange urge to comfort her… to protect her from whatever demons had etched those signs of strain into her face.
No, that’s idiotic. I hardly know the girl. I didn’t want to push her to the breaking point, that’s all.
Walking over to my closet, I pull on a pair of running shorts and sneakers and head out of the room. Maybe it’s just as well that I let her be tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll get in touch with Konstantin and begin the process of uncovering her secrets. In the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to let her rest, get her bearings… acclimate to the idea that I want her.
No matter what my cock thinks, there’s no rush.
After all, she’s here now, and she’s not going anywhere.
13
Chloe
“No!”
I land on all fours, panting, my entire body trembling and covered in sweat. It’s dark and I’m naked, and I have no idea where I am or what’s happening. Then I register the feel of the hardwood floor under my palms and the faint moonlight pouring in through the wall-sized window, and it all clicks into place.
I’m in my room at the Molotov estate, and none of what I saw is real.
It was another nightmare.
Wincing, I push up to my knees—which immediately scream in protest. I must’ve bruised them when I threw myself off the bed.
Slender brown arm in a pool of blood… Gun in a black-gloved hand… Huge pickup truck barreling toward me…
A fresh surge of adrenaline propels me to my feet despite the pain. Sucking in air, I fumble in the darkness for a lamp switch. My hand lands on the bed, and I feel my way over to the nightstand.
The bedside lamp comes on at my touch, illuminating the room with a soft golden glow. My knees buckle with relief, and I sink onto the mattress, letting the light push away the lingering bits and pieces of the nightmare.
It was just a dream.
I’m safe.
They can’t get to me here.
After a couple of minutes, I feel steady enough to stand, and I walk over to the bathroom to rinse off the sweat drying on my skin. Before doing so, I flick off the lamp, as I ran out of clean clothes to sleep in but couldn’t figure out how to work the blinds on the window. There’s probably a button hidden somewhere, but I was too tired to find it last night. As soon as I got to my room, I stripped off my clothes, hand-washed my shirt and underwear in the sink so I’d have something clean to wear in the morning, and passed out the second my head hit the pillow.
Even worries about my disturbingly attractive employer couldn’t keep me awake.
Now, though, as I stand in the shower, my mind turns to him, and my heartbeat revs up, my breath quickening with a mixture of anxiety and excitement.
Nikolai wants me.
I think.
Maybe.
I could be wrong.
Or… not.
Heat pools low in my belly, my breasts tightening as I picture the darkly intent look in his eyes and replay the things he said… and how he said them. No, I’m not wrong. At least not about his attraction to me. It’s possible he was just toying with me and has no intention of acting on said attraction, but I don’t think so.
I think he intends to fuck me, and I have no idea how I feel about that.
Actually, that’s a lie. My mind might be torn, but my body is very straightforward in its feelings. The heat inside me intensifies, an aching tightness coiling deep inside my core as I imagine what it would be like if he came up to my room at this very moment and knocked on my door… then, not getting a response, opened it and walked in.