“I wasn’t aware my guest room contained such great entertainment.” His eyes glinted. “Well . . . aside from what I left for you to watch at least. I know it’s good TV, but you should branch out and try a sitcom every once in a while.”
We both knew he’d rigged that TV so I couldn’t watch anything but endless porn. A surge of coldness washed over my skin while I tried to force the rising lava down. I refused to go back to that room. He’d have to drag me kicking and screaming, and that was exactly what he would do unless I appeased him.
“I’m not talking about the TV.” Taking a sip of the hot sugar in my cup, I relished the burn on my tongue. I had no idea what I was going to come up with to explain the earlier sarcastic slip, so words simply started to tumble out. “It’s just the . . . atmosphere here . . .” My gaze caught Yulia in the hall who was humming and combing the hair of a porcelain doll that sat on a table of ornaments. I pulled my attention back to Ronan and forced a smile. “It’s just so romantic. A Russian winter wonderland, very sturdy medieval doors, and an age gap. I’m living in a Disney movie.”
After watching me for a heavy second, he laughed, deep and sincere, like he couldn’t believe what just came out of my mouth. Humor slid into his words. “I have the feeling you’re not being completely sincere with me right now.”
“I have no idea what gave you that impression.”
I planned to plead my case for a longer leash at the end of breakfast, but if he continued to sit there and watch me without touching his plate, this meal could last hours. It would be a struggle to last ten minutes without earning his displeasure, and somehow, the keen bastard knew it. He was going to drag this out as painfully as possible.
I tried to shut out his invasive presence, but his gaze and silence were living beings—two little demons that sat on each of my shoulders.
Je l’ignore. Tu l’ignores. Nous l’ignorons. I ignore him. You ignore him. We ignore him.
“I’m thirsty, kotyonok.”
Fork halfway to my lips,
I stilled at the languid tenor in his voice that practically demanded I serve him. After a disbelieving beat ticked by, I allowed my gaze to travel to the lazy bastard, who lounged in his chair and, I knew from experience, had full use of both of his hands.
“Sloth is a sin,” I said, my gaze narrowed.
“So is pride,” he returned. “In fact, it’s believed to be the deadliest of them all.”
Ugh. Now I had to serve him, or I was the greater sinner. I hated whoever took the time to teach this man the Bible.
I dropped my fork and forced a smile. “Tea or water, D’yavol?”
Elbow resting on the arm of his chair, he ran a thumb across his jaw like he was thinking about it. A hint of pleasure sparkled in his eyes at the demeaning situation he’d put me in.
My bare foot began to tap impatiently beneath the table, temper rising higher each second he took to make up his damn mind. His boot gently came down on my foot to halt the tapping.
“Tea.”
Pouring him a cup, I asked, “Sugar?”
“No.”
With a plop, the sugar cube sank to the bottom of his cup, and I slid it to him with the hope he was allergic. Just as I picked my fork back up, he opened his mouth again.
“Now that I think about it, water would be better.”
My restraint snapped, and the first words to enter my mind escaped. “Why are you the way that you are?”
The smallest flicker of humor arose, but at the disrespectful tone, his eyes darkened, and that expensive boot pressed a little harder on my foot.
“You’re narcissistic I find you amusing.”
While that sentence wouldn’t make sense to anyone else, it hit its mark and filled the space between us with a silent awareness. He was mocking my play on “lucky” from our earlier conversation. The devil understood the workings of my chaotic mind so well, I wasn’t sure what it said about me.
A sense of closeness constricted my throat, and I pulled my foot out from underneath his boot. I’d most assuredly screwed my chances of gaining any freedom today, and I’d lost the humility to beg for it. I needed to cut my losses before I felt the sharp bite of fangs.
“May I be excused?”
His eyes narrowed. “No.”
See, this was what happened when I tried to behave.