“You’re kidding?” Charlotte breathed.
“I’m not.”
“That’s so…out there, but hold that thought for a moment,” she said, jumping up. “I need another beer. I’ll be back.” Charlotte scooted into the kitchen and returned with two beers, one of which she slapped into my hand. She dropped into her chair and pulled her feet under her. “Proceed,” she invited. “You were telling me how Yuri kissed you. This is the good part, so don’t hold back. I want all the details. As many as you can spare.”
I stared at her eager face and realized I couldn’t share that moment with her. She already thought he was a creep and my reaction as deserving a place in a psychiatric ward. How could I make her understand I had absolutely no control over my own actions? That a complete stranger could have had me right there on the floor of his study. I didn’t even have the excuse of being drunk. I felt myself blush with shame. “There is not much to tell. It was just wrong.”
Charlotte’s eyes turned penetrating. I never could hide anything from her. “Just wrong? That’s it. You didn’t feel anything? Every kiss does something. You can kiss a frog and still get something.”
“Well, he got slapped.”
“Hmmm…yes. You said. So that’s it then. You didn’t get the job.”
“No, I got the job.”
She looked incredulous. “He gave you the job after you slapped him?”
“Well, after I slapped him I left his office, but that was when I met his niece. She ran up to me and gave me the notes. Of course, he saw our exchange and called me back into his office. He said he had reconsidered and was going to give me the job because he wanted to put Yulia’s needs above his.”
“How magnanimous of him,” Charlotte replied sarcastically. “And you’re okay with this?” She seemed to be waiting with bated breath.
I sighed. “Yes.”
“Why? He sounds extremely misogynistic and manipulative.”
“I don’t know how to put this, but I’m actually quite concerned about a little girl who won’t talk. A little girl who thinks I, a complete stranger, might be the answer to her prayers. I’m also very curious to know why she chose me. Maybe I was simply a face she preferred to the other applicants, or there’s a mystery I can help to solve. In any case, she moved me.”
Charlotte bit her lip. “I still don’t know how I feel about the lecherous uncle, but I think the child made a brilliant decision picking you. You will be good for her.”
“You really think so?”
“Absolutely. They don’t call you the child whisperer at the agency for nothing. You’ll help her. I’m sure of it.”
We were silent for a few seconds.
“What does he look like in real life… the uncle?” she asked softly.
My breath came out in a rush. “Sexy. Dark hair. Blue eyes, cold and piercing. Full lips, chiseled jawline, clean shaven, straight nose, and his eyes are so blue, cold and piercing…”
“You mentioned that.” Charlotte giggled.
“Really tall too… six feet three or maybe even more. I only came up to his chest.”
“Dangerous looking?”
“Extremely. I was quaking when he came close to me.” I shifted uncomfortably. Even since that kiss, my clit felt strangely swollen. Now even the mere thought of him was making it throb.
“So you really wanted him, huh?” Charlotte deduced, her eyes astonished and baffled. As if she was finding out, I wasn’t the person she’d spent her whole life believing I was.
I gazed into her dear and familiar eyes. Those kind eyes I always knew I could trust with my life, and suddenly I was ashamed for entertaining the thought of not being honest with her. It was Yuri Volkov’s fault. Never before had a man come between us. No, I didn’t want to hide how I really felt about him from her. Charlotte wasn’t just my best friend and roommate; she was the sister I never had.
“I wasn’t very honest just now when I said I felt nothing when he kissed me. The truth is I don’t think I’ve ever felt that much attraction to someone in my entire life,” I confessed.
“Wow, I’ve never seen you like this,” she said thoughtfully.
“I’ve never felt like this before. Oh Charlotte, I wanted to fuck him right there.”
Charlotte’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, my God!”
“There were goosebumps down my neck and arms,” I continued. “I didn’t think he would notice, but his eyes traced them… He knew. It was so crazy. I could smell his need—”
Charlotte’s giggle brought me back to the room. “You could smell his need? What are you? A she-wolf?”
I smiled weakly. “I swear I could…it’s hard to explain.”
“I know. You had to be there.”
“Yes, I felt like I was on fire. I don’t know how it happened, but when his lips met mine, I felt as if I was melting. I couldn’t even feel my legs. There was literally fire in the pit of my stomach… I really thought I was going to pass out. All I wanted to do was have him inside me. Just once… not more. He’ll ruin me, otherwise.”