Chapter Eleven
Sofia woke to the sound of the water running. The shower. She opened her eyes blearily.
Was it morning already? Sofia didn’t get much sleep. She must have eaten something bad the day before.
Dang it. It was probably the two-day-old pizza in the fridge. Lev told one of Maxim’s men to throw it out but he’d forgotten.
Sofia had woken up in the middle of the night, craving something small to eat. That slice of pizza looked so tempting.
She wanted to hurl, but Maxim was still in the shower. She crept out of bed, remembered to wear her robe, then ran outside.
She nearly bumped into Lev. He steadied her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Sofia?” Lev asked her.
“Ate something bad last night, move,” she said. Lev stepped aside, and Sofia rushed to the communal bathroom on the second floor. There was no one inside.
Good. Sofia hurled out the contents of her stomach. She felt much better afterward.
Sofia used some mouth wash, then cleaned herself up a little before exiting the bathroom.
She found Maxim and Lev talking in the bedroom. Maxim only wore a towel around his waist and nothing else.
God. How could he look so perfect in the morning while she was a mess?
His smile went right through her. Sofia quickly forgot about her stomachache. The way he looked at her, like she was his most prized possession, made her hot all over.
“Good morning, wife,” Maxim said. “Lev said you’re not feeling well?”
After he walked up to her, he placed his hands on her shoulders. He tucked one stray curl away from her face, then kissed her.
Sofia was now glad for the mouth wash. She clutched his broad shoulders and enjoyed his morning kiss. Lev excused himself and exited the room.
“I probably shouldn’t have eaten the pizza last night,” she admitted.
“If you’re not feeling up for the event tonight,” Maxim began.
“No, I’m going. I know how important this charity event is to you and Father,” Sofia said.
Maxim paused, studying her. “I don’t want to force you, especially if you’re feeling ill. Tell you what, I’ll have someone run to the pharmacy for you. If there’s no change in the afternoon, I want you to stay in bed.”
“Then who will you take tonight?” Sofia asked, resting her hand on his ink-covered chest.
She could feel the steady beat of his heart. Sofia remembered how much research she did on him before she confronted Aurora and tried to convince her it was a bad idea to marry Maxim. She had looked through numerous newspaper and magazine articles with pictures of Maxim with a well-known model or actress on his arm. Of course, Sofia now knew those women didn’t hold a candle to her.
Maxim often told her that since she came into his life, he could never look at another woman. Still, Sofia didn’t want some opportunist trying to snare her husband into some kind of trap. Not that Maxim would fall for it. Most likely, that woman would end up dead.
“Is that jealousy I hear in your voice, wife?” Maxim asked.
“Maybe,” Sofia admitted. She kissed his cheek. “I’ll take my medicine and update you later. I know you’re running late for a meeting.”
“Help me pick a suit? I can’t decide between the charcoal gray or the dark blue,” Maxim said.
Sofia glanced at the two suits he had laid out on bed and plucked the charcoal-gray one. “This would go with the silver tie I bought you last night.” Sofia decided.
“Perfect. You have impeccable taste, like always,” Maxim said.
While Maxim dressed, Sofia crawled back into bed. Her feeling of queasiness had returned.