“Here,” Dan says, bringing my attention back to him. “See if you can find the dangling modifiers and fix them.” He slides a sheet of paper across the table toward me.
I sigh and begin reading the sentences printed on it.Being a princess, her hands were pretty and white.That looks fine to me. Unless… does that imply that it’s her hands that are a princess? Yeah, maybe that’s a dangling modifier. I circle the offending part of the sentence and write in the blank space below:Being a princess, she has hands that are pretty and white.
Yep. That sounds better. Nailed it.
I go through a few more examples, and when I look up, Dan is staring at me with drool running down his chin. Okay, not literally, but that’s basically what his expression is saying. Which is just ridiculous because I’m not wearing any makeup, my hair is in a messy bun, and my clothes are completely shapeless. Mama would have a fit if she saw me like this, but I’m doing Dan a favor.
I really don’t want him to end up in a hospital or worse.
“What?” I snap when he continues staring, and he blinks like a startled frog.
“Oh, nothing. Just—you have something on your cheek.”
I do? I rub my left cheek. “Better now?”
“No, it’s the other—here.” Before I can react, he reaches across the table and touches my other cheek. “Just this tiny bit of lint that’s—”
With a faint squeak of hinges, the library door behind me swings open, and Dan jerks back as if stung by a jellyfish. Thank God. I’m not a violent person, but I was about to slap his hand away.
I turn around in my chair, expecting to see Mama checking up on us, but instead, I meet a pair of near-black eyes that have been on my mind more times since last summer than I’d care to admit.
“Excuse me,” Alexei Leonov says evenly. “I didn’t realize this room was occupied.”
Unlike the last time I saw him, he’s dressed casually, in a pair of dark jeans and a black T-shirt, the crewneck collar of which reveals a portion of a tattoo snaking up the side of his neck. A T-shirt, in the dead of winter. Did he take off his sweater along with his coat, or does he think he’s immune to the freezing cold outside? My gaze falls on his tan, muscular arms, decorated with intricate tattoos as well, and my breath quickens, my heart taking on a heavy, thumping rhythm. Belatedly, I register that underneath one of those arms, he’s holding a laptop—likely his reason for seeking out this room with its comfortable table and chairs.
Except… why would he work on his laptop inourlibrary? Or be inourpenthouse, for that matter?
How deep does Papa’s newfound friendship with the Leonovs go?
Returning my gaze to Alexei’s face, I lift my chin and say as coolly as I can manage, “Itisoccupied, as you can see.”
I expect him to be looking at me, but he’s not. It’s Dan who commands his attention.
Dan, who’s turned so red that his freckles are barely visible.
“W-we’re in the middle of an English lesson,” he stutters out in awkwardly accented Russian. “So if you d-don’t mind…”
Alexei doesn’t move. His hard features are expressionless, but whatever Dan sees in his eyes makes my tutor’s face shift from the color of boiled lobster to that of a drowned cadaver.
Normally, I’d revel in Dan’s discomfort, but right now, the hair on my nape rises. Because I feel it.Menace.It rolls off Alexei in waves. That sense of danger, of barely leashed violence, is so palpable I already smell blood in the air.
I have no idea what’s happening or why, but I know I have to put a stop to it. Now. Before that violence is unleashed. My heart thuds audibly against my ribcage as I say, “You can leave now.”
My tone is imperious, but my voice comes out a pitch too high. Alexei wouldn’t dare hurt me—probably—but I can’t vouch for what he might do to my tutor.
Did he see Dan touch me? Is that what this is all about?
Those dark eyes swing my way, and cold sweat gathers under my armpits. Only six months have passed since I saw him last, but there’s nothing of the boy left in Alexei Leonov. His jaw is even harder, more cruelly defined, his cheeks leaner and his cheekbones more prominent. There’s no trace of softness in his icy gaze, no hint of the flirtatiousness that marked the beginning of our first encounter. The man in front of me is cold and lethal, as dangerous as the Leonovs are known to be. I feel it deep in my bones.
Calling upon all of my courage, I say again, “Leave. Right now. We’re busy.”
Something dark flits over Alexei’s face, but he inclines his head. “As you wish.”
He exits, closing the door behind him, and for the first time since he walked in, I’m able to draw in a full breath.
I’m not the only one, either. When I turn back to face Dan, he’s regaining some of his color. He’s even attempting a smile, as if he didn’t almost shit his pants a minute ago. And suddenly, I’ve had enough.
Before I can think through all the potential consequences, I paste on a sweet smile and lean forward. “You’d better pray he doesn’t talk to my father or brothers. I don’t know how much you’ve heard about my family, but they arenotlike your other employers.”