“No.”
“I’m done shopping.” I storm out of the store.
I was stupid to think he’d stick around longer than his orders last. It’ll be like when I was a teenager all over again. I start getting close, letting my guard down, letting myself hope, and then he’ll be gone just like that.
And that’s a big part of why I can’t get involved with men Daddy hires. He takes them away just when I start to feel like I could have a real connection. Is it really any wonder the only real friends I have are a rebel child from Tennessee that decided staying in D.C. with me was better than going back to the rolling hills, and Gio? The same Gio that I’m pretty sure I’d be engaged to if our parents followed regency era laws.
I get to the penthouse, surprised that Konstantin comes with me. I set the dogs free and turn around to face him. He blinks at me a few times as his mask dissolves. “Don’t give me that angry, upset look, Juls.”
“You’ve made me angry and upset! What else am I supposed to do?” I demand.
He opens his mouth and then sits on my couch. He scratches at his short hair and then tosses the ball Charlie brings him. Charlie sprints down the hallway, slipping on the marble floors while in hot pursuit.
The game continues and I roll my eyes. I go about my normal until I look up from my computer and see Konstantin there. He clears his throat. “I can order us dinner.”
“You’re staying for dinner? To do what, prolong the silence?”
“I’m useless in the kitchen,” He admits. “But I can make you a drink.”
“Really, Kon? After being silent all day, you want to what?”
“I’m jealous.”
I blink at him stupidly. No, no. Kon doesn’t getjealous. When I was a teenager he watched guys my age drool over me, try to steal touches, even steal some neck kisses, and never batted an eye. He’d blush when our eyes met and I’d wink at him, but nothing else.
“Jealous and something else. I don’t know what it is.” He walks into my kitchen, helping himself to the fridge and then showing a bottle of alcohol I definitely didn’t buy. “You’re confusing, Juliana.”
“No way.”
“You always have been.” His brow furrows and I see a faint blush across his cheeks. “You wind me up and then leave me. You send a million mixed messages. When you were a teenager, I figured you just liked teasing me. You knew I couldn’t touch. I think you knew I wanted to.”
I hold up my hand. What? Hewantedto touch me?
He blushes deeper. “I shouldn’t have said that. It sounds wrong. What I mean is ....”
But no words come out. He pours two liquors together, adds some cream, and shakes. The muscles in his big arms ripple deliciously and honestly, I think I’d prefer to make out with him than drink anything he could make me.
Unless I can lick it off him.
Especially when he’s being so cute and bashful. He keeps avoiding my gaze, still tosses the ball for Charlie, and talking in circles until he finishes our drinks. He brings them to the couch and sits there, legs spread apart, looking over at the kitchen, obviously anxious despite being huge and imposing.
Just a giant teddy bear of a man forced to be a tiger.
I take a sip of the drink, wanting to put him at ease. Holy shit. It’s warm thanks to the whiskey, but it tastes like peanut butter pie. I groan and finish half the drink. “This is amazing, Kon.”
He nods and downs his. I know he’s basically a god in size, but the fact that this man just downed a full twelve ounce glass of liquor is staggering. I slide a little closer to him. “Talk to me.”
“We kissed.”
“Yeah, I was there for it,” I remind him.
“You got upset when you thought I didn’t feel anything after, but I feel like you’ve been avoiding me since that talk. Gio and Max have gotten to watch you and come upstairs and ...” He picks at his nails. “Are you just teasing me again?”
He’s officially not allowed to be this cute. His nervous eyes meet mine and he blushes again before clearing his throat. I sit between his legs and wrap his arms around me as I lean back on his hard chest.
“I’m not teasing you, Kon. I don’t want to get you in trouble. I don’t want to getanyof you in trouble.”
“I can handle trouble,” He whispers in my ear. “I can’t handle mixed signals, not from you.”