His warning left her cold, and she could only stare at him in mute hurt. Why couldn’t he give them a chance? Why?
Vassi’s face softened slightly. “You mean the world to me, leech. I don’t want you hurt any more than you do. So do us both a favor and stop this. Da?”
Even knowing that she could end up angering him, Seri slowly shook her head. “Nyet.” She could feel her body stiffening as she answered him, as if preparing itself to face Vassi’s anger. But instead all she felt was the tender brush of his lips on her forehead.
And then he was pulling her close, murmuring over her hair, “Stubborn, idiotic leech.”
She wanted to smile and cry at the same time.
Pulling away, he glanced down at her, saying, “I need to leave now. I’ve got one last campaign to finish before I’m officially on leave from Hollywood. You’ll be okay on your own?”
She nodded, and Vassi gave her a smile.
And then he was walking away, and as she stared at his back, she had the worst sense of premonition.
One day, she would see him walking away from her—-
And it would be for good.
Seri abruptly turned away, telling herself that she was acting silly. An inevitable side effect, she thought determinedly, when one lived with superstitious Russians all her life.
But even so a tear slipped down her cheek, and the moment she realized she was crying, she found herself unable to stop.
Why was love so hard?
Head still down, she took one step forward and crashed into something – someone – unmovable, hard enough to cause her to stagger back.
“Are you okay?”
****
Maximilian Rockford was on his way to leave when a girl with her head down came barreling towards him. He grunted but held his ground easily, causing the girl to stumble back with a stifled gasp.
He frowned, not liking the thought that he would have to deal with an intoxicated party girl. “Do you need help?” He reached out to help steady her but had his hand immediately swatted away, and he lifted a brow at the unexpected reaction. He was more surprised and amused than offended. It was not exactly the kind of response he was used to from the opposite sex.
When she finally looked up, Maximilian realized immediately what was wrong. Ah. She had been crying. The realization had him looking down at his hand thoughtfully.
Seri bit her lip hard to keep herself from crying. The guy in front of her was remarkably handsome, almost as good looking as Vassi really, although they were polar opposites in appearance, with the stranger’s jet-black hair and hazel eyes. He was also dressed a little bit too well and formally for a college student, with his light blue collared shirt perfectly ironed and his tailored gray pants similarly without a crease.
Seri knew she should apologize, and if she had been in a normal frame of mind, she would have. Problem was, she wasn’t, and she heard herself snap ungraciously, “What are you staring at?”
Maximilian said easily, “I’m not staring.” If there was one thing he had learned from having four sisters, then it was being able to recognize the difference between a girl who was just plain bitchy…and a girl who was pretending she was bitchy to hide her pain.
When the girl started to walk past him, Maximilian said, “One thing before you go.”
Seri scowled at the words but even so, she found herself turning to face the guy again. “What?” She knew she was being unreasonably rude, but she didn’t care. She was hurt, and right now, it felt right to have everyone feeling as miserable as she was.
“I thought you might want to know…” Seri saw his gaze fall to his hand, and that was when she noticed a drop of creamy white liquid on his knuckle.
Her eyes widened as she realized what it was.
As he pulled out a hanky from his pocket and meticulously wiped his hand clean, the guy said with mocking politeness, “You need to wash your hands.”
She gasped.
Then she looked down, saw that her fingers did still have more than a bit of Vassi’s cum, and she gasped again even as color flooded her cheeks.
A shadow fell over her, and a moment later she heard the guy whisper to her ear, “Next time, choose a guy who can return the favor—-”
Seri gasped for the third time, and she automatically raised her hand to slap him.
Maximilian caught her wrist without trouble, and as she glared up at him, he found himself thinking that she was just his type. It was too bad, he thought wryly, that she already had someone else.
Looking down at her, he said gently, “I’m a fairly easygoing guy, but letting a girl who just pleasured another guy slap me is a bit too…” He gave her a faintly apologetic look even as she turned red. “It’s not my thing, I’m afraid.” Releasing her, Maximilian stepped back and smiled at her. “Call me when you want someone who can—-”