I sit up straighter in bed, hyperaware of the shifting of the mattress beneath me. “Will that cause problems for you?”
“Considering he was laughing like a maniac after I nearly broke his nose, I would say no. But then again, who knows with a crazy bastard like him.”
“Maybe if you apologize—”
“Nonsense,” he cuts me off. “Eat. Anna made this for you.”
“She…did? I thought she hated me?”
“She doesn’t hate you.”
“She just doesn’t like me?”
“That dislike is currently on pause since she learned you were unconscious due to defending me.”
Yikes. Now, she and everyone else must be labeling me a weakling who needs to be babied.
“Isn’t this your room?” I ask carefully, once again hyperaware of my surroundings and, especially, the man standing right beside me. It doesn’t help that the sheets smell like him, and I have to dig my fingers into them to stop myself from bringing them to my face and inhaling them.
“Those are some impressive deduction skills,” he says with a note of amusement.
“You could’ve just let the guys take me to the annex house.”
A shadow darkens his light eyes and his tone turns lethal. “If by that, you mean that you’re fine with theguysfinding out about your true gender, then we can do that right away.”
“I…didn’t mean that.”
“Then be thankful and shut the fuck up.”
My shoulders snap upright, and heat explodes across my skin. “You don’t have to speak to me in that tone. In fact, I’d prefer it if you didn’t. I only had a legitimate concern about your image. I didn’t want you to look weird for taking a guard to your room, but maybe I was overthinking.”
“You were. As long as I have the power, no one dares to question me about my choices. So let me worry about my image and eat, Sasha. I won’t ask a third time.”
I narrow my eyes. “And what do you intend to do if I somehow disagree?”
In a swift movement, he puts the plate back on the nightstand and then all but lifts me. In no time, he takes my previous place on the mattress and brings me down on his lap.
I’m speechless for a second too long as I’m crushed by the hard muscles of his thighs and chest. He wraps his arm around my back and rests it on my hip, then grabs the tray.
“I…was joking. I can eat on my own.”
“You might have been joking, but I certainly wasn’t. I told you I won’t ask again.” He takes a spoonful of the soup and jams it against my lips. “Open.”
I don’t mean to, but my mouth trembles. A war erupts in my core as I’m surrounded by his rare warmth and his scent.
Damn how good he smells all day. Every day.
And now that he’s so close, I’m forced to breathe him instead of air.
“Let me down,” I murmur, barely hearing the words myself.
“Open your mouth. I won’t ask a third time.”
I let my lips part, even though I don’t want to. At the same time, I’d rather not find out what he’ll do if I don’t comply.
Kirill is a force of nature not to be reckoned with. I know because I’ve seen him in action, and he low-key terrifies the shit out of me.
Annoyingly, though, I also find myself weirdly fascinated by his abnormal mind.