Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
“You stole his car.”
“I thought the car belongs to you?”
“It does. But he loves it so much I’m going to give it to him for his birthday next month.”
I can’t help but smile. “You know, sometimes I actually think you are human.”
He looks at me through dark lashes. “Don’t be fooled, zayka, there is very little humanity left in me. Especially toward people who take advantage of my generosity.”
Point taken.
I’ll behave.
For now.
I take another glance at the card.
“Does this mean I’m no longer confined to my room?”
“Yes, it does. But need I remind you, it’s in your best interests to stay within the grounds of the estate, or if you go anywhere, it’s with permission and always… always with Igor.”
“But what if—”
“Always with Igor. Do you understand me?”
I nod. “Understood.”
“Thank the Lord,” he mutters.
I study him as he takes a sip of his coffee. “You know, buying me clothes wasn’t necessary. I have a whole wardrobe full of them at home. I could’ve brought some with me if you hadn’t been such a moody criminal the night you kidnapped me.”
“I think I can afford it.”
“Sure, but what happens when Wilson returns in a couple of days, and I get to leave? It seems like a waste.”
His coffee cup pauses at his lips as his dark gaze finds me, and for a fleeting moment, I think I see an unfamiliar emotion in his eyes. Is that disappointment? Regret?
But then he blinks, and it’s gone. “You’ll take them with you.”
I narrow my gaze. “Are you trying to buy me off?”
“Buy you off?” He cocks a perfect eyebrow.
“So I’ll play nicer.” I reach for another plushki because they are crazy good and immediately begin pulling it apart, letting little flakes of pastry melt on my tongue.
“I thought we already established that you would play nice. You know, for Wilson’s sake.”
“We did. I’m just trying to figure out where this generosity is coming from.”
“Maybe I’m a generous guy.”
“Nice try, loser. But I’m onto you.” I pick up the credit card. “This is because you feel bad about your giant overreaction last night?”
“You’re reading too much into it. It’s just a credit card for practical reasons.”
“Why can’t you just admit it? Last night, you were jealous.”
“Jealous?” The corners of his perfect, sexy lips twitch with a hint of a smile, and something tells me I’ve just been backed into the very corner he wanted me backed into. “Now, why would I be jealous?”
Our eyes meet again, and this time, the space between us crackles with something heavy and hot.
Crap, why does that make me all warm and tingly?
“Because… the way… you were…”
When my words fail me, he stands and walks around to the end of the table where I’m sitting and leans against the edge.
He folds his arms. “Go on…”
“You were behaving like…” Jesus Christ, what is that cologne he wears? It smells so good I can’t think straight.
He lifts his brow. “Like?”
“Like the thought of Vlad putting his hands on me was a declaration of war.”
“I assure you, last night had nothing to do with jealousy and everything to do with Vlad being an asshole of gargantuan proportions. This is not a real relationship, so stop reading into things, Miss Masters, or you’ll only get disappointed.” He leans forward, and his lips brush my ear. “Think of the clothes as a parting gift.”
He straightens and leaves.
And that warm and tingly feeling I had just a few moments ago—yeah, it left the moment the grumpy piranha opened his mouth and let me know how not into me he really is.
But I don’t let his emotional disconnection get to me. Instead, I reach for another plushki and decide calories don’t count when you’ve been kidnapped.
28
BROOKE
No longer confined to my room and with the whole day stretching out before me, I decide to explore the magnificent grounds of the estate.
Hearing the sound of water, I decide to investigate, and when I follow the path from the fountain down toward the driveway, I find Igor washing the car.
He’s hosing off soap suds, his big body rigid and his back as straight as a ruler as he moves the arc of water from one spot to another like he’s some kind of industrial robot. But he isn’t focused on the car. I follow his gaze to where Enya is helping carry groceries from a delivery truck parked on the driveway into the house. When she disappears inside, he returns his attention to the car, only to turn back to look at her when she returns for more groceries.
I notice the soft expression on his face and the way his gaze doesn’t leave her.
A smile dances on my lips. Igor has a crush on Enya.
He hears me approach and turns, but my instincts are to drop down behind the hedge of purple sage.