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Shit. This was dangerous territory. I was being foolish. I’d made a deal, and I couldn’t leave no matter how much I wanted to. It was time for me to stop pretending Adrik and I were dating.
We weren’t. This wasn’t that kind of story. He’d paid me to keep his bed warm, and that was what I would do. I would fuck him when he said, go with him to dinner parties or whatever, and the rest of the time I would stay in the spare bedroom.
No more traipsing around Manhattan and getting dim sum in Chinatown. No more museums and outings. No more trying to earn his smiles. No more ammunition for breaking my heart.
I couldn’t risk it. His was not my world. I didn’t know how to play these kinds of games. How would I go back to my ordinary life afterwards if I fell for the man? There was no possibility he would fall for me. I was not in his league. Not even remotely. But why would it matter? I did not love him, I told myself, angry at myself for even thinking it.
My phone buzzed, and I looked down. Nonna had returned my text. She was happy, safe, and I was glad. I should have called her, but I couldn’t talk just yet. The elevator ride was quick, and I ignored the guards and went to the bedroom where I had them put my new clothes.
It was showtime. I was just playing dressing up. Acting a part. Yeah, I could do that. Just like drama class in high school. Fuck Marat for trying to play me into revealing some stupid corporate espionage plot. I was no spy. I was just a chubby Jersey girl who’d caught the eye of his billionaire brother.
Something he wanted to have, to borrow really, just for a little while. Like a piece of art or some other oddity. I was a temporary possession, rented, used, and when it was over, I would be sent back. Those thoughts played over and over in my head the entire time I showered and dressed, readying myself for this dinner party, whatever it was.
I took care to do my hair and makeup, using an iron to make fat, glossy, sable-colored curls cascading over my shoulders. I wore the silver silk dress he’d told me to wear.
It was simple in design, resembling a long slip with spaghetti straps that crisscrossed over my back. My shoulders were small, and they’d been taken in for me that day. All of my clothes had been fitted and adjusted to fit my shorter, wider frame. The dress felt delicious against my skin. So soft, so fine, and so thin you could see my nipples despite the teddy I wore beneath it.
It fell to my ankles in a flutter of silver fabric that moved when I walked and made me feel like I was floating on a cloud. But that was just more fiction. I was very much on solid ground. I slipped on the strappy matching heels with the infamous red sole and wondered at how comfortable they were despite being ridiculously high.
Those shoes cost more than my rent, and though I’d seen them in stores in the city, I’d never thought I would own a pair. Much less the twelve pairs Adrik had ordered for me. I hoped he would get more use out of them, since there was no way I would take any of the clothes or shoes with me after the month was up. Maybe his next plaything would be my size. The thought made my heart squeeze painfully in my chest.
Last, I gathered the 1920s style velvet robe that went on top of the dress and waited for Adrik to arrive. It was five minutes to four when I walked into the living room, and he was already there wearing a black tuxedo. Our eyes met and suddenly the room felt very small. He lowered his gaze, dragging it from my head to my feet, and I swore I felt the air sizzle with desire.
I might not have understood the game, but after my meeting with Marat, I was better prepared to steel myself against the unwanted tug on my heartstrings from such a look. If only this was a different sort of meeting. If only he hadn’t manipulated things so I had no choice but to be with him for this short time. Regret scratched at me, but I forced it away.
But all the if onlys would not get me through the next month. It was better to put on a smile and pretend I was as unaffected by him as he was by me. Adrik Volkov was a wolf who did not bother with sheep’s clothing. He wanted my body, and I agreed to give it to him. For one month.
I just had to remember to stick to that.
CHAPTER NINE
ADRIK
It almost killed me staying away all day. The temptation to barge in on her and rip her from whatever she was doing just so I could feel her mouth on mine, her skin against my sin, hear her whimpers and swallow her cries was so damn strong, I spent an extra hour working out just to control the impulse.
Then, it was a matter of not texting or calling her. A true test of my control, you might say. That I wound up breaking my phone to refrain from using it, I would not mention to anyone else. Andres had no problem replacing it within the hour, which was how I’d spent the remainder of the afternoon. Waiting on the Apple Store to deliver their latest and greatest.
Not that I had to wait. But I did have to stay away from Sofia. For my own sanity’s sake. Fuck, how I thought of that woman. All day long. What was she doing? Did she miss me like I missed her?
The pair of panties I’d plucked from her body the night before were still in my pocket. I’d touched them through the day, squeezing the lacy softness and lifting them to my face so I could smell her sweet pussy while I pretended to concentrate on work.
Volkov Industries was a well-oiled machine that required little interference. But I was the president. The head. And nothing happened without my knowledge or approval. So yes, I was distracted, but I got the job done. Marat came in sometime after lunch and bombarded me with a barrage of questions about Sofia. But she was not his business. She was mine. Mine alone.
I arrived back, dressed in my tux having changed in the office, at ten to four. I wanted to knock down the door to the bedroom she’d claimed as her own, but I forced myself to have a drink instead. Good thing, too. Because when Sofia finally walked out of the bedroom dressed in silk as silver as moonlight, it was all I could do not to drop to my knees, toss my head back and howl for her like the goddess she was.
The velvet coat she dragged behind her looked soft as her skin, warm, too, which was good. It was freezing outside. I would not want her cold. Remembering the state of her frigid apartment caused anger to rise in my veins, but I pressed it down. My people had already dealt with most of the issues on that property and her grandmother’s. When she went back—fuck. I did not like to think about that. When her time with me was over.
“Are you ready?” she asked, her soft voice sifting through the air, breaking my train of thought.
“Da, Zaika.”
I held out my arm, and she stepped forward, pausing to shrug on the velvet coat. My cock hardened as I stared, watching the way the silk clung to her shapely form. I frowned hard. I should not have asked her to wear that dress outside of my penthouse. She looked far too good in it.
The silk clung to her curves like a second skin. Her nipples pressed against the fabric, and I wondered if it felt good to her. I wanted to test it out for myself. To rub the expensive fabric over her mounds and her cleft, to see if she was as wet for me now as I was hard for her. But I needed to wait to sate my hunger till after this pretentious dinner party. I could not touch her then bring her there. Could not risk having others witness the serene look on her face that always came after she did. Her post orgasm expressions were mine. I did not share. Not ever.
So, I steeled my face, refusing to show expression as we rode the elevator to the limo waiting below. The ride to the Castle estate would be long. But worth it. The quicker we got this over with, the quicker I would have her back in my arms. In my bed. And perhaps tonight she would stay the whole night. The possibility made me eager. I looked forward to the challenge of it.
I did not notice at first, so caught up in my own desires, that my Zaika was unusually quiet. I attempted small talk, trying to draw her out. But other than one worded answer and polite smiles, she did not engage. It was unusual, and my frown deepened. It took over an hour to drive out to Long Island, and the entire time, she avoided eye contact with me.
