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The water turns off a minute later, and I hear the door slide open. “Could you hand me a towel?”
I was almost relaxed, but my shoulders jerk up to my ears the moment I hear his deep voice. Remembering his words about me being a scared little deer, I force my body to relax, rolling my tongue over my teeth in annoyance instead.
“Towel please,” he says, his voice louder.
I groan. “Get the towel yourself, Ivan. Are you a baby?”
“Suit yourself,” he replies, and I immediately regret my words. His wet feet slap against the marble floor as he walks toward me, and a shadow falls over my body as he comes to a stop behind me.
I look over my shoulder, locked onto his eyes so that I don’t see what’s down below. “What are you doing?”
“My towel. You put it somewhere,” he replies. Water rolls from a curl on his forehead down his face, tracing the shape of his nose before settling into the crack between his lips. He licks it away, and I feel a flutter in my belly again.
My nipples tighten, and I groan internally. How can I be so instinctually attracted to a man I’m disgusted with? It defies nature.
“I don’t know where you towel is. I left it on the…” I look around, avoiding his direction. “Ah, there it is. You can see it, idiot. It’s on the rod by the door.”
He smirks. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
“Don’t call me that,” I snap.
He turns away, and my eyes flicker down to his butt. I shouldn’t look, but the taper of his muscular back pulls my eyes down. His hips are narrow, but there’s power in his thighs.
Goodness, so much power.
A towel drops in front of my glorious view, saving me from getting drawn in too deep. If he caught me staring, that would be the end of it. He’d know that he could lure me into even more depraved activities.
And for the love of all things sacred, I can’t allow that to happen.
6
Ivan
It’s cute that Lily tries to hide her interest in me, but I know I can’t take advantage of her in such a vulnerable moment. She came here to learn about Dimitri, and it’s my duty to inform her of what she’s gotten herself into.
The terrors that she’s up against are greater than she realizes, and this isn’t going to be an easy conversation to have.
Lily, however, is still unaware. Her chocolate eyes are wide and curious as deep red soup laid down in front of her at the dinner table. Normally, I’d have guests sit a few seats down from me, or across the table, but I have some things to show her, so I’ve seated her right beside me.
“What’s this soup?” she asks, picking up a silver spoon and dipping it into her bowl.
“I take it you’ve never had borshch before?”
“Borshch! That’s what it’s called,” she replies excitedly. “No, I’ve had it before. Dimitri used to make it, but I always forget the name.”
“Makes sense,” I say, lifting my spoon. “But everyone makes it differently. I think he liked to use a lot of pepper.”
“So, you do know him,” she says, looking at me. Her eyes are so big and beautiful that I feel like I could fall into them and drown. They’re pools of glass in the orange candlelight.
I nod. “I knew him well when he was with our organization, but once he retired from it, I didn’t keep in touch as much as I should’ve. Business moves fast, but that’s no excuse. I just didn’t expect him to go so suddenly.”
Her eyebrows pull together in a frown. “You worked together?”
“For… twenty years? At least that much, but it could’ve been longer, honestly.”
She laughs, taking a spoonful of her soup. “Jesus, you must be old.”
“Forty-five. Still have a few more good years in me,” I reply, not expecting her to understand that life doesn’t end after thirty. She’s clearly still in the part of her life that feels like her youth will never end, but your twenties are short. You only realize that once they’re over and you have to face the long road ahead.
