He leans back, looking down at me as he gently brushes hair from my face and tucks it behind my ear. “What do you feel like doing today?” he asks. “We can order in, stay in bed all day, ignore the world?”
“It’s very tempting, but actually…”
“You have something else in mind?” he cocks his head to the side as his hands rub gently up and down my thighs.
I’m expecting him to say no, but I have to try anyway.
“I wanted to go to the warehouse that got attacked,” I say with my eyes wide. I suck in my cheeks and stare at him, pulling a little face of hope and expectation as I wait for his immediate dismissal of my idea.
What I expect him to say is that it’s too dangerous and blah blah, all of those things.
“Why do you want to go there?” he asks, catching me by surprise with a genuine question instead of an argument.
“Oh, um. I wanted to see it and see if the people who work there are okay,” I say, answering honestly.
“My workers are okay; it was mostly the product that got messed with. There were a few injuries, but…” he narrows his eyes as I continue to stare at him.
“Okay, fine. We can go,” he says after a quiet moment. “But you have to promise to listen to me. If I feel at any point that you are in danger, you need to be obedient.” It’s something about the way he saysobedientthat has my body spiking with desire all over again.
“Okay, but before we go, I need to shower,” I grin at him, letting the mischief sparkle across my face without restraint.
“Funny that, I was just about to take a shower myself,” he muses, scooping me up in his arms to carry me upstairs.
***
His warehouse looks just like any other as we pull up in the parking area outside. Anton walks around the car to open the door for me. He holds out his hand to pull me from the car, but then he doesn’t let go. Instead, he slips his fingers through mine and holds me at his side as we walk towards the building.
My curiosity is piqued. I’m not even sure what to expect, but I'm expecting some kind of chaos inside.
But when we walk through the high corrugated doors, both sliding open wide enough to allow a truck to enter, I am shocked to see absolutely no trace of the attack that happened very recently.
My eyes dart over the people and the crates as they move to and fro.
“Anton,” a man lifts his arm and waves for Anton’s attention. I realize I recognize him and smile and wave at Yaroslav.
“Yaroslav, how are things going?” he asks, walking over to greet the man.
“Izabel, I hope you’re well,” Yaroslav says with the slightest hint of a smile. He is such a serious man. I think this is the first time I’ve seen his expression change other than when he thanked me for getting Anton home safely that night.
“I am,” I say with a nod.
He turns his attention back to Anton. “We’ve got everything cleaned up and additional security set up here and at the other locations."
“And the men who were injured?” I interrupt.
Yaroslav looks at me with a frown before glancing at Anton, who nods once.
“The men who were injured have been tended to. The doctor was here all of yesterday. Some of them are off resting at home, others are back at work today. All in all, the injuries were not too serious, given the suddenness off the attack. We are lucky.”
“Everyone is okay?” I ask.
“Yes, Izabel. Anton’s first priority was taking care of the people who work for him. It always is and always has been that way.”
I glance at Anton. He smiles at me. I didn’t expect everything to already be so sorted out. It hasn’t even been that long.
“It’s because I have help from men like Yaroslav,” Anton says, slapping his hand against Yaroslav’s shoulder. Yaroslav doesn’t melt under the compliment. He just grunts.
“I’ve got things to do. Shout if you need me,” he says, then walks away.
