“That is — that is very kind, Viktor, but the two of you should have your time together as a family. I don’t want to intrude on —”
“You are not intruding. Lily has bonded with you,” I say, selfishly trying my best to make sure this gorgeous female eatswith me for all my meals. “If I am suddenly at her table after two years of not being there, she will not know what to do. She will retreat into her composure. You are the bridge.”
“Okay,” she says. “Yes. I’ll be there.”
“And also, I expect you to be there with us for all meals, for this entire year. And if we need you to renew your contract you will do that too. There is no use in all of us eating together like this, if you’re just going to return to your boyfriend in America at the first chance you can get.”
Her brow furrows. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
Relief floods through my veins. I give a curt nod. “Then you are staying.”
She licks her lips.
“Six o’clock,” I confirm. “The great dining room. Tonight.”
“Six o’clock,” she firmly repeats. Then she stands.
And that’s when I scent it. For a half-second I do not understand what I am smelling. It takes me another half-second to identify it.
Arousal.
Hers.
My fangs come further down. My pulse roars in my ears.
She wants me, as much as I want her. And I have just discovered that she is single, unmated.
There is much I want to say and do, but instead I manage to rasp, “Was there anything else, Hazel?”
Her mouth opens. Closes. “No.”
“Then I will see you at six.”
The door closes behind her.
Six o’clock,I think.
I sit back down at my desk.
I do not get any more work done that afternoon.
Chapter Five
Hazel
Lily practically vibrates beside me as we walk hand in hand down the long stone corridor toward the great dining room.
She has not stopped grinning since I told her she was going to have dinner with her papa tonight. She wears a dark green dress with a lace collar. Her hair is in a tiny bun on top of her head, just like the grownups. And she carries Max in the crook of her elbow, because some things cannot be left behind for big-girl dinner, apparently.
Meanwhile, I am wearing my only nice dress. It is a white summer dress with an elegant green leaf print, midi-length, cap sleeves and it falls below the knee. It is modest, but it isform-fitting through the bodice,and it brings out the green in my eyes. I am also wearing my nicest flats, because I did not pack heels. And yes, I’m wearing more makeup than normal, and I sprayed a tiny bit of my favorite perfume.
I hope he notices the fact that this dress makes my waist look small.
Oh jeez. Stop it, Hazel.Stop it.This is not a date. This is dinner with your boss and his daughter as part of your job. That is all.That is all.
But then why did he basically ask if I had a boyfriend?
And did I, or did I not, see an unmistakable hard line in his trousers when he was standing on the other side of his desk in his study? Am I imagining things, or is this Krovenian seriously attracted to me?
