“Someone you spent the night with, in a deep embrace, our limbs tangled, my mouth on the back of your neck.” He cupped my chin, rubbed a thumb along my lip. “My cock as hard as ice, my body hot as fire. For you, Lauren. Always for you.”
I should have drawn back, but I couldn’t. I was locked in the Russian’s tractor beam again.
“T-this isn’t fair.”
“No, it is not.”
He was going to kiss me—and there was every chance I might let him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Alexei
* * *
Arriving at Lauren’s office building and seeing her light on had truly given me hope after a terrible day. She had stayed. Surely, that was a good sign, especially if it meant she was in no hurry to return to her boyfriend.
Who was due to propose.
Her compassion when I shared about Sasha almost undid me. I did not deserve it. Not after how I had treated her. I refused to use her good nature to make me feel better.
But this new information had me itching for battle.
He doesn’t see you as a threat.
Well, he should.
Now I was ready to kiss her. To claim her. To show her how a man who truly wanted her should react around her. I would use our sexual chemistry to force a break of her … vows. But those were to me, not to him, were they not?
Yet my conscience had something to say about it. This isn’t fair, she had said.
I agreed, in principle. Besides, I did not want to win her on a technicality, with a circumstantial surrender to temptation and a brief loss of control. I wanted her to be all in.
I dropped my hand and sat back to give her space—and a chance for my cock to calm the fuck down.
“When did you tell him?”
She examined her nails, though I couldn’t help noticing that her hand shook. “None of your business. All you need to know is that he’s aware of the situation and after the initial shock, he reacted with maturity and grace.”
“So, he understands that you are currently unavailable for a wedding with him?”
She growled. “He understands that this is a purely administrative snafu that will be handled very, very soon.”
“I wonder if he knew when I spoke to him. He didn’t sound like he knew.”
Her eyes flew wide. “You spoke to Thad?”
“Yes, he called a few days ago asking me to invest in some fund.”
“I didn’t know that.”
I had been as surprised as she was now. “If he had known that I was married to his girlfriend, it would be strange not to mention it, yes? But perhaps you are right. He is perfectly fine with our marriage. Not threatened at all.”
She stood and paced the room for a moment, hands on hips. I could only admire how she looked in her smart business suit—long pants, a fitted blazer, a silk blouse that revealed the swell of her breasts. Of course, a skirt to highlight her shapely legs would be better, but my cock fully appreciated the view all the same. She also wore sneakers, which was very on brand for Lauren.
As was her current mood.
“You seem upset.”
