Page 21 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

Tora looked at her seriously as she said it, still holding out the half-full glass of whiskey.

Alisa took the glass. Their fingers brushed lightly, and even that fleeting touch was enough to make heat rush into her cheeks. Her whole body shivered with a small, helpless tremor.

She raised the glass to her lips, inhaling the whiskey first. The smell was sharp, distinctive and strangely familiar. It reminded her of something long forgotten, something she could not quite place. Parties, maybe. Something careless and light. Though she had hardly ever gone to parties.

She took a sip, letting the whiskey spread slowly over her tongue before swallowing. Warmth slid down her throat, burning pleasantly, but she did not wince. Instead, she took another sip, deeper this time.

And suddenly everything inside her flared.

Not because of the whiskey.

Because Tora had moved closer.

While Alisa drank from her glass, Tora had shifted nearer until there were only a few centimeters between them.

Alisa swallowed nervously and looked up.

Tora’s face was so close that she could feel the warmth of her breath against her skin. Alisa trembled all over.

Is she going to kiss me now?

She looks like she wants to.

Alisa parted her lips.

Then the door burst open.

Loke strode into the room. Judging by the careless looseness of his movements, he had already had too much to drink.

“What are you doing, Russian?”

Before Alisa could answer, he crossed the room, grabbed her by the shoulders, and pulled her up from the sofa, wrenching her away from Tora and from what might have happened next.

“I’m not doing anything, we were just talking…” Alisa said, swallowing hard as she felt his fingers digging painfully into her shoulders. “Let me go.”

She hissed the last words through her teeth.

He let go at once, but turned immediately toward Tora.

“Why did you bring her here?” he snapped.

“This is actually my house, in case you forgot,” Tora replied coldly. “I bring whoever I want here. And since when do you get to order me around?”

“They’re our direct competitors for the Olympics, Tora. Are you stupid or what?”

Even through the music, the crack of the slap rang out clearly.

Tora had slapped him.

“Get out. You’re drunk. We’ll talk when you’ve slept it off.”

Loke pressed a hand to his reddening cheek.

Before leaving, he looked back at Alisa, and there was something in his expression that made her skin crawl.

“You’ll see your failure again,” he said. “And you’ll regret ever getting involved with Tora.”

Then he disappeared.