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“Maybe you have, but you’ve lost a lot of blood. Unless you want to pass out, I suggest you allow me to help you.” She tipped her head, searching my eyes.
I nodded, backing against the edge of the counter.
“Do you have anything in this… place that I can use to clean the wound? Bandages? Gauze? Towels? Anything? Or do you just kill people here and sweep their bodies into a garbage bag?”
“My little rebellious lion. There’s a closet just down the hall. You should find everything you need.” As soon as she started to walk away, I grabbed her arm. “Do not do anything stupid. I don’t need to be forced to remind you again that you are going nowhere.”
“Yeah, I get it,” she snapped then jerked her hand away. “I’m now your prisoner.”
I watched her walk away, continuing to remain angry with myself for allowing my guard to fall around her. While her softness and vulnerability had appealed to me, there was still a slight chance it had all been a staged lie. I’d need to continue reminding myself of that. She was required to talk, to tell me everything she knew about Gregory and his connections.
And she would spill her guts about the goddamn money or so help me God, I’d ignore the way her body called to me, the desire that continued to erase my mind of the important aspects of business. She was a tease and nothing more. Yet my cock ached for her, longing to feel the sweetness of her soft folds, the explosive warmth that always left me hungering for more.
I took a deep breath, the anguish now biting. Then I shoved myself away from the counter, moving toward one of the cabinets. There damn well better be a bottle of liquor left. Sweat beaded across my forehead as I bent down to retrieve the whiskey, barely getting the top untwisted then taking a swig.
She returned seconds later, placing the items she’d located on the kitchen table. I found it interesting that she was having difficulty looking me in the eye, studying the gun instead. Perhaps it was another attempt at keeping her distance, pretending that our connection wasn’t as strong as it was.
“I couldn’t find any alcohol,” she stated flatly. “I need to clean the wounds.”
“Use this.”
Her glare was harsh as she rolled her eyes. “Primitive.”
“Necessary.”
“Do you do this often? Do you pretend that you’re Superman when you’re a mortal human being? Do you enjoy being target practice for a bunch of crazy Russians?” She huffed, cracking a slight smile.
I took another swig then returned to where I’d been standing. “Do you always ask this many questions?”
“When I’m nervous.” She advanced, jerking the bottle out of my hand. Then she took a gulp, her face pinched as she swallowed the liquid, her soft shudder an indication her fear had yet to abate. “Lift your head. I need to look at the wound.”
I did as she asked, taking a deep whiff of her lingering perfume. A warm flush swept along her jaw, creeping along her cheeks. After darting a quick glance into my eyes, she shifted the bottle to the counter then gingerly pressed her fingers around the exit wound. “Turn around,” she half whispered, guiding me with her gentle touch. “It seems you were lucky. I don’t think it hit any vital organs.”
“I’m certain that pisses you off.”
“Don’t do that, Alexei. I don’t want you dead or even injured. What I want is my life back and nothing more.”
“We all want things we can’t have, Stephanie.”
“I learned that a long time ago. It doesn’t matter how much you scream or cry, beg or plead, some things just can’t be changed.”
“What caused you so much pain in the past?”
“Why? We aren’t friends. What does it matter?”
“Because everything about you matters to me.” The words I said were true, the realization almost gutting me.
Ignoring my comment, she took her time washing both wounds, blotting them dry before grabbing the bottle of alcohol. “This will hurt.”
“I’m impervious to pain,l’vitsa.”
“Don’t call me that any longer. What we shared is dead to me. I appreciate that you saved my life, but you and I both know we were tempting the devil.”
“What a fascinating way of discussing our passion.”
As she poured the liquor across my chest, cupping the overflow with her hand, I hissed not only from the burn but from the sting of her words.
She shook her head, tenderly blotting the wound before pressing a thick piece of gauze over the hole.
