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Instant heat rushed through my core. So, he was home. I wondered when he’d come back as I hadn’t even heard the sounds of his presence. I wanted to ask her why he wanted to see me, but I thought better of it. There was no point in making her suspicious. She was probably loyal to him. I was just a stranger who was now living with him.
I got up and went to the bathroom, wondering if he was expecting me to get dressed up for whatever he had planned for me. The clothes I had on were comfortable—grey sweat pants and a hoodie, nothing elegant. Well, if he didn’t approve of my appearance then that was too bad. He didn’t even give me enough advance notice and up to now, I wasn’t expected to go anywhere.
After giving my hair a brush, I left my room and headed to the living area of the penthouse. My pulse quickened when I saw that Penelope had set the dining table for dinner. Now she was in the kitchen, cooking.
I finally spotted him sitting at one end of the table and my heart started racing away. He seemed engrossed in his paper, but then he lifted his head and noticed me standing there. Unexpected heat poured into my thighs, igniting my blood with lust. Fuck, I needed to gain control of myself, but I couldn’t escape his intense gaze.
I couldn’t deny that he looked good, wearing a crispy white shirt with his sleeves rolled back to his shoulders.
Why did he have to be so hot and evil at the same time?
“Sit down, Marinka. Why are you just standing there?”
His gruff, judgmental voice echoed in the living room and the spell was broken. He was back to being a beast. Obviously, he liked ordering me around.
“Are we having dinner?” I asked, feeling a little self-conscious about my look and pissed off that as usual, he didn’t give me enough time to prepare. “You should have said. I would have changed.”
His dark eyes moved over my outfit and my cheeks flushed.
“Just sit down. This wasn’t on the agenda today but either way, we need to talk.” He pointed at the chair right next to his.
A bunch of bricks cascaded down to my stomach. I didn’t want to sit by him—I needed space between us. The image of him hovering over my backside on that pool table came to the forefront of my mind, unbidden. Why did I have to think about my dreadful punishment right about now?
He was making me wet just by being there. A more undeserving man I couldn’t have conjured up. A cruel one who didn’t realize I’d never slept with anybody, never even experienced a proper kiss. If he’d somehow found out, I would want to die and bury myself from embarrassment.
No doubt he’d expected me to feel humiliated back in the club, but on the contrary, I experienced an epiphany in the form of a sense of fulfilment—something I’d never have expected in a million years. In my heart of hearts, I was still reeling from that, yet, I couldn’t lie to myself.
I had to make sure to keep this secret, or he’d destroy me.
He kept staring at me impatiently so I quickly sat down next to him. There was a perfectly fine seat on the other side of the table, directly opposite him, and I would have preferred to take that one, but I couldn’t risk pissing him off so early in the evening.
My stomach growled for usually I’d have eaten much earlier. This whole set up explained why Penelope hadn’t brought me dinner like she did on Tuesday.
“I hope you like steak because this is what we are going to have,” Sebastian said. He was lucky I wasn’t vegetarian but I was tempted to pretend to be one, just so I could annoy him. I quickly nodded, checking myself as this sort of attitude wasn’t going to bring me any brownie points. “Would you like some wine?”
“Yes, thank you,” I said, still wary of what he was planning for me for tonight. My subconscious reminded me I wasn’t supposed to drink anything because I was always such a lightweight. One drink could set me off, but I pushed that annoying voice away.
This was different and a little unsettling that he wanted to talk to me. He had been absent and cold, alternating with downright vicious, since the beginning, so how much better could I expect?
Most importantly, I could never really figure out what kind of mood he was in. The man was a total enigma.
I didn’t want to show him any weakness, but this dinner … well, this was something new and unexpected.
“Things are going to change from now on. Every evening we are going to have dinner together, so we can get to know each other better. We have a lot to go over, teacup,” he explained, and then waved his hand.
Penelope brought out the starter, which consisted of caprese salad with fresh crusty bread. My mouth watered. This was nice for a change. Maybe Sebastian was finally going to treat me like a woman and not like a prisoner.
It was good that he wanted to get to know me, too. Fluttering butterflies warred with the apprehension lingering in my gut.
“Enjoy,” Penelope said after she placed the plate in front of me.
For a moment we ate in silence and it felt like I had never tasted anything better than this. It was a simple salad, but Penelope had added some interesting seasonings. She did know her way around the kitchen as I’d figured out from the meals she’d brought to my room, but in this moment, I was grateful for the semi-normalcy of simple enjoyment. Maybe Sebastian didn’t mess around with her because he was too afraid to lose her—she was just that good. Once I sipped my wine, I felt like the miserable mood I had been in all day was finally beginning to dissipate.
It was probably the alcohol and the fact I was finally out of my room.
“Is this what you did with your wife before? Have dinner together?” I asked, shocked that this question actually passed through my lips.
Sebastian shot me a glare and I wanted to bite my tongue. I should have known better than to bring up his wife. In his gaze, it seemed as though he was looking right through my skin, noting all my flaws and insecurities.
