AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The guilt lay like an anvil in her gut.
As horrible as it was to be spied on, knowing that nothing confidential she’d worked on the past year had been safe was even worse. Other people had been hurt because of her.
She remembered how Nataliya had felt when news of her miscarriage was leaked ahead of the planned announcement. Nataliya and Nikolai had just wanted time to grieve in peace, but that had been stolen from them.
Because someone had access to Jenna.
Tears burned Jenna’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall. The security people would deliver her stuff soon, and she didn’t want to be caught crying like an infant.
A confident knock on the door sounded. She swiped at her eyes and went to open the door.
Swinging it open, she put her hand out to take her bag. “Thank you, I...”
Her voice trailed off when she realized Dima stood there, not his security person. And he wasn’t holding a suitcase.
She frowned. “What do you want, Your Highness?”
“Damn it.” He reached out as if to touch her, but she stepped back. “You’ve been crying. I knew I shouldn’t leave you alone.”
“Go away.”
“You don’t need to be alone right now.”
She stared at him. “Are you for real? I mean, as arrogant as you can be, how can you not see that the last person I would want comfort from right now is you?”
“Be honest, Jenna. You aren’t going to look for comfort from anyone. You’re used to being the strong one.”
He was right. As the oldest surviving sibling, she’d always considered it her job to carry the emotional burdens for her loved ones, not the other way around.
Knowing he was right and acknowledging it were two different things, however. “If you think you know me so well, why didn’t you know that having sex with me as an expedient would hurt me?”
Taking advantage of the space she’d created stepping back from him, he moved into her room, shutting the door behind him.
He met her gaze, his own gray one steady. “It wasn’t expedience. It was desire.” His lips tilted on one side in a wry look. “The timing could have been better.”
“Really? You think maybe?” Jenna retreated further, once again sitting on the sofa, the coffee table between them.
“Yes.” He had the grace to look discomfited. “Jenna,milaya moy, I know this is hard on you. I didn’t intend to make it harder.”
Thatmy darlinghit her on the raw, taking what was left of her patience. “You need to go back to your suite, Your Highness. I am tired, and I’m going to bed.”
“Your things will be arriving any minute.”
“Good.”
“Jenna—”
“I mean it, Prince Dimitri. Go away.”
“I’m not the one who spied on you,” he pointed out.
“Aren’t you? What do you call going through my bag? Having your people scour my apartment behind my back?”
“Protecting you, as I am doing my best to protect the rest of my family, our company and our country.”
“Protecting me?” she asked, disbelief coursing through her like waves crashing on the beach.
Cold and powerful.
