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“Hello, brother.”
What the fuck is going on?
The man removes his sunglasses, and the air is suddenly thick with supremacy. He instantly rouses a ball of nerves inside me. “Hello, Saint. I was so worried we had lost you. Luckily you had the good sense to leave me a way to find you with that SOS.”
The anger rolling off Saint leaves me breathless. But eventually, he puts an end to my questions. “Hello…Aleksei.”
The world crumbles around me, and my knees buckle.Thisis my kidnapper? This man isn’t by any means the monster I envisioned him to be. I instantly let Harriet Pot Pie free. She doesn’t need to bear witness to this.
Saint’s fingers instantly wrap around my bicep, stopping me from falling into a messy heap. But regardless, I still feel seconds away from passing out.
I watch on in what feels like a hallucinating state as Aleksei and Zoey descend the ladder and make their way toward us. I’m impressed he can scale the narrow rungs in his brown Italian loafers.
Saint stands by my side, never letting me go. I’m thankful for this touch because I need it. They stop a few feet away.
Aleksei doesn’t hide his appraisal of me. I instantly shuffle my feet. He makes me nervous. His astute blue eyes scan over me, as he no doubt wants to look at his prize.
He is younger than I thought he would be. In his late 40s, I’d guess, and in good shape. He’s dressed sharply, and his cologne smells like sandalwood. His wavy dark brown hair is slicked back, exposing his strong features and full lips.
Some may call him attractive. Zoey certainly does.
She makes her stance clear as she huddles close to him, eyeballing the fuck out of me. I don’t understand what I’ve done wrong.
Saint said she was ready to go home, but her body language does not display that. “So this is the bitch who is supposed to take my place?”
I blink once, my mouth agape.
“You definitely got screwed, darling.” She loops her arm through Aleksei’s, grinning victoriously when my cheeks flush. Aleksei seems to enjoy the possibility of a catfight.
“Zoey,” Saint scolds, stunned. “What is wrong with you?” I can understand his confusion because his impression was evidently wrong. “You wanted me to do this. You told me you wanted to go home.”
She rolls her eyes, eyes so much like her brothers. “Alekseiismy home.”
The man in question grins, and I instantly have the urge to slap the smugness from his cheeks. “You must be Willow,” he says with a slight accent, gently removing himself from Zoey’s claws. He is well spoken.
If looks could kill, I would be a smoldering pile of ashes as Zoey glares.
I dare not breathe as he steps closer. He is tall, and his broad shoulders make him all the more intimidating. “It’s lovely to meet you. I have been waiting for this moment for weeks.” His attention snaps to Saint, hinting waiting isn’t usually a word in his vocabulary.
“There were some setbacks,” Saint says, drawing me into his side protectively. The action doesn’t go unnoticed by Aleksei.
He eyeballs the connection, before slowly rivaling Saint’s glower. “Yes, well you can tell me all about it when we get on the yacht.”
That sounds like an awful idea. Saint agrees as we both stand our ground.
A sulking Zoey notices Saint shadowing me also, and a wicked grin tips at her red lips. She doesn’t see me as a threat any longer.
“Is there a problem?” Aleksei asks; his icy voice filled with warning.
As much as I appreciate Saint’s protection, we can’t stay here. I gently shrug out of his hold, nodding subtly to hint I’m okay. He is seconds from exploding.
“No,” I reply, deciding to keep my replies to a minimum.
“Good girl.” Aleksei’s piercing blue eyes reflect dominance and control, but when he looks at me, I don’t see complete coldness. There seems to be some humanity lurking beneath the shadows.
He reaches out to brush the hair from my cheeks. I stand still, my chest rising and falling rapidly. “You’re absolutely beautiful.”
A growl slashes the air, and I know without looking it’s come from Saint.
