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See?I want to say, like I’m bragging to myself.Sometimes, I do know when to shut up.
“Are you going to fire me?” I say instead. “Before she left, Sonya said I’d lose my job.”
Kirill looks up at me from under heavy brows. His head is low, and I envision Atlas with the world on his shoulders. He’s holding up so much. What does it say about me that I want to step alongside him and bear some of the weight?
“Is that what you want?” he asks.
I consider the question. I could walk away from this situation, from this mess. Get a normal job without all of this confusion. Leaving would be the smart thing to do.
But maybe Kirill is right. Maybe I am stupid.
“No,” I hear myself saying. “I don’t want you to fire me.”
Kirill doesn’t say anything for a moment. Then he pivots around and releases the Emergency Stop button. The elevator shudders back to life.
“There you have it then,” he says as the elevator dings to announce we’re on the first floor. “You aren’t fired.”
The doors slide open, and I want to dive through them. Maybe I don’t want to be fired, but that doesn’t mean I want to spend another second in this elevator with him. Not when he’s toeing the line of being as erratic as his brother.
I start to step forward. But just before I can walk through the doors, Kirill wraps an arm around my waist.
In an instant, our bodies are pressed together. He grabs the base of my neck and tilts my head back to force my eyes up to his. I can feel the hard lines of his body against mine. His muscular thighs, his tight abs. His arm flexes around my waist, crushing me so tightly to him I can barely breathe.
“From here on out,” he says in a cold, measured voice, “you do exactly what I say. If not…”
“If not what?” I ask.
His brow quirks up in just the barest hint of the amusement I’m used to. Then he leans forward until our lips are a hair’s breadth apart. I can practically taste his skin against mine.
But Kirill doesn’t close the gap. He speaks slowly, letting his breath wash over my face. “Use your imagination.”
Then he releases me and pushes me through the elevator doors.
I stumble to a stop and turn around, but the doors are already closing. I catch a glimpse of him as the doors seal shut. His expression is stormy, his mouth turned down in a harsh line.
But his green eyes are locked on mine. An untapped world of potential is hidden there. Promises, secrets, fantasies.
And God help me, I want to unlock every single one.
17
KIRILL
When I make it back to the third floor, Ilya greets me again as if he hasn’t seen me in days. He doesn’t remember I just saw him. He probably doesn’t even remember the incident with Rayne.
Though I’m not sure how anyone could forget her.
“You ready to do that puzzle?” I ask.
Ilya hugs me, bouncing out of sheer excitement. “Kirill.”
“Yeah, it’s me,” I tell him. “I’m here. So, are you ready?”
He nods and mutters my name under his breath. “Kirill.”
“Talk,” I remind him. “You can talk.”
Ilya rolls his lips together like he’s warming them up. “I—I like puzzles.”
