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It’s only as the scent of him teases my senses I realize how close I’ve gotten. Months after I met him I spent far too long in a department store hunting for the cologne he wore. With the patience of the woman at the counter who swore it was the most fun thing she’d done in months, she helped find that it was Silver Mountain Water by Creed. I’d flinched when she told me the smallest bottle was more than three hundred dollars. With a smile she’d added a twenty percent off coupon. I fought not to hug her. The scent lived on my pillow and would until the bottle goes empty.
Heat waves flow over me. I long to lean into him, to feel his hard body against me.
Milos has gone still, those yellow eyes meet mine and hold. I don’t understand why I can’t breathe.
“Sir? Where would you like her yogurt and fruit?” It’s the maid who brought lunch.
“Will outside suit, or would you like to eat in front of the television?” The question is low, measured.
“Outside, please,” I answer as I step back.
Koshka jumps down and stalks out of the room, heading deeper into the house. I watch her go in surprise.
“As I said she refuses to go outside, even to the balcony.” Milos smiles.
He’s pulling out my chair for me again. “Thank you,” I mumble as I sit down. There is a bowl of plain yogurt, a dish of honey, and two different bowls of fruit, one of strawberries and one of blueberries.
“The Greek yogurt is a little tart—you will want to make liberal use of the honey,” Milos murmurs as he takes a bottle out of his pocket. It’s a plain bottle, that he sets down beside the bowl. “These are fives. Only one to try then another if you need it.”
I open the bottle, there are maybe a dozen pills in the bottle. Taking out one, I set it beside my bowl. “My mom uses these for her arthritis. I’ve used them a few times when I was really sore from a sprained ankle once, and another time when I fell and hurt my knee pretty badly. It’s one of the reasons I’m so fat. Too long on my knee leaves me in a lot of pain.”
“I do believe I told you once not to speak of yourself in such terms. I will not allow it just because you are not feeling well now. Do not use that word to describe yourself. Ever. Again.” The words are cold, hard—like his eyes.
Blushing, I open my mouth to argue, only nothing comes out. Instead I nod then give all my focus to the honey and the yogurt. I start with a thick spoonful of the honey that is a perfect match to his skin, just as I thought the first day I met him.
“So you agree with the doctor. You will remain in bed for the week.”
I can’t help it, I laugh. “Was that supposed to be a question?”
A corner of his mouth tips up. “No.”
Where the words come from, I don’t know. “What would you do if I tried to leave?”
An eyebrow goes up as his eyes run over me with dark intent. “I would be forced to restrain you. To tie you to the bed. I have the necessary equipment.”
Holy shit, why is that hot? “That’s kidnapping,” comes out of me in a jagged breath.
The air shimmers between us, all from the heat in his eyes. “Consider yourself kidnapped,kotyonok. Held prisoner against your will. Do not push me. You do not want to find out how far I will go to protect you from anyone or anything—including yourself. I have no limit. There is nothing I would not do. Be a good girl,kotyonok. Good girls get everything they want. Bad girls get punished.”
Why is my skin hot and tight? My panties uncomfortably wet at the way he says “good girl” with a caress of his accent. I drop my eyes to the bowl of yogurt. I mumble, “I’ll stay until Friday—”
“I do not negotiate. I will take you home Sunday. After a long talk with your roommate to ensure he knows the signs of your recovery backsliding.”
My entire body on fire, I shake my head. I can’t imagine spending an entire week near Milos without going down on my knees and begging him to put out the fire he’s caused within me. “I’ll go home to my mom and…”
“No, you won’t.” He raps the words out hard against my sensitive skin. “She would force you to leave college if she knew. Despite what an asshole your father is, he will not allow you to come to harm. It is not a good look for those in our world to appear as if we cannot protect what is ours. You said it yourself—it would never have happened if you were in Chicago.”
I give in and meet his eyes. So hard and cold. “You would rat me out to him?”
What happened to the heat? He’s downright glacial now. “In a heartbeat. Because in the end it would be best for you. I warned you, do not push me, Celia. Eat your yogurt so you can take your pill.”
Angry at how easily he is able to manipulate me, I want to throw the stupid bowl at him. Only I don’t dare. I’m not stupid enough to piss him off. Milos is devious on a level I could never hope to reach.
He isn’t wrong either. If I refused to follow my mother’s orders to come home she would cut me off. It wasn’t money either—she hasn’t given me a dime since I was sixteen and got my first job. While she paid for the groceries and everything for our home, even clothes were something she stopped paying for once I got my job. No, it was my sister she would cut me off from.
While my sister and I could get around it, it would cause stress on the both of us that wasn’t worth simply giving into Milos.
After a few bites I take the pill with a swallow of the ice water. I’m surprised by the door of the room opening and two maids entering with several hangers full of clothes.
