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Quickly, I rip off my t-shirt and pull on the green polo shirt with the grocery logo on the chest. My name tag is still pinned to the shirt. I must have washed it like that.
After half a dozen cleansing breaths, I face the door, ready to barrel my way out of the apartment. I need to get to work, so he needs to go.
When I jerk the door open, Luka is there, glaring down at me with all his darkness and sexiness.
“You cursed again.”
Luka
Avery’s mouthdrops open when she finds me waiting for her to open the door.
“Of course, I cursed. You’re an asshole. You won’t leave,” she fires back at me. No woman has ever dared speak to me this way. Most men would fear trying it as well. The smart ones, anyway.
“If I leave, how can I teach you there’s no difference between night and day when it comes to us?” I lift the rectangular, plastic name tag pinned to her shirt with my finger. “You can take this off now.”
She huffs. “I can’t take it off, Luka. I have work.” The words come through her gritted teeth. She’s like an annoyed mama telling her toddler the same thing for the hundredth time.
I lift up her phone so she can see the screen. “You don’t have work.”
“What?” She snatches the phone from me and reads the message her boss sent at the same moment she slammed the bathroom door.
“A stroke of luck, yes?” I take the phone from her again and slide it into my back pocket. She won’t need it anymore for a while.
“The water pipe bursting and flooding the store is not a stroke of luck. They’ll be closed all week to get it fixed. Which means I lose out on four shifts.” Worry fills her gaze as she mentally calculates the amount of money she’s going to lose because of this.
“I will give you enough money to cover the loss.” I won’t allow her to suffer. Money isn’t an issue for me. I can live three lifetimes and never run out of funds.
“I don’t want your money, Luka.” She pushes past me. “What are you even still doing here?” She hooks her hands on her hips, glaring up at me. Stress wrinkles her brow. It reminds me of my mother when I was young. She worried too much, too.
“I’m in town for a little while.”
“That’s not an answer.” She shakes her head.
I walk over to her and run my fingertips over her forehead, rubbing away the wrinkles. “You’re stressed about losing your shifts. Let me help.”
“Did you… did you do this?” She steps back from me, showering me with an accusatory stare.
I shake my head. “No. But I don’t fault you for thinking it. There’s little I wouldn’t do to get to spend more time with you, Pchelka.”
“That’s it? You just want to spend time with me?” Suspicion crosses her eyes.
“I have limited time here in New York, and I have work that needs to be seen to. But yes, I want to spend my time with you, Avery.” I knuckle her chin up so I can see her eyes better. “Now. Let’s talk about your mouth.” I move my thumb so it pulls her lower lip down.
“You infuriate me,” she says, and I think she’s trying to defend herself for the cursing, but she will find out that I don’t accept excuses.
“You intrigue me.” I lean lower, brushing my mouth against hers, teasing myself with her taste before capturing her.
“Why?” she questions me the moment I break away from her touch. There is such a fierceness in her eyes. This woman has no idea how strong she really is. It’s just a natural state for her to speak her mind. Our first encounter scared her, but she recovered quickly enough to run away from me.
“You’re not afraid of me.” I reach behind her and pull out the clip she has holding up her hair, letting it fall in thick waves around her shoulders.
“I should be.” She raises her eyes to meet mine.
“No. Not you.” I brush her hair behind her ear, then tug on her earlobe. “Well, maybe just enough to listen to me.”
“Because you’ll spank me if I don’t?”
Saucy brat. She’s trying to tease me, but her pupils expand right before my eyes. Her body tells me so much more than her words do.
