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He at least seems to despise this world of masks and false facades as much as I do. It might be that the only thing that exists between a lifetime spent alone and a loveless marriage is a business arrangement.
I guess the devil next door knows he’s going to get what he wants.
33
CORA
I awake from dreams I don’t remember with a sticky, pulsing ache between my legs.
Ivan Pushkin is a hard man to escape.
Even in my subconscious.
I slide out of the sheets and pull the comforter over the evidence of my shame. Niles is probably far too decent to say anything, but I know he’ll notice that the bedding smells like sweat and God only knows what else.
Shower.That’s what I can control right now. I need a shower.
I pad into the bathroom and my plans change immediately when I remember the tub my en suite is outfitted with. It’s big enough for two people. Even me and someone as big as Iv—nope. No. No.No. I won’t let him ruin this for me.
While I don’t appreciate being trapped here—correction: whileconsciousme doesn’t appreciate being trapped here, although Dream Me seems to disagree—I have no intention of turning my nose up at the amenities. I spent too many months living on the street without so much as a toilet. I know the joy of a hot bath.
Steam swirls from the faucet as the tub fills with scalding water. All the better to burn away the remnants of last night and the last few days.
I vow not to think about where Ivan’s hands gripped me two nights ago at the party as I slip out of my borrowed clothes and kick them into the corner of the bathroom.
I’m so focused on not thinking about him that I’m also not thinking about the unlocked door that connects our rooms. I’m certainly not thinking about the fact that the bathroom door is wide open.
So when I hear a latch click and release, I spin around just as Ivan walks through that door and looks through the bathroom doorway.
At me.
Atallof me.
He slides his gaze down and back up, then one more time for good measure. “I’m having déjà vu,” he rumbles at last. His voice is raspy and low.
I should find something to cover myself with. Slamming the bathroom door closed would also be a normal response to a man standing in front of you while you’re naked.
But Ivan isn’t just standing in front of me.
He’s standing in front of meshirtless.
If I thought his bare arms were a temptation, the full expanse of his chest is a full-on seduction. The tattoos that swirl across his biceps and creep out of the collar of his shirts also delve down, down, down.
I’m seconds away from actually walking towards him to try and step through it, when he clears his throat.
“See something you like,moya zhena?”
His deep velvet voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I jerk back and do a pitiful job of trying to cover up my more delicate bits.
“I could ask you the same question. You’re the one who keeps barging in on me while I’m naked.”
His eyes trail down my body again, dripping over my skin like honey. “I made it abundantly clear the night we met that I liked what I saw just fine. As did you.”
My face flushes. I cross my arms over my chest to hide the evidence of exactly how much I like what I see. “What do you want, Ivan?”
Delicious amusement curls in the corner of his mouth. “I think I’ve made that abundantly clear, too.”
“Do you have something to tell me?”
