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I bit my bottom lip, surveying Nora thoughtfully. I didn’t know where she lived. I couldn’t just leave her on the street. I couldn’t take her to the compound. There were too many things she might see there. I had to take her home.
With a resigned shake of my head, I met Sevastian’s eye in the mirror. “Take us home.”
He nodded, unquestioning as always and drove. My bodyguard, Roma, turned around to give me a look but he also refrained from commenting. He and Sevastian knew the building I lived in, but they’d never been to my apartment.
They knew I didn’t take anyone there.
It gratified me that they didn’t say a word about it, however. Maybe I reallywasas fearsome as I thought I was. Sevastian drove straight into the underground garage and stopped by the elevator. Roma did a sweep and pressed the button to summon the lift, before coming to open my door for me.
“Would you like me to carry her for you, Papa?” he asked.
“No.” I shook my head and smiled. “Thank you.”
I hoisted her into my arms and manhandled her into the elevator, nodding at the two men who waited for the elevator to close before taking off. Then it was just the two of us.
Nora slept on, unaware and uncaring of her change of location. It was concerning. I entered my apartment and laid her down on my sofa before making sure we were locked up tight. Then I carried her upstairs to my room and laid her on the bed. She was already dressed in sweats, so I just took her shoes off and tucked her into my bed. I stepped back, staring down at her, looking so cozy and comfortable in my space.
It was disturbing how good she looked there.
I stepped back, divesting myself of my clothes and flicking them into the laundry chute before stepping under my shower. I just stood there, letting the water wash over me and tried to think about everything.
There was a feeling of change in the air. I could feel my nerve endings tingle. It wasn’t just the Anto situation; even my personal life was slowly coming apart from the tightly controlled machine it usually was.
Thanks to the woman currently sleeping in my bed.
Sleeping in my bed.
I’d never brought a woman back here. Hell, the last woman I’d spent the night with was my high school math tutor. My parents were out of town, and I invited her over to ‘study’. She spent the night with me, and in the morning, my father walked in on us. I never saw her again.
I stepped out of the shower, dried myself off thoroughly, and then walked naked over to my bed. I stared down at her for another moment before slipping into the bed beside her. Switching off the light, I left the bedside lamp on so I could read a little. But what I ended up doing was staring. Her brunette hair lay like a thick brown cascade contrasting sharply with the white pillow, her breathing deep and even. She slept on her stomach, kind of hunched in on herself like she was protecting herself from blows, even in her sleep.
Kindred spirits.
I didn’t know where the thought had come from, but it seemed just about right. With a sigh, I put aside the book I wasn’t reading, switched off my lamp and settled in behind her to sleep.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
NORA
When I opened my eyes, I was simultaneously bewildered and completely comfortable. Nothing around me looked familiar and I had no idea where I was, but I wasn’t afraid. I sat up, looking down at myself and relieved to find I was still wearing sweats.
“Good morning.”
I jumped, looking around to see Alexei in bed with me, his long platinum hair lying like a bed head halo around his head, his hazel eyes dancing with amusement, naked arms inked with all sorts of symbols. I was staring. I knew it but couldn’t stop myself. Somewhere I’d blinked and missed something. How did we go from him pushing me towards the shower in his club, to us, here, together, in bed.
I looked around. “Where am I?”
He laughed. “Guess.”
I blinked at him, noting how comfortable he was in this vast bed, my eyes sweeping the plainly adorned room all creams and browns, neutral palettes, all very understated… except for the vast mural of a jungle waterfall on one wall.
“Is this your place?”
“What doyouthink?”
“I think you suck at answering questions. What are you hiding?” The words just spilled out of me without my permission.
Okay, so maybe Iwasa little bit irritated with him.
