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She bashfully extends one hand as if to shake mine, and I take it. An electric jolt of attraction crackles between our palms, making my pulse quicken.
“Maks,” I say as a reminder. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Heidi.” Her name is fluid and beautiful on my tongue, much more suited to her. Still, a chuckle rumbles up from deep in my gut.
“What’s so funny?” she asks, though her smile widens to match my own.
“It’s just... that explains why all the Angels in San Francisco whom I managed to hunt down weren’t you.” Another flood of mirth fills my chest as I recall several of the most awkward conversations that stemmed from my efforts to find this enigma I now know is named Heidi.
My admission seems to flatter her as her cheeks turn a deeper shade of crimson and her teeth capture one side of her full lower lip. “You didn’t really try to find me, did you?”
“You doubt my honesty?” I cock an eyebrow in warning. “I was kicking myself after letting you walk away.” Pausing, I study her face as I debate whether I dare say what I really want to. Then I plow full-steam ahead. “I should have asked for more time with you. One night was far from enough.”
The soft gasp that catches Heidi’s breath makes my pulse throb, and I’m sorely tempted to reach out and capture her chin with my fingers. But I don’t. I haven’t seen her in years, and she might not welcome the unsolicited contact. I don’t want to chase her away.
But her eyes are wide with a genuine openness that would suggest otherwise, and her nearly hopeful expression makes me bold.
“It almost feels like fate is giving me a second chance. A chance to do things right this time.”
“What does that mean, ‘do things right’?” Heidi’s head tilts curiously as she leans toward me ever so slightly. A clear sign that I’ve captured her interest.
She might not be saying it with her words or even intentionally telling me with her body language, but clearly, she’s attracted to me—despite our age difference and even after all this time.
“What if I wanted to get to know you better?” I hint, leaning closer to lightly trap her knee between my palms. “Do you have a boyfriend or some man in your life I need to worry about?”
Heidi’s eyes dilate, her breath catching in her throat, and when she answers, the words come out husky. “No, no men in my life.”
That makes me smile. “Good. Then, say I give you five hundred thousand dollars to stay with me for several weeks? And after that, if we’re still having fun, we can renegotiate.”
I know I’ve crossed a line as soon as the dollar amount leaves my mouth. Heidi’s countenance shifts in an instant, the color draining from her cheeks as her face falls and her back stiffens, making her draw away from me.
Blyat.I’ve offended her.
11
HEIDI
He’s actually offering me money to sleep with himagain? Like I’m a common whore?It took everything I had to set aside my principles and dignity to agree to his terms that night. And the implication that I could willingly spendweeksas his mistress, even for an outlandish sum of money, offends me deeply. Though logic dictates that if I would take his money once, I would do it again, I still find his offer incredibly insulting.
But Maks’s expression holds no disdain, no indication that he considers me lesser or only worthy of serving at his pleasure. Instead, I find only a carnal desire lighting his striking steel-gray eyes.
That doesn’t stop the fury from bubbling up inside me, and before I can rein it in, my sharp tongue lashes out to defend me. “What, can’t you find someone to sleep with you for free?” I snap.
A flicker of amusement registers on his face, but I don’t slow down to read into it.
“You’re handsome, rich, clearly successful. Are you really so dislikable that you have topaywomen to stay with you? I thought you were doing just fine with flirting right up until you implied I’m a whore by trying to buy me.Again.”
My cutting reply ends in a disgruntled huff, and yet, it doesn’t even seem to faze him. He sits back, giving me space. And though I’m loath to admit it, my stomach knots with disappointment when his hands leave my knee.
Then I catch the briefest glimmer of the same sadness that drew me to him so inexplicably four years ago. But when he speaks, his voice is even, his tone factual, devoid of the pain that lies beneath.
“I didn’t intend to upset you. I just don’t do love. My fiancée was killed by my rivals years ago, not long before I met you, actually. So I choose to keep my relationships strictly physical. My brothers might enjoy love and marriage and children, but I prefer to focus on running our business and making my enemies suffer for what they’ve done.”
My heart stutters in my chest to hear his explanation, and my shoulders drop, the defensive anger washing away as if doused by a fire hose. He just divulged terrifying facts as if they were everyday misfortunes.Rivals who would kill his fiancée? Enemies he wants to make suffer?Nobody but criminals and Hollywood-written Mafia bosses talk like that.
Still, as brutal as his explanation is, I’m touched because I can recall the agonizing sadness in his eyes. Knowing the cause behind that sadness makes my heart bleed for him. I understand loss like that, and more so, I can understand why he might avoid commitment if someone took away the woman he loves.
When I remain silent, Maks focuses his eyes on his rocks glass. He gives it a swirl before sipping the cold vodka. Then he continues, filling the space between us with his reasoning. “Offering cash in exchange for women’s time helps keep the agreement more businesslike—a transaction rather than a relationship. Though, even then, it can be hard to avoid women catching feelings once sex gets involved.”
Normally, a statement like that would sound immensely cocky, but I’ve spent the night with Maks, so I can see how women might fall for him once they’ve experienced his attentive and masterfully pleasurable touch. I can’t imagine they would willingly give it up.
