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I scurry behind him. "You are? But I don't have my stuff. No camera, no Dictaphone, nothing."
"I'll give you a ride home, and we'll make a date." Vlad stops beside an ice cream cart. "Two, please. Dulce de leche."
"It's okay. I won't have one."
He shakes his head, handing me a cone. "You're a journalist—you can't turn down a scoop. And this one is perfect. Cold, sweet, rich,andkinda sexy. You don't look like a vanilla girl to me."
A ghost of a smile, a twinkle in his eye. There's no denying it. This gorgeous man is flirting with me.
I take the cone. "Are you still talking about the ice cream?"
"That sounds like a question, Miss Bloom." He arches an eyebrow, and I melt a little. "If you're gonna interview me, you gotta do it right. You'll need pictures of me in my home to set the right tone. And I'll pay you, of course."
My phone is ringing, and I take it from my pocket, glad of the diversion. Before I can look at the screen, Vlad snatches it from my hand.
"I want your full attention, Morgana." He swipes to red, hanging up the call. "You havemine, so it's only fair."
Goddammit!Who thefuckdoes he think he is?
"Give me that back! You can't do whatever you want."
"What kind of gratitude is that?" He holds my phone above his head. "I just saved youandlost my coffee."
I snatch at his hand, but it's hopeless. He smirks, and I glower at him.
"I said I'd pay you for your company," he grins. "Would that be so bad?"
Men thinkeverythingcan be bought.
I cannot believe I'm dealing with this from a stranger. I expected it from Hektor, but this guy? He doesn't evenknowme.
"I appreciate what you did," I seethe, "but I'mnotfor sale."
Vlad laughs as he hands back my phone. "Lisichka, everything is for sale, especially whenI'mbuying. It's cute that you think you can say no to me."
That isit.
Anger boils over. My arm darts out, and before he can stop me, I smoosh the ice cream into Vlad's silk jacket. He looks at his chest with a frown as I rummage in my pocket.
"That's for the coffee," I hiss, tossing a ten-dollar bill in his face, "and you can keep your fucking scoop."
I turn and walk away, breathing deeply to calm my shredded nerves. I'm still rattled from the attack, or Ithinkthat's what it is. But maybe it was that beautiful man who set my pulse racing again.
I know I'm overreacting. My head was a mess already before Vlad rescued me—he didn't deserve to get covered in caramel gelato. The suit I ruined was probably worth five times my rent arrears.
He was arrogant and stomped all over my boundaries, making me furious, yet aroused. He didn't know what his presence was doing to me, so I must have looked pretty crazy when I chewed him out and stormed off.
What a dumb thing to do. If he really was gonna pay me to interview him, it's a damn sight better than lying on my back under some other wealthy asshole.
I turn around, but Vlad is nowhere to be seen.
Something about him pulls at me. Whoishe, though?Kislev.It sounds familiar, but we definitely haven't met before. God knows I'd have remembered him.
4
Morgana
The hours passed all too quickly, and now it's almost time.
