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He lifts a remote and the fire in the huge media wall springs to life and soft music plays through hidden speakers. He moves around the room and lights candles and it makes me smile.
“It appears you are setting the scene, Alexei. You’re a little presumptuous.”
“I like candles. What’s the problem?” He grins and drops me a wink that makes my toes curl. There is nothing I don’t like about this man, and I really hope the feeling is mutual because I’m not a fool. I know his attention will be fleeting. He told me himself he thrives on adventure and playing the game. He will take what he wants from me and toss me aside before moving onto the next sure thing. I’m guessing most women are sure things around a man like him, and that makes me a little anxious.
I hate how weak he makes me and so I distract my attention away from him and move around the room, taking in the décor and appreciating every designer touch.
“I brought you here for a reason, Serena.”
I turn at the tone of his voice because it’s unusually business-like. I’m used to the seduction in it but not this harder approach.
I turn and note the hard glint in his eye and for some reason, it makes me nervous.
“Why did you bring me here?” I say slowly and guarded, a slight shiver passing through my body as I sense the atmosphere changing.
He nods toward the couch and says firmly, “You may be better off sitting down.”
I say nothing and move across the room because this isn’t what I thought we’d be doing now, and as I perch on the edge, my mind is racing into overdrive.
He sits beside me and takes my hand, staring at me with a hard gleam in his eye. It’s impossible to read and I sense I’m about to hear something I may wish was never said.
“I believe my father was murdered.”
“How?”
I keep to the facts because men like Alexei don’t appreciate emotion and he says bitterly, “When I witnessed Stoner’s death, it hit me. I pictured my father in his place because what happened was exactly as my mother described. All was well until he had eaten and then complained about the food. Not long after, he was dead.”
He squeezes my hand and sighs. “My brothers are of the same opinion as me. Our father was healthy and had regular check-ups and was under no medication. There was no reason for him to suffer a heart attack, and the tests we had run on the body confirmed that.”
“I’m so sorry, Alexei.” I shake my head. “Do you have any idea who was responsible?”
“No.” He growls angrily. “But we will find out and deal with them accordingly.”
His voice sends shivers down my spine because I’m under no illusion that whoever did this is a dead man, or woman, walking.
Alexei hisses, “My brother Mikhail is working on it. The tests came back that there was nothing to cause a heart attack. His heart was healthy, and there were no underlying conditions. It just appeared to stop, causing a massive coronary. There was no trace of narcotics or poison, but there was a high level of Aconitine, which is a toxin. It is most noted as a heart poison but is also a potent nerve poison. Raw aconite plants are very poisonous. They are used as herbs only after processing by boiling or steaming to reduce their toxicity.”
“So, you believe his food was laced with these herbs, so it must have been one of your chefs.”
I say carefully and his eyes flash as he adds, “The chef was found dead a few days later. He was discovered with a bullet in his brain, and it had nothing to do with the Romanovs.”
“I don’t understand.” I’m shocked, even though stories like this are far from uncommon in my life.
“He was executed, which tells me he knew something that, under interrogation, would help our investigation. Somebody used him to murder our father and my family will stop at nothing to discover their identity and make them pay.”
I stare into his flashing eyes and say with determination. “Then we will help. I’ll speak to my grandfather. He has contacts. He will use them to gather information.”
His eyes soften and he whispers, “Thank you, but you have your own problems to deal with. Sadly, tales like mine are more common than happy ones in our lives, and yours is no exception. No, the reason I’m telling you this is not to enlist your help. It’s to offer you a proposition.”
“Go on then.” I’m intrigued as the shadows are chased away in his eyes and replaced by a strange yearning that captivates me. It appears that Alexei Romanov is a man of deep emotion that doesn’t get seen very often and I stare at him in fascination as he holds my hand gently and whispers, “I want to continue our wild adventure past the twenty-three hours we agreed on. I would like to show you the world, little one—myworld and see where it takes us.”
I’m stunned, and he caresses the back of my hand with his thumb and says huskily, “Twenty-three hours is barely a fraction of the time I want to spend with you. I haven’t even scratched the surface of what I want us to experience and for a man who has never felt this way before, I’m struggling.”
“With what?”
My eyes are wide as I stare at him with a mixture of happiness, shock, and desperation.
“With the idea that you will walk away from me, and this will be over.”
