Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
His hands are visually twitching.
By the time I have my phones and their respective chargers, my kindle, and Sookie packed, my time is up.
“You won’t need clothes.”
I drift my eyes to the door Matvei’s frame is filling. “Why? Planning to keep me naked until the end of eternity?”
That makes his mouth curve slightly. “That wasn’t my intention, but I’m not opposed to a change of heart.” He enters my room, his strides graceful and commanding. “I’ve had many of them since you came into my life.” I lean into his embrace when he pulls a strand of hair away from my face and tucks it between the many draped past my shoulder. “And this may be my boldest yet, but what life is worth living if you don’t take a single risk?”
The end of his statement gives away his hand. “We’re not going to a random hotel, are we?”
He flashes me a playful grin before he shakes his head.
My eyes stray from Saka and Taylor at the reception desk of the Ivanov family hotel to Matvei when he says, “I’ve already comped their room, but if you think of anything that will make their stay more pleasant, let me know.”
“It isn’t possessions they need. Its—”
“Each other,” Matvei and I say at the same time.
I smile before I yawn. I am truly exhausted.
“Let’s get you to bed.”
After sliding out of the black town car, he dips back in to help me out.
“Matvei…” I say with a girlie giggle when my heels don’t touch the ground after being assisted out of the seat. They dangle in the air, suspended above the ground by his strong, caging arms.
“Let me do this,” he snaps out when I beg to be put down. We’re not hidden from the hotel’s guests in the service entrance. We’re in the lobby, and despite the early hour, more than staff stalk the halls.
“They’re going to twist this as something more than it is,” I warn when he enters the elevator, freeing us from the loved-up stares of numerous couples. One couple even tosses out their congratulations when we veer past them.
“Let them.” After hitting the penthouse button, he places me onto my feet before scooping up my hand. I’ve never seen handholding as sexy until now. “I can think of worse things than being mistaken for your spouse.”
I swoon but keep my mouth shut. Only hours ago, he confessed he didn’t know if he could get over my past. Now, he’s acting as if he’d be honored to be my husband.
The intruder must have scared him. He scared me too. I just haven’t had the chance to decompartmentalize everything yet, and to remember that, for once, the threat isn’t directed at me.
“Ask housekeeping not to make up my room until tomorrow,” Matvei instructs a beautiful brunette standing at a cart near his door. “I don’t want to be disturbed.”
“Yes, Mr. Ivanov. I understand.” She keeps her eyes on the floor when we breeze past her, but I still recognize her. It’s the maid from my first overnight stay. “The items you requested have been delivered.”
Matvei grunts his thanks before he punches a code into the digital lock, then gestures for me to enter his apartment first. I was mesmerized by the high-end finishes and opulence the last time I was here, but it is even more awe-inspiring today since the bar is filled with my favorite bottles of alcohol, and the coffee table is housing the books on my physical TBR cart.
“Are these my books?” I ask when I notice a bookmark stuffed between the pages of my current read. The print is also in the large font I need so I can read without glasses.
“No.” Matvei slings off his jacket and undoes his tie. “But if the font isn’t large enough, I can organize someone to collect your books from your apartment.”
“This font is fine.” I rarely make jokes about my dyslexia, but his attention to detail awards him the ability to know me better than anyone. “I have scotopic sensitivity, not blindness.”
Matvei smirks before tilting a bottle of whiskey my way.
I shake my head. “If I drink now, I won’t sleep.”
The curve of my mouth matches his when he murmurs, “Perhaps that’s the point.” He downs the shot of whiskey in one swallow before his tongue darts out to lick the remnants off his lips. I don’t know if it’s the faint press of my thighs from watching the sensual way he drinks that adds a husky rasp to his voice, or the burn of the whiskey as it slides down his throat, when he says, “Would you like to shower before bed?”
“Huh?” Don’t judge me. My brain rarely fires on all cylinders, but it’s worse when I'm alone with a man as handsome as Matvei.
His grin about my daftness adds to the heat teeming between us. “Shower. Would you like me to shower you before you go to bed?”