Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 118309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
“Not now.”
“We need to—”
My head slings to the side when assistance to flee without payment comes from the last person I anticipate. “Let her go. We will get everything squared up tomorrow.”
I thank Dr. Sidorov for his assistance with a smile before I race through the staff-only side entrance. Ano is going to be pissed when my sprint past the security camera in the alleyway will force him to undertake a middle-of-the-day workout, but I’m too eager to get to where I’m going to wait in traffic.
By the time I reach the corner of my apartment building, sweat is beading on my nape and the chilly winds have frozen my tears to my cheeks.
With the media dwindling to two the past few days, the doorman spots my approach before I hit the driveway that leads to the underground parking. He opens the door for me and dips his hat in greeting.
I push through the door just as the elevator doors open, and Maksim races out. He’s dressed to impress in a tailored suit and polished designer boots. He is the epitome of a successful businessman with an edge of darkness that should have exposed his necessity to protect those he cares about from the get-go.
“Nikita,” he breathes out heavily when he spots me standing at the side of the foyer, gawking like it’s the first time I’ve laid eyes on him.
He looks angry, furious, even, but some of the agitation scoured between his brows clears away when I push off my feet and race his way. He catches me in his arms, and when I seal my mouth over his, his shocked exhale flutters over my tongue.
As I lick the roof of his mouth, his arms come around me. One pulls me closer while the other weaves through my hair.
Our kiss is needy and hurried, and it makes me wet in an instant.
I’m not the only one excited. Maksim’s cock is thick and braced halfway up my stomach.
“Not here,” he murmurs over my kiss-swollen lips when I balance on my tippy-toes to grind against him. “If any of them saw you, I’d ki…” Untapped carnal desire scorches through my veins when he fails to finalize his threat.
He doesn’t need words, though. His glare is enough for the men surrounding us to pretend they’re needed elsewhere. As Maksim escorts me three feet to the elevator, they scurry in all directions.
Even the elevator attendant makes an excuse to leave his post. “I think I’m overdue for my break.”
Maksim’s smirk announces his ability to follow unvoiced commands will be significantly rewarded.
Heat sizzles through my body when he places his hand on the curve of my back to guide me inside the elevator. It is chilly today, and my scrubs are as thin as tissue paper, so the temperature shouldn’t be as roasting as it is. It just isn’t possible to be in the presence of a man with such an enigmatic personality and panty-wetting good looks and not get heated up.
I’m burning up everywhere.
“I’ve got her,” Maksim says a second after selecting the floor below the penthouse, his voice sexy and raspy since it is brimming with lust. He works his jaw side to side before he drops his eyes to me. “I will tell her.” He jerks up his chin a second before removing a bead similar to the one Ano wears out of his ear.
“Is Ano pissed?”
He rakes his fingers through his hair, adding to the sexed-up look I awarded it during our kiss. “He is.”
When he twists to face me, my breath catches in my throat. He’s so gorgeously tortured with kiss-plumped lips and narrowed, confused brows that a confession tumbles out of my mouth before I can stop it. “I’ve missed you.”
With his mouth curved at one side, he cages me to the elevator wall and burns me inside out with a searing gaze. “You have?”
The shock in his tone surges my confidence and allows me to speak freely. “Uh-huh.”
One of his hands drops to my back, and as he yanks my hips forward to display how much my confession means to him, he asks, “How much?”
“A—”
He squashes his finger to my lips, silencing me. “Don’t tell me with words, Doc. Show me.”
He is so beautiful sprawled above me, so powerful that I let the last of my inhibitions float away before slanting my mouth above his. I’m desperate to kiss him, to feel the heat of his skin against mine, but there’s no game if there’s no competition.
“Did you miss me?”
His smirk announces he read my game plan a mile out, but he plays along like he has no chance of winning. “For every second of every minute.” He breathes in my exhale when he murmurs, “Even the ones spent with a steel rod digging into my back.” I’m already getting the gist of his confession, but he wants to make sure I don’t underestimate his desire to be with me even when we’re not doing anything sexually charged. “If you ever need space again, Doc, can you pick a more comfortable location? My back has been screaming all week.”