“Oh, is that what it was?”
“Yes,” he ground out. “You distracted half my command structure.”
“They seem happy.” I gestured at the men merrily munching along.
His eyes moved slowly over me, lingering on the flour on my hip, the streak of chocolate near my thumb and my slightly wind-tousled hair, which I had acquired by crossing the compound like an unsupervised Disney princess in a cartel drama.
“You’re impossible.” He looked up at the ceiling as though he was praying for some higher power to grant him strength.
“That’s a bit dramatic, honey.”
Sasha froze. “Honey?”
Did he sound pleased or was I imagining things?
Behind him, one of the men cleared his throat and tried to redirect the meeting back to shipping routes, but the edge was gone now. The tension had shifted and there were crumbs on international logistics.
Sasha watched it happen, watching his men soften towards me, albeit only slightly.
Then he exhaled once and held a hand up. “Enough.”
The single word cut cleanly through the room, bringing conversations to an instant halt.
“We will reconvene tonight.”
No one argued or even questioned his decree. He truly was the top dog here.
They gathered their papers efficiently, though more than one of them glanced at the muffin box before stepping away. Within moments, the cavernous warehouse felt empty and quiet. Only the two of us remained standing beside a steel table dusted with sugar and disrupted authority.
Sasha looked down at me, his face expressionless. “You can’t do that, baby.”
“Do what?”
He gestured wildly around. “Whatever this just was.”
I blinked then lifted one shoulder. “Doesn’t seem like a bad idea to win your men over from where I’m standing.”
Sasha stepped closer, close enough to make the air between us feel thin.
“I had control in this room,” he said quietly. “Complete fucking control … until you stepped in.”
I waved him off. “You were still in control. They were just eating muffins. So what?”
His gaze dropped briefly to my mouth before returning to my eyes. “So… I can’t remember a fucking word of what I was saying.”
Oh.
“Sounds like a you problem.” I pursed my lips.
Sasha’s hand slid to my waist, firm, grounding, and claiming. “Maybe … but now it’s yours as well.” He spoke casually in an even, low voice, and somehow that was far more dangerous than if he had yelled.
I blinked at him innocently. “Maybe you just need to learn how to control yourself better?”
Sasha scoffed. “If you knew what I wanted to do to you, and how often Istopmyself from doing it, you’d be impressed I can do anything other than fuck you senseless.”
His blue eyes darkened and the heat shining in them was almost palpable as he pinned me in place with his gaze. My mouth suddenly felt dry and I struggled to swallow.
“I don’t get a say in this?”