I stand up from where I’ve been crouching over Sergei, still covered in his blood, trepidation running through me. Alexei’s eyes find mine immediately.
“Are you hurt, Zoya?”
I shake my head and point down at my boss, my fingers quivering. “No, but my boss is. Please, you have to help him before he bleeds out!”
He glances at Sergei with obvious disinterest. “Eh, no. I have no interest in touching another man. Now, if you were bleeding, I’d rush to your rescue. But I’m not doing anything for a balding old man.”
“Please!” Desperation makes my voice crack. “I can’t get him out myself, and my phone is broken!”
He sighs like I’m asking him to move a mountain. “Fine. I will help him, but on one important condition.”
“Yes! Anything!” I nod frantically.
“Anything?” He raises an eyebrow, a dangerous smile creeping back onto his face. “How dangerous, Zoya. You should really learn to negotiate better.”
Despite the mess around us, he pulls me flush against him. The blood on my dress smears onto his expensive suit, but he doesn’t seem to care. “Have dinner with me tomorrow, and I’ll throw in free healthcare for life for baldy over there.”
I look at Sergei’s pale face. I have no choice. “And if I refuse?”
His hand trails from my cheek down to my lips, his thumb dragging across my bottom lip before moving lower. He cups my cheek, caressing the tender skin. His touch slides to my neck, fingers settling at my nape.
“Then I let him die, Zoya, and still take you to dinner, kicking and screaming bloody murder. Your choice, beautiful. You can take the easy way or the hard way. But either way, you’re having dinner with me.”
His hand is still resting on my waist, his thumb stroking small circles.
“Please! He’s going to die!”
“You’re the one who’s stalling, beautiful,” he murmurs, leaning in until his lips brush my ear. “Tick tock, Zoya. He’s losing a lot of blood. What’s it going to be?”
I swallow, shaking all over. He knows I don’t have a choice, and he is using that as a weapon. “Fine!” I breathe. “I’ll do the stupid dinner with you tomorrow. Just help him.”
“Good girl.” He releases me and snaps his fingers. Footsteps scurry over immediately. “Get the old man to a hospital. Best surgeons available. Put it on my card.”
His men move to lift Sergei while Alexei pulls out a handkerchief. He wipes a streak of blood from my cheek gently. “I’ll be at your front door at seven,” he says. “Wear something that makes me want to take it off.”
“I don’t remember giving you my address,” I say, having a very odd feeling about this.
“You don’t have to. I make it my business to know where my woman lives.” He tucks the bloodied handkerchief into his pocket. “Don’t bother locking the door. It won’t stop me.”
Chapter 3
Alexei
Her whole body shakes where it’s trapped against mine, and I’d bet money it’s from being pissed off, but the scent of coconut and caramel sugar hits my nose so strongly it almost distracts me. She molds right into my frame like we’re puzzle pieces that fit perfectly, and I hold her tighter until her breath hitches in her throat, making damn sure she understands who is running things here.
The fact that she said yes feeds something primal and hungry in my gut, but she doesn’t waste a single second before she starts jamming her hands into my chest, fighting to put distance between us.
She’s fucking adorable. I want to crush her against me, bite that pouty little mouth, squeeze her until she squeaks. She’s too goddamn cute when she’s mad and squirmy. I have to lock every muscle in my body to keep from doing exactly that.
“Let me go,” she demands.
I refuse to move, my arms staying wrapped around her without loosening at all. “Is that how it is?” I drop my mouth right next to her ear, where I know she can feel my breath on her neck. “You’re running away now that you squeezed a yes out of me?”
She pushes harder against my chest, and I feel every curve through the thin fabric of her dress. The friction sends heat straight to my groin.
Then she tilts her head up, and those big brown eyes meet mine with an intensity that momentarily steals my breath. “Why don’t you let me go,” she says slowly, “so I can get dressed for our little dinner?”
Her gaze catches me completely off guard. For a split second, I find myself stunned by the boldness radiating from those eyes. She uses that moment of weakness to slip away, sliding out of my arms.