“Okay, okay. There’s a vacant suite, but if its occupants show up in the morning—” “Then you’ll tell them they’ve forfeited their room.”
The man’s mouth opens and closes twice before he decides it’s best not to argue with the very large and intimidating Mikhail Petrov.
“It’s a honeymoon suite. Includes all the amenities.”
Mikhail slides a black card across the counter. “We’ll take it.”
Honeymoon suite. Does that mean what I’m thinking? There has to be a pull-out sofa. If not, I’m sure he can cozy up in a tub.
The naive, sexually deprived girl from this morning is bouncing at the idea of such a
predicament with the man she’s been pining for over these last four years. But pissed-the-fuck- off and doubly sexually frustrated Leah from the plane wants to scream.
“Miss, would you like me to grab your bags from the car?”
Conner’s gentle question breaks my inner turmoil, and I offer him an appreciative smile and nod, but he doesn’t return the gesture. His eyes are fixed behind me, then downcast as he fidgets. Brooding mafia asshole aside, I attribute his lack of confidence to his young age. Conner is handsome and tall, and maybe one day, he’ll learn to stand a little straighter.
“Not necessary; I already brought them inside,” Mikhail says, placing a hand on the small of my back to lead me away. But I shift my body and twist toward Conner.
“What about you? Where are you staying?”
He shrugs. “Going to wait it out here in the lobby.”
“Leah.” The way Mikhail says my name will never fail to make my skin tingly, no matter how upset I am, pathetic as it is. “We still have to walk in this mess to get to our cabin. It’s best to leave before it gets any worse.”
Without acknowledging him, I nod my goodbye to Conner and head down another corridor toward the connecting courtyard where our suite is located. I’m several steps ahead of Mikhail as he has to backtrack and grab our bags before following.
“Why are you trying to provoke me?” I let out a cynical laugh—the audacity.
“That’s an interesting way to spin things.”
“You know what I mean. Benny and now that asshole back there.”
I come to an abrupt stop and whip around, but it’s a move he’s not expecting, and he nearly topples me, big hands dropping the metal handles and gripping my waist. He steadies me, but doesn’t let go. The urge to melt into his arms is so overwhelming that I have to suck in a breath and look away.
“Who’s provoking who? I’m not the one playing games here, Mikki.” Shoving him back, I continue down the hall. “You’ve made your decision clear, and you don’t dictate who I can and can’t talk to.”
“That kid couldn’t take his eyes off you. He’s lucky he’s still—”
With a firm finger to his chest, I’m in his face again. “I’m not your property. You don’t get to reject me and then get pissed when I breathe in the same vicinity of another man. Who the fuck do you think you are?”
His jaw ticks, pulsing green eyes on mine. “You’re Rodrigo’s sister, and he asked me to watch out for you.”
I scoff and put distance between us, allowing him a few more precious moments of life, because the way I want to beat him with my suitcase is downright unhealthy.
“First, I don’t need anyone to watch my back. And you mean the sister whose cum is still on your pants? Wonder what he’d think about that little detail.”
Mikhail closes his eyes and grits his teeth. “Enough, Leah.”
A grin pulls at my lips when it seems I hit a weakness. “You want to play games, pretend you can resist being with me, but you confessed it yourself.” I stalk forward. “I know how I make you feel.” My finger trails down his chest. “I know how hard your cock gets for me, Mikhail, just like it did years ago.” Pushing to my toes, my lips brush over the stubble on his chin. “The way you made me come for you...”
“Leah...” His hands squeeze my waist.
“How does it feel when I scream your name?” Mikhail’s grip grows deliciously painful. “You can’t wait to hear it again, can you?”
Our eyes connect, and I know the door to his heart is cracked open, but I don’t want to be the one to jump through and get disappointed again. He needs to show me he wants this and is willing to fight for us.
In the meantime, I’ll have my fun.
CHAPTER 11
MIKHAIL
“Curfew lifts in the morning. We should be in the air by ten, at the latest.” Dad’s quiet for several beats, and I lift the phone from my ear to make sure the call hasn’t been disconnected. “You still there?”
Another maddening few seconds crawl by before he clears his throat.
“Everything okay, Mikhail?”
When he says my name with a Russian pronunciation, I know that whatever follows is serious, and he’ll accept no bullshit. After giving him the rundown on Leah and leaving out what happened between us, his tone shifts, and I can almost hear the wheels in his head turning over different scenarios.
“You know I don’t like to miss deadlines or feel like I’ve lost control.”
“Lost control,” he repeats, more as a statement than a question.
I relax against the sofa and huff a breath, not in the mood for his cryptic lectures.
