27. Brooke
I go to bed wanting to murder Lev for his ridiculous overreaction at the birthday party.
I was just as annoyed at the man in the silk suit who was waiting for me when I left the powder room. He approached me and started talking to me, and I had no way of avoiding him because he had me cornered.
The only reason I didn’t tell the jerk to step away was because I was caught off guard and thought he was one of Lev’s men or some family member. I was politely untangling myself from him when Lev came storming over like an uncontrollable freight train.
In hindsight, I should’ve left the moment the creep made me feel uncomfortable. Which was about the time he took my hand and lifted it to his wet lips. In the future, I won’t make that mistake again. The next time someone makes me uneasy, I’m not going to worry about offending anyone. And if they step in front of me when I attempt to leave like the creep did last night, then I’m going to let my knee do the talking. Knee meet balls.
So I was already annoyed before Lev even started with the whole possessive song and dance.
Which, if I’m really honest, was a bit of a turn-on. Seeing him burn with jealousy. Watching that sharp jaw tick with fury because another man dared to put his hands on me. Feeling his possessiveness like it was a caress on my body.
Maybe that’s why I went to bed mad but woke up this morning feeling ready to let it go and move on from it.
Which is good because when we meet across the breakfast table, we’re actually able to talk without fighting.
He slides a small envelope across the table. Inside is a black card.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“A credit card. Igor and Enya will take you shopping for anything you might need for the duration of your stay here. Clothes. Toiletries.”
I look at the black card. It’s not like any credit card I’ve seen.
“Wow, this looks… rich. What is the limit on something like this?”
“It’s limitless.”
Limitless.
“So I could buy a house with it?”
“Not if you want to keep breathing,” he says, buttering a piece of toast.
I roll my eyes. He’s such a moody tyrant. But it’s hard to be afraid of him when he’s sitting here buttering toast like a human.
I reach for a glazed cinnamon roll from the breakfast spread on the table. Pulling it apart, I pop a piece into my mouth and am instantly shot into culinary nirvana. “Oh my god, this cinnamon roll is insanely good.”
“Plushki,” Lev says.
“Excuse me?”
“They’re called plushki.”
I moan as I take a big bite. “They’re so buttery and soft. I think they’re my new favorite thing to put in my mouth.”
Lev stops eating and his eyes flare across the table at me.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what he’s thinking. Because I’m thinking it too. Me taking his beautiful cock into my mouth on the night we meet and sucking it like a lollipop.
I clear my throat. “I don’t think Igor will be very enthusiastic to hear he has to take me shopping.”
“Probably not, but he is loyal to me and will do as I ask.”
I have to agree. He does seem very loyal to him.
And protective.
“I don’t think he likes me very much,” I say.
“You stole his car.”
“I thought the car belongs to you?”
“It does. But he loves it so much I’m going to give it to him for his birthday next month.”
I can’t help but smile. “You know, sometimes I actually think you are human.”
He looks at me through dark lashes. “Don’t be fooled, zayka, there is very little humanity left in me. Especially toward people who take advantage of my generosity.”
Point taken.
I’ll behave.
For now.
I take another glance at the card.
“Does this mean I’m no longer confined to my room?”
“Yes, it does. But need I remind you, it’s in your best interests to stay within the grounds of the estate, or if you go anywhere, it’s with permission and always… always with Igor.”
“But what if—”
“Always with Igor. Do you understand me?”
I nod. “Understood.”
“Thank the Lord,” he mutters.
I study him as he takes a sip of his coffee. “You know, buying me clothes wasn’t necessary. I have a whole wardrobe full of them at home. I could’ve brought some with me if you hadn’t been such a moody criminal the night you kidnapped me.”
“I think I can afford it.”
“Sure, but what happens when Wilson returns in a couple of days, and I get to leave? It seems like a waste.”
His coffee cup pauses at his lips as his dark gaze finds me, and for a fleeting moment, I think I see an unfamiliar emotion in his eyes. Is that disappointment?Regret?
But then he blinks, and it’s gone. “You’ll take them with you.”
I narrow my gaze. “Are you trying to buy me off?”
“Buy you off?” He cocks a perfect eyebrow.
“So I’ll play nicer.” I reach for another plushki because they are crazy good and immediately begin pulling it apart, letting little flakes of pastry melt on my tongue.
“I thought we already established that you would play nice. You know, for Wilson’s sake.”
“We did. I’m just trying to figure out where this generosity is coming from.”
“Maybe I’m a generous guy.”
“Nice try, loser. But I’m onto you.” I pick up the credit card. “This is because you feel bad about your giant overreaction last night?”
“You’re reading too much into it. It’s just a credit card for practical reasons.”
“Why can’t you just admit it? Last night, you were jealous.”
“Jealous?” The corners of his perfect, sexy lips twitch with a hint of a smile, and something tells me I’ve just been backed into the very corner he wanted me backed into. “Now, why would I be jealous?”
Our eyes meet again, and this time, the space between us crackles with something heavy and hot.
Crap, why does that make me all warm and tingly?
“Because… the way… you were…”
When my words fail me, he stands and walks around to the end of the table where I’m sitting and leans against the edge.
He folds his arms. “Go on…”
“You were behaving like…” Jesus Christ, what is that cologne he wears? It smells so good I can’t think straight.
He lifts his brow. “Like?”
“Like the thought of Vlad putting his hands on me was a declaration of war.”
“I assure you, last night had nothing to do with jealousy and everything to do with Vlad being an asshole of gargantuan proportions. This is not a real relationship, so stop reading into things, Miss Masters, or you’ll only get disappointed.” He leans forward, and his lips brush my ear. “Think of the clothes as a parting gift.”
He straightens and leaves.
And that warm and tingly feeling I had just a few moments ago—yeah, it left the moment the grumpy piranha opened his mouth and let me know how not into me he really is.
But I don’t let his emotional disconnection get to me. Instead, I reach for another plushki and decide calories don’t count when you’ve been kidnapped.