Chapter 8
SERGEI
It was a little after four in the morning when I stepped back into Leo’s bedroom to check on him.
Every two hours, just like he ordered, asking questions to make sure he wasn’t slipping into delirium.
I knew perfectly well he didn’t want me in his house.
The man had made that clear in at least a dozen creative ways since the moment I dragged him out of the wrecked car.
But the sensible doctor in him had won out over his pride.
A concussion wasn’t something you rode out alone, and whether he liked it or not, I was the only one available to make sure he got medical attention if his concussion developed into something more.
His soft snores filled the quiet room. The sound caught me off guard every time I heard it. Leo Cavanagh spent most of his waking hours as a disciplined man who liked to be in charge. Hearing him snore softly into his pillow made him seem…human.
I closed the door behind me quietly and switched on the small lamp beside the bed. Warm amber light spilled across the room, outlining the neat order of his space. Leo’s bedroom looked every bit like the first time I’d entered it. Everything was clean, precise, and orderly.
Except the man sleeping in the middle of it.
He had kicked the covers halfway down his legs. One arm lay stretched across the mattress while the other was tucked beneath his pillow. His hair, usually combed into perfect order, had fallen messily across his forehead.
His shirt rode up, showing the smooth expanse of skin stretched across his taut stomach.
And the unexpected pierced navel.
I sucked in a deep breath, lured closer by the flash of something silver and diamond. I sat on the edge of the bed for a closer look. It wasn’t actually silver but platinum. The diamond was real, too, and nestled in the dip of his belly button.
Oh shit, Dr. Cavanagh had just gotten more interesting. When did he get the piercing? It didn’t fit the man I knew, but somehow that only made it suit him more.
For a moment, I watched him sleep and the way the piercing moved with every inhale and exhale.
I dragged my eyes up to his face, even more handsome when no longer angry but relaxed in sleep.
His long lashes rested on his upper cheekbones, and I had to fight the urge to trace the straight outline of his nose.
Fuck me into next week, but I was attracted to him.
That much had been obvious for weeks. I was attracted to Dr. Leo Cavanagh, a man who could not stand the sight of me.
But what sat heavier in my chest had nothing to do with the attraction.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the mangled shape of his car pressed against the guardrail, and each time I thought about it, my palms got sweaty and my heart rate picked up.
Leo could have been a ghost tonight.
I reached out before I could stop myself and brushed the loose strands of hair away from his forehead, too gently for it to bother him. His skin was warm beneath my fingers. He was alive.
My hand lingered longer than it should have, skimming the sharp line of his nose, then hovering over his lips. He had the most attractive cupid’s bow that flared into full lips.
I leaned forward slightly, drawn by the way they were parted as if waiting for a kiss. I could feel the faint warmth of his breath against my mouth. I could claim a kiss, and he would never know.
Nik was right that I didn’t stand a chance. What if this was the only opportunity I had to taste him? All I had to do was lean a little closer and—
I froze.
What the fuck am I doing?
The thought snapped through my head like a gunshot. I pulled back slightly, panting and staring down at him in the soft lamplight.
No.
Not like this.
If I ever kissed Leo Cavanagh, it wouldn’t be stolen while he was unconscious and vulnerable. I wanted him awake. Aware. Choosing it. Even if that choice seemed about as likely as his husband coming back to life.
I settled for a kiss pressed lightly to his forehead.
“What are you doing to me?” I muttered quietly. “If I’d killed you when Maxim wanted me to, I wouldn’t be losing my goddamn mind like this.”
I’d never been this soft with anyone. I didn’t have the patience for it. People weren’t inherently good. They lied. They cheated. They betrayed. And I was too jaded to allow someone to hurt me and walk away still breathing.
With a sigh, I straightened and shook his shoulders gently. “Leo.”
He groaned immediately, burying his face deeper into the pillow.
“Leo,” I said again. “Wake up. I need to check up on you.”
His eyes cracked open a sliver. “Why are you in my bedroom?” he mumbled, voice thick with sleep. “Didn’t we already establish that this is deeply disturbing behavior? Even worse than you stalking me.”
“Medical check.”
He squinted at me. “What time is it?”
“Some minutes after four.” I took up one end of the sheet and pulled it up to cover him because his bare stomach was distracting. He was all lean, and I liked it a little too much.
“You don’t have to stay anymore.”
I ignored that. “What’s your name?”
“Leonardo Cavanagh,” he said, frowning. “I’m forty-five and work as a doctor. See? I’m perfectly fine. Now, will you please go?”
“Do you recall what happened?” I asked.
“Car accident.”
“Now what’s your favorite food?”
Leo’s eyes narrowed. “That,” he said slowly, “is not one of the questions you’re supposed to ask me.”
“Humor me.”
He stared at me for a long moment, as if deciding whether to ignore the question or to lie.
“Italian,” he muttered finally.
I nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll remember that.”
Leo pushed himself up slightly against the pillows, rubbing his face. “Can you get out of my house now?”
“No.”
“Of course not. Why the hell would you do anything I say?” He dropped his head back so it banged lightly against the headboard.
“Will you stop that?” I placed a knee on the bed and reached up to feel the area at the back of his head where he’d just banged it. “You already have a concussion, or are you deliberately doing that because you want me to stay longer? All you have to do is ask.”
“Let’s get something straight, Sergei: I will never want you here.”
I shouldn’t let his words bother me, but they did. With every interaction, he twisted the knife in my stomach a little deeper. Would he not be satisfied until he’d bled me dry? Would he only forgive me then?
After everything I’d done for him tonight, couldn’t he hate me a little less?
“I’m staying until you’re feeling better.”
“And I have no say in that. Do I?”
“Right now? No.”
He shoved my hand away from his head. “Just as I didn’t have any say when you broke into my house before.”
I remained still, but my eyes flickered across his face.
I’d left no clue of my comings and goings.
Nik… Fucking hell. He’d blurted it out last night on speaker when I’d called him, but when Leo hadn’t reacted, I’d thought the concussion had worked in my favor and he hadn’t heard or understood the implication.
“You’re not going to deny it?” he asked.
“Why do you think I’ve been inside your home before?”
“When your friend said it earlier, I thought it was a joke.” He crushed the sheet between his fingers. “But you knew where everything was. My bedroom. My first aid kit. You even knew where to find my pajamas.”
Oh fuck. It wasn’t Nik then but me who’d messed up.
I’d been so worried about him that I hadn’t once considered what my actions would reveal about the extreme lengths I’d gone to in order to find out everything I needed to know, and then some, about him.
For a minute, I’d forgotten that Leo wasn’t like other men.
He was too smart for his own good. He caught things other people would have missed.
I’ll have to be careful around him.
“When?” he asked. “And don’t lie to me.”
“A few times.”
“Oh. My. God.” He covered his face with his hands and drew in a deep breath. “Oh. My. God. This is insanity. I need to notify the police.”
“Don’t!” I grabbed his hands and pulled them gently away from his face. “You cannot get in touch with the police about any dealings to do with Morozov. Ever. Do you understand me?”
“You’re invading my home. The police—”
“—are not your friend. Leo, whatever you do, you can never go to the police. Nobody’s going to hurt you. Don’t you get it? You’re safe with me, but the moment you call the cops, you won’t leave me with any choice.”
“But to do what? Kill me?”
I felt like I was being shredded from the inside as I debated whether to lie to him.
As much as I had this unexplained, unhealthy obsession with this man, Maxim was still my boss.
I’d been with him for over a decade, and I couldn’t throw that away for a man who hated my guts just because every time I looked at him, I wanted to sleep with him. Could I? Ah, fuck, no, I couldn’t.
“Have I hurt you since this whole thing started?” I asked, and when he refused to respond, I did it for him. “You know damn well I haven’t. I’ve been nothing but patient and kind to you. For fuck’s sake, Leo, it doesn’t take a genius to see what’s happening here.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I fucking…like you, okay?”
Fucking hell. I didn’t mean to come across like a six-year-old confessing my feelings for the boy hanging upside down on the jungle gym.
“What I mean to say is that this isn’t just about my work for Maxim.
He doesn’t even suspect you of anything anymore.
This is me making sure you’re hanging in there and not doing dumb shit like crashing your car.
” I squeezed his hands. “Tell me that was an accident and you didn’t do it intentionally. ”
“You think I tried to kill myself?” Leo cried too loudly, then grimaced.
“Hey, maybe we can talk about this some other time. You should get some more rest.”