Chapter Forty-two
Alessia
The guest room felt thick with tension, though it was just best friends pretending this was an ordinary talk about life. I sat in silence, waiting for Carina to speak. We called this meeting to steady our thoughts, hoping to make sense out of a life that refused to give any.
Since her arrival, we had avoided the sensitive topic. Instead, we drifted through the corners of the place I’d been hiding, as I showed her around. After the tour, we went shopping. I mentioned my date with Rodion, and she insisted on finding me a dress. Before I knew it, night came crashing in.
Carina shifted on her side of the bed, angling toward me for a better view to probably read my face. Her eyes narrowed. “Okay, I will be brutally honest here.”
I braced, nodding.
“Your father is right. No one knows what will happen next. It could be worse, and trust me, the state your father’s accident put us in was bad.”
My throat tightened as I swallowed. If the closest people to me couldn’t see reason in this, then what the hell was I doing?
“But I’ll tell you this too,” she added, and a flicker of hope had me almost smiling. “Rodion is right too. If his enemies want your father, they will find him wherever they want.”
“Right?” My voice sharpened with relief. “I think so too.”
Carina’s gaze cut straight through me. “But what’s convincing you to stay? Don’t lie to me. You have a date tomorrow and … from what I can see, there is something between you two.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks, and my fingers toyed with the hem of my sleep shorts. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I feel things when I’m around him.”
Carina lifted a brow, waiting for more.
“You know, with Marco, it was all about wanting to have a boyfriend, and to do things just because everyone else bragged about it? But with Rodion, I’m curious about … the future.”
She hissed, but I saw a smile. “That’s scary.”
A light laugh slipped out. “It’s like waking up every day eager to see what’s ahead. And when I’m with him, I don’t feel like I want time to stop. No, I want it to move, so I can discover more of who he is. Because, Rina, every day with him feels new.”
Carina exhaled, and I groaned. Collapsing onto the bed, I stared at the ceiling like it might hand me answers.
“It’s like I’m an explorer,” I went on. “Always eager for tomorrow, knowing it will bring something that isn’t cliché. This is not just the typical boyfriend-and-girlfriend phase.”
“Girl, you are in love.”
I pushed up almost too fast. “No. I didn’t say that. What I am trying to say is, it’s exciting.”
Carina grinned wider, eyes dancing. “Exciting, safe, curious about the future. You do hear yourself, right?”
“I’m not in love.” My words rushed out. “I’m just… trying to make sense of it. You know how many times I’ve thought about this? I don’t even trust my head anymore. I’m not blind, Carina. There are risks, yes. But this isn’t the same as Marco. I’m not that girl anymore, okay?”
Carina leaned back on her hands, watching me with the look of someone who knew she had cornered me.
“I’m not that girl,” I repeated, steadier this time. “It might sound absurd, but I’m careful. I test him just to see how he’ll react. And he does things I never expect. Meaning he is willing to adjust for me.”
Her smile softened, the tease giving way to understanding. “That’s very defensive.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, realizing how I sounded.
She shifted closer. “Listen. I want you to be okay. If someone had told us Marco would drag you and your family into that mess, we would have fought it. But the truth is, we’re not as good as we think at spotting red flags or green flags. We convince ourselves either way.”
Her words sank deep. “You’re right. But what will I do if I realise this is just for a season, and he becomes the man I knew at first?”
Carina reached for my hand, her fingers warm over mine. “Honestly, you can’t know. Life is about taking risks. But think about this: if you were asked back then if the man we saw at that lingerie boutique would ever kidnap you, would you have agreed?”
I laughed despite the lump in my throat. “I told you he looked hot and dangerous.”
We both burst out laughing, the tension cracking for a moment.
“Okay, okay,” Carina said, shaking her head. “But at least we know he did what he did because he had a reason.”
I nodded. “Well, after all, I’m so deep into it I can’t get out even if I tried. He said he can’t let me go, so what else can I do?”
“Give him the benefit of the doubt.”
I fell back on the bed, and she followed, both of us staring up at the ceiling. In the hush of the room, she added, “On the date tomorrow, ask him anything you feel needs an answer.”
We talked for a while, arguing over little things and agreeing on others, until sleep crept in.
Carina surrendered first, her breathing deepening until the softest snore slipped past her lips.
I chuckled and slid off the bed. Since we were in a guest room, the extra bedding was always kept in the closet.
I opened the closet, pulled out a blanket, and laid it over her. She shifted but didn’t wake. I stood there watching her, wondering how she could find sleep so easily when my mind wouldn’t stop running in circles.
On the bedside table, my phone blinked. I reached for it, and to my surprise, Rodion’s name lit the screen with a text message. A rush of excitement bubbled through me.
I laughed and skidded back into the bed beside Carina, careful not to wake her. My thumbs hovered before I typed.
I waited, fingers tapping against the blanket, unnecessarily unsettled.
His reply came almost immediately.
A chuckle escaped me as I typed.
I bit down a laugh, shaking my head. Carina stirred beside me, so I stifled the sound, typing my reply in silence. Before I could send it, another message came through.
For a while, there was nothing, and I stared at the screen as if it could force him to respond. After a few minutes, he replied.
I rolled my eyes and whispered, “So where are they?” My fingers flew across the keys.
The pause stretched longer this time until finally his curt response appeared.
I couldn’t help myself.
I scoffed at the screen.
No reply followed. I set the phone back on the table and switched off the lights, yet I couldn’t stop smiling. He texted. The man who ruled everything stepped out of his comfort zone.
I wondered what he looked like while typing. Had he allowed himself to smile? Was he hunched over his desk in the office or already in bed somewhere?
The questions blurred with my thoughts until sleep pulled me down. Dreams weren’t shadows or blood, but Rodion. I dreamt of him walking toward me in a dinner suit, the kind that demanded a room’s attention. He caught every glance and stole the moment.
The dream shattered when a touch jolted me awake. My breath caught; lips pressed against mine, swallowing a scream that was rising. I blinked in shock. Rodion? My panic dissolved into a haze as his mouth devoured mine, a kiss so deep it stole every ounce of air from me.
He lifted me with ease, arms locked beneath me in a bridal hold, and carried me out of the room. I clung to his shoulders, dazed, not sure if I was still trapped in a dream or if he was truly here. He moved through the dimly lit hallway, straight to the staircase leading upstairs.
My voice came out in a whisper. “When did you get here?”
“A few minutes ago.” He took the stairs.
“But I thought you were in Florida.”
He pushed into his room and let the door click shut behind him. “I was.”
My brows knit together. “Isn’t that hours away?”
He lowered me down on the bed, his palm braced beside me as he hovered over me. “What time do you think it is?”
“I don’t know.”
His mouth pulled into a smirk. He straightened, stripping off his jacket. He then opened his shirt buttons, each one revealing more of the hard lines of his body. His belt, his pants, all came off until he was left in nothing but his briefs. He slipped into bed beside me.
I smiled despite myself, warmth curling in my chest.
His hand found mine, thumb rubbing lazily over my knuckles. “It’s almost dawn.”
I turned toward the window, but the heavy curtains let nothing in. “It feels like we just talked an hour ago.”
His lips pressed against my forehead. “It’s been around seven hours.”
“Are you done with business?” I could not hide my curiosity. “I thought I’d see you later today.”
He exhaled. “I had roses to deliver.”
I looked at him. “What roses?”
He flicked his chin toward the sofa near the window.
My mouth fell open. “How the hell did I not see that?” I scrambled up and stared at the bouquet, lips parting wider. I turned back to him. “You seriously brought me flowers?”
He smiled, hand trailing over my hip, a slow drag that made me shiver.
A laugh escaped me. I collapsed back onto his chest and whispered, “You’re so full of surprises. I honestly thought that chat was a joke.”
“The only joke there was the emoji bullshit,” he said.
I rolled my eyes, grinning. “Emojis help show the power of the text,” I said, teasing him. He stayed quiet, and this was precisely what I meant when I said I was excited to see what this man could do. Wasn’t he tired? He was a workaholic, but he needed rest. “Thank you. But you must be tired.”
He leaned in and kissed me, claiming my mouth with hunger. His tongue tangled with mine, the kiss rough and deep enough to pull a whimper from me. My body arched into his, heat flaring everywhere his skin touched mine.
When he pulled back, his lips still grazing mine, his voice rumbled low. “One hour is enough.”
I nodded and whispered. “Let’s sleep then.”
He turned the lights off, and darkness wrapped around us as he pulled me closer. My knee brushed against his bulge by accident, and a laugh bubbled from me.
“Try that again,” he warned, “and we won’t be sleeping.”
“I wouldn’t mind because I’m not the one who’s tired here.”
His hand pulled me closer, shifting me to climb onto him. “That’s it. Sit on me.”
“Oh, come on.” I pushed away. “I’m suddenly sleepy.” His fingers sank into my ass, rough enough to draw a moan from me. “You better stop, Mister Konstantinov.”
But instead of stopping, his hand slipped beneath the waistband of my shorts, fingers stroking until my breath caught. His other hand closed around my throat, tilting my face up to him. We couldn’t see in the dark, yet he found my mouth, kissing me hard as his touch drove me higher.
Pulling away, I panted against his lips. “I command you to sleep.”
He chuckled. “Only because that sounds cute.” I adjusted until I fit perfectly at his side. His hand never left my body. “When is your interview?”
My fingers trailed along his chest. “Next week. Monday.”
“Are you excited?”
A smile tugged at me. “Very. I’ve always wanted this.”
“Good.”
Silence settled again. Outside, birds were already beginning their morning chorus. Rodion’s warmth pressed against me. The calmness that lingered in the room pulled me into a deep sleep.
When I woke up again, I was in bed alone.
His side was cold, meaning he had been gone for a while.
For a moment, I thought I had dreamt it all, but seeing I was in his bed said enough.
The bouquet wasn’t on the sofa anymore. It sat on the bedside table facing me, as if he wanted me to see it the moment I opened my eyes.
He also left a note. I stretched across the sheets, picked the note up, and let out a laugh as I read the message: Don’t forget the date.
Shaking my head, I set it down and reached for the roses. I lifted them to my face and breathed them in. They were fresh, and so impossibly out of place in this room that it made me smile. I needed to get up. Carina was probably already looking for me. And these roses deserved a vase.
I slipped out of bed and ran downstairs. The guestroom was empty, except for my phone, which was still seated on the table where I had left it the night before. I hurried to grab it, realizing with a small jolt of guilt that it was already past ten a.m.
I called Carina. “Which corner of the house are you in?”
Her laughter crackled through the speaker. “I was about to come over. I visited Matvet.”
“Oh,” I said, brows lifting. “Do you need help? Should I send a guard or two?”
She giggled. “He hasn’t kicked me out yet, so it’s going well, I guess.”
It turned out Carina wasn’t Matvet’s favorite, or maybe he was just wrestling with something.
Yesterday, he had ignored her completely, shutting down every question she tried to throw his way.
They looked less like allies and more like enemies trapped in the same room, waiting for the slightest excuse to set the floor on fire beneath them.
“Fine,” I said. “I am coming in a moment.”
I needed a shower to clear my head, breakfast to steady myself, and a vase for those flowers.