CHAPTER 10
LEAH
Road visibility is nearly nonexistent as a snowstorm rages outside. The closest lodging is a group of cabins belonging to a ski resort. The chances of a room being available, let alone two, are slim. Not during this time of year.
My gaze slides to the rearview mirror, and I glimpse Mikhail muttering something into his phone. I hear him address his younger brother, Roman, but he’s making it a point to speak low enough so that I can’t listen in on their conversation—as if I care. He can go to hell. I’m done with him. Once this drop is over, I’ll be on a plane back to Spain, far enough away that I won’t ever have to think of him.
Tears ignite beneath my lashes, the lie so bitter that a humorless laugh breaks past my lips. Who am I kidding?
He meets my eyes in the reflection, but I tear my gaze away, refusing to let him strip any more of my dignity. I’m not sure how we’ll make it out of this job without killing each other, but I have never regretted my life choices as much as I do at this very moment.
“I can wait here if you want to check for a vacancy,” Conner, our driver, says, addressing me instead of Mikhail, who’s seated in the back seat. I’d let him climb in the car first to gauge where he would sit so I could be as far from him as possible. I know it pissed him off. I could feel the fire of his gaze on the back of my head. Thoroughly satisfied, I decided to add more fuel to that blaze and gave him the finger.
“Are you implying that she is the one to step out into this storm?” Mikhail’s grave tone causes the man beside me to stiffen. “Surely, you meant that you would be right back.”
Conner unbuckles his seat belt without a word and is out of the car before my next breath. “Was that necessary?”
“Absolutely,” he deadpans, his attention back on his phone.
“You’re insufferable.”
“That’s not exactly what you were saying today when my fingers were in your pussy.” “Fuck you!”
The wind howls as it pours into the cabin when I throw open the door and make a run for the entrance.
“Leah, get back inside the goddamn car!” Ignoring him, I trudge through the half-foot of snow toward tall glass double doors and hang my face, dodging the icy chill of winter as it bites at my cheeks and sweeps into my lungs.
Fuck, it’s freezing.
Mikhail’s angry roars reach me as I race past the threshold and into a cozy foyer where dim lights and Christmas decor line a long hallway. I spot our driver standing at the front desk, engaged in what seems to be a heated exchange with the clerk.
“Please, I need a room. You gotta have something, man.”
“We’re booked. It’s five days before Christmas. What you’re asking is impossible.” Conner cusses under his breath. Poor guy. He’ll sell his soul rather than face Mikhail. A strong hand suddenly grips my wrist and whirls me around. “You’re being childish.” The word triggers something inside me, and I slap him before I can stop myself. With
nostrils flaring and a heavy breath rushing from his mouth, he slides a hand into his pocket and, with the other, rubs the reddened spot on his cheek.
“Leah,” he grinds out behind clenched teeth. “We need to talk. But not right now, and not like this.”
I swallow the knot in my throat. “You’re right. Not now or tomorrow.” I turn and move toward the two men, both staring us down with wary expressions. “Maybe I’ll reach out when I’m back in Barcelona... Or not.”
He calls my name again, but I don’t turn around.
“Are you okay, miss?” the older man behind the counter asks.
I nod, annoyed that we’re arguing in public. “I’m fine.”
Before I can say another word, a chorus of alerts blares around us, and in perfect synchronization, we all reach for our cell phones.
Due to the storm, a mandatory county-wide curfew is in effect until 6 a.m. Only then do I notice the wind screeching against the venue’s glass, stronger and more turbulent than it was just ten minutes ago.
We’re stuck. Not only are we grounded from our flight, but now we’re stuck at a resort with no vacancies.
I sigh and rub my temples. All I want is a fucking hot shower and time to myself. Time away from Mikhail.
“Find a room,” I hear him threaten from behind me.
“I— We don’t,” the clerk stutters. “We don’t have a cabin available, sir.”
“I’m sure you do. Look again.”
A part of me feels awful for the poor clerk having to be subjected to Mikhail’s wrath, but I also can’t deny that coercing some reserved room where I’ll be able to shower and relax is in my best interest. Someone had to have gotten caught up in this storm, unable to make their reservation. Maybe it’s selfish, but if anyone can make a deal with the devil himself, it’s a Petrov.
“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.