Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Leah
"Move closer."
Roman's voice came from my left. I shifted half a step toward him without thinking.
He looked me over and reached out, unfastening one of the buttons at my collar.
"Hey! What are you—"
I jerked back. That patch of skin felt like it'd been scorched. Ever since yesterday's underwear incident, I'd been hypersensitive to Roman's proximity.
"You look like you're going to a job interview," he said. "Relax."
How was I supposed to relax? After someone had done THAT with my underwear and then returned it to me?
I'd barely slept last night. Every time I closed my eyes, my brain cycled between that kiss and those damn black lace panties. The two images alternated, keeping me tossing and turning all night.
I took a deep breath and looked at the man in front of me. He seemed completely relaxed, like yesterday's events hadn't left a scratch on his conscience.
Bastard.
"Stop shaking," Roman said quietly, eyes fixed on the car approaching in the distance. "It's not an execution."
"It sure as hell feels like one." I forced the words through clenched teeth, trying to make my smile look less strained. "Just so we're clear—if your grandmother sees through our act, do I just lose my job?"
"Not just that," Roman said casually. "You'd also owe the penalty fees."
"Oh, thanks for the pep talk." I rolled my eyes. "Really feeling motivated now."
Roman didn't respond. His mouth just twitched slightly.
I took another deep breath and mentally rehearsed the story we'd cobbled together last night. How we met, where we had our first date, how we decided to move in together.
All lies, but meticulously detailed ones. No matter what, I had to pretend these were our cherished romantic memories.
Kill me now.
A black stretch car glided out from the shadows of the pine trees and stopped smoothly at the steps.
A bodyguard opened the door. The first person out was a man I'd never seen before.
Tall, dressed in black, shoulders so broad they looked like a wall. The muscles under his suit strained the fabric. His face was expressionless—even when his gaze swept over me, nothing registered.
I swallowed reflexively. Why was everyone at this estate so terrifying?
Then a hand appeared from inside the car, gripping the door's edge, wearing white gloves.
Maria Volkova was smaller than I'd imagined.
She looked to be in her early seventies, hair pulled back without a strand out of place—silver-white, arranged like a crown on her head. She wore a deep burgundy wool coat with an oval pearl brooch at her chest.
"Roman." Maria held out her arms to him first.
Roman bent down and kissed her cheek. "Maria. How was the trip?"
"Terrible. My back's about to break." She snorted disapprovingly, then her gaze moved past Roman and landed directly on me.
I stood there, meeting her eyes.
Froze for a second before remembering to flash the smile I'd carefully rehearsed.
"Is this her?" Maria asked Roman.
"Yes." Roman turned and extended his hand toward me.
I walked over and placed my hand in Roman's palm, letting him lead me to Maria.
"Leah Carter. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Volkova."
The old woman didn't speak immediately. She raised an eyebrow and studied me carefully.
I didn't know how long she looked at me. Probably five seconds, but it felt like five minutes.
Then Maria reached out and grasped the hand resting in Roman's, giving it a firm squeeze.
"Good!" she said to Roman, voice strong. "This is good."
"Maria—"
She waved him off dismissively, then looked back at me, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.
"Carter." She rolled the name around. "American."
"Yes."
"Are you settling in here? How are you getting along with Mira?"
I paused. I wanted to say something polished, but meeting those eyes, I had the strange feeling that lying would get me caught immediately.
"Uh... It's chaos," I admitted honestly. "This morning she put cereal in my hair. Yesterday it was a plastic spider in my shoe."
Maria stared at me for two seconds, then nodded knowingly, like she wasn't surprised at all.
"Sounds like she doesn't hate you." She huffed, then moved on. "How did you and Roman meet?"
"At a coffee shop." I'd memorized this part cold. "I was a barista there."
"How long have you been together?" She kept going, seemingly fascinated by our romance.
My brain went blank.
That question... I didn't think we'd covered that one yesterday. Or maybe we had, but I couldn't remember a single word of it now.
"Maria, why don't you go upstairs and rest?" Roman cut in. "You must be exhausted after the overnight flight."
"What's the rush?" Maria waved him off without ceremony, turning back to me. Those sharp eyes actually held a hint of amusement. "I'm just so happy. I thought Roman would never bring a woman home again."
She patted the back of my hand.
"You're a good girl, Leah. He finally did something right."
Roman's face was expressionless. "Thank you for the evaluation."
Maria ignored him, leaning closer to me and lowering her voice.
"Darling, I'd love to chat more, but I need to lie down. Couldn't sleep on that damn plane. We'll talk more at dinner." She winked at me. "I can tell you all about his embarrassing childhood stories. Plenty of them."
"I'd love to hear them." I followed her lead with a warm smile.
Maria took Emily's arm and slowly climbed the steps.
I stayed where I was, waiting until her figure disappeared through the door before letting out the breath I'd been holding too long.
"That wasn't so bad," I said quietly.
"She likes you," Roman said beside me.
"How do you know?"
"If she didn't like a woman, she wouldn't say more than a word." He watched where Maria had disappeared. "She talked to you a lot just now."
Relief flooded through me quietly.
It was true—my impression of Maria was unexpectedly positive. Funny thing—Mira and Roman had me convinced Maria would be another impossible character to deal with.
Turned out she wasn't. I thought we'd get along just fine.
No penalty fees for me. Yes!
Then another voice came from the bottom of the steps.
"Roman."
The voice was gentle. I felt like I'd heard it somewhere before.
I looked down curiously.
A man came around from beside the driveway. Well-tailored suit, hair neatly combed, wearing a smile that seemed practiced and polished.
"You haven't changed a bit." He approached Roman, extending his hand. "It's been a long time."
Roman didn't take the hand.
Whatever small warmth he'd managed to maintain for Maria vanished instantly. He was back to that cold expression I knew so well.
"Dmitri," he said. "It has been a long time."
Dmitri's outstretched hand hung in the air for two seconds. Roman showed no intention of taking it.
But Dmitri showed no embarrassment. He withdrew it naturally.
"I heard Maria was back." He smiled, tone familiar. "Thought I'd come see her. And check in on Mira."
He held up what he was carrying—a brand-new sketchbook.
"Brought her an art pad."
I looked at Dmitri with some surprise.
Mira, that little hedgehog, bristled at everyone. She barely gave Roman the time of day. There was actually a man in this world who got along with her? Who thought to bring her gifts?
Okay, I admit—that made me a little jealous.
While I was sizing him up, Dmitri's gaze shifted to me and met my eyes.
He extended his hand toward me.
"You must be Leah." His voice was soft.
I instinctively started to shake it, but just as my fingertips were about to touch his, I felt Roman's entire presence change beside me.
It was hard to describe. He didn't move, but I could feel it.
My hand froze in midair.
"I'm Dmitri," the man said, unfazed. He pushed his suspended hand forward a bit more, his smile deepening. "Dmitri Sokolov. Just dropping by to see my niece, Mira."
I reluctantly grasped his hand.
"Niece?" I didn't quite follow.
"Yes," Dmitri spoke slowly, but his eyes stayed locked on my face, like he was watching my reaction. "I'm Irina's big brother. Mira's uncle."
Irina.
The moment that name came out, I felt Roman's expression turn stone-cold beside me.
My mind raced.
Irina. Mira's mother. Roman's ex-wife. The servants always spoke of her in hushed tones. Even the gossip-loving maids went silent at her name.
And the man in front of me was her brother.
I didn't know what had happened between Roman and them.
But I knew it wasn't good.
Because the killing intent radiating from Roman right now was almost tangible.
Dmitri acted like he hadn't noticed. He continued.
"I'm so glad to see Roman moving on from that relationship. What happened with Irina hit him hard. We were all worried about him." He sighed, looking regretful and sincere. "Now we can rest easy."
"I don't need your concern."
As Roman shot back coldly, his hand suddenly landed on my waist.
I had no time to prepare before he pulled me completely into his arms.
He lowered his head and kissed me.
Right in front of Dmitri.
The kiss was deep and hard, almost aggressively possessive, giving me no room to resist.
This wasn't our first kiss, but I still couldn't get used to it. My brain went blank, my heart hammering wildly in my chest.
I felt Roman's tongue force past my teeth, dominating and invasive. There was no gentleness in this kiss—only conquest and ownership, like he was branding me.
Finally, he released me.
I gasped for air, face burning, mind scrambled, barely able to stand. I could only clutch at his suit jacket reflexively.
Then Roman lifted his head and looked at Dmitri.
"We're very happy," he said.
Dmitri's smile paused for an instant—so fast you might think it was your imagination—then returned to normal.
"That's good," he said.
Emily appeared on the steps at just the right moment, saying Mira was in the second-floor playroom. Dmitri nodded to us and followed Emily inside.
I watched Dmitri's back disappear around the stairwell before my tense body finally relaxed a little.
Roman also released his arm from around me.
I immediately stepped back, putting distance between us. I roughly wiped my still-tingling lips and shot him a glare.