Chapter 12 - Sienna #2
I tried to listen, but their voices blurred into soft background noise as my eyes kept sliding toward Avit. Pathetically, I wished that he wanted me the way I wanted him. That he looked at me the way the other men looked at their wives.
Unexpectedly, my vision blurred with unshed tears, and I quickly blinked them away. I needed air, to clear my head.
I touched Mariya’s arm. “I just need to recharge a bit. I’ll be right over there.”
She gave me a gentle smile. “Take all the time you need.”
I slipped away, drifting toward one of the quieter corners near the entrance. I pretended to study a piece of art, but my pull towards Avit was too strong. I glanced over at him again.
To my surprise, his eyes were already on me. They weren't blank; they weren't unreadable. I noticed that look. It was desire. The same desire I saw in the other men as they looked at their wives.
Was Avit as attracted to me as I was to him?
No.
That couldn’t be right.
Women in his world were flawless, glamorous, and wealthy. I could never compete with that.
But the longer he held my gaze, the more I ached for him in ways I shouldn't. I couldn’t want him. Not the man who forced me into marriage, used me as a bargaining chip and hated me.
Then he started walking toward me.
Crap!
Adrenaline shot through me. If I stayed, I’d do or say something stupid. Luckily for me, someone stopped him to chat. I turned quickly and headed for the entrance, slipping out. I walked to the hotel as fast as my heels allowed and made my way inside towards the elevators.
I stepped into the elevator just as the doors began to close, and through the narrowing gap, I saw Wexler and Avit spot me.
The doors slid shut, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
Shit.
Was Avit angry I’d run? Were the others upset? This was Ninel’s big day. God! Did they think I had caused a scene on purpose? And spoiled Ninel's event?
Shit. Shit. Shit.
When the elevator doors opened, I rushed down the hall, digging the key card from my purse with shaking fingers. I reached my room, slid the card through the slot, and stepped inside. But before I could close the door, Avit slipped in after me, locking the door behind him.
I froze. “A-Avit…what are you doing here?”
“The better question is why is my wife here,” he murmured, “when we should be next door supporting my sister.”
“I just…” I straightened my shoulders. “I needed to get away for a bit. Being around everyone…it was a lot.”
“It was a lot being around everyone else?”
He stepped forward.
I backed away. “Yes. I mean…”
“Or,” he said softly, “was it a lot being around…me?”
The intensity in his eyes made my stomach twist in the best way possible, but I shoved the feeling aside.
I scoffed. “Why would it be a lot being around you? I thought Pyotr was the vain one. Don’t let Ninel's compliment go to your head.”
He moved towards me slowly, hands in his pockets, each step forward matching mine as I stepped backwards.
The back of my legs hit the sofa, and I fell onto it with a soft gasp.
In the blink of an eye, Avit was hovering over me, bracing one hand behind me on the cushions, the other beside my head, caging me in.
“Mrs. Safin,” he murmured, eyes fixed on mine, “are you telling me you don’t like how I’m dressed? Because seeing you…in that…”
His gaze lowered, between our bodies, then back to my eyes.
“I’m liking what I’m seeing.”
“Y-yes. That’s what I’m saying,” I lied, the words tumbling out. “Your jacket doesn’t fit right, and…and your hair is out of place. For a man who likes everything perfect, it doesn’t suit you.”
His lips curved into a seductive smirk, and his voice dropped an octave. “The only place I care about is right here. With you.”
Goosebumps ran over my skin.
He leaned closer, his lips inches from mine. “Don’t you think I’m in the right place, Sienna?”
“No,” I whispered, then immediately squeezed my thighs together.
“You’re a pretty little liar, wifey.”
His mouth touched my ear as he spoke. “I bet if I pulled that dress off, your nipples would be hard…looking forward to my touch, and your panties would be soaked.”
A helpless moan slipped out before I could swallow it.
Avit’s eyes darkened. In one swift move, he caught my wrists, lifting them above my head with one hand. His body pressed fully into mine, his erection unmistakable.
“Sienna,” he said tenderly, and a flash of doubt crossed his face. “I’d like to make love to you.”
My breath came short and fast.
Did I really want this?
Once the deed was done, there'd be no turning back.
But I did want him. More than anything. Just once, I wanted something for me…something pleasurable.
“On…one condition,” I whispered.
His eyes flicked to my lips. “Which is?”
“That after we catch whoever it is, we get a divorce.”
“Agreed.”
The word barely left his mouth before his lips crushed mine. I opened up to him immediately. His hand slid up my leg, shifting my dress until his hand was on my bare thigh, and I shivered.
Tonight, I’d let myself have this. I’d let myself feel wanted…needed by the man who kissed me like I was the most important thing in his world.