Chapter 17 Sophie
Sophie
Knock, knock, knock.
I lifted my heavy head from my pillow, glancing around the room, but it was quiet. It had to be the middle of the ni—
Knock, knock, knock.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes, my hair a wild mess.
“Coming!” I called out, making my way to the door. I peeked through the tiny hole to see Kian standing there.
I yanked the door open and glared at him. “Do you have any idea what time it is? I was sleeping, and when you’re a doctor, every damn hour of sleep is precious.”
“Good morning, Sophie.” He didn’t seem bothered by my outburst. “It’s almost eleven o’clock, and I need to remind you that you’re not exactly practicing medicine these days.”
What the actual hell?
“I’m making up for the past decade,” I snapped. “And that was a shitty thing to say.”
“Merely pointing out the obvious.” He looked past my shoulder, nodding his head. “And trying to remind you that having your career back is within your grasp.”
“I’m sure that would make sense to Violet,” I muttered, dragging my hand through my hair. “What are you doing here?”
“Taking you to my villa where I can keep you safe.”
I frowned. “Frankly, I thought you were joking.”
“Do I strike you as a man who jokes around?”
“I guess not,” I mumbled, “but I hate to tell you, but I slept on it all and I’m not going to your villa. Yes, you’ve saved me a couple of times, but you’re a perfect stranger and could be a psychopath.”
He smirked. “So could you, and you don’t see me complaining.”
“You have a bodyguard who could easily wipe me out,” I pointed out, tilting my chin toward his shadow hovering in the hallway. “I don’t, therefore it would be two against one and I’d be the one who was outnumbered.”
“You’ve had three of my men guarding you all night. They can be yours permanently.”
“That sounds like a prelude to a very dirty book.”
“Oh, they know better than to touch you,” he drawled. “Now, let’s stop wasting time and get you packed.”
I stared at him, looking all put together in a suit. He was dead serious.
“I’m not packing. I just woke up.”
“That’s fine.” He smirked. “My men can pack.”
I glanced around my tidy room. “No freaking way they’re touching my stuff.”
He sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
“Oh, that will make it loads better.” I scoffed. “A sexy silver fox touching my panties.”
I froze, realizing the words that slipped out, but it was too late to take them back. I went to slam the door shut in his face, but he was faster, his foot blocking my way.
“Zemer, we’re all adults here. I’ve seen panties before, and I’m not leaving without you.”
Heat bloomed in multiple parts of my body, and that nickname wasn’t helping at all. But I refused to let myself get sidetracked.
“Listen, Kian—”
“If you’re worried about your safety, message your family and tell them you’re staying with me,” he offered.
Then he pulled out his phone and started typing, his fingers flying efficiently over its screen.
“There, my full name, address, and even a copy of my passport. All I need is your phone number, and I’ll send it to you. Feel free to share.”
I recited my phone number, and in the next second, my cell phone buzzed. My eyes darted to it, then back to him.
“Wait until I check that message.”
“You seem to have trust issues, Sophie,” he said dryly, but he removed his foot and I shut the door in his face, then ran to my phone. I opened the message, and sure enough, Kian had provided his information, including his date of birth.
For a second, I debated sending it to Kristoff, but then decided against it and sent it off to Violet.
Me: If I’m found dead, this is the information on my hot silver fox killer.
Once the message was sent off, I dropped my shoulders and ran back to open the door.
Kian smiled knowingly. “Feel better now?”
“I would have felt even better if you hadn’t woken me up.” I scrunched my nose at him. “Please come in.”
He wore a tan suit over a crisp white dress shirt, once again looking as though he’d spent the morning posing for a magazine cover. His hair was slightly tousled, the kind of effortless mess that only made him more striking.
His bodyguard came into the room too, making the space feel smaller, and I groaned.
“Seriously, Amir, I won’t hurt Kian while wearing my teddy-bear pajamas.” I scratched at my nest of morning hair, already regretting every life choice that had led to this moment. I shot Kian an exasperated look. “Can’t he just wait outside while I pack?”
Kian’s eyes flicked to his bodyguard, amusement dancing openly in their depths. He didn’t say a word, but the wordless command had Amir stiffening. He gave his boss a reluctant nod and exited with a dramatic huff, the door shutting a little harder than necessary behind him.
Instantly, the room seemed to crackle with electricity.
“Well,” Kian said lightly, clapping his hands once. “Where should we begin?”
I eyed him warily.
“Fair warning,” he added, entirely too pleased with himself, “I’m efficient, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m any good at it.”
I stared at him. No one should look that excited about packing unless they were a control freak—or planning an unsolicited meet-and-greet with my underwear.
“Are you a pervert?” I blurted out.
His brows shot up in genuine surprise. “Like… in the bedroom?”
My face heated. “Umm. I meant in general.”
“Huh.” He tilted his head, considering this far too seriously. “No, I don’t think so. Though I admit your line of questioning is rather peculiar.”
I folded my arms. “Are you really offering to rummage through my stuff? My undergarments?”
He chuckled, eyes flicking toward the open suitcase on the bed. “I told you that I’m efficient. I meant I’ll dump everything into your suitcase. Clothes, toiletries, dignity. All of it.”
“Oh.”
That wasn’t what I expected.
“When we get back to the villa, you can sort it out,” he continued smoothly. “Or delegate the task to the housekeeper.”
“Umm…” I glanced helplessly between him and my suitcase, suddenly very aware of how exposed my entire life was in drawer form. Especially the one containing my vibrators. “How about I do one drawer and you do the rest?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I ran over and paused, throwing a glance over my shoulder. “Turn around, please.”
My cheeks had to be burning because his eyes traced every line of my face, dark amusement shining in them. But to his credit, he did so without comment.
The moment his back was to me, I rushed to move my toys into the suitcase, then threw some undergarments and pjs on top of them.
A relieved sigh left me. “I need to take a shower.”
Something bright and mischievous sparked in his eyes as he watched me squirm. He was absolutely enjoying this.
“You do that,” he said. “I’ll keep going.”
I nodded and yanked open a drawer, grabbing the first halfway-decent outfit I could find, then disappeared into the bathroom and, just to be safe, locked the door behind me.
Once steam gathered in the small space, I stepped in and sighed happily. Instantly, I could feel myself relaxing, forgetting the awkwardness of the past twenty minutes.
I shifted my weight to reach the shampoo.
My foot slid forward with the confidence of someone who absolutely did not know they were about to eat tile. Time slowed. My stomach dropped.
“No-no-no—” My arms flopped up and down as I windmilled, a gasp bursting from my lips.
I grabbed for the wall… faucet… anything. But I only managed to grab onto water. Slippery, mocking water.
My hand slapped uselessly against the tiles, leaving a dramatic smear that did nothing to stop gravity from doing its job against my dignity.
For one horrifying second, I was convinced this was it. I would meet my maker, naked and undignified, taken out by water.
I somehow managed to twist, landing in a graceless heap instead of fully face-planting. The showerhead continued spraying me mercilessly, as if attempting to drown me.
“You okay in there?” Kian’s voice came through while I lay there, sprawled, soaked, staring at the ceiling.
The shampoo bottle toppled over and bonked me lightly on the arm, adding insult to injury.
“All good,” I groaned, pushing myself upright, and winced. “Don’t come in.”
Not that he could, since I locked the door.
Once on my feet, I glared at the small shower, muttering under my breath, “Fuck love triangles with psycho ex-wives. A lot of people experience that, but have they ever tried to grab water?”
“What was that?” Kian asked.
I let out a sigh and yelled out, “Nothing, just talking to myself.”
After my near accident, I took the fastest shower of my life. I couldn't risk another slip. There was no way I’d survive it a second time.
Ten minutes later, I came out wearing denim shorts and a white T-shirt to find my suitcase zipped up and ready to go.
His eyes held mine, dark and dangerous. “How many toys do you have, Sophie?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. Fuck!
“I found your vibrator,” he said calmly, pulling it out of his pocket. “What would you like me to do with it?”
Please God, I want to die.
I opened my mouth to say something but no words came out. He stepped closer to me. “Did you use it last night?”
God, right now would be an excellent time to grant me my wish.
Unable to push a lie past my lips, I settled for the next best thing. “That’s for me to know and you—”
“And for me to find out,” he cut in, flashing me a smile that made butterflies take flight in the pit of my stomach.
“No,” I fired back. “And for you to never learn.” There was no way in hell I’d admit to using the vibrator while thinking about his muscular body and full lips.
He took another step, the material of his suit brushing against my chest. “If you share, I’ll tell you what I did in the shower last night.”
The air crackled between us while X-rated images flickered through my mind.
“What?” I whispered.
He tsked. “I asked first.”
“I did,” I admitted, tilting my chin up. I was a grown-ass woman who owned her pleasure. I shouldn’t and wouldn’t be ashamed of using a vibrator.