Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“We don’t need to go there. I’m not doing this with you. I’m trying to be polite and state it as nicely as possible, but I feel it’s best if we don’t see one another again.” There. Perfect. She got it out without stumbling over the words.
Andrii’s eyes went liquid silver, and her stomach did a drop right from a roller coaster. A somersault. She watched him stand, his height and wide shoulders, along with his dominant personality, instantly shrinking the size of the room.
“You aren’t walking away from me,” Andrii declared.
She turned her back on him to walk to the door. She had taken two steps when the next thing she knew she was across the living room floor, her back pressed against the wall beside the door and Andrii tight against her front. She felt every muscle in his chest. Her heart stuttered as she gripped his Queen tee in her fist and tilted her head to look up at his face. Up that close he appeared even more masculine and intimidating. The dark bristle on his face, the strong jaw, the aristocratic nose. That mouth. So incredibly sensual.
She was aware she was alone with him in her apartment, and no one knew he was there. She’d been crazy to open her door. Crazy. Silly. Even if she screamed, she wasn’t certain anyone would hear. What was wrong with her that she was fixating on his mouth when she should be screaming for help?
“Step back, Andrii.” Her voice was a mere thread of sound. She couldn’t make her voice sound decisive and commanding.
His hands cupped her face, his touch exquisitely gentle. Looking down at her, the silver in his eyes softened to a gray, giving him the look of a man feeling tender toward his woman.
Her stomach did a slow roll seeing that look. Every single cell in her body woke up, came alive, went on full alert. There was so much caring in that look.
“I can’t do that, Solnyshkuh.” He whispered his denial to her, his thumb sliding over her right cheekbone, tracing the contour gently.
She forced herself to keep her resolve. This man was gorgeous. He was also dangerous. Not just because he could look like a predator very high up on the food chain, but because she knew he had the capability of capturing her heart. If he did that and left her—which was inevitable—she would be shattered. She was far too fragile for a man like Andrii Federoff.
“You have to go.” She tried to be firm.
“You don’t want to throw me out,” he said softly. Too softly.
His tone sent shivers of awareness down her spine. It sucked to be so susceptible to him. Azelie just didn’t have physical reactions to men. Any man. The fact that the chemistry between them sizzled, was so strong it was nearly tangible, was frightening.
“I do,” she insisted. There was silence.
She knew he was looking down at her with those eyes of his. It would be a mistake to look up at him. His thumb slid along one cheekbone, tracing the curve. He didn’t say anything. She sighed.
“Okay, I do want you to stay,” she admitted. Why she told him the truth when it was embarrassing, she didn’t know. “But you still have to go, Andrii.”
“Thank you for telling the truth when most women wouldn’t. You don’t play games, Zelie. That’s one of the hundreds of things I love about you.”
She detested that when he complimented her she melted inside. Especially when he used that voice of his. His voice should be outlawed. He should be outlawed. She needed to grow a spine.
“I need you to go, Andrii, and not come back. Take whatever you brought with you.” That was definitely firmer, even though she whispered.
He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her lower lip, sending a million sparks dancing over her skin. Heat rushed through her veins to pool low and wicked.
“I need you to explain why you’re so afraid of me, Solnyshkuh. You’ve already conceded that you know I’m not a man to beat a woman. Punish my woman when she fucks up, yes—beat her, no.”
She inhaled sharply, eyelashes fluttering in the hopes that he couldn’t read her expression. Should she even ask? She didn’t dare chance prolonging their conversation. She had to get right to the point. Still, she couldn’t help herself.
“Punish her?”
“You,” he clarified. “I’m spelling it out quite clearly that I want you to be my woman.”
She tilted her chin. “You aren’t making a great case for yourself, throwing around words like punish.”
“We’ll get there. Right now, tell me what you’re most afraid of.” He poured command into his voice. He didn’t raise it, but it was a definite order.
Azelie refused to be embarrassed. She had the truth on her side. “Men like you don’t stay with women like me, Andrii. And I’m not built for flings.”