Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 85224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
I like her like this.
I want to soak up every second of this mood while it lasts. Before I inevitably ruin it.
Talia reaches up and touches my face, kissing me softly before pulling away.
“Sorry,” she murmurs to Katya. “We can’t keep our hands off each other. Honeymoon phase.”
“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Katya replies.
“I intend to.” Talia smiles up at her. “And on that note, would you mind?”
Katya remains in place, her jaw tense and her gaze burning into mine. Willing me to say otherwise.
“Shut the door when you go,” I add.
She swears at me in Russian, and then she does as I ask.
22
Talia
I don’t move from Alexei’s lap when Katya has gone. Instead, I pull my dress up lewdly around my hips and lean back against his desk, allowing his eyes to rake over me.
He’s watching me closely, waiting to see my next move. He doesn’t understand my motives. I don’t either. But seeing how much that woman wanted him makes me feel possessive. It makes me need him in a way that I shouldn’t admit.
My hand reaches out to trail over his jaw. Strong and freshly shaved. Smooth. He is beautiful.
I can see why she wants him so much.
But that isn’t what really bothers me.
“You wanted to make her jealous,” I say.
“Yes.”
“Because you loved her,” I add.
“No,” he answers.
“Liar.”
My lips come down on his, and I kiss him hard. Alexei’s hands roam the backs of my thighs all the way up to my ass. His hot palm slides into the back of my panties to cup my ass cheek, and then he pulls me down against his hardness.
“Do you want to fuck me and think of her?” I ask him.
“You’d like that,” he answers. “Wouldn’t you?”
“What does that mean?”
“You would use any excuse not to feel the way you do right now.”
He’s right. He’s so right that it scares me. I feel something with him. Something more than the reckless behavior and the self-hatred.
I feel… safe with him. His house is my sanctuary. His body, my fortress. He is tall and strong and dangerous. And like Magda said, I believe that he will protect me.
That’s the most dangerous belief I could ever have with a man.
I need to level the playing field. I need him to know that I know his secrets too.
“That’s exactly what a hypocrite would say.” I lean close and murmur into his right ear. “Lyoshka.”
He freezes, his hands still on my ass, his head moving back to examine me. To question me with those pale blue eyes.
“I know,” I tell him.
“And what have you to say about it?” he asks.
His jaw is taut, his eyes hard and appraising. I know instinctively this man could spot a lie if I ever dared to utter one. But I only ever have my honesty to give to him.
“I like it,” I admit. “Because maybe that makes us even. Maybe that means it’s you and me against the world.”
He relaxes slightly, and his brows draw closer. I’ve surprised him with my answer. He expected something different.
Hatred? Disgust?
I can’t quite figure it out. But Magda’s words are ringing through my mind, loud and clear.
You are more alike than you know.
“How do you conceal it so well?” I ask. “How do you read lips without being obvious?”
“Like any skill, you perfect it by learning. Through practice.”
I nod, and he continues to watch me. And explain.
“I don't catch everything that is spoken. I catch pieces, and I put them together in my head. Like a puzzle. Everyone is different. Some talk too fast, some mumble. Some cover their mouth, or look away. Some are easy to read. Some are hard. It isn’t just about reading lips. Your face says a thousand things that your lips never will.”
“What do you mean?”
His fingers come up to touch my chin. And then my brows. They trail over my face, examining me in a way he hasn’t done before.
“It's a thousand micro expressions. The way your eyes contract and expand. The flutter of lashes. The involuntary hitch of a shoulder or a tick you didn’t even know you made. There are so many emotions that go unnoticed because most are only used to listening to the words. But I learned to watch. And now I see everything.”
It makes sense. How he’s so observant. How he seems to anticipate my moves before I even know them myself sometimes.
“And what do you see in my face?” I ask him curiously.
“The pain you are too proud to admit you feel.”
“That’s rich. Coming from you.”
“Is it?” he asks.
“Do you drink so much because you feel sorry for yourself? Or is it because of Katya?”
He doesn’t reply. His grip on me is tight and unforgiving. I keep pushing him.
“Is that why we are married in name only? So you can fuck me and think of her?”