“You didn’t cook all this for me, did you?” I ask, taking a seat beside him.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I asked Yuri to make a spread,” Ivan explains, reaching out and squeezing my hand. “I trust you feel a little better.”
“I’m still shell-shocked, but I’m coming to terms with the phone call now,” I say. I stare at him with a smile, noticing how he doesn’t pull his hand away from mine immediately. It’s comforting, and I can’t ignore the flicker of excitement in my gut as I feel his skin against mine.
He only pulls his hand away as he grabs a serving spoon from the table and starts filling my plate with heaping portions. Honestly, the cafeteria food at the university is not good, andI’ve mostly been living on sandwiches from the cafe. A home-cooked meal is exactly what I needed.
We eat in silence for the first few minutes with the exception of me commenting on how delicious and flavorful everything I’m trying is. Ivan promises to pass my praise on to Yuri, the chef.
“I don’t think I know what you do for a living,” I say after a while, hoping to break the silence and get to know my mysterious benefactor a little better.
He shrugs and takes a big bite of roast chicken. “This and that. I own a shipping company, and I make a lot of investments.”
“Investments in what exactly?”
“Real estate, businesses,” Ivan says between bites. “I invest in people from time to time.”
I want to ask him more about that because something about it is a little ominous, but before I can, Yuri walks in with a fresh basket of dinner rolls and sets it down in front of us.
“How did you get interested in animation?” Ivan asks me before I can inquire more about his life.
“I’ve always loved art. On top of that, I grew up watching cartoons and Pixar movies, and I always wanted to know how those were made. For Christmas when I was twelve, my parents got me an iPad mini, and I downloaded all kinds of animation apps and made little animations of robots and fairies and things like that,” I say with a wistful smile. “It’s always something I’ve loved. Having the opportunity to study it was a dream come true.”
My voice cracks, and I clear my throat, looking down at my plate. Ivan puts his fork down when he senses how distraught I am once again at facing the idea of losing the one thing I’ve ever wanted.
“It’ll be okay. I’m not going to let you lose your dream,” Ivan assures me, his hand on mine.
Both of us finish eating shortly after, and he guides me from the dining room back to my bedroom, knowing that I’m eager to go to sleep and wash my hands of this day. As we walk, his hand finds mine, and his fingers lace through my own.
It takes me aback for a moment, but I sink into the feeling. I like it. Ivan has been a comfort to me through all of this chaos, and being able to hold his hand, knowing that he’s right here for me, is nice.
When we get to my door, he stops in front of it, staring down at me with a smile that makes my heart flutter. I almost feel high looking at him, and the butterflies in my chest are nearly audible, they’re so obnoxious.
“Despite the circumstances, I’m really glad I was able to help you,” Ivan says, pulling his hand from my own and reaching it toward my face. I gasp when I feel his rough hands against my skin, but I lean into the warmth. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”
“Me too.” I smile at him, and my entire body goes tense as he leans forward to kiss me.
For a brief moment, I tell myself this is a bad thing. Here’s a man who has me living in his house, and I’m going to be completely reliant on him. Maybe he has expectations of what I’ll be doing here. But at the same time, I don’t care that much. I already liked Ivan before coming here, and his lips against mine create a feverish heat in my cheeks that I can’t ignore.
I part my lips, and his tongue slides inside my mouth, eagerly tasting me. I have to stand on my tiptoes to make this somewhat comfortable, and I move my hands around his neck to pull him closer.
It’s like everything else around us disappears as his lips move against mine. The only thing I’m focusing on is the heat building between us and how badly I want this to keep going.
Ivan pulls away from me, and I have half a mind to grab him at the collar and pull him back. Instead, I maintain my composure and stare up at him with a warm smile.
“Goodnight, malyshka,” he whispers, opening my door and watching me as I walk through it.
“Goodnight,” I say, closing the door.
I collapse on the bed, eyes closed, unable to stop thinking about how good it felt when he touched me.
Chapter 3
Ivan
I slept betterlast night than I have in years, knowing that Danielle is under my roof, safe and under my control. It’s amazing how far money can get you in this world. It only took a few phone calls until I was handed over to the CEO of the Hendrick Foundation, where I paid them handsomely enough to revoke Danielle’s scholarship.
I know I’m a selfish bastard and don’t deserve an angel like her. Seeing her cry in the cafe yesterday broke my heart, and I almost regretted it. I knew she would be upset about it, but I needed her to be. I needed her to be at absolute rock bottom to accept help from a stranger. It all worked out perfectly in the end.
