Noelle
In the darkness, I could feel every inch of my skin burning.
Kholod's weight finally lifted from me as he lay down beside me. Only our ragged breathing filled the room. My thoughts were spinning—I'd thought there was an intruder, but instead he'd claimed me in that primal way. Though it had been thrilling. The kind of thrill I actually enjoyed.
"You..." I gasped, catching sight of a box that had appeared on the nightstand.
A velvet jewelry box, gleaming softly in the moonlight.
It took me a few seconds to process what I was seeing. So all his sneaking around had been about delivering this?
I couldn't help but laugh, the sound sharp in the silence.
"What's so funny?" Kholod turned toward me, amber eyes boring into mine through the darkness.
"Nothing." I reached for the box, fingertips brushing the soft velvet. "Just never expected the great boss of the Morozov family to deliver gifts like some common thief."
His breathing hitched.
I opened the box to reveal the necklace I'd admired that afternoon. Dmitri must have told him.
"Didn't they say I had to wait a month?" I lifted the necklace, examining it with delight.
"Morozovs don't wait." His voice carried smug satisfaction.
"So bossy!"
"Whatever you want, I'll give you." The intensity in his gaze made my heart skip.
"Couldn't you just give me a gift like a normal person? Why snuck in and tried to slip away?"
"I wasn't trying to slip away." His voice was strained.
"Really?" I turned to face him, lips curving into a teasing smile. "Are you being actually shy?"
"Shut up." His warning carried no real threat.
"Seriously though." I sat up, clutching the sheet as it slipped. "I thought we had a real burglar. And you just went ahead and..."
I didn't finish, but the implication was clear.
I couldn't make out Kholod's expression in the moonlight, but I could feel his predatory stare fixed on where the sheet had fallen.
"It's late. We should sleep!" I quickly wrapped myself tighter.
"Noelle..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
He lay back down beside me, closing his eyes.
I studied his profile. Normal people just hand over gifts with a simple "this is for you." Not him—midnight room invasion, then distracted me in a weird way when caught.
The thought made me laugh again, shoulders shaking.
"Enough laughing." Kholod suddenly rolled over, pinning me again.
